WORKSHOP 3 – RECONSTRUCTION

During this session we used our Brief Encounters illustrations, as well as the work from the previous deconstruction workshop to create an outcome that portrayed our individual perception of illustration. We used both our work and the work of our peers so that our outcome would be diverse and would include a range of  ideas and concepts. We then altered our original images to change how they could be viewed/understood. We did this by using the photocopier and working at changing the size of them, and also using the colour functions to change them. There were multiple ways that we could do this, we could replace already existing colours, we could use two tone colours and for example the only colours in the image would be the monochrome colours and the pink tones of the image, and all the other colours would be removed. We could also then use one solid tone of colour and put a coloured filter over all elements of the image to make them monochrome in one solid colour. This element got us experimenting with how to change our original illustrations and alter their atmosphere and mood and almost make them entirely new images. I used a technique I used at college also, and moved the image on the photocopier in the middle of the copying which distorted the structure and composition of the image, adding more movement and personality to a previously still piece.

Once we had altered our original images, we then went into a separate room all together, and laid out all the work that we had created, resulting in a huge collection of different styles, ideas, concepts and imagery. We then took it in turns to generate an archive of images through picking images from the collection that consisted of one of our own, and a range from our peers. This collection process got us thinking about what we wanted our narrative to say, through the use of picking images that worked well together, or emphasised the message we wanted to get across. I originally chose images that had a similar colour palette so that they would work well together when I developed my outcome however as I chose more images, I decided to think more about the styles that worked well together and complimented each other, as this lead to a more diverse collection of images.

Once we had selected our images, we then worked on creating a micro magazine of 8 pages, to narrate our understanding of illustration. This is where we included the imagery we had generated but also any text and drawings to go with them that would help emphasise our points made. The micro mag allowed us to think of the presentation and flow of the imagery that we had collected and how to organise it in a way that would work together to successfully portray the narrative we wanted to create. My micro magazine had the narrative that illustration is limitless, I did this by showing many different styles of illustration and how they were all as valid as one another, showing that to me, illustration is about adventure and individuality.

Creating these micro magazines allowed us to not only work with a range of images that were new to us, but to also think about how we could use them to tell a story, which is what we had been discussing throughout all the introductory workshops so far. For me personally I had also never created a magazine using the technique we did, and seeing how easy yet how effective it is as a technique, gave me inspiration to perhaps use it in later projects. This session also emphasised the importance of collaboration and quick thinking, not letting us overthink our work and to work quickly to create an outcome meant that they were more explorative and showed our working process. It also emphasised that there is no wrong or right way to interpret what illustration means to us, and it allowed us to see how our peers interpret it and what it means to them.