After my previous post about Mr Penfold and the importance of bright colour choice to create impact, I knew that the colours for these pieces had to be contrasting. I experimented with a variety of different media to see what bright, bold results I could achieve.
After experimenting, I made the choice to use collaging and paper cut for this brief as I became really interested in the block colours and bold shapes to communicate my idea of 'self-control'. I wanted the images to have a clean and finished look resulting in something I can see being used editorially.
I originally wanted my images to be greyscale, with the marshmallow as a bright pink to draw the eye but I had some difficulties with this. Card stock is a main issue when choosing to paper cut and I have found it difficult to source various shades and tones of card - grey scale especially. After failing miserably online and in every shop I could think of in Leeds, I made a snap decision to change the grey to blue. On my search it seemed there were a few shades of blue I could source and the colours were still contrasting enough to the pink I had chosen for the marshmallow.
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| Chosen colours card stock...wooooop! |
After the card was sourced, I was able to get stuck right in. I relied heavily on my roughs for this brief and the character designs I had already come up with. I thought they were successful in conveying the information in my chosen article and now that the hard character design element was already done and out of the way, this meant I could really spend time on the crafting of these images, refining, tweaking and adding those little extra details to make the images pop.
Its simple - cut, cut, cut. Every element of the kids in these images were cut out individually, shades of card being chosen, swapped and changed throughout the process until I had a scheme I was happy with.
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| Hat, hair and face designs drawn right on to the card then cut out |
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| A faint line drawn across the face for reference as to where I wanted the table to go. Keeping this space in mind, I was able to assemble and position the face correctly. |
Once I had a good system going, I was able to apply what I had learnt to the other faces throughout the brief keeping the process consistent.
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| Double sided tape was used to stick larger areas of card as this kept the finish clean. Smaller areas such as the nostrils, stripes, cheeks etc glue stick had to be used. |
To get the designs, layout and sizing exact, I drew everything on to layout paper first and then transferred it over to the card. I learnt throughout the cutting process that the cleaner cuts where on the reverse side of the card once the cut had been made so keeping this in mind, the layouts had to be in reverse when being transferred so that the cleaner side of the cut card could be used and was the right way around when complete.
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| Cutting |
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| Drawing |
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| Transferring |
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| Original sketch developing into a hand cut piece |
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| Final face complete for image no.1 |
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| Positioning faces on frame layout: 290mm x 105mm (landscape) |
Once the faces had been assembled, I was able to cut the black strip for the table and complete the first piece. Adding details such as the plates, the musical notes, the train and the saliva/splatter drips were fun and helped with the overall composition.
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| Image no.1: Children and their lack of self control during the marshmallow tests in the 1960's.
Child 1 (left) replaces marshmallow with train set hopeful no one will notice the swap, and eats marshmallow. Child 2 (centre) struggles to wait the 10 minutes and resorts to a little taste.
Child 3 (right) ate the marshmallow before the instructions of the test had even finished being told to her.
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| Sampling mouth / expression design |
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| Cutting the face |
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| Assembling hair and cheeks |
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| Positioning cut card elements of frame: 105mm x 200mm (portrait) |
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| New mouth created, trying to show desire in expression |
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| Image no.2: Childs realisation of the task and its reward. If he can wait 10 minutes without eating the marshmallow in front of him, then he will be rewarded with a second marshmallow. |
Image 3 had a lot of fiddly cut elements. The marshmallow 'disguises' took a while but I was pleased with the outcome.
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| Peas, carrot and mushroom |
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| A variety of veg and dirty marshmallows that kids imagine when trying to master self control. |
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| Image no.3: Child masters his self control (frame: 200mm x 200mm) Child manages to use his imagination to create 'disguises' for the marshmallow. The marshmallows take the form of things he would no longer want, making it easier to resist the marshmallow in front of him and complete the test successfully. |
Personal Successes
-The colour choice achieved what I wanted it too in that the images are bold and vibrant and the colour helps to bring important elements of the image to light.
-This was my first attempt at character design and I think I managed to do this successfully. Creating characters with the personalities that I wanted them to have - cheeky children.
- In terms of composition, I am confident that I used the space well. I like a lot going on in images, especially when the idea is a simple one.
- I am happy with the quality of the cuts. It took a while and I had to sacrifice the use of my right index finger for a while but it was worth it. 'Perfection comes at a price' apparently.
- The brief called for a series or set of images. I am happy that I was able to achieve a narrative with these images. Each frame has consistencies in colour, shape and method helping them flow as a series.
Personal Failures
-The facial expressions of my characters could improve, in the sense that across the frames I think they need more variety. I really struggled with this.
-I feel that the ideas for each frame are almost too obvious. They are literally telling the story of the marshmallow tests as described in my chosen article from the New York Times: 'Can you learn self-control?'. It will be interesting to see what feedback I get from my peers.
Link to article:
http://op-talk.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/can-you-learn-self-control/?_php=true&_type=blogs&ref=opinion&_r=0
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