Coming together nicely

Got the majority of my finished products now, just to print my large poster and I'm done! I'm actually really happy with what I've done, I hope the idea works for other people, I feel that there is a definite theme throughout my products and I have selected my strongest imagery to present in this format. 

Product

Another idea that I have brought through from the group crit is to just think outside of the box. I have chosen to do a tobacco tin as it can not only be used as its main purpose but also as a keepsake box which means it would appeal widely. Do to money restraints I had to simply work with what I had available, so I used an old tin and painted it with a mixture of matte emulsion and gouash, as I wanted a subdued texture and feel rather than glossy and new. I picked the hand that I was going to use my previous idea of mens ties. I used black gel pen to get the detail I needed from my original sketch an to be inkeeping with my illustrations thus far.  

Digital continued

This is the first mock up of the finished product. I'm super happy with my first attempt at photoshop and it turns out it was the best thing and probably the thing this project was missing, the colours just make the illustrations come alive, and give it the sort of underground commercial edge I was going for. 

digital

Although initially I thought that this project would suit a more hand rendered style, I still decided to try my hand at a bit of digital work as I have never tried it before. As I wanted to add colour I changed the colour to CMYK and went on my way on the Wacom tablet. I wanted to try and keep the colours quite muted a it would suit the dreamy feel I was going for. 

After completing the colour on the actual figures I decided to try out a background of the city scape I've been going on about. I'm glad I tried it but it just didn't look right, Because the initial line drawings were so detailed and adding colour to them has strengthened them, a busy background wasn't really needed at all.  

After playing around with where to place the font I have ended up changing it slightly to fit in with the overall theme of the CD. 

Printing today

Had a little play in the print room today, mainly to help me focus on what medium I want to create my final images in. I think i'm going to possibly combine either lino or drypoint and screenprint.
I was worried the lining was too fine but the prints actually came out really well! I'm going to continue playing around tomorrow and hopefully my final CD image will get completed to be able to scan into photoshop next week.

I like the smoky, industrial affect I got from using sandpaper on the drypoint panel. I'm going to cut a lino tonight and see what happens tomorrow. 

CD ideas

I've decided to stick to the CD idea simply because I'm more inspired by the possibilities of it and the fact I feel from the research I have conducted on this artist his style is suited to a more 'underground' format.

After getting a templates sourcebook out from the library I have decided on what kind of plan and layout I want to achieve.  

For the back of this CD layout idea I am stuck between a lizard looking out the window from a zoomed out view and King Krule being looked at through the window by the moon itself. hmmm...

Interview Editorial

Today I've actually made some sort of progress! This obviously needs finishing but I'm liking the style I seem to have adopted. I need to put the fineliner shading in still but I think I may actually have one finished product by the end of today, even though it's the smallest part of this project. 

I've decided to not do the fashion and to just do the 'interview editorial' as it felt I could put a few different factors and give him more of the character i seem to have given him.  

(own photo) 

This is the finished illustration, i'm quite happy with the outcome. I'm going to scan it in tomorrow onto photoshop just to see if I can can clean it up to prepare it for a commercial environment. 

Some Lizard Men

Only now have i realised that I haven't really posted pictures of the lizard man idea I've been going on about. I'm actually genuinely happy with this idea, I think the illustrations really suit this artists style in a way that has not been done before. 

In terms of colour in this project i'm still very much undecided... I might just keep it simple, but will probably add colour in as it is a very 50's advertising thing to feature a lot of colour, as it obviously peaks the interest of consumers. i'm going to add in a lot of black lines over the top to still keep in line with the contemporary style I admire. 

Although I find the simple above the waist portraits really cool and filled with potential, the full body attempts really just don't work, if I do want to do a full body illustration I will have to modify the body to appear slightly more human with reptilian qualities. 

sketchbook work

As i finish one book, I'm beginning to think more seriously about what my concepts are for the products. I'm certain that i'm sticking to my idea of lizard men, purely based on the song i enjoyed the most from the album. It is now just a case of tying it all in together. 

Below are just some quick thumbnails of some final idea to either try or to eliminate from my mind so I can fully concentrate on my final products. 

I was thinking of using the drawing below for my product ideas. Or at least a variation  of it depending on what i finally choose to do. If I go over the pencil in fineliner it could always be there as a choice for a screen print. 

I have also started to begin the process of figuring out what my interview editorial illustration will look like. I have decided against doing the fashion illustration simply because in interviews I have read on King Krule, although in underground fashion/ cultural magazines they are always just stripped back and simple and this does suit this artist down to the ground.  

CD or Vinyl?

Originally, I was gearing my designs more towards the 12" vinyl but when I have actually researched this I'm starting to think that the CD could possibly give me more to work with visually... and may even suit my artist more, as he is still very underground and a vinyl is something a more developed and recognised artist may employ.
Looking at all of these different net shapes that come together to create a really cool looking CD cover is really getting my ideas going. I think by choosing to do a CD cover It will allow to me to make it part of a package more, as the rest of my products are going to be quite small, the way I see it is that I want a direct correlation to be found between the music and my packaging for my concepts. His songs are usually short but packed with many different styles and musical techniques. 

( Bombshelter Design) 

(Stephen Byram) 

(Pandarosa) 

I love the idea of bringing all of my products together in one place, i like the idea of the packaging below as I can fit my planned 3D products into it if I measure it right. It all essentially comes down to time constraints and whether or not my plans will work out. 

(Hideki Inaba) 

I also really like the thought this idea below, if i make everything flat and decide against a 3D product i could emulate the feel of lizard scales onto the card sleeve that covers the finished products. 

( ALL IMAGES: The Packaging and Design Templates Sourcebook, Luke Herriott, Rotovision Publishing 2007) 

Various areas of further inspiration

As this project goes on I find myself being stuck in a rut with just one idea and keeping to it, I was going to dedicate this blog post to just furthering my inspiration in terms of the products I am needing to produce. I will look at various graphic design for products and also look at contemporary illustrators who employ a style that interests me and will help develop my ideas within this project.  

In terms of product and how you can utilise the size you have been given I think these two bottle designs by Tony Rasstatter are really cool. The detailed black lines almost have an etching like quality, in my concept drawings for my products I have gone with the detailed look as it has never been done with a King Krule album before and personally I find it suits his music more as it bridges the gap between his music style and his own personal style. 

( The best Advertising in The World: D&AD11, TASCHEN publishing) 

I have also been thinking more andd more about creating a small comic around one of my favourite songs on the album; A Lizard State. I need to think about it some more just to evaluate whether or not it's a feasible idea with the time constraints I have. as the video itself makes reference to Alfred Hitchcock and is stylised in a black and white film way, it would make aesthetic sense to continue with the black, grey and white colour scheme I am already using. 

(Book as before, Illustrator: Jay Lee)

Although the use of colour is something that I'm not too interested in at the minute I really like the layout of these prints. Again, I find the etched quality very inspiring and I also really like the text being placed over the image. This is something I am thinking of exploring.  

(Book as before, Illustrator: Frances Leach) 

Ralph Steadman Lizard Lounge

Another artist suggested during the crit was Ralph Steadman, british illustrator best known for his work with Hunter S. Thompson for Fear and Loathing. My main focus is the lizard lounge drawing from the book and how his style could inspire me. 

(http://www.ralphsteadmanprints.com/gonzo.html)

I really love the idea of anthropomorphic creatures and lizards just seem to look really slick in suits, although these look pretty trippy. The way the colour splattered over the image really translates the whole surreal nature of this scene and the overall novel. Although my colours would need to more muted to suit my dream state concept, this illustration has kind of won me round on the whole colour vs no colour debate i've been having with myself. The way the black lines work so well with colour has made me think it's all going to be okay! I love the way the colour just appears as a wash under the black lines of the scales on the lizards legs. 

Blacksad

From the group crit we had today, I was given the comic blacksad as a reference point for my project. It's written by two spanish men; Juan Díaz Canales, the writer, and Juanjo Guarnido, the artist. Despite the nationality of the authors the target audience for these comics are the french, this could be due to the french publishing company that took on the concept. 

The style is very film noir and the comic actually takes place in late 50's America, rendering it perfect for my idea. All of the characters involved are anthropomorphic creatures which is one of the strong ideas in my drawing research. 

(image: http://goodokbad.com/index.php/reviews/blacksad_review)

Although I have tried a few idea whereby my lizards are just lizards in suits, without even the idea of being in a human pose though it just looks very weird and not suitable for this project. As the products need to be for commercial use I think my idea of Lizards acting as men works better. 

The Lizards in Blacksad give off this kind of feel, they are stereotypical 50's men but with scales. 

I also really love the use of the washed out colour in the frames as well, up until this point i had no intention of using any colour outside of grey, black and white. 

(image: http://dansketegneserieskabere.dk/site/2012/01/blacksad-%E2%80%93-opreklameret-pyntestykke/) 

King Krule's alright

For the purposes of this research I have watched various interviews of King Krule, my favorite one being The Fred Perry subculture interview as I felt that he came across as a really sound guy that is merely pursuing his passion. During the interview he referenced King Creole and, a new one to me, Kid Creole and The Coconuts. The latter ended up giving me a tonne of reference for the 50's style fonts I want to try out. 

Another video I came across on my travels was one for independent record shop 'Amoeba' . This interview was purely music based, whereby King Krule Walked about the shop picked his favorites out and spoke about them. Another influence he spoke about was Donny Hathaway, who's album typography is brilliant and properly inspiring to me and this project. King Krule also describes this  record as exceptional, which obviously counts for something. 

I like these fonts because they are like King Krule himself; not belonging to one exclusive era... yet remaining true to whatever style he portrays. 

More 50's fonts

I thought a really good starting point in terms of looking for 50's fonts was to possibly look at the old southern rock and roll music labels. Elvis'  record label, Sun Records, seemed a natural first port of call. 

(http://elvistruth.wordpress.com/2008/01/01/into-the-light/)

It's got a quirky quality to the font chosen, I feel something of this same ilk would work quite well in terms of the outcome I wish to have. I want to create my own typeface for this project, as i feel that hand drawn original quality will add something special to the products I want to create. 

Here are just some fonts I've been playing about with just to kind of get my head around it and mess about with an idea. Obviously the finished idea will have to be cleaned up in Photoshop and made to look the 'real deal' but i have high hopes for the outcome of this area of the project. 

50's font helping to form an idea

Whilst performing my research I watched the video for A lizard State. As I said in the previous  post the title screen for the video features the bold style of 50's fonts, As my most basic idea will incorporate a mixture of styles, I feel that using a similar style to this striking lettering that is seen in the photo above will juxtapose nicely with my idea of doing quite a sketchy, art nouveau style illustration with bold lines in the foreground portrait. I will probably hand draw my own font and take it through into digital to clean it up a bit, then potentially screen print the finished product as I really love the quality that screen printing gives to detailed lines and all that jazz. 

I can really feel my idea tying together a bit better through this research and will probably start some initial ideas this weekend. I think my next destination on this blogging journey will be to look a little into the supposed punk poet influences that King Krule has. 

i 

A lizard State

This song is a bit of a difference to the rest of the album it's got a Teddy Boy rock'n'roll feel to it. It's upbeat and quite technically complicated for this artist yet the lyrics are more punk with the liberal use of profanities paired with his gritty, grimy voice. 

"But babe what am I to do

I've given up on loving you
I know it's not nothing new
so please do what I ask of you
and please do what I want you to
it's not fair
Baby blue, it's true
one day I'm gonna have you
but for now I don't care
I still feel the pain
of you not loving me the same
there's not much I can do"

His lyrics still hold that slightly hurt and immature approach to love and heartbreak which is why it's so attention grabbing because everyone has had these feelings, where there so intense you just need to rant on about it, which is why I've grown to love his song writing as it is so raw and truthful.
I also really love the video for this song as it is shot in black and white which creates an old school aesthetic, he is also suited up like a Ted, with a hint of the zoot suits of the early jazz era. The font used for the introduction also echo's old american 50's advertising, which another aspect I want to consider for my products. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpkr79srKTE

(Image: http://iamnosuperman.com/musik-2/neue-videos/king-krule-a-lizard-state-featuring-alfred-hitchcock/ ) 

Baby Blue

This song is also really easy listening, with mellow guitar chords followed by his usual echoed vocal and gentle dub style drums. The lyrics also evoke a sense of sadness and almost of lost love, it's a beautiful melancholy song. With King Krule's lyrics you almost forget he's not even twenty yet, he seems beyond his years which is why I ended up choosing him for this brief. Although with this song there is a hint of teenage angst, he wishes he had/ has the right words to say but cannot and expresses his love with grandoise statements, "I could've been something to you, painted the skies blue, baby blue". 

The lyrics "sandpaper sigh" help solidify the feeling of pain he has over this love he is struggling with or has lost. There's just a sense of aimlessness within the song, it's not lazy it's just taking it's time... 

  

Easy Easy

One of my personal favorites from the album is the song 'Easy Easy'. It, for me is one of the best to represent his whole album, it has a lively acoustic punk vibe to begin with yet towards the end of the song he takes it back to a dreamy vibe reminiscent of  the old crooners, with his slow guitar chords and echoed vocals.

 It's a brilliant lead into the entire album which, after this first song, takes a very contemporary, rebellious turn. 

The Cover art for the initial release of the E.P emulates the strange shapes of various artists from the fifties, who were just coming into their own contemporary style, such as Leger and Georges Mathieu. The latter describing his art as 'lyrical abstraction' which is a beautiful way of describing the bold yet fleeting shapes used in his paintings. I would also refer that quote to King Krule's songs, he produces and abstract and insightful way of looking at London life in the modern age.   

(Image: http://rock.genius.com/King-krule-easy-easy-lyrics) 

  

Six Feet Beneath The Moon

In terms of the full album...

From my own opinion I would class it as a painful yet soothing mixture of harsh beats and beautiful slow guitar riffs. 

His style has roots in various old music movements such as a hint of good old fashioned rock and roll and occasionally the uplifting yet gritty songs of Billy Bragg. This with elements of dub and trip hop chill mixed in with his deep, gravelly 'old school voice' make for a really unusual and contemporary feel. 

The Guardian describes his songs as "elbows and needly fingers, wavery bark and bite, but hear them again and a testy, tarmacked elegance is apparent". 

I will admit that on first listening to King Krule I simply put his style in with the new movement of young urban musicians such as Mac Demarco and Ghost poet whose style is mainly just chillwave/ trip hop. Which is alright and everything but on further listening to this artist I have developed a love for his lethargic yet jarring melodies. 

When I try and think how I can create a suitable illustration for this artist I know i'm in for a little bit of a struggle as his whole image and persona spans may different subcultures and musical styles. I think at this point I want to create a dream-like backdrop of various London landscapes, similar to the photographs of Erwin Fieger. I also wish to incorporate various portraits of the artist suited up, but try and put a really contemporary and urban underground twist on it.    

(http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/aug/24/king-krule-interview)
(image: http://kingkrule.co.uk/) 

Teddy Boy and Punk Influences

From the book: 1950's by Nick Yapp (Getty images) I found various quotes on this notorious sub culture. " Adolescents in the fifties suddenly found themselves labelled youths". 

It can be called the first real youth movement in Britain, "the teds draped and duck arsed themselves into a national outrage that made headlines". (The look, Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion, Paul Gorman, Adelita Publishing). 

The whole idea of the Teddy Boy emulated from the old Edwardian style that Saville Row championed, the fact that this youth movement tore down the elitist ideal that surrounding this style and made it their own is something that really interests me. It was punk before punk really existed. 

In the song Lizard State, there are many musical influences, the main one that stands out is the big band dancehall vibe that would have been prominent at the very beginning of the Ted's. The introduction the song is also reminiscent of the rockabilly style that was coming out of America and becoming popular with this set of youths. 

In an interview with the Guardian he has also been described as a punk poet, they made a connection to the artsist Billy Bragg who was known for his gritty political guitar songs, although King Krule's lyrics are less political and more taken from his personal experience of heartbreak/youthful disillusionment. His style of music is very much a mish mash of many styles, as a stage character he comes across as a 'jack the lad' kind of character which reminds me of the tongue in cheek style of the Ted's and also the suited and booted punks that could be found in the later 70's. 

King Krule

From the list of musicians we were given to produce a body of music related products, I chose to go with a young artist named Archie Marshall (19) who makes beautiful, trip hop/ punk poetry with various old rockabilly style guitar riffs. He works under the stage name of King Krule. 

My reasoning for choosing this artist is for the fact that his name evokes thoughts of the old Elvis movie: King Creole. A story about a rebellious young man. Secondly through watching his most popular video (Easy Easy) I have also decided to research the old Teddy Boy and Punk styles of the past century as their rebellious style can be seen in this video.

It was quite hard to think of a concept to research when it came to this artist as his style changes so often. I have come to the conclusion that he is a modern punk poet via the Ted's of the 50's.