'Record' Project: Working With Text In Photoshop

I started using my first scans, and working over images I've created previously, editing them here and there to fit with the text.

My first image, I clean up the text a little and decided on white, it's still a little messy but I quite like it! however if I could fix something I think I'd make the text smaller, I didn't adjust the size at all and I think it takes up a little too much of the image.

My second, using the stamps was a good idea, it hardly needed cleaning up at all! I love the style and consistency of the font but I regret the colour choice. I think it looks flat and forced, I'm worried this type will only work in black. 

My favourite of the three. I think this type works really well, particularly with the quite bold imagery and colour. I reckon it's also quiet enough to handle any colours. I'll need to try this out with busier images and see what happens.

'Record' Project: Sounds

More recorded sounds, but I've been focusing more on conversations. I think these are more interesting, some of them are quite muffled but some are complex and busy. I like how you can make out small areas here and there but not always the whole picture, which is really what I've been looking at both in my journals and during development of work.




I think this is a good example of what I was talking about before, I was quite lucky here because on the bus the background noise is usually too loud to make anything out! There are probably around 10 different conversations happening here.




This is from the library in college. This was just one conversation between lots of people which I liked, because you'd think the sound would be clearer, but they were all talking between themselves and over eachother so it's still quite difficult to make out.




This was a large group of people all talking to eachother, and you can hear the television on in the background, with presenters having a conversation with eachother, and the viewers if you like. I think that adds another dimention to the recording as there are different types of conversation and also communication involved.




This is a good example of what I meant about the buses, it's hard to make anything out past the background noise! You can hear some muffled conversation but nowhere near as clear as my other recordings.

The clear recordings are a great addition to my work and I think now I'm really rounding up the basis or theme if you like. It's good to have something other than drawings and recorded conversations in my journal to go by. To improve I think I'd need to place myself in busy places or situations to get good quality clear recordings of the conversations, because some of these are quite hard to understand! I am happy with them though, I like that you can get a little look into someones day or situation.

'Record' Project: Text.

I've been thinking about using text in my images, to decide I looked through all the type in my journal so far, evaluating and picking my favourites.

I like most of these, I think they could be really interesting drawn up with conversation.

A few of these are very similar to what I like to use normally, I'd like to try quite a few of these though, it won't do any harm to have choice.

I tried out several in my sketchbook, and finally drew up a few I liked to be scanned in.

All the phrases were taken from conversations I've recorded in my sketchbook, I thought they were interesting and can also be used together.

I'm planning to use these in Photoshop, and I think my final decisions were the right ones. There is actually a fair amount of variation and I think I'll be able to work with all of them.

'Record' Project: Using Cut Outs / JP King

I talked before about starting to use negative space in my collage work. I first saw JP King's work when we started the course and were being introduced to the Visual Communication group. His use of cut outs is very slight and careful and not over the top. It often is the main focus or helps to compliment an image. I think it's very clever the difference these small differences can make.

My first try, I like the mix of materials, however I think I'm overcrowding the page. The negative space isn't as significant because there is so much going on around it. 

Another progression, thread is actually red but it didn't show up. I think this works quite well but the negative space still isn't clear enough! I think I overused the dress pattern instructions and all the words is a little too much.

Another one but this time I cut the words from a book, I wanted to try another way of showing conversation. The words are from a conversation in my journal. I wish I'd extended the cut out a little more to the right and not had it almost completely filled by the brown paper, other than this I quite like it.

using the negative space and making it work is much harder than you'd imagine! I want to keep incorporating this technique, as well as the collage into my work. I think its a more experimental way of exploring different elements of my theme, that and I'm really enjoying it.

'Record' Project: Artist Research, Hollie Chastain.

I was looking at collage artists and remembered seeing Hollie Chastain's work earlier on in the course. I love her imagery, and think it's quite similar to what I've been doing at the minute. Although her pieces aren't necessarily about communication or conversation, I love her technique and style. The use of colour and material in the work is lovely, and there is a great mix of flat images, drawing and textures.

'Record' Project: Conversation Collage.

I'd been wanting to experiment with collage for a while, and so I thought I'd try to convey the idea of conversation and communication through found imagery. I was using figures I cut out from some old dress patterns, I thought they were perfect as they were quite cartoon like but still aged. I'd drawn up some ideas beforehand and then started working with thread.

My first image using a thinner thread, this works really well. I think the black/white and colour combination is very complimentry. I want to try something busier though and see if I can build it up.

Built up with more characters and thread, I was thinking about old and new conversations. I now wanted to try using coloured figures instead of coloured thread.

I don't think this works as well, you lose the significance of the thread. The textures work quite nicely but I think I'm losing what the image is supposed to represent.

This image was a complete accident, I was trying to begin working with black space, and scanning on top of a piece I did in my sketchbook where I followed conversations as they were happening around me. Instead i got this. I think it's quite interesting and I love that you can see the lettering coming through in all shapes and sizes. It's made me think more about using black space and cut outs instead of the figures themselves, moving forward I think that is what I need to experiment with next.

'Record' Project: Journal, Valeska Soares and Conversations.

I was looking through my journal and I came across this piece of found material I discovered in a road. The way the letter stamps were clumped together reminded me of an artist called Valeska Soares I came across in a book I was reading in the library.

(piece of paper I found in the road).

Valeska Soares looked at a project where she collected hundreds of love letters and deconstructed them.

I started thinking about my own project, and the sounds I have been recording and began to think about words and conversations. From this I started deconstructing my own conversations.

"What shall we do?"

"I don't know".

"Alternatively I had another idea, which was to..."

I love how these came out and I think it would be really interesting to pursue this idea. I will have to record many more conversations. I think lettering is something I've avoided before and could actually really benefit my work. Also, in terms of focusing in on one aspect of the theme I think this could be a good place to start.