Magazine spreads in progress
I interviewed each of the shop/business owners via email and collated all of the information into articles. Each shop has its own mini article or feature to go alongside the main article. I have three recipes inside the magazine: A snack (Cheese scones), a meal (Pierogi) and a dessert (Coconut & Lime cake). I baked the cake and photographed it to be included on the recipe page.
I made a couple of vector icons to feature on the recipe pages.
These are variations of the icons, I fitted the type over a path which hugged the curve of the circle. I have tried to carry the blue circle throughout the magazine - The blue full stop at the end of 'wander.'.
These are variations of the icons, I fitted the type over a path which hugged the curve of the circle. I have tried to carry the blue circle throughout the magazine - The blue full stop at the end of 'wander.'.
Click on a tile to view a photoshoot with that model
This tutorial above, is absolutely amazing. It's lengthy but I started the video not knowing anything about the controls or how to access them on this camera. Now I have the camera set up for the type of photography I intend on capturing in my photoshoots that start on Monday 5th April. I have decided to keep my Fstop low, which will blur the background of the image and focus on the puppet in the foreground. I've also set the ISO to auto adjust, so I don't have to fuss with that. I have the camera set to Auto-Focus and it's on a single focus. This camera is pretty old and the dial is broken. This means I'm going to have to keep a close eye on the setting I'm on, I want to be in Aperture mode but the dial spins with the SLIGHTEST of knocks.
Magazine thumbnails
These thumbnails need explored further.
For the photography stage, I want to set the puppet up into their individual shops (Holly- G+G...Stephen- Moon n sixpence). I thought about it, it'll be less difficult for me to use the things that are around me for the photography shoot. People reading the magazine might find it easier to relate the image to the shop? A bit more intimate?... I have been into the goodness and grain shop and taken some reference images of the set up in her shop, a few close-up images of jars and shelves... To get a feel of where I could pose the doll for photographing. I have also been to Moon and Sixpence to do the same. Because Stephen's shop has been organised so he can serve takeaway coffee and cake at the door, the layout isn't the same as it would be day-to-day so I thought it would be best to limit the photographs in this case, to close up images of certain elements of his shop (i.e. Coffee machine, antique pots he uses on tables, chalkboard, hessian potato sacks...)
- Look into the use of colour (At the minute they're pretty bland)
- The layout at the minute needs revisiting with graphic design team. I have since been watching courses on LinkedIN learning to help with my typography and layout decisions. I'm going with the consideration that multiple column text needs to have 30-50 characters per line, and minimum of 6 words per line. The body type should be 8-10pt and headlines can be anywhere above 14pt. I've changed the body type to be a serif typeface because research tells me that serif is easier for us to read in long texts. I tried using a slab serif for my quotations near the names, but ended up deciding to stay with my handcrafted font with a 0.1 stroke around it.
For the photography stage, I want to set the puppet up into their individual shops (Holly- G+G...Stephen- Moon n sixpence). I thought about it, it'll be less difficult for me to use the things that are around me for the photography shoot. People reading the magazine might find it easier to relate the image to the shop? A bit more intimate?... I have been into the goodness and grain shop and taken some reference images of the set up in her shop, a few close-up images of jars and shelves... To get a feel of where I could pose the doll for photographing. I have also been to Moon and Sixpence to do the same. Because Stephen's shop has been organised so he can serve takeaway coffee and cake at the door, the layout isn't the same as it would be day-to-day so I thought it would be best to limit the photographs in this case, to close up images of certain elements of his shop (i.e. Coffee machine, antique pots he uses on tables, chalkboard, hessian potato sacks...)
Bryoni (Creator of Little Lotus Yoga)
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Manon (Owner of Wild Zucchini's bistro)
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Karen (Percy House Joint Owner)
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Stephen (Owner of Moon & Sixpence coffeehouse)
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Holly (Owner of Goodness & Grain refill shop)
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Sarah (posing as a fishmonger)
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INDEPENDENT PROJECT (final piece)
I want to shine the spotlight back onto local businesses. Most customers can recognise faces of the shops they visit, and I'd like to create a likeness to those shop assistants/managers/owners in an art-doll form. This is a playful idea which I hope will encompass their individual personalities within the models I'll make. My intention for this project is to promote independent businesses and remind the town to shop local. So much pressure is being placed on those to keep up with the government restrictions put in place - adapting their shops to abide by the rules, and even having to close their doors to keep customers and staff safe.
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Monday 15th Feb 2020, I visited some of the local shops that were classed as 'essential' businesses/takeaways. As a means of introducing myself and thanking them for the interest in my project, I left a little thank you card with my details on. I made a quick little business card that had my website, instagram account and contact email address so that they could browse my work and contact me if they had any questions.
This was an unsuccessful exercise as most of the shops remain closed due to COVID restrictions. I need to revise my method of contacting local businesses. Perhaps sourcing contact email addresses or facebook messenger would be a better way of polling interest. |
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Here are a few little things that went wrong along the way
I originally used twisted copper wire to make the armature. I found out pretty quickly that copper wire is too soft and while I was making the puppet, the wire snapped in several places. Instead of fighting on with the copper, I ordered some aluminium wire which is commercially used for making these kind of puppets. I also struggled with the hands, for the same reason (just before the main body broke). For this reason, I made a pair of polymer clay hands but decided to scrap them because I wanted the whole puppet to be posable - and that includes the hands.
I originally used twisted copper wire to make the armature. I found out pretty quickly that copper wire is too soft and while I was making the puppet, the wire snapped in several places. Instead of fighting on with the copper, I ordered some aluminium wire which is commercially used for making these kind of puppets. I also struggled with the hands, for the same reason (just before the main body broke). For this reason, I made a pair of polymer clay hands but decided to scrap them because I wanted the whole puppet to be posable - and that includes the hands.
