PLANNING- METHODS

As my project is quite practical and may end up involving several different techniques, one of the first steps for planning my FMP is working out what methods I need to research and dividing my time between practicing and experimenting with them. I specifically need to divide my methods between the three different 'parts' of my final piece- the solid structure which will be the bear's head, the fabric which will be the bears body, and the illustrations that will accompany the costume (there will also be an audio part of the project but there will  be more experimenting with this aspect as and when I do it)

Also from feedback from my Pitch and Plan module I want the costume to be informed by my illustration as much as possible, as to not look too similar to Charles Freger's documentation's of traditional costume. I think if I try to incorporate as much as my 'style' as possible then it will look like my own.

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HEAD OF THE BEAR

- Look at nets and shapes to create a one piece geometric head- using card/ cardboard which can be used as a base structure

- Experiment with creating more fluid shapes, using foam/ padding/ papier mache to emphasis form

- Work with natural materials such as willow to make a head that is influenced by craft and reflects the surroundings of the story (the Forest of Dean)

*POSSIBLE EXTRA* using woodcut printing for the illustrations/fabric and then utilising the woodcut pieces themselves to create the head. This may be useful to leave until I have experimented with the other methods as I can modify the nets I create in order to cut the pieces of wood to create a bear shaped head.

I think for now these are the methods I will start with for the head- some different ideas may happen when I start the practical experiments, and I will log these ideas and how they have happened.

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BODY OF THE BEAR

- Using found fabrics at first practice weaving and creating heavily textured and patterned fabric swatches

-Practice simple embroidery. Possible combine this with idea above to create a folk art aesthetic.

- Take illustrations and create a file that I can get digitally printed onto fabric. I could also scan in other textile experiments and incorporate these into the file- combining hand drawn and scanned elements to create my own fabric.

- Depending on the success of the woven willow head- attempt to see if I can make a body to match. If the head version turns out to be a disaster I may abandon this idea for the body and focus on more textile based experiments

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ILLUSTRATIONS

- Look at collage and using different textures in my illustrations- could use scanned images of fabric and incorporate them into the drawings

- Focus on different composition and layout

- Practice working on atmosphere and surroundings- do some observational drawing in the woods.

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NOVEMBER PLANS 

-  Posters and compositional technique


-  Research geometric/ shapes for animal heads
-  Create dummy's with found nets
-  Design net and create maquettes.
-  Illustrator for poster roughs
-  Paper mache bear head
-  Using foam and wire?