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.