Secret 7 Finals & crit feedback & Evaluation

Secret 7 Finals & crit feedback & Evaluation 

Submitted final resolutions ready for my final crit. 

Bellow are my final resolutions that I submitted. The idea behind the Duff can Cover was based on the visualisation of how Jakes passion for guitar was sparked by watching The Simpsons. The guitar string been wrapped around the can simulates a visual of the lyric "set me free" the guitar string is "trapping" the can. 

The idea of morphing the image of the can creates an abstract aesthetic that links with the track name "strange creatures" and the surreal feel I got from the lyrics. 

The halo cover was influenced by a youtube comment I found from a fan saying "the guitar sounds like an angel". I loved this quote so i decided to visualise it in a way that is easily linked back to angels, so a halo proved the best image to use to denote angels.  

The idea of the guitar string been wrapped round the halo again derives from the lyric "set me free", it simulates the halo been "trapped".

I morphed the halo to simulate & visualise an abstract aesthetic of the concept of a perspective been changed. This idea of a perspective been changed comes from the dark lyrics of nightmares and how it contrasts with the visuals of heaven. 

The production used in these compositions are influenced by Jakes stripped back style of music production. (simple and minimal layout compositions)
The analogue illustration techniques (Watercolour & fine liner) used are influenced by the traditional style of Jakes music and his style. 
The colour & tonal schemes in the Duff can composition connote the season autumn which reminds me off farming which reminds me of the country (Jakes country music style). They are also very rustic wich has obvious links with jakes rustic fashion influences. 

The halo image uses pale shades of blue with primary colour contrasting yellow, these 2 colours connote heaven to me, the blue simulates the sky which links in well with the idea that angels are from heaven and the halo is floating in the sky within the frame of a 7inch album cover. 

Crit Feedback

I presented the above 2 designs too my group of 4 peers. I already had very positive feedback from the last crit with equal amounts of positive feedback been given on all my designs so It was more of a personal option on what to take forward to the final stage, but I took forward the Duff can that people admired for the aesthetics and colour, and the halo image that simon favoured due to its unique concept.

Feedback was positive overall with people favouring the analogue illustration techniques over the vector resolutions I produced previous. They felt the style of illustrations had a more traditional feel to them agreeing that it simulated a traditional style a lot more. I had good feedback on the colour schemes worked and how well the backgrounds worked with the visual images, the backgrounds complimented the images and created a nice contrast and they liked the pastel tones and more desaturated tones worked well with the traditional style illustrations. The only negative feedback was that the morphing of the halo changed the aesthetics and it didn't really represent a halo anymore, but I felt this worked with the abstract perspective I perceived from the strange creatures lyrics and how it represented a change of perspective relevant to the lyrics "nightmares".

Evaluation

Very happy with my final outcomes I produced, really enjoyed using traditional drawing mediums to communicate an idea rather than relying on digital techniques. I feel the use of traditional mediums has helped me conceptually portray Jakes traditional style of music, along with the toned down pastel shades which demonstrate the softness within his lyrics. 

I also learnt how to really push the idea stage, creating over 50 initial rough ideas really allowed me to create unique outcomes and fully exhaust all possibilities resulting in stronger more considered design outcomes.

I also learnt to think more conceptually as I will go into more detail later, instead of thinking laterally and obviously to the song and its lyrics producing a monotone type of design thats obvious to the song lyric I learnt to look at other sources, branch off from subtle elements within the lyrics, really stretch the ideas allowing me to arrive at more unique and out of the box solutions. And looking into other peoples opinions, my halo idea derived from a youtube comment and I twisted this comment translated it into a visual and added visuals that are relevant to the lyrics in there too. 

My favourite element was the subtle additions to the can and halo to simulate the songs lyrics, as mentioned there were lyrics saying "set me free" so the addition of a guitar string trapping the can really helped connote this lyric, and the use of a guitar string shows Jakes primary instrument used in his songs. The warping of the images shows the element of "nightmares" within the mood of the song and lyrics of strange creatures. All these elements helped me make quite considered visuals.

If I was to do this again though I would look at the image making medium more, I didn't get into the competition and after looking at drawings that used traditional mediums like me the detail in them was incredible. If I produced this again I would look into more abstract digital techniques so it would carry a more unique style. 

Secret 7 design development (Halo)

Secret 7 design development (Halo)

For my second submission I created an Initial sketch inspired by the comment on youtube mentioning how the guitar sounded like an angel. This sketch is the idea of a halo been wrapped in a guitar string as mentioned in the initial ideas stage.

Vector resolution, not keen on the aesthetics though. Too crisp and clean-cut, I feel it needs a more neutral and traditional visual resolution (Use traditional drawing techniques). I want to keep the very minimal feel of the composition though, this emulates Jakes stripped back style of music and fashion influences. The idea of the guitar string been wrapped around the halo emulates the word "trapped" derived from the lyric "set me free". 

Created different styles of illustrations experimenting with how the guitar string wrapped round the halo. 

I used a silver metallic posca marker to color the guitar string. This created a very sparkly effect which has good links with the idea of heaven derived from visualization of angels. I colored the strings black as the color black denotes the lyrics "nightmare". This creates a nice contrast of concept of dreams and nightmares. 

Watercolor image resolution. 

Same central position off the image. Makes it feel like the halo is floating in air, this is why I didn't include the lines to frame the image up like in the Duff resolutions. 

Added the same blue hue in but a lighter tone, creates a hie contrast of color through the primary colors. Blue has obvious conotations with heaven and dreaming (links with lyric "nightmare" been flipped on its head.  

Lightened tones down a little to create more consistency within the halo drawings tones and the background.   

Created a slight bit of contrast by higgling the saturation of the halo drawing, stronger contrast of tone between the 2 elements. 

Experimented with layer effects again, I liked this one if I could emboss the image I feel this kind of color combination would work well. 

Overlay effect creates a nice subtle visualization of the halo, it blends in nicely too the background and has an overall very cold feel. The feeling of cold is inspired by the lyric "cold" and the overall feeling I got from listening too the track, I found it quite chilling. 

Added the distort filter to the halo, a morphed halo emulates aesthetically how the halo is been tangled up and twisting the halo. This twisting of the halo has relevance to the contrast of dreams and nightmares, the dream been the halo, the twisting of a Halo been the nightmare. 

Began creating the photoshop coloured composition. 

Much prefer the aesthetics of the photoshop created halo, this will be the idea I submit. The colors are more washed out within there tones and flat which works well with the contrast of the twisted drawing. The twisting drawing has a certain depth of field too it through the perspective off the 3 dimensional drawing so this contrast of flat colors works well with it. 

Secret 7 design development (Simpsons idea)

Secret 7 design development (Simpsons idea)

Initial idea was too present how Jake got into the guitar by listening to The Simpsons by showing a donut. 

I felt a Duff can suited better as it denoted homer more who is the key character of the show. I created a very minimal visual of the can to simulate Jakes stripped back style while using pastel tertiary colors to create a more traditional overall feel. The idea of presenting a beer can has vague social connotations off youth culture and drinking which has loose links with Jakes urban upbringing. 

Duff can below used as source image.

Vector resolution. Using minimal typography simulates a better presentation of minimalism and simplicity. 

After deciding against the vector resolution above and feeling like an illustrative approach would be more relevant conceptually. Having illustrations emulates Jakes traditional style through the used of traditional image making techniques. Bellow are the rough drawings I created experimenting how the guitar string would entangle the can. I experimented with drawing style and fine liner widths to create a variety of depths and tones through the lineart. 

Began filling the image in watercolors, I like the blending that can be achieved with the paints and the varieties of tones that can be achieved with watercolors and how well they blend together. The neutral shade and tints are also dialed down and more pastel compared to the strong tones and bright colors in the vector resolutions I created for the interim crit. The tones and hues remind me of autumn which in turn reminds me of the country which has relevance with Jakes country music style. 

I added the guitar string round the can to emulate the lyric "trapped" the can is trapped by the guitar string, and the guitar is Jakes staple instrument in his music production. 

Added stronger tones of orange creating a brighter overall feel and better connotations to autumn and the links with country and the musical style. 

Added highlights to the lines of the drawing with heavier weight lines to create more contrast between the colors and the lines of the drawing, this in turn creates a flatter overall feel of the image.

Removed the background ready for placing in the 7"x7" record document. 

Placed the image central to the frame as this creates a better balanced composition between the negative and positive use of space.

Added the pastel toned yellow hue that derived from the vector composition. 

I began to morph the images by using the distort twirl filter, I added varying degrees of twirl settling on the central composition. The idea behind morphing the can was to abstractly represent the idea of a change of perspective, this has obvious links with the song lyrics "nightmare". The idea of a nightmare been a changed perspective off the real world. It also has an abstract aesthetic too it which has relevance too the track name "strange creatures". The final image represents a cd rotating in an abstract sense but the morph was too strong and lost recognition of a duff can which was the main concept idea.

Trying out different hues to represent traditionally like the one bellow, brown hues connote this the best. But it doesn't work with the image of the duff can, the contrast just isn't right, the dark tone of the brown outweighs the duff can. This causes in-balance within the composition, there needs to be a tonal contrast of light and dark, the dark element been the Duff can so its the more obvious visual element (Hierarchy) within the composition rather than the background image. 

A very pale tint of peach color creates a nice contrast of tone of light and dark. Peach has comforting connotations with the idea of "dreaming" dreaming derives from the lyric "nightmare" been flipped on its head.

Brown tone but of a lighter hue, using this pastel tone keeps things neutral, having a neutral background creates a nice contrast of light and dark as mentioned previous. The idea of neutral colors as defined by the dictionary" a fairly neutral background will make any small splash of color stand out." This strengthened the requirement of the duff can needing to stand out.

Settled on a light tint of yellowy off white or cream. This created the nice contrast I required, connoted traditionally through the saturation and darkness off the rustic tonal range off the can and created n overall consistent color composition between the 2 color elements (Background & Can)

Experimented with layer edits to create different abstract effects, bellow is the screen effect. A nice contrast and subtly is the outcome when the colors are removed from the can and just the white tones remain. But legibility of the can is too low. 

To create a more traditional feel I created a sort of sepia outcome by using the luminosity layer edit. I like this but I wanted to have elements of color within the can to display the common color connotations of the Duff can.

Using the color burn layer edit created an abstract effect to the Duff can, it made it feel as if it was worn out, something that had connotations to the country, it looked like rusting paint. This reminded me off how paint fades and rusts off typical farming equipment like tractors, and street signs in traditional American country locations. It did however fit with the abstract shapes of the image. 

Made sure everything was central and evenly aligned within the composition. The  small central lines (top and bottom) are used to frame up the can within the centre of the composition. It stops it feeling like its just loosely positioned in the middle of the composition, creating a better overall balance of negative and used space. I changed the color off the lines and changed them to a darker yellow tone swatches from the background. This creates less contrast and they blend in a little more with the background, before when they were black the contrast was too strong. I needed an overall subtle tonal range throughout the composition to create an overall constant feel. 

I began making a Photoshop colored in variation inspired by the bellow image I found in my research stage.

Took a high resolution photograph instead of scanning in the image, scanning in the image creates an overall graininess through the accuracy of the scan picking up details off the texture of the paper. A photograph avoids this problem. 

Instead of deleting the background to add color, to create a more rustic effect I altered the levels of the outlines so the black became more vibrant within the tonal range and the white became brighter ready for color blocks to be added.

Color added, very strong tones, not very bright. Very rustic, good links to elements of traditionally and the country life (links with country music style of Jakes) been very rustic. 

Background removed. 

Toned things down a little by lowering the contrast, this creates a more neutral/pastel feel but keeps the dark tones of the reds and the brown hues. 

The strong tones in the can makes it easier to create a stronger contrast between the background image so I didn't need to lower the tint off the yellow too much. The tone is a lot brighter than the watercolor variation but works. 

I made the lines that frame up the can black, it kept the tonal range quite strong. The lines within the drawings are also quite heavy so this keeps constancy through the design composition. 

Final composition, the colors are quite flat though. I felt it needed some kind of effect to display rustic emulations a little more. 

Added noise to add a graininess too the image, this graininess gives off a more rustic feel which is what I intended. 

Added the same angle of twirl seen in the watercolor composition to emulate the change of perspective and abstract aesthetics. 

Changed the background to a pastel orange shade, it has obvious connotations to autumn which has links to country life (subjective personal opinion). Visually it just doesn't work though. Its too bright and vibrant, the luminance clashes with the more dark tones in the duff can. 

Added the same light tint yellow seen in the watercolor composition, this creates a stronger contrast bringing forward the can image as a stronger visual element.