image: Paddy Smith First World Problems tweets BA Hons ILLUSTRATION Summer 2016 Welcome! Hope you all have had brilliant summers we re just preparing the studios for your arrival. As you know, the Illustration Course is a close-knit and friendly student community a community of learning. You ll learn off each other as much as from the tutors and visiting lecturers (not that we ve got our feet up and drinking tea all day!) and we re looking forward to the energy that you bring to the mix. It s going to be a really busy year and you ll be doing loads of new things some you ll find tough going and others will be a breeze hopefully all are interesting and challenging and you enter into the spirit of creative exploration along with us who knows where you re going to lead us! Our course philosophy Illustration in the 21 st Century is a vibrant and diverse subject, and we, as staff, are practitioners in areas such as editorial, animation and film, children s markets, comics, printmaking, drawing, design, curatorship and critical writing, and as well as active in contributing to lively debate at national and international levels. It is our aim to involve you in those debates right from the start of your course, and to give you every opportunity to develop your own critical voice. Indeed, the Illustration course philosophy is designed to encourage you to develop your own intellectual strengths, enthusiasms and personal visual voice. We are interested in your experience and opinions and look forward to hearing from you what it is about Illustration that you find particularly inspiring. BA Hons Illustration Summer 2016 1
Year One (Level 4) includes the following: THE DESIGN PROCESS IMAGE AND TEXT RELATIONSHIP SEQUENTIAL IMAGERY LIFE DRAWING LOCATION DRAWING THEORETICAL STUDY into the Contexts of Illustration CREATIVE and CRITICAL WRITING INTRODUCTIONS AND WORKSHOPS PRINTMAKING DIGITAL SOFTWARE BOOKBINDING TYPOGRAPHY VISTING LECTURER PROGRAMME SOCIAL EVENTS OVERSEAS AND NATIONAL FIELD TRIPS List of the modules where all this happens: ILLUS400 Play (20 credits) You are introduced to the basics of making effective imagery and the design processes of illustrative practice. The module establishes the importance of developing a broad visual vocabulary and awareness, expanding analytical and technical skills and developing visual confidence. ILLUS411 Narrative Sequence (40 credits) You will visually explore sequence creation within your work via a range of traditional and digital media and formats. Character development, narrative pacing, creative writing are a feature. Critical reflective writing underpins practical work. Reflection and planning help to establish personal ambitions and identify strengths and weaknesses. CART400 PP Conscience (communicating an ethical message) (20 credits) You explore Big Picture ethical / sustainability issues in contemporary society. A real-world problem is researched / established through collaboration across Subject areas (Photography and Graphic Communication with Typography students) and together you explore different visual responses through critical evaluation of each other s practice. You are encouraged to consider future, holisticism, conscience, caring, imagining, listening, mindfulness, contemplation, soul, spirituality, grace and nourishing important to ethical understanding. ILLUS421 Meaning and Ideas (40 credits) This module introduces Illustration as a means to communicate issues of social, ethical, environmental or political interest. Through discussion students BA Hons Illustration Summer 2016 2
share personal beliefs and values. Students explore and challenge received communication via the interpretation and manipulation of imagery. Projects emphasise creative thinking and ideas generation as essential skills for illustrators by identifying a well-defined focus for enquiry, planning and investigation from a range of sources. The continuous practice of drawing will underpin all three ILLUS modules as will an overview of the key art and design contexts of the last century as a framework for the development of cultural visual languages. You investigate the cultural contexts that illustration has existed in, its current state and look forward at various possibilities for its future. Along with exploring writing strategies you will also be introduced to the creation of visual research journals as a method of contextualising and reflecting upon your discoveries to develop a practical, theoretical and critical awareness. As we said, loads to do! Overseas trip We organise an overseas field study trip every year and this may be outside of the official term time of study. The trip needs to be booked very early in the year to enable us to make firm bookings and ensure the cheapest possible flights and accommodation, so please bring: a) the number of your passport b) 2 x colour photocopies please on separate sheets of A4 Please ensure that your passport will be current for at the whole year. Please note if you need to apply for a new passport your number will change and this will incur an additional cost from the airline if that applies to you then get on it! London trip We will be running a day field study trip to London in October / November. You will be receiving help to cover the costs of both trips. BA Hons Illustration Summer 2016 3
Before you arrive Please see the following lists Appendix A INDUCTION WEEK This week starts on Monday 19th September 2016 and is designed to help you to orient yourself within the University and to introduce you to the Illustration staff. As part of your Induction Week there will be a small project for you. Appendix B ILLUS400 this is your first studio module and you ll need to collect some materials to ensure you have a strong start. Please bring the materials for your first studio day on Monday 26th September as outlined on the following pages. Appendix C MATERIALS LIST the equipment listed will help you to be prepared for the various activities you will be engaging in. You will be receiving a set of materials during the first weeks, but please bring your preferred materials (lucky pencil etc) as well. There are some odd bits you need to provide for yourself please look at the list. If you have any questions about any of the above, please email Ashley Potter, the Programme Leader: ashley.potter@plymouth.ac.uk We really look forward to welcoming you! bye Ashley, Claire, Emma, Dean, Stephanie, Jo, Stephen and John. The Illustration Team image: Ben Aslett BA Hons Illustration Summer 2016 4
Appendix A Induction week project 2016 Induction Week starts on Monday 19th September. Please bring your normal drawing materials and a good size cardboard box approximately 40X40 cm square or oblong (this can be collapsed and reshaped in the studio) and a paint brush or two with you on Tuesday 20th September. Appendix B ILLUS400 This is your first studio module (not the same as the Induction Project) It is very important that you collect the following A carrier bag full of small pieces of well sourced rubbish, bottle tops, tickets, leaflets, be a magpie spend the whole summer sourcing bits and pieces if you are on a beach look for flotsam and jetsam for example a collection of bits of coloured plastic thrown up by the sea. A collection of flattened paper/plastic from old crumpled bits of wrapping paper to sweet wrappers, and flattened packaging. 3 objects not much bigger than your hand anything from an old skipping rope/plug/old household objects/tools/bits of clothing/old toys that are no longer wanted. This material will form the start of your first studio project starting Monday 26th September 10:00am RL111 so it s really important that you come prepared. Please bring the materials with you on Monday 26th September to the first year studio, RL111 (Roland Levinsky Building). Over the first semester you will also need and bring in: Old magazines and newspaper for collage 2 nd hand picture books A favourite picture book (don t worry, this will not be cut up / ruined) The postcard (with a handwritten message on the back). BA Hons Illustration Summer 2016 5
Appendix C Materials List 2016 Here s a list of materials that you should bring for the year ahead: Whatever you normally use A range of pencils from 2H to 6B White palette (A3 or bigger this can be a cut down piece of melamine shelving (Conte board from a DIY shop is ideal) or an old white plate. Water pots (2 x old large jam jars or cut down 2ltr plastic drinks bottles) Household sponge 1 and 2 wide house paint brushes (1 or 2 would be good can be cheap quality) White candle some cheap hobby brushes for glues and inks etc. Collected, rather than bought range of papers (keep costs to a minimum...looking for interesting textures, patterns, colours and shapes to collage with and to draw on) Craft knife eg Stanley knife Masking tape 1 wide Paint - acrylic and gouache a range of colours lemon yellow / cadmium yellow / vermillion / cadmium red / alizarin red / cobalt blue / ultramarine / windsor blue or monestial blue / hookers green / purple / yellow ochre / raw sienna / burnt sienna / cerulean blue / crimson / deep violet / orange Black and white acrylic paints Here s a list of materials that you ll be supplied with for the year ahead: Scalpel & pack of size 10A blades A3 Hardback Workbook A4 Sketchbook A4 Visual Research Journal A3 Cutting Mat Putty Rubber Graphite Stick 6B Oil pastels Good quality coloured pencils BA Hons Illustration Summer 2016 6