Fisherman's Eggs

You are handed a receipt from little Waitrose, and the only two purchases were a box of free range eggs and a tin of sardines. 

Illustrate.

This was the task set. It was titled 'Fish and Birds' and the aim of the brief was to create something great and less average, from what could initially be interpreted as a very boring brief.

Recipe Page FINAL

Rope typography for the recipe title - a fisherman motif influencing the letterform 

Creating the waves

Creating the waves involved making sure that each colour section of the waves would be applicable on top of each other. This meant cutting out less of the colour each layer. For example, the darkest blue [colour 3] was solid, and then the middle blue [colour 2] had the sections cut out to reveal the section of colour 3 that was needed to create the wave patter; and so on.

Adding pattern to the paper-cut pieces

Originally it was just going to solid colour, as in my original plans I was going to use gouache as my medium of colour, and therefore I could paint in shade and tone. However I ended up using papercutting as it was creating a much more crisp and professional looking finish. 

However the block colour looked a little too flat and so I ended up using small dot and hash patterns for the life-ring and the lightest blue [colour 1] of the wave. 

Writing detail

I used medieval script influences for my final design. It influenced the pattern, but also the text. Each subheading I used I wanted to be bold and clear, but still have a particular design feature to them; whereas I wrote the recipe out in just my own handwriting. 

The medieval influence can also be seen in the wave like patterns and shapes used on top of the fisherman and sea motifs. The flowing, curling lines which mimic the wave pattern along the bottom, and also bring all three colours to the top of the image, drawing it all together.

The mess my desk undertakes as I work on a project. Always a mission to find anything!

Oh I do like to be beside the Seaside!

Choosing the location of the beach, the theatre or the zoo we were tasked with making a 10 panel [including the front and back cover] concertina book from the characters we have previously developed from ink  "squiggles".

We were allowed to use any mediums, work on any surfaces, as long as it had the correct number of panels, they were all 10x10cm and the whole book stood up when open.

I based mine at the beach and went for the motion that over the period of panels it would have a separate narrative for each panel, but would also have an overall narrative across the book. This was also illustrated using a wave motion, where on the first page the wave started in the lowest corner, progressively rose so that two pages were fully underwater scenes, and then decreased back down again, over the 8 panels. 

I ended up working on cardboard and painted the illustrations using gouache.

Front cover onwards...

...to back cover

the "wave" rising over the panels

...and decreasing again

the concertina effect

I used two lengths of string from the front cover all the way along the back of each panel, to the back cover, top and bottom so they were all secure, and would also stand up when open.