Samantha Landells

Day 5’s prompt was ‘fresh’, I had many ideas for this theme but ended up using my idea of fresh mint as there is nothing more natural and refreshing. It is hard to tell within the scale of this illustration but I had actually created the vein work within each of the leaves, to add another level of realism to them however it is clear that this is no longer visible with this reduced resolution version of the image. I really like how these turned out and felt layering the leaves in a bunch of three would be more appropriate and balanced to the illustration. I chose to create very heavy lighting on these components which may have been a bit too intense but I feel it helps grasp the attention of the audience, especially in contrast to the central yellow detailing. Perhaps this design would have looked better if I reduced the opacity of the lighting as it seems a bit too intense. Not only this, but I am now noticing that the yellow central detail may have still been visible within the second...

The next prompt I had to work on was ‘Moment’, I felt this theme was much broader and open to my own interpretation compared to the previous day’s I have completed so far. Due to this I chose to represent the importance of capturing a moment in time, which led me to the idea of creating an hour glass which not only physically represents a moment but psychologically represents an individual’s own time and how they spend it in my opinion. I feel this illustration is a lot more metaphorical to how we never know how much time we truly have left so it is important to make sure every moment counts. I really enjoyed the creation of this design due to its personal resonation with me. I found it really interesting trying to represent wood using my chosen style as I hadn’t wanted to incorporate any further detailing which may take away from the graphic simplicity I was aiming for. I made sure to maintain realism within this illustration by separating the lower layers and having them use the da...

The third prompt for this challenge was underwear; I decided to create more of lingerie style underwear for this design as I felt there would be more interesting components I could work around such as lacing and detailing. I also decided to incorporate a background design for this illustration as I felt it helped balance the design considering the scale of the underwear, I feel the flowers in the background work well with the theme and help add another level of interest. Within this design I also experimented with adding a gradient to the central oval to investigate whether this would help or hinder the overall aesthetics. I felt this worked well for this challenge but it may not be effective throughout, I will need to explore this. I really like the impact the background elements have on the overall interest of the design and I’m happy with the placement of my shadows and lighting as it has managed to capture a true lighting effect. I’m really enjoying the exploration of this text...

The second prompt for this challenge was knife, I had considered creating a basic kitchen knife for this challenge however I wanted to challenge myself. Due to this I decided on a multi-chrome Karambit knife as I was interested in exploring the curvature on the knife as I felt it would create a more interesting visual as well as the multi-chrome colouring as this would enable me to explore a new technique of colouring. I maintained the same simplistic background of an oval within my square canvas, seeing as these will all be made to be compatible with Instagram, as I like the consistency however I will be altering the colours to match the chosen subject of the drawing. To create the multi-chrome effect using Procreate I began by selecting the variation of colours I wanted to use, followed by the liquefy option to create the desired rainbow effect. I then added shading to this using a plain white and grey base to create the perception of lighting, to ensure it maintained the same textu...

 Before I injured my hand I had planned to complete a 30 day drawing challenge in order to help me meet my targets of working with a different style of illustration. I had considered using a new style for each prompt, but instead I decided if I were to upload this task it may look better having each design utilize the same style. Plus by repeating this over and over I felt it would help me much more in being able to refine these new skills whereas using a new one each time would allow me to be a lot more experimental with minimal practice.  I find all of these prompts moderately simple which is why I chose this list as I wanted to be able to focus on my technique more than concept development.  For the first prompt I chose to create a coffee cup to go as I thought there would be more to work with, I decided to use a 'medium nozzle spray paint' brush to form the lighting on my design. Obviously this is my first attempt trying to create something a lot more 'realistic' by...

The third and final artist I decided to research from the ‘Beyond the Streets’ event was ‘King Saladeen’ whose work was inspired by his late brother JP. They created JP the money bear as they wanted to create a single iconic figure based around the life and legacy of their brother who was an entrepreneur and wanted nothing more than for those around him to succeed as well. Saladeen never had an education in art and had never before seen a way to live off being an artist, however after a bad car accident he was able to work on his art rather than playing basketball like he had beforehand. He was able to open his mind and was inspired by the iconic figure him and his brother had discussed before his passing. For his designs Saladeen was inspired by old school organic designs heavily based around graffiti. They aim to return to a simpler time with their artwork, not relying on digital products and rather creating figurines and fine art which can be interacted with by the audience. He ...

The second artist I chose to look into from the Beyond the Streets event was London based Shantell Martin, with their playful artwork. They describe the pen as being the tool to help calibrate their mind, imagination and their opportunities to collaborate with others.     The two pieces of artwork I chose to look at for this artist focus on the use of thick marker strokes to create simplistic abstract characters. Within both images there is a clear sense of freedom from the pen work, allowing the lines to flow fluidly from the artist, which helps enhance the appeal of the design. The first image is a single portraiture of an androgynous character with bold contrasting strokes of colour within the background in order to boost the visual interest of the design. The second illustration is shown to symbolise structural integrity through the use of ‘stick figures’ in order to reflect how the artist believes we should support one another within society by manner of showing the cha...

For this event the first artist I chose to look into was: Felipe Pantone also known as ‘The Stranger’ who has work displayed all over the world and are known for both their kinetic art murals and graffiti. They are based in Spain and were inspired by the dynamic shape of cars; hence they created a mural which was designed to fit seamlessly over a car as a major project which tool over a month to complete with his two friends. The artist describes themselves as being “ obsessed with the sensations of speed and ability to reach and power through to the future.” Using   this project to comment on the transformation of the digital revolution and human expression in order to inspire diversity, individuality and creativity which stimulates the imagination and helps people reconnect with themselves. The artist explained they had no set plan during the development of this project and ended up creating as they went and now the car is a moving public art structure which I find amaz...

My choice of film from the available 3 for my Editorial module was Testuo: Iron Man as I found it the most unusual and felt it would  challenge me. I ended up creating a wide variety of illustrations designs and styles before deciding upon the final and used this to influence the style choices of my double page spread. I didn’t want to begin the process of creating my double page spread until I had the stylistic decisions made for my cover design first, to ensure both sets of illustrations worked alongside one another effectively. I made sure to create all of these designs to the dimensions provided by Penguin taking in the need to allow for a bleed as well, along with incorporating the logo of the magazine at the designated area on each to ensure I was able to effectively visualise whether this design and style would be suitable for the purpose of this editorial illustration. The first design I created was based around the villain of the movie and I used the newly learned skil...

Considering I am creating illustrations which are designed to fit within the illustrative review magazine called 'Little White Lies' I chose to purchase a few of these magazines so I could research their contents and styles more in-depth. The magazines I was able to purchase were: Volume 42, Volume 52 and Volume 85, luckily I was able to obtain magazines which had time between their issues so it would enable me to better identify any similarities in their contents throughout each issue: Issue 42 Issue 52 Issue 85 All three magazines have very clearly different themes and their front covers are also unique to the theme. However, between issues 52 and 85 there are certain similarities of vibrant, saturated colours and simplistic shapes. It seems consistent in the first two magazines as well that the main characters of the themes are centred within the middle of the cover, making them the clear point of focus and clearly communicating the subject being focused on.  I found working...

My second module provided aimed to focus on the development of my editorial skills within illustration and improve my ability to clearly communicate an emotive and representative concept in relation to a body of text. The movies we were asked to then watch and review were: The Birds, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Tetsuo: Iron Man. These reviews would help me gather a complete overview of each of the movies so I could better refine and develop my concepts around elements of the film more successfully.  During the first stages of this module we were asked to research a broad spectrum of artists which we felt personally drawn to in order to better understand their processes and techniques. During this one artist I researched was Jeremy Booth, following on from my research I decided I wanted to replicate his style as I was unsure at first his exact movements of creation and I felt by replicating a design based of his style would really help me to understand this further. Following on fr...

Processes and practices was my first module of the year as well as the first I was working on 100% remotely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. I was really impressed with the overall quality and development of this module and am thoroughly impressed by my commitment and motivation to strive for the creation of multiple experiments and mediums which helped me to fully explore the different processes and practices available within illustration. I thoroughly enjoyed this project and found a new passion in the development and creation of surface pattern which isn’t an area of illustration I have previously worked in before. I would be keen to continue the development of surface patterns following my explorations into this module and it has helped me to identify ways of working which don’t necessarily utilise digital media. I was unable to complete some of the printing methods due to working remotely which I was disappointed with, however I was still able to learn how to set up my documents read...

This post identifies the return to my University blog which was worked on through my entire Level 4 studying Ba Hons Illustration. I will be continuing this blog throughout Level 5 to document my progress and module practice in order to enable me to reflect and respond more personally to my progress and how I intend to improve my management and processes throughout each module.  The first module we were provided was the 'Processes and Practices' which I fell in love with, I really enjoyed being able to explore such a vast variety of mediums and techniques which I felt really helped me develop a cohesive collection of prints for my final submission.  I tried hard to incorporate a lot more relevant research during this module making sure to take clear stylistic responses within my own work which I felt I documented effectively, however upon my feedback I was informed I could have improved upon this so I have requested feedback in order to support this growth to ensure I continue...

I have been asked during my time off to design a website header for an up and coming pet brand, I have been asked not to disclose their information at present. However, I am looking forward to working with them in the future. I was tasked with creating a basic web header and profile style picture to be used as the logo for their company. I am very happy with the results and love how clean and refined the aesthetic appears.

Following the completion of my final modules for the first year of my university degree I have decided to subscribe to the app Skillshare, as it provides a multitude of online courses and lessons which I feel would really help enhance and support my development as an artist. I wanted to use these lessons during my summer break to ensure I do not remain idle and that I am constantly aiming for growth. I am excited to try out the variety of courses available all the way from how to watercolour plants to using software such as Photoshop more effectively. I feel this will be a great learning curve and I am excited to continue my journey.

I have thoroughly enjoyed the experience of keeping my blog updated alongside my other modules; I have used my blog as more of a journal, a way for me to document my process and development in an engaging manner. The act of writing the blog posts really helped me look a lot more closely at particular areas such as the development of my independent cute characters, as I was not simply designing them and moving on. I was made to digest the creation and truly work out what could be improved and what worked well due to the use of SWOT targets and SMART analysis. I feel that I will continue using my blog even after the completion of my modules and end of my first year at university as it has really helped me to process my thoughts and set targets for myself. I think this has been incredibly useful as it has challenged me, but also made me become much more critical and analytical of my work which has helped me make huge improvements to my work. I found it interesting being ab...

I am so glad I returned to the development of this character, I feel these alterations have really enhanced the overall aesthetics of my design. It is much clearer now what the main object actually is as well as enticing the eye by having two sharply contrasting colours alongside one another.  I also adjusted the colour of the facial features to deepen their contrast which I feel has also helped this design greatly, as the facial expression is the main central focus and this is made clear in the new design. Another small adjustment I made was that I altered the colour of my signature to match the leaves rather than the main character as this helped add another level of contrast between the design and really helps ensure it doesn't become lost in a sea of yellow which can already be difficult to see sometimes. Overall I feel my improved design is just that, improved. It is much more user friendly and I am really happy to add it to my @duckyy.draws account. Perhaps a break i...

I wanted to include this game as part of my research as I felt very inspired and captivated by their design choices and really wanted to explore it further. It consists of two different art styles which merge together perfectly, the loading screens share a more graphical approach whereas the actual game play is a lot darker in design. With various creatures trying to attack you, and uncontrollable rain storms, this game really doesn't mess around. The title screen is perfect as it invites you in with its simplistic map and bold colours, but what waits for you on the other side is a whole load of challenges. The game play is based around a third person view, however one wrong move and you're all the way back at the start so survival is essential. This was an interesting take on the functionality of the game and I feel it works to really push the player to make sure their character survives, as there's nothing worse than making great progress for it all to be lost if your p...

I went on the Digital Arts website provided by my lecturer and decided to follow the Mandala tutorial by Breno Bitencourt. I was inspired to recreate his mandala tutorial as it is a very mathematical and systematical design which is not something I explore very often. I felt this would help me discover and explore a new working style which I had not yet previously considered. My design is a lot less intricate than the final from the tutorial, however I really like the finished product. I tried to create consistency within my design by having the two separate edges match up, yet I wanted to create a more interesting asymmetrical design, so I chose to design the two sections with slightly different designs which could be clearly defined by their colouring. I feel the colours I chose work very well to create a soft and gentle emotion surrounding the illustration. I chose to put a background behind my creation as it created the sensation of snowfall which I felt really enhanced my de...