Making the book

To make my book I used Photoshop to help layout the images and plan where the images would be placed and where the edges would be trimmed. I also had to lay the pages out as the pages would be when bound together within the book. To do this correctly I made a  small paper version that I made from normal A4 paper. I was making a twenty page book to as I was cutting out the sections of paper I had to cont the amount of pages that each bit would make when folded. After getting the paper in place and looking as though it was in the shape of a book I went through the pages numbering them 1,2,3,4 and so on. After I had done this I could see what images needed to go together to make the final layout correct and in the right order. I also had to place the text in the correct pages as if this was wrong it would completely throw off the direction of the book's narrative and wouldn't make sense. Below are the final pages in the book, they are out of order but this is how they have to be laid out in order to print and bind. It looks confusing in this order as it is almost back to front, but it is the only method of being able to print it correctly. After the pages where printed I added the cover that I made from 180gsm white paper, I stapled the book together with two staples, I then cut down the edges of the book using a scalpel and cutting mat and ruler. This was a little bit difficult as it took a while to cut through all the layers of the book. I think the final product is good and it's not too bad for my first attempt at ever making a book myself. I have to wait for the other book to be delivered which isn't going to be until the 31st of may as they said they have an issue with the shipping at the moment. This is a little bit disappointing as I would have liked to been able to show both books together to compare and contrast the positives and negatives of self publishing and professional publishing. Hey ho, the show must go on...

The Book

Well after all that I now have the finished article. I have two versions of my book one is hand made by me and the other is 'professionally' printed and bound. I decided to make two versions to highlight the differences in quality that each has. Unfortunately I don't have any photographs of the book to upload on this blog as it wont except them for some reason.  I do however have some of the images that are in the book which are below.

These are just some of the images that are in the book, but I think from viewing these images you can see the direction in which the book is going. After taking these images I had to decide which order they would go in and what image should be placed next to another, I also had to use text in this book, I felt that using text helped to anchor the meaning of the images it didn't specify exactly what the meaning is but it helps to get the mind going and to follow the narrative of which the book is structured. 

Book Cover mock ups

Right so playing around with a few ideas for the book cover these are basic covers as I made then in paint. The text is not the final font I will be using but it was the best paint had to offer. I like the look of pastel colours it is an obvious choice but even though it is obvious I think that it does suit the cover. Give me some feedback of what you think of the covers and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Book Covers

Right so looking at children's book covers to gain inspiration for my own. Most of the smaller children's book covers are relatively simple in design that have an illustration on the front cover and the books title. The font style varies from each book in accordance to the books narrative/ theme. I think this is something I have to take on board to be able to create a book cover that represents the theme of the book well and is aesthetically pleasing. I need to make a design that is eye catching and also playful. this is something that I will work on over the next few days. Some of the books I have been looking at are below.

When I grow up.....

Right due to an abundant amount of things going wrong and money restraints I have changed my project. My new idea is to document in a fantasy/fairy tale style of childhood. This series will not include children it will only show the objects that are key objects that are in infantsey. The lighting is going to be soft, to make it dream like and I am going to have most of the image out of focus to draw the attention to the most important part of the image, the object. I don't know if I am going to do this in colour or black and white, this is something that I will decide when taking and reviewing the images.

The title of this series will be called When I grow up...  I like this title as it is something that children don't necessarily think about but they role play day to day, for example doctors, nurses, teacher etc. Children's toys are made by adults so the toys played by children represent the adult world in a child friendly and usually plastic way.

I am still planning to make the book myself as I think it will be easier and I will have more control over the colour management of the images and I can also manage the layout more effectively as many of the software's to create your book layouts don't always allow you to place the images, re size or rotate, and the prices can be extremely unreasonable as I have found out and the quality cant always be guaranteed when using a publishing service. The book I will make 6 x 7 and this will allow me to proportion the image sizes well and I think will make a small but charming book.

The Universe hates me

So after planning everything for the shoots, getting outfits and locations, the model pulls out on me. I HATE YOU.

So after trying to find another model for the theme and failing epically, I have come to the conclusion that I need to have a new subject. I still want to do the graphic novel approach as I think it would look great as a final presentation. It's finding a new narrative that will fit that presentational theme. I may try to do two book methods one a more traditional method and the other the graphic novel.

I could always make the original narrative a modern version and make it a pop art style. I have done pop art briefly before in other assignments which, I can still do now just need a little practice to get in the swing of things again. If I made the style more modern, I could easily get a suitable model who wouldn't decide three days before the shoot she doesn't want to do it. Not that I'm bitter.

I will talk it over with my lecturer and see what he thinks about changing the style of the shoots. This would be easier then completely changing the narrative as there is not enough time to change everything and produce a good quality body of work.

Book layouts

So I have been playing around with the layout of the book, where the images are going how big, text and things like that. trying to make this look like a magazine isn't the easiest thing to do as the software is structured for standard layouts not custom, I can try and create a layout to match my needs but it will be tricky to get it exact. Below are some images of layouts I have been working with and the software I would have to use to design the book.

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Money, Money, Money

So finally got a rough price for my book to be made with Lulu and with delivery costs it will be around the £25 mark, which isn't that bad I think as I did get quoted over £70 from another company. I'm still looking for alternatives as I may find someone cheaper to publish the book with, and the cheaper the better at the moment as I have - god knows how much in my bank account. Roll on the 26th.

Gallery

Hey so on thursday we hung our nudes in the college gallery. I really like the final outcome of all our images and how they represent the individuals in our class as well as a strong body of work. Big thanks to Mij and Chris who printed the pictures. Below are a few shots of the gallery.

Just For Matt

OK, so been looking at companies on the Internet to find out how much it will cost me to get the comic printed I think the best place to go really for me is Lulu.com although I couldn't get a price as yet as the page would open up on my computer I still think that it will be cheaper then other companies that I looked at for example printondemand, they quoted £76.66 for just one book, which is a bit too much for me as I have other things to pay for on this course. Blurb is a good alternative to Lulu as they do offer cheap books and the quality isn't bad but as far as making a comic book it's not offered as an actual choice but you could chop and change the settings to suit your requirements. This isn't such a bad thing to do, as it will do the job. What I need to do is to get a quote for the comic from each website and carry on looking for other book makers/publishers. As I have nearly finished my story board I will no exactly how many pages I will need as at the moment I am working on a rough figure.

Well update you soon : )

Film Noir

Researching styles and lighting techniques for this assignment have been reletivly easy as I am creating a series of images to be presented in a comic book . I have looked a film noir style images as I think this is the best style of lighting that would fit in well with the genre. I think that this style with work best as the lighting effects will look similar to the styling of comic strips and I would be able to minpulate well to fit the effects thats I want to add.

Awesome

I really like Horst P. Horst's website http://www.horstphorst.com/. I like the simplicity of the website how it has one of his most famous photographs as the homepage image 'The Corset'. I like how the website is broken up in to categories so for a person like me who would most likely use this website for research it helps to find the resources quickly. I also like that when going into the categories for example the selected works it is broken down again into genres. I like this as sometimes I don't want to look at everything at once as its harder to take in but when its separated I can look at the images fully and take note of the genre and remember where it was on the website, when clicking onto an image the title of the image and when it was taken is along side the photograph which I think is a good extra to have as many websites do not have this feature. I like the background being white as it adds to a simple but elegant design which matched the style of Hort P. Horst' works.

I think that this website is sleek and compliments the artist and his work. I think tat if this was created in a more complex method or just shown as a mass body of works without categorising would make this website difficult to view and find the relevant things I would want. I think this website is great for representing Horst and his works.

Mario Sorrenti

After researching photographers for a different assignment I came across Mario Sorrenti. He is a fashion photographer working with W, Vogue, Another Magazine and does loads of campaigns for Hugo Boss Calvin Lkien and other designers. I was looking at alot of his images and I liked the overall finish to them.