Conclusion

After completing all of my experiments to investigate into how altering elements of an image can affect the feelings that are being portrayed and therefore the feelings the viewer is experiencing, I feel that I have taken some useful information from my findings and I have applied them to my final illustration to accompany the quote "Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind" taken from The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss.

I found that a very important element of showing feelings and emotions that we can relate to, firstly, is expression. We can tell a lot from the expression on someone's face as we've always been able to read emotion in this way. It's very difficult to tell how someone is really feeling if you cant see their face and expressions. It's much the same when drawing expression, it's just simplified which makes it even clearer.

I also found that the use of colour can effect the feelings in the image and what you feel when looking at it. Bright colours make you feel happier than what dark colours would. This is why I have used the red and blue on the characters clothing. I also found the colour of the background was quite neutral which helped to emphasize the focus on the characters and the happiness and joy they are experiencing. In my experiment taken from 'Owl Babies' I explained why using green translated the feeling of anxiety, but making it a softer, more friendly green helped to show the more positive effect of the anxiety and how the characters are learning that the people who don't mind what you do are the only ones who matter.

I found that when using composition you can help to tell the story of the characters. The character dressed as a snail has left a trail of where he has been. So further back on the trail is the start of his anxiety, where he was really worried about what people thought of him and he was scared to be himself. But you can see the journey he has been on and where he has come and how he has met his friend who supports what he wants to do. This therefore helps to translate the feeling of happiness, content  and joy between the characters who are enjoying each others company.

The colour and type of font used was also important as it had to be easy to read and had to tie in with the rest of the image so that it can all work well together as one. The shades of green all work together well and the soft, playful font reflects the cheerful feeling of the image.

The only experiment process that I haven't used in my final illustration is from 'Clams' by Berkeley Mews. I found that although it had a useful element to it in showing the light heartedness of the image, my illustration already had writing to accompany it in the form of the quote. I felt that more writing would be too much as the image can really speak for itself and can portray the feelings I want it to without the help of any speech bubbles.


Overall, I think my experiments and the processes I went through to reach my final illustration were very useful to my practice and shows that there are a number of elements that need to go into an image in order to translate the feelings that the characters are feeling and also what you want people to feel when they look at the illustration. The use of visual language is very important because you can tell so much more and explain a story when you use imagery alongside a quote.

Experiment - 1. Owl Babies By Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson

To investigate into how altering elements of an image can affect the feelings that are being portrayed and therefore the feelings the viewer is experiencing.

I am going to investigate into how changing parts of an image taken from the children's story book 'Owl Babies' effects the feelings that the viewer is experiencing through looking at the image and whether it effects the viewers impression of the image in either a good, bad or neutral way.

In this image a sense of family and togetherness is being shown. There is a feeling of calm and safety in the image and this is being translated in a number of different ways; through the colours used, the artistic style, the choice of animal and the text.

'Owl Babies' By Martin Waddell and Patrick Benson

I will analyse how well the emotion of the image is being portrayed and whether this can be improved upon by changing the colour of the image and of the text, changing the style of the image and the font and changing the type of animal used.

First I will change the colour of the image:

 I changed the whole image to a shade of blue. This makes the image look colder and not as friendly as the original. The blue gives the impression an eerie feeling. The setting is in the owls home so the change in colour is now reflecting a negative feeling rather than the positive homely feeling in the original. The owls appeared as one family in the original image but now they seem separated and like strangers. The blue communicates a feeling of emptiness.

In this image I changed the colour of the owls individually and changed the colour of the background. The colour of the owl babies is effective, it's child friendly and makes the image intriguing...is it communicating the different owls personalities through the use of colour?
If I had changed the colour of the mother owl then this image would have been tied together in a much more effective way. The change of colour doesn't effect the emotion of the image too much, the individual colours separates them slightly and alters the feeling of togetherness but the feeling of friendliness and calm is still apparent in the image.
I changed the background to make it brighter than the original dark background. I feel that this changes the emotion of the image as its brightness is taking away the feeling of calm and makes the image seem much more alert.

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I then changed the style of the artwork:

Firstly I took away all the detail in the image and made it block colour along with changing the colours of the owls. This simplifies the emotions, the lack of detail causes the image to be far less pinnacle on the particular emotions of the original image. There isn't much telling of the relationship and togetherness of the owls and the calmness of the image has changed as the background is very black and the owls are very simple. This creates a slight uneasiness in the image.

The next thing I tried was smoothing out all of the details in the image. This creates a very friendly and comforting feeling. The owls look soft and like you could touch them. It also increases the feeling of togetherness. The babies blend with their mother and show them as a species of owl that are all the same. The silky appearance of the owls is very calming and the blurred background provides a dream-like emotion, like the birds are in a fantasy world.

I then changed the drawings of the owls to real images of the owl. I tried to match the species as closely to the original drawing as I could. This gives the image a feeling of uneasiness. The owls eyes are quite creepy and not very friendly. The owls don't work well together as a family and therefore eliminates the feeling of togetherness and calm. Instead the viewer is made to feel on edge and like something suspicious will happen in the book.

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I will next change the type of font used:

This font is very loud. It isn't a friendly type as it's bold and in your face. As the book is for children I don't think the font is very appropriate, the capitals are quite over bearing and take over the double page. It also over powers the sweet and innocent owls on the opposite page and takes away the calm setting of the owls home.

This type is very friendly and playful and sits well with the painting. It is quite difficult to read which makes it less appealing for a children's book.

This type is structured which doesn't sit well with the image. This sort of illustration needs a much softer text. The text I have used here would work much better with a robot/science kind of book and possibly for an older child. It doesn't help to translate the calming feeling of the image.

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 I will now change the colour of the font:

The orange writing works in the image, it continues with the calming colour tone of the yellow and reflects the motherly influence of the owl on the opposite page .

The green also works well as it draws in the green tones of the owls nest. It sits comfortably with the rest of the image making it warming and showing the sense of family as the double page spread is all tied in together.

















The blue and the pink don't really work with the image and mostly for the same reasons. They are too bright and over powering for the image and creates a negative feeling as the image is repelling the type.

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Lastly I will change the type of animal in the image:


I first changed the type of owl. The previous owls were sweet and innocent owls. I decided to change them to quite menacing looking owls and the feeling that is portrayed through this change is quite frightening. The owls look like they will do something bad through the book and the viewer will find it difficult to sympathise with the animals.

I then changed the animals to rabbits as they are also a sweet and friendly animal that children know and can recognise. The rabbits work well, but would probably be more effective if they were drawn as the photo doesn't leave the right impression. But I think they would create a friendly and calming story like the original owl babies.

I also changed the animal to cats and kittens. They are also a sweet animal that would be able to communicate the same friendliness and calmness that the original owl babies do and also demonstrate the feeling of family and togetherness.

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After creating all of these experiments, I have taken aspects of what I have found and I have allowed them to influence my own illustration.

Above is the original rough sketch I did for this experimental process. However, after looking at it again, I realised that I was setting my drawing out like the book, 'Owl Babies'. I found that this wasn't as effective as taking the elements from the book that I found interesting and applying it to my work. So I decided to do another drawing, set out in my own way, as just a one page illustration and I will apply the most useful parts of this experimentation to that illustration.

I have re-created the rough illustration. Having drawn out the design, I used Photoshop to drop in the colour as it's a quick method of showing my thought process behind the experiments and illustration.
The experiments I was working on was to do with type, colour, and character.
I found that the type had to be clear and easy to read and positioned within the illustration well. This is important for the quote I have decided to illustrate because the quote and the drawing go together, and the message needs to be clear. By keeping the type black, I have linked the black outline of the characters and the writing together.
In using colour, I have created a background for the writing, giving the writing a frame. I have then used the same shade to create shadows under the characters and this also ties the image and the writing together. I found in my experiments that eye catching colour made the illustrations more engaging and translated the mood of the illustration. As my quote is positive, and is generating a reassurance of feeling anxious of being yourself, I thought it was necessary to have positive colours. The red and blue are eye catching and your eye is automatically led to the characters. They are also primary colours which are good to use for children's illustrations as they can engage more with a simple colour palette. The colour green is usually associated with jealousy or envy which are feelings that make you feel unsure. Anxiety also generates this sort of feeling. I decided to use a mint green for the characters face, hands and feet as the quote is about changing a negative feeling of anxiety to a positive feeling. So I still wanted the anxiety to be apparent in the illustration, but I have dulled it down by using a more friendly shade of green on the characters.
In my experiments of character, I found that the viewer; a child in particular, relates more to a cuddly, soft looking animal as they appear friendly and welcoming in the drawing. However I found that my characters are already child friendly. They appear cuddly with their round belly's. They are simple enough for a child to be able to relate to in shape and colour. So I found that I could keep the characters the same as my original drawing.

Experiment - 3. Titanic - Directed by James Cameron

To investigate into how altering elements of an image can affect the feelings that are being portrayed and therefore the feelings the viewer is experiencing.

I am going to investigate into how changing parts of an image taken from a scene from the film 'Titanic' effects the feelings that the viewer is experiencing through looking at the image and whether it effects the viewers impression of the image in either a good, bad or neutral way.

I  have decided to take a frame from the film at the time when the ship crashes into an ice berg and the two main characters are experiencing shock, fear, confusion and apprehension. This in turn makes the viewer also experience these feelings. I will replace the characters expressions with expressions that communicate a different feeling and see how it effects the feeling of the image as a whole.


'Titanic' - James Cameron 1997

Above is the original image I have taken from the scene of the film.






In this image I have swapped the male characters face. Having a smiley, happy face next to one of concern and concentration mixes the image up. It's like the two characters are looking at two separate things and this is confusing for the viewer.

 Similarly, changing the female characters face to a happy one, confuses the image just as much as the previous. The two expressions are counter acting each other and changing the original feelings that should be felt at this moment of the film. When someone is smiling at a point when they should appear fearful, the whole impression of the scene is changed and the viewer is left questioning, is this scene as serious as you first thought?

In this image I have changed both characters expressions. This changes the whole feeling of the image and what it should be reflecting in the film. With the male character looking angry and the female character looking concerned, it seems like something far worse should be happening in the scene. At this point in the film, the characters do not know the extent of the damage that the ice berg hitting the ship has made. So these expressions are much more serious than they need to be for this point in the film. This would make the viewer feel concerned as to what is actually happening in the scene and if they are missing out on something.

I created a gif to show some of the facial expressions present in this part of the film, this shows the array of emotions that the characters felt in this part of the film.

I created another gif, using positive facial expressions as this will help me to create the expressions to use on my illustration to translate the positivity of overcoming anxiety.

This will help me in creating my illustration as I can simplify the expressions on my face and adapt them to be more of a cartoon expression for my characters.

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Every day we talk to people and animals and their faces are full of expression and this is what is familiar to us. Our own emotions then reflect off of the expressions we see in the faces of other people. After studying the use of expression in 'Titanic', I think that it is a very important part of showing emotion and feelings and how it is translated in relation to other people around them is also important.
I did some experiments with drawing different expressions to see which way of drawing faces is the most effective and leaves the biggest impression of what the characters are feeling in relation to the quote 'Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.'

After selecting my favourite, I have changed my original illustration so that the characters are showing a much happier expression on their faces.

I think this illustration reflects the quote well. Their expressions show that they are happy in themselves and in each others company and they aren't thinking about what others may think about them as one is dressed as a snail, and the other is feeding him lettuce. I found that the open mouths are really good at showing their happiness, as when people laugh and smile, their mouths are open, and this is something that everyone can relate to.

Experiment - 4. 'Clams' Cartoon by Berkeley Mews

To investigate into how altering elements of an image can affect the feelings that are being portrayed and therefore the feelings the viewer is experiencing.

In this experiment I am going to investigate into the power of words. This cartoon is intended for comedy purposes, it is generally quite funny and up beat, which would make a viewer feel happy and will make them laugh. I am going to see if the image on it's own, without any writing has the same effect or if it changes the feel of the image. I will also change the words that are written in the speech bubbles to see if this can effect the overall feeling of the cartoon.



'Clams' - Berkeley Mews

 

 

 

In this experiment I have taken away all of the writing. I did this to see if the illustrations could communicate the same feeling as  when the writing was included and if the funny factor was still apparent.

I think without the writing, you can focus more on the expression of the clams face, as the eye is no longer drawn to the writing. The clams expression looks really scared, sad and worried, so you do feel sorry for it. But the end drawing is comical as the end destination for the clam is on the mermaids chest. This quickly changes your emotions of sympathy to those of comedy.

 

I then played around with putting my own text in the images to see how this effected the feeling of the cartoon.

 

 I did a number of experiments, using sentences that I felt would help the viewer to sympathise with the clams. I used sentences that showed how scared the clams are. I used quite dramatic sentences to emphasize feelings of loss and fear. I used sentences that people could relate to, and things that maybe some people would say. And although, within the first two images you do feel sorry for them, when you look at the last drawing, it's always got comedic value because of where the clams are ending up.
Maybe if the clams were ending up in a seafood dish and being cooked the cartoon wouldn't be so funny.

As the general feeling of the cartoon was continuously coming back as funny and comedic, I thought I would try and influence this even more so in changing the writing. Instead of having words of negativity, I swapped them with all positive sentences. The clams are happy about being chosen, and they are crying tears of joy. I think this changes the images completely. There's no longer any feeling of sympathy for the clams as they are happy about their final destination and it's an honour to be chosen. This makes the viewer feel happy and have a little laugh at the clams reaction.

 

 

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After experimenting with how words can effect an image, I have put some text into my original illustration to see how this effects the image.

 

 

The writing in this scan isn't very clear, the first snail is saying 'nom nom nom, I like lettuce' and the second snail is saying 'Here you go Mr. Snail'.
I wanted the text to help give the impression of children playing dress up and taking on their characters, and for the text to show that they are having fun and enjoying themselves without caring about what others may think.

I think this is an effective way of helping to keep the illustration light hearted, and I think it would work well with the quote, "Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind", as it is emphasizing that the character are comfortable with what they want to do.