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Reflective Report

Exploration

First Year focused on exploration, experimentation and a sense of play in artwork. Mark making was the defining method and idea that was encouraged and became embedded into my approaches to image making. Tools were crafted, objects were found, paper was chopped and an abstraction developed within my illustrations. I used a variety of different traditional media and techniques in accordance to what I was to respond to, which was also influenced by location. The pace was fast and so an eclectic variety of work was made in a short period of time, thus some pieces were more successful than others. My method of making was broken down and then rebuilt with a fresh view on what I considered to be ‘illustration’ that came from the questioning of what drawing is and the liberation of being able to make mistakes and it be okay. It was a chance to experiment with different media and processes without being too precious about what I was making.

This brought about a state of mental chaos, because I was readjusting my preconceptions of illustration and how I worked creatively. I found it difficult, initially, to understand why the scribblings and markings I was doing had any weight or purpose in my work. It felt as though I was being swept in a wave of ideas and possibilities that I simply allowed myself to be swept along with rather than seeing it as an advantage to push further. The concept of ‘play’ was a daunting thing to embrace, because I felt that by being in University I should be learning to produce more ‘professional’ illustrations. It took time to move away from the idea that producing abstract and experimental work was childish and understand how it was enabling me to develop further as an artist. I felt stressed, confused and frustrated, but also intrigued as to how I would produce a piece of work in an experimental and thought-out way. The desire to create something I liked from these new ways of working pushed me to interweave meaning in order to add depth and intrigue to something I would have previously dismissed.  

I came to realise that for me, incorporating emotion into artwork is key. Without it, my motivation and desire to be experimental faded, thus resulting in work that I didn’t particularly like. For example, I struggled with designing three album covers focusing on the typographic of the name for an imaginary band in three different genres. Music is very much connected with one’s emotional responses and so on hindsight, perhaps the reason I struggled is because I didn’t use music as a trigger for my work, thus I was disconnected. 

Mark making enabled this realisation, because with it came a practical understanding of how a particular mark, texture or colour could signify a great amount without being literal.Through drawing sound, or taking shapes out of context to produce a sculpture in collaboration with others, I was being guided into grasping the potential creative outlets without fully understanding at the time. While a photograph is indeed a photograph, I feel that I can now comfortably accept that Photography is a form of image making that can also be considered illustration through its potential to express a story, emotion, ideas or information to the viewer.

I particularly enjoyed the final project of BA3 which was to produce a book based on something to do with the Castle. It enabled to try to incorporate things I’d learned throughout the year in a format I have fondness for. I decided to focus on two themes: death and immortality, and set upon trying to visually reveal the connection between them through imagery of things within the museum. Using a mixture of modelling “fossils” out of clay, photography, printmaking and traditional media I produced a collection of illustrations. I was intrigued by the themes which kept me driven, while the castle museum was rich in inspiration, however in retrospect, I feel that an aspect of experimentation was lost. While I explored different media, my images were very literal. I’d subconsciously moved back into aspects of how I worked previously, which is not necessarily bad, however it’s a slip back into the comfort zone- something that I was pushed out of greatly in the BA1.

Thus, I have come to a better understanding of my working process. It is in the moments where I feel the most stress and pushed out of my comfort zone in a collision of experimental play that I produce a more intuitive and arguably more intriguing image. When I allow myself to feel comfortable, my work becomes more reserved. This is something that I find difficult to remove myself from, especially when there is more independently driven tasks. I must push myself to continue to develop and utilise the skills I gained within Year One, because I feel that it will greatly improve my working process and ability to produce more exciting pieces of work. To do this, I think it will require improving my time management and decision making skills in order to enable enough chance to experiment with a range of techniques to further develop my ideas more successfully. Conclusively, I would like to continue to develop the key ideas I learned in first year and perhaps explore different media such as photography, sculpture or film to further expand my knowledge of the creative potential of various forms of image making.  

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Experimental Image Making

Various work from First Year exploring visualisation of the senses and experimental media

-Reflective Report imagery

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BA3 Castle Museum 

First Year BA3 Castle Museum work- examples of the final book and the sculpted “fossils” 

-Reflective Report Imagery 

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Editorial Report

The Huldufolk- Uncovering the Icelandic Legend

Iceland, first inhabited by Vikings in the 9th century, is a place where Nature is a dominating force of beauty that moulded brutes into poets. Located in the middle of the North Atlantic, the Land of Fire and Ice is a world where glaciers, geysers and volcanoes reside beneath the dancing aurora borealis. Ethereal lagoons invite wandering souls to take a dip in its hot springs, mountains humble all those who encounter their majesty and the mysterious Huldufólk roam the valleys.

These creatures are known as ‘the hidden people’ within Icelandic folklore and believed by some Icelandic folk to exist within the landscape, causing mischief and to be regarded with respect and fear. In western culture, they would be recognised as elves, however the Huldufólk are a strong part of Icelandic heritage and culture.

Living within the rocks and under hills, the Huldufólk are believed to be tiny creatures who are humanlike and often donning green 19th century Icelandic clothing. Sometimes they appear in dreams as warnings, but more often their tales are spoken of through oral storytelling from generation to generation. Scholar, Ólina Thorvarðardóttir, wrote that said tales “no doubt served as warning fables” and may have “prevented many children from wandering away from human habitations, taught Iceland's topographical history, and instilled fear and respect for the harsh powers of nature."

In Sælingsdalur valley is a hill called Tungustapi, which is also known as the Church of the Hidden People and setting to the tale of Sveinn and Arnór. The story goes that a young boy Sveinn spoke with the Huldufólk during his solitary walks the time he spent at Tungustapi. Frequently, he would scold his brother and other children for making noise around the hill from fear of disturbing the Hidden People who resided within.

Every New Year’s Eve he would vanish and one night his brother Arnór decided he would go in search of him. He ventured out to the huge hill and discovered that it had opened up and from it emerged a beautiful, enchanting sound of song and twinkling lights. It appeared as a mystical Church, and amidst a gathering of peculiar looking folk was Sveinn looked as though he was about to be ordained. Alarmed, Arnór called out to his brother who turned to find him, much to the rage of the folk, who proclaimed that punishment would befell them both for disturbing their peace. True to their word, the Hidden People chased down Arnór and killed him.

Sveinn never recovered from the tragedy and became a monk at the Helgafell monastery, vowing to never look upon Tungustapi again. However, when his father grew old, he requested that his son return to sing Mass on Easter Sunday before he passed, and so, in respect for his father. This he did, but while Sveinn was singing the mass a storm blew the door open and he saw into Tungustapi.  Looking straight into the eyes of the Hidden People, he collapsed and tragically perished, captured in their gaze.

Such tales of these mysterious beings have been passed down through the generations, while stories of the origin of the Huldufólk varies. Some believe them to be traced to the Biblical Eve hiding her children from God and lying about their existence. To this, God responded that “what man hides from God, God will hide from man”. Other tales speak of the Huldufólk as being Fallen Angels who wander the Icelandic landscape which serves as an in between of Heaven and Hell.

Michael Strmiska writes that the represent “a deep reverence for the land” while Alan Boucher stated that  “the Icelander's ambivalent attitude towards nature, the enemy and the provider, is clearly expressed in these stories, which preserve a good deal of popular - and in some cases probably pre-christian -- belief."

According to a 1975 survey by psychologist Erlendur Haraldsson, Icelanders’ level of belief in hidden people varied between 33% considering their existence possible, 10% impossible, while the remaining 57% revealed attitudes of uncertainty. More recently, when asked about their thoughts on the Hidden People, Icelandic residents on a whole are cautious to state their beliefs, however for the most part there is an appreciation of the mythology as an aspect of old heritage, rather than tales of truth.

Despite the great decrease in believers of The Hidden People, some superstitions still emerge. An example would be the halting of road construction that would go through Álfhóll (Elf Hill) in Kópavogur which began in the 1930s. The procedure kept drawing up problems and eventually was delayed for a further decade, however once again oddities kept occurring, such as tools breaking, vanishing, or machinery being damaged and so construction once again was halted. Then, in the 1980s, the hill was set to be demolished and paved over, but once again, problems followed and so superstitions began to arise that it was due to disturbing the Huldufólk. Álfhóll is now protected by the city as a cultural heritage, and remains very much as it was since the last Ice Age. Kópavogur has remained one of the most prominent sites of stories about elves disrupting road-building. Thus, it is hard to deny that while the people of Iceland are currently more skeptical about the existence of the Huldufólk, there is still a cultural respect for protecting the landscape as well as the folklore and traditions of their past.

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Editorial Pamphlet

For the pamphlet, I felt that imagery was necessary, because the subject matter is set within such a scenic location. I feel like they help support the concept of how such legends can arise through being immersed in such a beautiful and Nature dominated place. 

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Contacting Locals

To collect primary research, I contacted some local Icelandic people using the website Guide to Iceland.

I was able to get some really helpful responses from them in relation to beliefs and attitudes about the Huldufolk.

-editorial research

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Documentary on The Hidden People

-Editorial Research

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National Geographic- Icelandic Beliefs

-Editorial Research

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Icelandic Landscape

Location to the legend

-Editorial Report

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Editorial Bibliography

Boing Boing (2011). Survey: many Icelanders believe in elves and ghosts[Internet] 18th September 2011. Available from: <http://boingboing.net/2011/09/18/survey-many-icelanders-believe-in-elves-and-ghosts.html> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 Dickey,M. (2015) Helgafell. [Online image] Available from: <http://passionpassport.com/wanderlust-story-matthew-dickey-iceland-surprise-proposal-passion-passport/> [Accessed December 6th 2015]

 DW (2007). Iceland: Searching For Elves And Hidden People[Internet] June 2007. Available from: <http://www.dw.com/en/iceland-searching-for-elves-and-hidden-people/a-2786922> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 Faulkes, A., Perkins, R., Sveinsson, E., (2003) Viking Society for Northern Research Text Series. The Folk Stories of Iceland. [Internet] Volume XVI . Available from: <http://www.vsnrweb-publications.org.uk/Text%20Series/Folk-stories.pdf> Accessed 5th December 2015)

 Grape Vine (2014). Hidden People: They’re Just Like Us (Kind Of)[Internet] 15th August 2014. Available from: <http://grapevine.is/mag/articles/2014/08/15/hidden-people-theyre-just-like-us-kind-of/> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 Guide to Iceland, (2013) Regína Hrönn Ragnarsdóttir Local Contact [Internet] Available from: <https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina> [Accessed December 2015]

 History Fan Club, (2009) Belief in Elves Strong in Iceland - National Geographic. [Youtube Video] Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHvOeiGHgfw> [Accessed December 2015]

 Iceland Review (2007). Iceland’s Hidden People[Internet] 20th January 2014. Available from: <http://icelandreview.com/stuff/views/2007/07/06/icelands-hidden-people> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 Independent (2013). Road project in Iceland delayed to protect 'hidden' elves[Internet] 23rd December 2013. Available from: <http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/road-project-in-iceland-delayed-to-protect-hidden-elves-9021768.html> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 Kirk Norbury, (2013) Icelandic Landscapes - Timelapse & Video Film (Shot With Nikon D800 & D3). [Youtube Video] Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y91BZyT9PkE> [Accessed December 2015]

 Megan Mills, (2014) Huldufolk The Hidden People. [Youtube Video] Available from: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FgU85JvKhE> [Accessed Decemeber 2015]

 Murder is Everywhere (2010). The Hidden People[Internet] 12th May 2010. Available from: <http://murderiseverywhere.blogspot.co.uk/2010/05/hidden-people.html> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 Pitt, (2012) The Origin of Underground People [Internet] Available from: <http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/originunder.html#icelandelves> [Accessed December 2015]

 Ragnars,S. (2015) Álfhólsvegur (Elf Hill Road) in Kópavogur. [Online image] Available from: <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2015/mar/25/iceland-elf-rocky-homes-hidden-people-svala-ragners> [Accessed December 6th 2015]

 Ragnarsdóttir,R. (2014) Tungustapi. [Online image] Available from: <https://guidetoiceland.is/connect-with-locals/regina/tales-of-the-hidden-people-of-iceland> [Accessed December 6th 2015]

 Spiritual Travels, (2010) With the Hidden People in Iceland [Internet] Available from: <http://www.spiritualtravels.info/articles-2/europe-2/an-icelandic-pilgrimage/with-the-hidden-people-in-iceland/> [Accessed December 2015]

 The Guardian (2015). In Iceland, ‘respect the elves – or else’[Internet] 25th March 2015. Available from: <http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/mar/25/iceland-construction-respect-elves-or-else> [Accessed 5th December 2015]

 The London Eye. (2010) Lava Fields. [Online image] Available from: <https://www.flickr.com/photos/londoneye/5486806287/> [Accessed December 6th 2015]

 The Traveling Viking, (2012) The Hidden People [Internet] Available from: <http://www.ttv.is/en/iceland/folktales/the-hidden-people> [Accessed December 2015]

 Wikipedia, (2015) Huldufólk [Internet] Available from: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hulduf%C3%B3lk> [Accessed December 2015]

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Industry Report

 Storyboard Artist

Before I started studying Illustration at NUA, I thought that it was simply the art of translating words into image. However, I have since learned that Illustration is a lot more diverse and intriguing than I initially thought. It takes form as collaborative artworks and responding in exciting and experimental ways to make something visual. It’s creating, designing, and uncovering the fascinating beauty within both the ordinary and extraordinary.  The role Illustration has to play within the world is evolving. It is becoming more interchangeable with other art forms, which enables greater freedom in revealing a narrative or telling a story in a more conceptually rich and explorative way.

For example, Assemble, a collective of creatives and architects won the 2015 Turner Prize for their architectural spaces and environments working in tandem with the community. I believe that they can also be seen as Illustrators, due to the way that they tell a story through their work. Each Fireplace they built was a reflection of the community and location that they were in, thus translating a concept into a physical and beautiful object.

When Max Porter came to present a Lecture, he spoke about his book Grief is a thing with Feathers. He said that “sometimes you have to find the right form for what you want to do” and in this particular case, he expressed himself through the written word of a novella.

The boundaries between the different practices within the creative industry seems to be overlapping, which I think allows for more expressive work to be brought to realisation. This year, I have explored collaboration, publication and animation within my work and have found that I really enjoyed working with others, but still hold a particular love for image-making.

Thus, I have decided to explore the art of Storyboarding and how this fits within Illustration and the world outside of University.I believe film can be one of the most powerful forms of storytelling, because it combines so many layers of creative input to create a narrative that draws you in both visually and emotionally. Thus, I am intrigued by the profession of Storyboard Artist. Storyboards pre-visualize motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequences and so is the first step in the realisation of the written and are a vital part of the pre-production process. It was first developed by Walt Disney Studios in the early 1930s as a way to see the story in sequence. By considering composition, character, sense of movement, lighting and atmosphere, the storyboard begins to add some flesh onto the bare skeleton, which is the script. It enables the Director to visualize the film or moving image and help piece together how the narrative will unfold. The images shouldn’t simply depict the words of the script, but rather enhance them and provide more depth and layers to the written word. Thus, all the skills of an illustrator are needed, such as the ability to draw, problem solve, conceptualize and ability to translate a story visually.

 Guillermo Del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities was an aspect of my research for a Presentation on a creative Practitioner. Within this book is detailed exploration into Del Toro’s concept art work, storyboarding of his films and notes from his sketchbooks, which again offered an insight into how Illustration can play an important role within film making. Furthermore, for a Library Workshop with Toby, we were asked to bring in a book which explored fictional storytelling. One of my books was The Art and Making of Hannibal, the television series, by Jesse McLean, which reveals the unseen process of making the series. There are examples of storyboards and concept design, which interests and inspires me greatly. The attention to detail, research and though gone into the behind the scenes is fascinating. What I think makes it all the more appealing is that is collaborative. Storyboard Artists work closely with Writers, Directors and Camera Operators all contributing ideas into the project. They share the same desire to make something beautiful and pull everything together to create the best possible outcome, which is an aspect I particularly enjoyed about the Expanded and Experimental Forms unit.

 Surprisingly, for a position that is heavily based on drawing, the skill level of draftsmanship varies, because it is perhaps not the most vital aspect. The key to successful storyboards is having a high ability to communicate ideas effectively and the ability to tell a story. A knowledge of cinematography can also be helpful, because the images can then be translated more effectively onto screen by the filmmakers. Variation of angles, interesting focal points and sense of movement can add to the dynamic of the narrative and further convey the story and so it’s important to consider composition. While technology is constantly evolving within the film industry, storyboarding still has a deep connection with traditional media. I was able to ask Thomas Cowles, a Cinematographer and Storyboard Artist for Curveball Media, some questions about the process and he said that “when working personally with a director, nothing beats sitting down, talking and making a physical storyboard panel”. It can be an organic way of working and offers the possibility of exploring with various media in order to produce the imagery that best illustrates the script. Pen, ink and pencil are the most frequently used media, however there are also options to go digital. Software and Graphic Tablets work well for indirect communication projects, such as working providing work for over-seas, because it allows a quick and clear means of sending the storyboards across. After being drawn up, the panels are usually compiled and edited into rough sequence, which I referred to as an animatic. These help decide whether the shots work well together and if they fit with the Director’s vision of what the outcome should look like.

 Overall, I’m intrigued by the concept of applying the abilities I’ve developed from studying Illustration into the profession of Storyboarding. It combines a love of traditional image making with working collaboratively on projects, whilst offering a clear opening into working within an aspect of the professional and creative world of Illustration.  

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Storyboarding

-Research for the Industry Report

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Storyboarding at Pixar

-Industry Report Research

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Ridley Scott on the Art of Storyboarding

-Research for the Industry Report

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The idea of storyboarding was developed at the Walt Disney Studio during the early 1930s. 

Disney credited animator Webb Smith with creating the idea of drawing scenes on separate sheets of paper and pinning them up on a bulletin board to tell a story in sequence, thus creating the first storyboard (Christopher Finch, The Art of Walt Disney, Abrams, 1973). 

The first complete storyboards were created for the 1933 Disney short Three Little Pigs (The Story of Walt Disney, Henry Holt, 1956). According to John Canemaker, in Paper Dreams: The Art and Artists of Disney Storyboards (1999, Hyperion Press), the first storyboards at Disney evolved from comic-book like "story sketches" created in the 1920s to illustrate concepts for animated cartoon short subjects such as Plane Crazy and Steamboat Willie.

-Industry report research

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“A good portion of re-writing is not done by the screen writer at a word processor or a typewriter, it’s the story department. It’s the guys that sit in a room with you for close to two years, batting out ideas, countering your ideas, drawing up story panels, putting them up on a wall, pitching things, putting things on a show reel down in editorial. It’s a very malleable, messy, glorious process.”

Storyboarding Finding Nemo

-Industry Report research

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Images from:

Cabinet of Curiosities by Guillermo Del Toro

The Art and Making of Hannibal, the television series, by Jesse McLean

-Industry Report research