Final Major Project

Ink serpent silhouettes for potentially arranging into images. The snake is infamously connoted with Sin and evil, and provides an immediately recognisable form.

A collection of limbs- these can be separated and used individually as desired.

In addition to trips to Manchester, I spent some time in Glasgow and made use of this by photographing scenes and things of interest to be used in the project. The following are a couple of examples of elements which may be used to layer and create destroyed scenery, particularly for the foreground:

This example shows how such components may be used:

Portfolio Review - Suzanne Mills

I recently contacted the talented practitioner Suzanne Mills for a review; Suzanne is a freelance illustrator who is currently employed as a trainee artist for a new animated children's show on Nick Jr. Her work can be viewed here: http://www.behance.net/zanillustration

Her comments were as followed: 'Your artwork tends to have dark themes, with imagery commonly used in Gothic art such as ravens and skulls. The gouache painting of the brightly coloured skulls in the flower garden is the most distinctive because of the colour - perhaps more vibrant colour should be used in your work more. I personally find it preferable to the drab, muted palette used for the raven paintings.

I think the photography in London is interesting, there's a very textured appearance to the vivid colours reflected on the pavement. This effect makes me think of them more as illustration than photography in a way.

The photo composite textures are interesting - they appear to be detailed photographs of natural textures such as bark of pigmentation in leaves. I'm not sure whether the unusual colours were introduced in Photoshop or not, but they make for intriguing textures which could be further worked into to create illustration or be used as versatile textures for stock texture websites such as Lost and Taken.(http://lostandtaken.com/about-lost-and-taken/)'

Thanks again for taking the time to review my work. The interpretation of the reflection photos as alike to illustrations is interesting in the context of the blurred line between specialisations, and the ever-changing definitions set by individuals. Lost and Taken is a useful resource I was previously unaware of, definitely worth browsing through.

Final Major Project

The following are a couple of examples of inked textures added into arrangements:

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COLOURS ARE UNFORTUNATELY CHANGED WHEN UPLOADED HERE, AND DO NOT APPEAR AS SUCH ON THE ORIGINALS**

The latter piece was created after advice on adding variety to the selection of images, such as inside buildings. I feel the textures work well to transform the environment, with the compositional angles already lending an intimidating feel.

Further examples of ink work:

After a review of my work so far, I am looking to add further elements to my environments that suggest story, and generate interest (along the lines of the insects in a previous post). Mystery and drama are strong elements that can be created with subtle additions, often implying rather than revealing. My discussion with Greg Leach was helpful in respect to this. I have looked to the work of Geoff Grandfield for his techniques in this regard, due to his strong use of stylised composition, and silhouette, implied narrative and minimalistic story-telling. Interesting examples of his work:

http://geoffgrandfield.co.uk/

Final Major Project

For the next step with my images I started filling a sketchbook with ink painting work in order to create a variety of elements to be used in my arrangements. I started with purpose-drawn features to work with specific surroundings, like this piece:

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COLOURS ARE UNFORTUNATELY CHANGED WHEN UPLOADED HERE, AND DO NOT APPEAR AS SUCH ON THE ORIGINALS**

The crack in the earth was drawn at a perspective matching the environment photo, and then photographed at a correlating angle, to add depth of field.

Another example of specific elements added in:

This piece depicts a biblical-inspired plague, a means of adding action and motion to a piece in a more subtle form than the first piece with the obvious giant demonic figure. It was constructed by combining two different city photos. I chose angles that slightly mismatched to give an uneasy feeling for the viewer. The following are the individual drawn elements: 

The swarm was cloned and layered multiple times, with appropriate motion-blur added to different areas. The large individual insect serves in illustrate what the swarm implies, while adding another moving element to draw the eye. 

In addition to specific features, I then started to fill the sketchpad with random mark-making to generate texturing and detail for use within the digital composites, based on feedback and suggestions. The process of adding in and freely-arranging textures to images worked successfully for the Age UK brief, so I hoped to further this technique. The following are some examples:

Website

I have constructed my website, using Cargo-Collective for its clear, minimal presentation that allows for easy categorisation from a creator's standpoint, and simple navigation for visitors. Its format is simple to add to and maintain, which makes it ideal for me.

www.MatCoffey.co.uk

Final Major Project

I continued the photo arranging and editing as illustrated previously, to depict scenes of destruction around the world- this time more subtle, with no obvious cause.

**PLEASE NOTE THAT THE COLOURS ARE UNFORTUNATELY CHANGED WHEN UPLOADED HERE, AND DO NOT APPEAR AS SUCH ON THE ORIGINALS**

This piece features the German Reichstag, the addition of smoke digitally drawn.

This piece made use of a Czech church along with a photo in the foreground put out of focus to give the impression of proximity to the camera. The idea with this piece was to show that even holy places aren't spared from the forces of Hell.


I discovered while researching that another artist working with the apocalyptic scenery theme coincidentally also has a number of Manchester-based pieces. James Chadderton, citing games and films of the genre as influences, has digitally re-imagined familiar and iconic Manchester scenes in a devastated, barren and ghostly post-apocalyptic state.

http://jameschaddertonart.co.uk/

Chadderton has since produced more works featuring other locations in this vein for Electronic Arts as game concept art. His images are fascinating and inspiring, I aim however to arrange my own environments in addition to identifiable and well-known locations in order to give the impression of a global event.

Portfolio Review - Greg Leach

It was suggested by my tutors that I approach Greg Leach, Photography tutor and Critical Theorist, for a portfolio review from the perspective of someone particularly knowledgeable in areas to which my work currently relates to (As also suggested by Fig). More than half of the images in my portfolio are photography, so this made sense. He kindly agreed to meet me and look through it, and gave the following feedback: He was positive about the quality of the photography work in general (focussing on this side of my work as per our initial discussion), Specifically, he noted my use of angles and also dynamic light and shadow in the black and white city photos, and also commented as to the aesthetics of the final page of coloured photo-composite textures; he felt they were interesting, asking as to their construction and offered some interpretations as to how they appeared to him. This engaging and slightly enigmatic quality is exactly what I would hope for with such images. After the more specific commentary, Greg addressed my approach with photography more broadly and described the selection of images as reminiscent of a 'Magpie' approach, each piece interesting yet somewhat disparate and reflective (pun unintended) of different intentions / aspects of the medium (e.g. incidental documentary, or intentionally sought aesthetics). This observation is ultimately on-point, partially because of my very open approach to the subject at this point and lack of specific direction, but also as a product of the fact that I have intentionally tried to present variety in my choices- this issue may be resolved if I were to construct a separate and more substantial portfolio specifically for photography, containing more examples of each variety of photo. That way, the impression that differing photos have 'come from nowhere' so to speak will no longer be the case, as solid themes will be apparent. His advice in this respect also was to take a more 'grounded' approach and work to briefs and constraints (whether set by myself or others) in order to demonstrate skills in response to criteria, and to show the use of interesting visuals and compositions to convey concepts and ideas, not just necessarily appeal to the eye. I already feel that certain concepts and themes have organically arisen in my photography through reflecting retrospectively and seeing patterns emerge, but I agree that setting out with intention is the next step forward. The review was insightful and helpful, and I look forward to taking the next steps with this advice in mind.