Colin West Final Illustration

This is my final illustration for the Colin West poem. The concept of this image was that the Moose had been used to make the coat and caps. I used Photoshop to create this image and I really like how this has turned out. I set the size of the image to fit the full size page of 19.5cm x 25.5cm which is the size of the book itself. I placed the mannequin in the middle with the antlers above it making it look like they are coming out of the head of the mannequin which I think works quite well. I then changed my idea of having the hats on a stand and drew them hanging off of the antlers instead which I think looks much better. Overall I am please with how this has turned out and I think the concept can be seen in my image. 

Colin West: Caps and Cap Stand

For the caps I looked at snap-backs and baseball caps and drew from those, I chose to only do four because I didn't want them to be a big focal point in the illustration. I coloured them with simple colours and small bits of shading, I didn't do them too perfectly but I like hwo they have turned out. The idea I had was to place the hats onto a hat stand as if they were on sale in a shop. As you can see in the last image on the page that is exactly what I done and I really don't like it. The positioning is too 'square' and precise and I don't think it works well at all. My plan now is to try a different position of the image. 

Colin west: Mannequin

My idea for the mannequin was to draw it displaying a fur coat to give the impression that the fur of the Moose had been used to make the fur coat. This is the part when my target audience becomes 18+. 

Below is the 6 different stages which I did on Photoshop to create the image.

(working from left to right)

Image 1: The is the mannequin shape which I chose to work with as I thought it would be the best position to use and it is rather simple.

Image 2: The next stage was to draw the shape of the coat over the mannequin. I didn't use any reference for this I just drew a simple coat shape over the top of the figure and I really like how it looks. 

Image 3: I used the magic wand tool on Photoshop to select the 4 different sections of the coat and filled then in with light brown and dark brown before adding texture.

Image 4: I had a lot of difficulty figuring out how to get the fur texture on the coat but I decided to download some different Photoshop brushes which helped a lot. I used the brush in brown and black to get a range of colours within the coat. I done the collar of the coat and I thought it worked really well so I done the same technique on the rest of it.

Image 5: I used the same technique as the previous image and I really like how it has turned out. I don't think it looks the best at the moment because it is a bit light but I will play around and see what I can change.

Image 6: I changed the levels of the coat and really like how it turned out. I think the colours of the texture work really well and it resembles fur more now that it is darker. 

Colin West: Moose

This is the Moose head which I choose to develop further using Photoshop. I chose this one because I like the shapes of the antlers and I think the head is in a nice position to use in an illustration.

When I put this into Photoshop I filled in the main areas with colour. (The antlers being a beige colour and the head being a reddish brown)

By adding a few different layer I bult up the colours in the antlers using browns and beige and by using the smudge tool I got a textured effect which I think works very well.

I had a lot of difficulty getting the head of the Moose right so I came up with a different idea which I will explain further in my next posts. 

Colin West Mannequin Development

The next part of the poem I wanted to create was the coat. My idea for this was to have it on a female mannequin as if it was in a shop. These are my mannequin developments which I sketched out in Photoshop, I will choose one of these to add a fur coat to.

Caps and Stand

The next stage I went through for the poem illustration was the caps. I decided I wanted the caps to look like they were on sale in a store so I sketched out a few hat designs which I will duplicate and place around the cap stand which I also sketched out on Photoshop. 

Colin West Moose Development

My Colin West poem is called 'Moose' and goes 'What use a Moose? Except perhaps, for coats and caps.' and the concept the original illustration gives is that a use is not good for anything apart from holding coats and caps on it's antlers. My idea for this was to make the concept a little more adult focussed and make an illustration which suggests the moose has actually been used to make the coats and caps. 

This is the start of my development for the Moose, I have simply sketched out some Moose heads which I could possibly use in my illustration on photoshop. I will then pick which I think will work best and develop it further.

Colin West: The Big Book of Nonsense - Moose

The Big Book of Nonsense

First published in 2001

Text: Colin West

Illustrations: Colin West

The year 2001

I decided that I would research events that happened in the year The Big Book of Nonsense was published. I picked out things that could have influenced the art of the time. 
- The worlds first artificial heart is implanted into Robert Tools.
- Microsoft launches Windows XP.
- 9/11 attacks, World Trade Centre, New York. 
-A black monolith measuring approximately 9 feet tall apears in Seattle.
- $100 million worth of art was destroyed in 9/11, works include that of Alexander Calder, Joan Miro and Roy Lichtenstein.

The Big Book of Nonsense was also on the list of books but it has now became something that we must do. I have to choose one poem from the book and create one illustration for it. I have decided to illustrate 'Moose' - "What use is a Moose? Except, perhaps, for coats and hats."
I am really looking forward to illustrating this because I have a really good idea of what I want to draw and how I would like to do it.

When I first read this poem I got an instant idea for what I would like to illustrate. My idea was to put a Moose head on a wooden plaque in the background and have a woman in the foreground wearing a fur coat and hat; to suggest the Moose fur has been used to make the hat and coat. After a lot of thinking I realised this could be a very sensitive and offensive subject considering a lot of people are against animal cruelty but I think with this idea I am creating a contrast between illustrations for kids and illustrations for adults. I have decided to proceed with this idea but I am in no way promoting animal cruelty. 

Choosing a book

My current project is Narrative Illustration and I was given a list of books to research and choose from. I have narrowed it down to 5 books that I would be quite interested in illustrating these include; The Witches by Roald Dahl, The Brother's Grimm Hansel and Gretel, The Orchard Book of Nursery Rhymes by Faith Jaques and The Big Book of Nonsense by Colin West.