The Exploratory Stage
Unit 1 - Information and Research
Unit 2 - Recording and Responding
Unit 3 - Experimentation with Materials and Processes
FOR THIS STAGE YOU WILL COMPLETE A SERIES OF WORKSHOPS, THAT EXPOSURE YOU TO RANGE OF MEDIUMS AND PROCESSES.
THESE WORKSHOPS WILL ALLOW YOU TO ADDRESS DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF EXPLORATION FROM MULTIPLE DIFFERENT ANGLES.
YOU WILL THEN PRODUCE A BODY OF WORK INCLUDING, RESEARCH, EXPERIMENTS, DEVELOPMENT AND FINAL PIECE BASED AROUND A STARTING POINT.
Sketchbook
Your sketchbook is an opportunity to note down your entire process and record everything you have done throughout the stage. This can be physical or digital, the choice is yours!
Review and reflect upon your activities you have undertaken, noting down an opportunities for any development.
See this sketchbook as a way of being able to demonstrate your ability to record any work, analyse this process and then understand the relationship between theory and practice.
For this workshop, you should begin to question what a portrait ACTUALLY IS.
You will produce a series of portraits that show others how you see them and potentially yourself.
Focus on taking many different styles of portraits, using a variety of artists to influence your outcomes. These will then tell a different story and allow the audience to produce their own thoughts about your pieces of work
Not only should you be thinking about digital portraits, but physical portraits and also a mix. Print out your image and express your creativity through a series of physical adaptations to your portraits. Various portrait artists cross this digital barrier to produce brand new art altogether.
Think about EVERY element of the Photograph. The background, the foreground, the clothing, the colours, the expression, the style, the angle, the shutter speed, the depth of field...the possibilities of change are endless!
What will you end up creating?
Workshop 1 - Portrait
Workshop 2 - Studio
For this workshop, we will be looking at how we can use studio photography in creative ways.
You will produce a series of studio based images that explore 4 different techniques and relate to the Art in the Alleyways brief.
These techniques include: Light painting, use of objects to create shadows, creating negative space using 1 or 2 lights and backlit photography.
You should be thinking about how these techniques can be used as a pretence for a mural in the Art in the Alleyways brief.
Think about the environment you are going to be adjusting (the alleyway) and how this can be changed using these different techniques. Which one is going to be most effective?
Every element is key here! What technique is going to work best? How can we use these images to show expression and the history? How can studio imagery be taken to the next step by combining some of these techniques together?
Workshop 3 - animation
For this workshop, we will be looking at 3 different forms of animation
You will produce 3 short animations that show you experimentation and ability to think quickly about different ideas
These techniques include: Stop Motion Digital, Cinemagraphs and Hyperlapse
You should understand how different stories can be told, using varying forms of moving image, as well as the important of making sure your visuals make sense.
Think about how some of these techniques might be used to make the Art in the Alleyways more interactive
Your ideas will come to life, but it is important you have a clear idea to start with!
Workshop 4 - Graphic Design
For this workshop, we will be looking at rebranding and the effect of graphic design.
You will choose a company to rebrand, using skills you have learnt from other workshops and your own knowledge.
Think about what that brand means to its customers and how it could look in a slightly different way.
You should understand the effect of a good logo and how these skills can be applied to more than just the world of Logo design.
Begin to look at companies such as 'Element', 'Spotify' and 'Monster'
Think about the colour psychology, how they are created and what comes across to their audience.
Workshop 5 - Digital Patterns
For this workshop, we will be looking at digital patterns and their uses within the context of digital media
Begin to find some of your own digital patterns and break down the initial pattern that is being replicated. Think about how you are going to connect your pattern up with itself, when it is being replicated.
This is a great way to prepare some backgrounds for a larger piece of work.
You should pay attention to how much is 'going on' so to speak, within the pattern and whether this is under or over whelming
Think about the relationship the pattern can have with the audience's and watch out for any unfortunate shapes the connections can make when replicate!
Workshop 6 - Physical Collage
This task is all about a collage and how a piece can be represented through many different images/scenes/objects.
Begin to think about what represents you and what you are as a person.
This may be a really good way to create a background for a larger piece, or texture in smaller areas. Focus on how the different objects/shapes come together to show something much bigger.
You should be thinking about how you can produce a physical piece and what you can use to achieve this. Is it going to from magazines, your own images, print outs...the choice is yours!
Think about how it is showing you as a person and what it is made up of. This is a really useful technique to understand, as it will allow you to create big from small and contain a lot of character.
Deadline
January 4th 2023 - This is your hand in deadline.
You should have:
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A Sketchbook showcasing your digital and physical work over the exploratory stage
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6 fully completed workshops that show how you have adapted to and undertaken different skills
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6 fully researched artists in terms of their techniques and how they are approaching their own practice
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A completed mural design for Art in the Alleyways that shows how you have used these workshops to create an overall final piece
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This design should be superimposed onto the chosen alleyway using software such as Photoshop or Premier Pro if you are using moving image.