Research

*See '(Old) Planning and Research' for more content*

All material below is not my own, I have either used primary or secondary resources for research and references. For my own studies using reference/research material, see the "Studies and Ideas" tab.

Borderlands

http://blog.kroax.net/2010/01/dusting-off-pandora-borderlands-review.html

http://starl0rd84.deviantart.com/art/Borderlands-2-Landscape-328845333

http://www.electricblueskies.com/pc-gaming-new/borderlands/sunrise-on-new-haven/

http://www.electricblueskies.com/tag/borderlands-2/page/2/

http://uncommongeek.com/2013/11/23/borderlands2-goty-review/

These landscapes, screens taken from the games, reflect the environments and settings of my project intent. I'm going to do a study on these environments, and settings/backgrounds/landscapes in general.


Character & Costumes Design

http://www.polygon.com/2013/7/2/4486966/borderlands-2-skins-add-nine-new-character-customization-options

http://www.play2compete.co.uk/home/2012/09/18/borderlands-2-reviewed/

http://pastthepixels.com/2012/08/10/the-delightfully-varied-enemies-of-borderlands-2/

http://www.gamespot.com/articles/borderlands-2-getting-colorblind-mode/1100-6417394/

http://www.sector.sk/hra/7866/borderlands-2.htm

http://atthebuzzershow.com/2013/08/11/how-gaige-saved-borderlands-for-me/

I want to create stylised and interesting characters and costumes like these. My graphic novel will be heavily stylised, which will/should reflect the split personality-suffering main character. These costume designs are complicated so I'm going to need more research, and lots of studies. These costume ideas remind me of the steam punk style/culture.

Borderlands Screenshots for Reference

 Borderland 2, Video Game

These screenshots will help me with perspective and environment details.

Charlie Adlard

The Walking Dead Compendium 1+2, by Robert Kirkman 

The abstract use of black and white is something I want to take into my art style. It takes into consideration not only lighting, but emotion and perception. The strong use of blacks create shapes and negative space that alters the mood and message of the art work. These design principles give the art a graphic design feel to it, with the application of black creating large spaces and shapes that help portray the message. The lack of colour and the use of blacks to the edges of some panels creates a very strong box, naturally framing the drawing within it, and placing it on the page like an art gallery. The panel layout is very simple, putting more focus on the content in the panels rather than the composition of the panels. I will take this application into my work as influence, but I'd like to expand upon this application and break the conventional boundaries set in panel narratives. I'd like to break the panels, shape panels around images and generally alter the clean layouts used in Adlard's work.

I have done an extensive research report on the influences of Adlard and Ashley Wood here: http://jakg-writing.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/ad4004-essay-by-jak-gerrish.html.
This in-depth research has naturally helped me with my work, so I feel it is relevant research.

Brian Bolland

"The Killing Joke", Brian Bolland, Alan Moore

I'll be taking some natural influence from Brian Bolland's work, "The Killing Joke" for an example. He uses very strong imagery through use of character expressions, but there are also some disturbing scenes that make me examine and look harder at the art work which in turn makes me appreciate the work more. Adlard's work often consists of this too, expressive action and gore that really leaves the reader in awe. I really like this approach to art work in narrative, it helps remind the reader that it is still artwork and not just writing.
I have done an in-depth report on the artist "Brian Bolland" and his status as a comics cover artist. You can find it in the following link:
http://jakg-writing.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/jak-gerrish-s1203944-illustrator-ad5508.html

Ashley Wood

http://notangenerico.tumblr.com/post/16711592527/videogamenostalgia-revolver-ocelot-by-ashley

http://pixgood.com/ashley-wood-metal-gear.html

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/threads/58447-Ashley-Wood-s-Art-Of-Metal-Gear-Solid-HC

http://styleinstaller.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/ashley-wood-art-of-metal-gear.html

Ashley Wood's interesting use of abstract, traditional methods in an unorthadox way is very inspiring. I want this to be heavy inspiration, if possible. The style is so expressive, something I feel makes an illustration really come alive.

Denys Cowan

Scanned pages and covers of graphic novel

"BATMAN: Lovers & Madmen" by Michael Green, Denys Cowan.

I recently came across the work of Denys Cowan, specifically his work on Batman: Lovers and Madmen. I'm not blown away by the use of colour (I believe there was a separate artist for colour, so I'll let him off) but I'm very impressed and was very captivated by the drawing techniques. I think it's mainly due to the fact I can relate to the sketchy nature of the drawing because sketching is my favourite part of producing artwork. From his tones to his anatomy drawings, all have a very sketchy, messy and inconsistent style to them, but everything seems intended for effect. For instance as you can see in the final image, the cover, the lines he uses for tone are very messy and sketchy, but they portray the shape of the face, and the tone isn't forced within the boundaries of outlines. (Like the phrase "colouring inside the lines"; the belief as a child that the ability to colour within the lines directly reflects your artistic capabilities). And his anatomy in this piece is also a good example of what I want to discuss; his style here is very strange and warped, but you can still definitely identify that as a character. His right eye (our left) seems to be drifting off his face... and that's fine. His face is supposed to be transforming and corrupting in this image anyway, but the style Cowan uses makes the drawing feel correct, feel right, and we don't question is. It's very strange and definitely breaks the boundaries of conventional narrative drawing. It makes Cowan's work striking and above all else, memorable.