Looking back on it, I should also have discussed how these things will help me in the future, since I fell slightly short on my word count for the conclusion, but overall I was pretty happy with how the essay turned out. Below the cut is my essay (images and bibliography are in my essay document).
Personal Research Studies
In this
section of the essay, I will discuss the methodologies of multiple
practitioners that I have contacted and how they have influenced my practice,
as well as detailing a visit I took to a local museum exhibition.
Bev Bush
The first
person I spoke to was games design lecturer Bev Bush, who was previously an
artist at Cosgrove Hall animation studio as well at Knutsford-based game studio
Traveller’s Tales. The companies Bev has worked with have a strong
representation of mascot characters, notably the likes of Danger Mouse, Crash
Bandicoot and Sonic the Hedgehog; I therefore felt she would be very
influential to my project.
When
discussing her artistic process, Bev told me that she likes to combine two
contrasting things, whether that is tactile or simply opposing themes, she felt
this was a way to create an original concept. It was a creative method I hadn’t
really considered much beforehand; I found that it was especially helpful when
working on character concepts as well as considering environments for my mascot
character to travel through.
Another
piece of advice I gained from Bev was to draw traditionally then take the art
into a digital program. This is something I’ve experimented with and I find
it’s a good way to create more organic poses, but Bev continues to work on her
pieces by printing them and working into them traditionally, thus starting the
cycle again, until she’s fully happy with a piece. This is something I’d like
to try myself when creating a vertical slice of my game concept.
Rhoda Daly
The next
person I spoke to was Rhoda Daly, who is also a games design tutor. Rhoda
worked as a background artist at Traveller’s Tales alongside Bev, as well as
partaking in an internship at Walt Disney Studios. Rhoda’s background with
animation before working with games was something I looked up to in order to
gain a different perspective on my own field, as mascots are a prominent part
of animation as well as games.
When discussing her design process, she informed
me that she starts with loose drawings without any research to start to place
her vision. This is something I’m also keen on with my own work, I think the
ability to create spontaneously and from one’s own imagination is important
when it comes to creative work, but this should always be followed up with
research to ensure the vision is as believable as possible.
Rhoda also discussed how her internship at Disney taught her to iterate and reiterate her work as well as making sure that every element of a design serves a purpose, whether that is character design, environment design or otherwise. Even the smallest aspects of a design are driven by narrative. This was a valuable lesson to me and it has made me a lot more considerate about the elements I choose to include in my designs.
Shannon Patterson
Lastly I spoke with Shannon Patterson, a freelance artist
from Ireland who does a lot of work for the Repeal the 8th campaign
for abortion rights across Northern Ireland. She is also creating a book that
teaches children about sectarianism and how they should co-operate and love one
another regardless of their background or history.
Shannon and I also talked about her children’s book; I wanted to look into the designs of her protagonist characters and discover the depth of her design decisions. Like Rhoda, Shannon is another person that makes conscious choices with every aspect of a character’s design. For example, the female protagonist of her book is intentionally tall due to a lack of representation of tall girls in media and her shirt has a graphic of a monkey because of a nickname she was given by her father. I feel that this level of consideration is something that can also be applied to mascot design, especially since that kind of character is intended for use as a marketing tool.
Harris Museum Visit
I took a visit to the Harris Museum, where I first looked at the representation of mythological and historical figures in pottery and sculptures. I wanted to learn about the key elements that artists used to create a recognisable silhouette.
When looking at the piece Mozart Enfant by Louis Ernst Barrias, I was first attracted to the curls in his hair as well as the violin in his hands. It was immediately obvious to me who the subject was through this simple association. Another reason I found this piece appealing was the representation of Mozart as a child, where most of the art in the museum was centric on older subjects. I appreciated the energy and the implied curiosity in his posture; I found it very inspiring in terms of representing my characters in a more dynamic way and making their silhouettes more memorable.
Following this, I located an exhibition on the Preston Lamb, a mascot character used to represent the city of Preston. Preston is a city that is very proud of its heritage, the lamb was used as the administrative seal in the 1300’s and has been featured on the city’s coat of arms since the 50’s. The mascot is prominent on items such as school and football uniforms, as well as having a multitude of plush toys manufactured in his likeness. The plush toy wears a blue jumper with “Preston” written in yellow text, the colours yellow and blue have come to represent the city along with the lamb imagery. I’ve thought a lot about colour in the creation of my own mascot character, as well as the use of animals as mascots, I therefore found it intriguing that even the city I live in makes use of the same kinds of symbolism and iconography through mascot design.
Practitioner Lecture Series
This section
of my essay will discuss the influence I have drawn from lectures given by
various practitioners. I will discuss how their methodologies have given me a
new perspective on my practice and made me think in new ways, as well as any
similarities I share with them.
Sonic the Hedgehog Panel
The first
lecture I sought inspiration from was “Classic Game Postmortem: Sonic the
Hedgehog”* (link at the end of blog post), a panel hosted by Naoto Ohshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara,
concept artist and level designer respectively on the first Sonic the Hedgehog
game. The panel discussed the history of the first Sonic game and gave insight
to the creation of the Sega mascot.
As
the character was a direct influence for my Masters project, this lecture was
bound to be full of inspiring elements for me. The first thing I learned from
this lecture was that using an animal as a mascot character is a great way of
conveying a message to every kind of person, regardless of ethnicity, age or
gender since this kind of character is considered politically correct.
Sonic
is a character that quintessentially represents Sega. The reason he does this
is because of the considerations of his concept, from the use of Sega’s
signature shade of blue to the depth of his personality based solely on the
word “cool”. Designers created a mind-map of words related to Sega and a
character was created from that. I discovered that it’s important for a
character to have the depth and personality to back up the way they look – this
was something I took forward into my own concept work.
Claire Norcross
Claire is a
product lighting designer, while I didn’t find much relevance in her use of
natural objects as a basis for art, I found a lot of her methods of research
and creation inspiring. She is a person who believes a creation should not only
look beautiful, but be functional as well.
The
biggest thing I learned from Claire’s lecture was that it’s completely
acceptable to ‘just make’ something if there is no other way to express an
idea, especially if time begins to run short and there isn’t time for extensive
research. There should always be some consideration for research, but it
doesn’t need to be a lengthy process.
Like
Claire, I also don’t like to spend too much time looking at other artists’
interpretations of a subject matter as it can eventually become distracting and
take away from a person’s own original concept. At the end of her lecture,
Claire stated that “it’s not something you do, it’s who you are”. This is
something that I have referred back to for the duration of my practical work;
having a personal identity is very important to me and Claire’s lecture helped
solidify the confidence I have in my own work.
Ben Tallon
The
next practitioner I was inspired by was illustrator, Ben Tallon. His lecture
discussed ‘strokes of luck’ in creative industries and the importance of the
connections a person makes in their career, particularly people with different
skill sets and world view to oneself.
Ben also stated the significance of returning to, and trying out new,
disciplines. Sharing what you think a client would want to see is restrictive
and having a broader understanding of skills outside of your own industry can
help you to imprint your own standpoint on things.
Claire Williams
Claire
Williams is a wallpaper designer and teacher. Her lecture discussed how
intelligence is often disregarded when specialising in art-based industries and
how she adapts to unexpected changes that occur in her field.
Claire
stated that she chooses not to focus on trends when creating her own wallpapers
as it gives her work a unique flavour and a sense of timelessness compared to
other work, another reason for this is the quick workflow required to keep up
with ever-changing trends. This is something I relate to, I much prefer to
create my own content regardless of what is popular - though, like Claire, I
don’t do this without research into current trends in my field.
Another
valuable note I took from Claire’s lecture was that you should be open to
things going differently to how you expect them to. I find that I’m often set
in my ways and am caught by surprise when my plans suddenly change or something
doesn’t work out as intended. After hearing this from Claire I noticed myself
putting more consideration into the positives of change.
Peter Peake
The final
practitioner I have chosen to discuss is Peter Peake, an animator from Aardman. I had less in common with Peter than I did
with other practitioners, but I found a lot of his methodologies interesting
and would consider using them in my own work. His lecture used an advert for
Australian outlet store, Myer, as a case study. He also discussed a brief
history of the work he has done at Aardman.
When talking
about personal projects like Humdrum, Peter explained that he is a tactile
person that likes to mix techniques. I have always found mixed media
interesting as a concept but have never experimented with it; Peter’s lecture
inspired me to investigate this some more and it is something I’d like to put
to use in future work, whether as part of my practice or something else.
Peter
is also unlike me in that he doesn’t like extensive research. I get a lot of
inspiration from looking at real life in particular; I also have a general keen
sense of curiosity and for learning new things. However, I don’t tend to
research much without first testing ideas from my head on paper – this
spontaneous nature is something I have in common with Peter.
Research Reflection
In
conclusion, I have learned a lot of things from a variety of unexpected places,
all of which has been beneficial to my practical work. Writing this essay has
taught me the importance of networking and observing the methodologies of other
artists and creators. I used to observe artists from a distance but now I feel
that I’d be much more willing to ask questions and to learn by performing more
studies of other artists’ work.
After
talking to practitioners and attending lectures I have noticed improvements and
changes to how I produce my practical work, from small things such as the use
of colour through to completely different methods of gathering research. I find
that books and other media can teach a lot but there are some things that can
only be taught through industry experience, by speaking to people and making
geographical connections.
Bev taught
me to combine contrasting ideas, which I have found helpful for character and
environment concepting. Both Rhoda and Shannon stated the importance of making
sure every element of a design tells a story and serves a purpose, as a result
I’m now much more conscious of the choices I make in character design; while my
visit to the Harris Museum instilled the importance of distinct and dynamic
silhouettes which has helped me to create more memorable characters. From Naoto
Ohshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara in the Sonic panel, I learned the importance of
designing a character around a key word or concept, and to represent that in
the character’s personality as well as just in their looks; this became
apparent as I designed my mascot character. Claire Norcross and Ben both imparted
the importance of personal identity in work and having your own story to tell
through your work which has improved my confidence in art exponentially; Claire
Williams taught me to adapt to change and that I should always be conscious of
trends even if I don’t choose to pursue them, and lastly Peter taught me that
it’s acceptable to be spontaneous with concepts, whether this is followed up by
extensive research or not.
I feel that
the techniques I’ve learned and experience I’ve gained from these practitioners
and visits has helped me to grow as a creative person. It has also allowed me
to express my own identity through my art in ways I might not have expected,
such as by observing industries as far detached from my own as wallpaper and
product lighting.
--
*Classic Game Postmortem: Sonic the Hedgehog This is the Sonic the Hedgehog panel I looked at for the Practitioner Lecture Series, it was aired at this year's GDC (Game Developers Conference) and it was really informative. I look up to Naoto Ohshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara a lot, and Sonic as a character was the reason I decided to research mascot characters for my MA project so I was really lucky to have access to a panel dedicated to the design process of the first game. (I would have been crazy not to use it, really!)
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