sebastiangrad604 - Tumblr blog

[sebastiangrad604]

Critical Review - Finished

Some Excerpts from my final Critical Review that was handed in. I cut down and refined the text a bit in the final stages and made sure all images were referenced properly

[sebastiangrad604]

Final poster & how it looked printed. I ended up making some font colour adjustments as well as the background as I found I did not like the cream coloured walls I had chosen, I felt like they clashed with the purple carpet and made the image look unpolished to me as when I work on illustrations I set the background layer to a cream/beige colour to help with eye strain and it reminded me of that,

[sebastiangrad604]

Prepared the Poster for final Week Crit by making some final changes like making the text look like it is stuck to a poster and formatting the text as well.

Crit went well and I got a couple small pieces of feedback pictured below

The negative space feedback was ignored as I believe the negative space in the corner helps balance the overall business of this piece. In my opinion filling that space would make it too cluttered.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 9 Writing

Section 3 Draft

Section 4 Draft

I have begun fully drafting the Critical Review, once done I need to go through and clean up a lot of the text as I tend to overwrite what I say and need to make it more concise.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 11 in class peer feedback

Got feedback from Scarlett, this was mostly working on colours, theyre a bit dark when printed and adding labels to help the reader with viewing the inventory Also to keep working on the critical reflection

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 11/12 Formatted poster so far, need to adjust colors from feedback from Scarlett last week in class, need to format the text more, add numbers to help with the text organization. Pick a different font for the inventory

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 8 working on Critical Reflection

I began working on my critical reflection by taking notes of roughly what I would look at covering in each section of the reflection, I did not take any notes for section 6 yet as I was not deep enough into my poster

section 3

Section 4

Section 5

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 11 Final Draft 20 object writing

Example of the writing sitting alongside the drawn inventory, I need to move the objects into their final order for the writing side which will make it easier to find out what each object is. I also need to change the visual of the written side, frame it better on the page and put it onto the poster background kind of idea.

Final writing that I need to get critiqued:

Bird Bag Pins, especially wooden and enamel, are some of my favorite physical art pieces to collect. I have been collecting art from small artists for the last 10 years. The bird bag was also designed by an independent artist and was a way to display them and carry them around.

One of a kind Furby by nz artist Sani Supporting New Zealand artists is important to me, I like to give back to the local community that also inspires me. This particular item was bought at the first market I attended as a seller. Furbies were an American toy from the late 90s that recently gained popularity.

Fungi book promotional stand A piece of design work that I collected that relates to my interest in books and in my interest in working as a designer within the book industry. It is very sturdy and high quality. I thought it was an interesting piece to add to my collection of printed media examples.

Cat Figurine Cats are my favourite animal, they inform a lot of my work. This particular one was a part of a blind bag set that I purchased two of. It is a very smooth and sturdy material. It is the kind of stylised work I appreciate and like to explore.

Nintendo DSI Nintendo DSI was the first dedicated gaming device that was completely my own. I grew up playing playstation 2 and computer games. It also relates to my previous degree in which I studied game design. It was the kind of games I played on the nintendo that influenced that choice.

Beetle and the Hollowbones An interesting middle grade graphic novel. Graphic novels and comics have always been a media I enjoy. It is something I explored a lot when I was younger and would like to explore again. A goal of mine would be to complete my own graphic novel.

Gideon the Ninth One of my recent reads that has become one of my favourite books. This relates to my interest in books, especially science fiction & fantasy. It is an inherently queer narrative that explores many themes linked to this. Relates to my interest in themes that are queer and tonally darker.

Animators Survival Toolkit I studied Digital Design specifically game design and I believe having a background in moving image influences my work even now. It also relates to my lifelong interest and passion for animation, it is a medium that has always fascinated me and 2d animated styles have often inspired my work.

Lead Type I have an interest in typography as it is important to graphic design. This lead type was retrieved from my partner’s grandmother’s house as she worked as a type setter. I think it is important to look at processes used in the past and see what insights it can give us.

Digital Dslr Camera This was the first digital dslr camera. I took photography for two years in highschool. I have an interest in the process of analogue photography and developing film myself. It is something I have not explored recently but think I should explore again.

Wacom Cintiq Graphics tablets are crucial to my practice and my creative development. I chose my wacom here as it was the first type of tablet I owned and where I learned the fundamentals of digital art. thought it was important to acknowledge the tools I have used for 10 years.

Dungeons and Dragons Dice I have an interest in fantasy and creation of characters and stories like seen in dnd. It relates to my interest in creating fantasy worlds, characters and in collaborative storytelling. I used to participate in the roleplaying community and it informed my writing style and interest in working alongside others on large projects.

Vintage Playing cards These cards were my grandfather’s. I do not have an exact date however they may have been with him when he immigrated to New Zealand. Quite worn and missing half the pack, interestingly the jokers are in perfect condition. I have memories of my family enjoying sitting around and playing board games together.

Warriors Into the WIld Warriors was an incredibly formative book series for my artistic journey. It is still related to a large artistic community I am still involved in. This can be seen as the turning point that led to my artistic career. Seeing others making art inspired by my own interests influenced me greatly.

Transgender Flag Representative of my identity as a transgender person. The transgender flag originated in the late 90s and the pink and blue stripes are considered traditionally feminine and masculine colours while the white stripe is neutral and represents those who are transitioning or consider themselves as having a neutral or undefined gender.

Big Boots I am a big fan of alternative fashion, especially goth and punk fashion. Big boots are a big part of that for me and I like to collect chunky platform boots. This is present in my creative work as I like to draw characters in this kind of fashion.

Cat Character This cat character is an original character that I have been drawing for over 10 years. He is the character I have had for the longest time and has represented my artwork in the online space for a very long time. He is considered an outlet for self expression in my works.

Warrior Cat Plushie This warrior cat plushie was made by an independent artist in Australia. It is important to me as it is a very direct link to my childhood and continuing interest in the animal fantasy book genre and the large artistic community that originated from this source of inspiration.

Plant I have always had a love of nature and it features most prominently in my creative work. Plants specifically are something I have recently become interested in growing and caring for as they are fascinating to watch grow. The plant in this inventory is a Spider plant.

Skull I find skulls fascinating, it is interesting to look at and see the structure underlying different animals. Taxidermy and other macabre things similar to that like skulls have always been something that is interesting to me. I enjoy learning about biology and the natural world and to a degree that informs my creative work.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 10 In class

I spent some time in class developing the poster's idea further, particularly the colours, I tested out the paler palette to see if it was more in line with what I was aiming for but ended up testing and going with the more cohesive warmer, brighter pallete as it felt more in line with what I typically create.

[sebastiangrad604]

Began colour mockups, This palette I dont think works together at all and the amount of greys do not help with contrast at all. Something I am playing with the idea of doing is having everything within a particular colour scheme even if it is not the colour of the original object. This would make the overall piece more cohesive than it is now and depending on colour choice that could also work as another conceptual meaning for me.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 9 Between classes - Art draft

I have gone ahead and created a third sketch idea for the layout of this bookcase and how it could look conceptually. I believe everything here lookslike it has a lot more space to breathe than previous iterations. Though I think a couple shelves particularly the top and third shelves which I think could have 1-2 items moved to flow better. I think having some of the items clutter on top of or around the book shelf is effective as it breaks the rigid form. Thinking about the poster as a whole I am currently considering the concept of having the writing for the 20 elements laid out as if it were a giant poster on a bedroom wall. The book shelf is also inspired by my own at home to add that slightly personal and familiar touch to its design

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 9 In class - Poster concept drafts

First and second passes on the book shelf concept for the 20 objects shown visually side of the A2 poster. In the first I was exploring a pretty basic layout exploring how I could categorize items within the different shelves. I found that this version of the bookcase was a bit too plain and contained compared to what I could possibly do. I also wondered what kind of bookshelf I may want to use to hold items that represent me as an artist? I then did the second pass making another layout after looking at a few different bookshelves especially some gothic ones though that style didn't pull through here enough in my opinion. I found this one even more cramped than the original but I began bringing things out of the bookshelf and breaking that frame there specifically with the cat popping out from behind which would break the center line of the poster and having the furby leaning against the side. I thought this was an okay idea and was starting to bring through some interesting visuals but knew I needed to do some more layout planning before settling on a layout as this one wasn't quite working.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 9 - In Class - Giving & receiving feedback

Feedback I gave, I gave a fair bit of feedback in the form of questions as I like to give something that the person receiving the feedback can think about and respond to. My main feedback was agreeing with and helping to solidify the connection with designing for others Scarlett had and asking how she could speak to that as it was a key idea that was popping up through her process. Like me she did not have the poster but we spoke in depth about our ideas and shared some ideas for the direction each other could go in.

Feedback I received One of the main feedbacks I received was that my tumblr needed to be more organized as it was a little difficult to find some of the stuff I was referencing while talking with Scarlett. It might be difficult doing this for past posts however I am trying to more clearly label posts going forward to help with organization. We also had a discussion relating to not yet having a poster or essay draft and talked through some of our ideas, mine being either doing a graphic novel page style layout or a book case with all my items on it. We both agreed that either could be appropriate and had a conversation about possible visual directions I could go in based on some mood boards I previously produced.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 9 - AGI Reflection top 3 things

Top 3 things from AGI Open

Talk on the Fisher and paykel experience center - The talk on how the fisher and paykel experience center was designed was an interesting one. It was a good reminder that beyond paper and screen graphic design learning can be applied in other areas such as interior design like in this case. The thought process that went into considering the materiality of the room was very interesting as everything related back to the natural world.

Joslyn museum talk - Being able to see the development of the design system was very interesting and how the research into the history of the building and the language spoken by the omaha people was very informative.

The evening book talks - Reminded me print is certainly not dead and that books can take very interactive and interesting forms like the one you are meant to tear apart.

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 8 Outside Class beginning to plan poster

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 8 Outside Class: Finalising my 20 elements

While creating my original 20 elements list I was under the impression for some reason that the 20 elements had to be physical items relating to myself as a designer. Due to realizing it can be other things like symbols and non physical elements I have made the decision to replace some items in my 20 elements list for elements that I believe fit much better.

Trans Flag Extremely personal element for me, representative of my identity as a transgender person. The transgender flag originated in the late 90s and the pink and blue stripes are considered traditionally feminine and masculine colours while the white stripe is neutral and represents those who are transitioning or consider themselves as having a neutral or undefined gender.

Original cat character Hes a cat who has represented me as a person online for over 10 years. Massive point of creative outlet

Big boots I like alternative fashion, especially like big boots and stuff and I like to draw that kinda fashion.

Skulls

Plants

Brainstorm I did coming up with some further ideas. Plant Skulls Seal plush Big boots Candle The cat Vampire teeth Logo for my small business Concertina

these elements will be replacing:

Stamps

Keychains

hunger games

crochet axolotl

mushroom zines

[sebastiangrad604]

Week 8 in Class Activity sheet 2