Leavon Archer – A Concept Artist.

At the age of 15, Leavon was creating amateur comics for a small business before taking an interest in fantasy art which he achieved through airbrushing and pen and ink.

He came to Chesterfield College to do Fine Art, but found he wasn’t well suited for it as he much preferred graphics. At the age of 17 he was creating games! Unfortunately, because of the time period he began in, he didn’t have many colour options to work with and only created 2D games, so he had to brush up his skills on palletisation, which is where you take the colours you are given (in this case, sixteen) and try and make as many as you can. E.g. in different tones or shades of the same colour.

He found he was inspired by Disney and would create many different demos for games with different story lines and main characters to try and get a producer interested, but he admits that 9/10 of your designs get “canned”.

He started with very basic characters (again because of the time period), starting with polygons and working materials onto them to make them look more realistic. But when Photoshop came out, he found that he very much enjoyed working with 3D characters and so moved from the job he was at so he could join Sony and start the mission with Playstation. Everything was hand drawn and then edited on the computer.

Some of the work that Leavon showed us was absolutely amazing! He has worked with the makers of Pirates of the Caribbean and made the Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom characters. He says that the actors always wanted a say in how they looked and Orlando Bloom wanted to be more bulky than he was in the film.

He says that working in life drawing was probably the most beneficial thing he had done at college and still attends classes now. He uses the human body structure to inspire him when he creates bizarre creatures.

He created one character from a book series but he only had the man himself as he looks now he’s in his 60s and one blurry photo of him back in the day. It was amazing. I noticed as he was speaking that he very much enjoys working with new projects and experimenting, which is why he was thrilled at the chance to make a horse statue. He also says that there are many variables to do with how successful a game is other than just how well the team works… The contract could be running out and therefore time is cut shorter.

He has different ways of inputting his designs onto the computer, one way is to draw straight onto the computer via the drawing tablet and then bulk it out and make it look nicer, or he’ll sketch out in pencil on paper and take a picture on his phone to upload onto the computer and then he would edit it to make it look more professional.

One of his projects was for a game that needed an angel on every level; each one would be of a different element. The one that he showed us on his slideshow was one of a water angel, he told us how the colours had been taken from the striking markings of a colourful tropical fish and how the fins were from an angelfish… The wings were designed from jellyfish tendrils and then mirrored and flipped to mimic the wings of a butterfly.

He told us also of how he often used a base mesh for his characters which enabled him to start the actual design straight away instead of starting from the beginning each time. Once he has made the initial design about how the character should look, he will have to assess each little detail about the character to see if it is believable and functional in real life. He had to redesign the shoulder pads of some of the soldiers and redesign the weapon because it was too bulky and wouldn’t have made sense. Because of all this redesigning, Leavon suggested that you don’t become too precious about how you get to the final stage of your design and instead you should just concentrate on how it looks.

He said that he worked with Hellboy and Hulk and, because he had all the old school comics by the artist that the producer was interested in, he could get to work very quickly. Having reference materials helps you get to work faster.

He says that, although he is working on other projects a lot of the time, he still has time for himself and the work he creates for his own amusement can help him when he does his job because of the practice. He says that work is never wasted and although you may not use the majority of an early design, you may still want to use a character’s shoes or gloves.

There are two ways that he uses to get his work on the go, one is that he will find a picture of someone in a similar pose and drop his design over them and edit it until he is happy, the second is that you can get a thick black pen and sketch out an outline or a silhouette and then define it until it looks like the character you had in mind.

When asked a question about his previous work, he said that most of the games he has worked on have been a positive experience regardless of the final outcome. It all depends on who you work with…

He then said, “If any one fancies rock and roll parties, head to Sony.”

Recycle Poster (4)

I found this image on Google Images and it's delicate simplicity caught my attention. I like how simple this poster is and how the important writing is small to make people have to go closer to the poster to read it. The entire poster is pale apart from parts of the earth, but it works for me. It's addressing global warming and shows the earth melting which is appropriate. Seeing the world in a state of distress will worry many people and hopefully make them want to change their ways and help. The rhetorical question should get people thinking and then the next part of the type is the subtle answer to that question. I have noticed that one reason I have chosen all these posters that are in common with each other is that I like their simplicity, so I plan to keep my design simple too.

Recycle Poster (3)

I really like how this poster has been thought out. I like how the world looks like a screwed up ball of paper  to show how it's being scrapped. It makes people panic and want to change how we treat earth. You are equally drawn into the 'planet' as you are into the type, so both capture your attention and the simple sentence at the top makes you think. The slight slant of the green strip is effective because it's not all straight and relitively boring which is refreshing. The font is open and easy to read which is what you want from a poster, no one will try and read it if it's difficult.

Recycle Poster (2)

I like the colours in this poster and I plan to use bright colours myself. I also like how not everything is at a right angle to each other. I find it effective and eye catching, therefore, people will see it and want to read more... which would mean getting the message across.

Recycle poster (1)

What I like about this poster is that they have taken a picture of the material and waste that they have collected and cut it down to look like the object they can make it in to. I plan to take an idea similar to this in my own project. It's a simple yet effective and colourful way to put across the message that recycling really helps.

My Project Proposal

I am going to research a variety of contemporary environmental artists to get some inspiration for my work. For the time being, I think I will be sketching some discarded objects to become familiar how refuse looks next to each other. Then I think I will sketch a design combining some useless objects to make the collection as a whole look like some thing useful. I will then work over my initial design with other media and materials such as collage, mono-prints, paint, ink and letter blocks.

I have looked at Michael West’s work and have noticed that he creates both 2D and 3D creations… His sculptures are mostly red and made out of refuse waste, he has also created a selection of paintings, finding inspiration from the shapes and lines of the waste and going on to make bright, abstract images. Although his work is interesting, I don’t really plan on using his method of working, but it has opened my mind to the possibility of 3D art.

Here is a photograph from Michael West’s website: http://www.michaelwestart.com/page3.htm This piece was described on Wikipedia as:

“Anthropomorphism” is the attribution of human characteristics or, recognition of human characteristics in non-human creatures and beings, phenomena, material states and objects or abstract concepts”

Week one: I plan to research more artists and find some that inspire me, I would then combine the attributes I like about each of them and add something of my own to make it unique to me.

Week two: I imagine we will be drawing still life of the waste objects.

Week three: I hope to have a selection of drawings and sketches from the objects that I will combine together to make them look like something else.

Week four: I plan to have made my final design and be working back into it with different media, making it more abstract and/or interesting. I will, at some point, reassess how my time is going and see if I could plan it better.

Kandee the Makeup Artist (2)

 She uploads her blog every few days so there is plenty to read, her newest post is about her trip to a makeup lab where they make foundation and blusher. She is helping them to make it and testing them all...

She describes it as being the "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory of the makeup world"

Here she is mixing foundation.

She also has uploaded posts about how to create "cute hair" styles and makeup ideas. This can be very helpful for someone who wants to, but struggles, to make their hair and makeup look nice. She will suggest hair and makeup products that she personally uses and uploads pictures of what each product does for her... She then puts in a link to where you can purchase one of your own.

Ryoki

Unfortunately, she only uploads one photo every few weeks. Although her work is good, she doesn't explain anything about her work... She just uploads the photo and doesn't say how she did it or why it's in that design... did the client ask her to design something? Maybe they came in with the design and it means a lot to them? I don't know any of these things... I think that she may have gone into detail about it on the link to her website, however, it has been blocked under the reason: 'Shopping/Merchandizing, Streaming Media' which is very unhelpful...

Here is the only new thing she has uploaded.

Professional Photography blog

These guys have been rapidly updating their blog, so much so that as I'm reading it, new photos are being uploaded!


The latest photos are about death and murder, although this is a depressing and horrible subject, I feel that the photographer captured the 'moment' even though it's obviously staged. It captures the intense moment after doing something awful...

Wilmarys Roman

As I looked through further and viewed all the new updates, I found many that I found incredibly interesting... I never would have thought of having someone pose in these ways or be able to capture the exact moment that the photo would be amazing.

I'll show you...

Nico Fredia

Tereza Vickova

Max Wanger

Mark Mawson

Jono Winnel

Dario Torre

All of these pictures held my attention as I skimmed through the blog. It's inspiring and I would like to try and recreate some thing like this.

Lattegirl Does Civilization

I found a Canadian Blogger who talks about life as it is. She seems to point out the beautiful things in life and slate the ugly. For example, one of her posts was about the obese population of America and another is about Madonna and how she is trying to hard to stay 'young', she has posted a picture of her arms while she's holding a bunch of shopping bags. While I think it's a little harsh that she is slating people for the impurities... I also feel that it's good that you can make the idols of so many people seem more human, like they should be.

Aside from all the slating and judging, she feels very comfortable with nature... apparently more so than with people. She has done a post on a vast stellar formation resembling a hand reaching across the sky... It's beautiful.

I'm not entirely sure why I wanted to follow this blog, but I imagine I just find it interesting. I know that this woman is highly opinionated and I think I just want to read what she has to say.



Here is the vast stellar formation.



The Reason I Chose: Ryoki

Content:
I have always admired tattoos and I very much like this artist's work. I like that she's a female artist and that she uses colour in her work.

Background:
This is a template from Google blogger and I think it works quite well, the blue type is quite easy to read on the black background.

Layout:
It's simple without a dividing line down the middle. However, I quite like the dividing line. I think the block of text in the middle-left of the page isn't very attractive. I like the double lined box around the title. I think it looks quite elegant and effective.

Font:
All the font on this entire blog is the same. I think this makes it look organised and simple.

Click here to visit the website.

The Reason I Chose: Kandee Johnson.

Content:
Not only is this woman very prettym she has skills with makeup and she also has a very uplifting view on life. I look forward to reading more about her.

Background:
Unlike the previous blog page, I actually think there is too much white here. It makes it easier to read the writing but I feel that the surrounding space is wasted.

Layout:
She has a large colourgul banner for her title, with the main bulk of information down the middle and gadgets and adverts in columns down each side.

Font:
Each seperate peice of text is in a different font. I actually think it looks a little messy and unorganised which I didn't expect.

Click here to visit the website.

The Reason I Chose: idsketching

Content:
I like how this blog connects traditional sketching with computer editing. Some of the drawings from this page are amazing and I wonder where they got the ideas from, I would enjoy reading more about it.

Background:
This background is just plain white. While I though it would be boring, I now think it's effective and brings the viewer's attention to the drawings and information.

Layout:
This blog is set out very much like my college google blogger. Title across the top, main bulk of information on the left and the gadgets and advertisement on the right.

Font:
The font of the title is well suited to the webpage's content. The letters have a look of exaggerated pixels, with it being a sketching and computer design blog, I feel it works well. The rest of the font's are similar to each other.

Click here to visit the website.

The Reason I Chose: We and Fashion.

Content:
I very much like the design around the title. I think the burst of colours is very nice contrasted with the bland colours of the rest of the page. I like how they compare the genuine products to fake copies in relation to cheaper items being better or not. I like some of the clothes designs that they have further down the page too.

Background:
The background is a simple block if black which focuses all attention on the actual blog and it's content.

Layout:
Unlike the previous blog (Ziji), this one has been seperated into boxes. Usually I don't like that, but I think, because the boxes are pale, I don't mind it and think it's actually quite effective.

Font:
I've noticed that the font all over the page is the same, though they have changed the size of the text to show between the title, sub-title and the main block of text. While this keeps it simple and easy to read, some may find it boring.


Click  here  to visit the website.

The Reason I Chose: Zosia Ziji.

Content:
I like the way Ziji has used focus to blur out the foreground and I think the black and white effect is very effective.

Background:
The print in the background is a subtle, yet effective way of filling in white spaces around the main page. With it being pale, it isn't so distracting.

Layout:
The title has over-lapped with the second line, I find it interesting but a little hard to read (although this could be my dyslexia...) I don't like all the adverts clogging up the right hand side and spoiling the black and white theme of the page, I find it distracting. I like how the page has been divided up by the content rather than lines or boxes.


Font:
He has used a different font on his main title compared to his subtitle, also, the title is white on black... whereas the subtitle is the more traditional black on white.


Click here to visit the website

UCAS Fair

On Monday the 29th of November, we all attended a trip to Manchester to see a whole range of Universities, all trying to interest possible future students. We collected so many prospectuses, some of which we have to interest in looking at but took them any way because we didn't want to reject the people offering them out... But that might have just been me.

I found some I found some that I liked the sound of, but there was always something about it that didn't seem just right... or I couldn't imagine me moving to that place.

Until I found Bolton University. I was drawn in by the people stood about with masks on and brilliant costume designs and the massive picture of a sculpture of Davy Jones' head from The Pirates of the Caribbean. When I went over to talk to them, I was asked what I was interested in.. I wasn't entirely sure still so I said Graphic Design or Makeup or something...

As soon as I said "Makeup" I was passed over to a young woman who was in her second year at Bolton. She told me that the Sculpture was hers and that she too went to Bolton with the single intention of just doing makeup and nothing else, that was until she was introduced to a whole range of extra things you could do!

She said that once you have settled into the course and done the things you are instructed to do, you get to create your own monster or creature and sculpt it and add makeup and/or effects to it. This all sounded very exciting to me. I very much like the idea of Bolton University... It's not too far from home, but fair enough that my family aren't in my pocket and I have my own space. Unfortunately it's not near the sea but I can still go as a short break to the coast every now and again during my stay... She also said that the accommodation is very nice there and you get to mingle with new students like yourself and also second years who can give you advice and help you out.

University is still a scary thought to me, but I really hope that it all goes well, as everyone does.

The Professional Makeup Blog

After being told that Kandee the Makeup Artist may be a little inappropriate to the blog, I started looking for another to replace her (although I am still going to keep her and the post I have done about her because I liked how her page was when I commented on it...) and found one called the Professional Makeup Blog, which seems like makeup course in Canada that the students can upload work onto.

I didn't know before how much I liked the idea of doing makeup and special effects, so finding this page was exciting for me. Whilst we were at the UCAS fair on Monday 29th November, I found a course at the University of Bolton that I very much liked the sound of. They "sold" it well and made it very desirable. But I'll put that into another post..

They can either make someone look so beautiful...

...Or as ugly as possible!

They say that they have "been creating careers in makeup artistry since 1998." And from the quality and beauty of their work, you can tell they've had the practice!

Google Reader and Review

Viewing the blogs I follow has never been easier as it is with Google Reader! I can read all of the new and old posts from all of the blogs from one easy to navigate and understandable page. I like how all the posts aren't on seperate pages and you can just scroll through them all, which is great for when you are just browsing and not looking for anything in particular... However, you still have the option of clicking on the individual blog creators so you can only look at their work.

Here is a print screen from one of the blogs I was looking at via Google Reader. It tells you how many unread posts there are in each blog and once you have read them all, the title will turn grey so you don't forget which ones you have read. 

As a whole, I feel that having an online blog is very helpful for getting your ideas out there! I love how you can view and be inspired by people all over the world who aren't famous and get your ideas out there to hopefully inspire others too. I like how you can create a profile of things that interest you and once you have saved them, they become a hyperlink... Clicking on certain words for example, a band you have just written down, it will take you to a page with a list of all the other people using Google Blogger that have also said they have interest in that band. I think that this is quite a useful feature as you can choose to look at people's work who is similar to you and therefore may have more ideas in common.