AJ

A Preview

I'm not going to be able to finish this for a day or two but i'm really pleased with how it's going so far, so i thought i'd preview it. (yellowness is due to table lamp and 2am drawing.)
I think i'm going to develop these into a series of my favourite models in striking compositions. Currently I've done Cole Mohr and this is of AJ Abualrub, other possible future ones are Robert Grunenberg, Tony Ward, Josh Beech (maybe), Garrett Neff, DEFINITELY Vlada Roslyakova and good ol' Linda Evangelista.

meh

I don't even want to post this up as I hate it. This is representing my struggle at getting back into looser work. However, I have to show this to my tutors to show how my work is carrying on. This makes me want to play safe more with more pencil drawings. I'm having a major Nelly n' Kelly moment here.
(A Dilemma)

My 111th post y'all!

I just thought i'd show these, I love the work of these two guys.
First is the Artist Nicolas Moulin who, as Eluxury puts it, 'features a series of bleak future landscapes dominated by concrete ruins, the sad remains of a failed utopian dream'.






The second guy is the photographer Lennart Verstegen. His images provide similar bleak landscapes which become open playgrounds to the narratives that are unfolding within them. No suprise comes to know that he has a degree in cinematography! I could stare at these all day. These images were up on Mykromag, one of the coolest and well put together online magazines around at the moment, check out their site to see the full article.

Helmut Lang Store

I forgot I had this image from when the Helmut Lang label was actually ran by Helmut Lang, and there was a vision. Sad face.

Christmas Reading List

1. Collier Schorr: There I Was





2. Illusive: Contemporary Illustration and It's Context 2




3. Louis Vuitton: Art, Fashion & Architecture




4. Nick Knight: Nick Knight




5. Frank o Gehry: The Architect's Studio




6. Sophie Calle: Double Game




7. Julie Verhoeven: Gas book

I need ALL of these, i've been running a mental list of books i've wanted for months, but I'm too broke ass to go out and buy.

Cole Mohr With Antlers

Unfortunately despite spending a crazy amount of time doing this, the scanner hasn't picked up half of the pencil shading. So sorry folks, this is just going to have to be one of those "looks better in real life" ones. Photoshop level adjustments can only do so much.
HOWEVER, after this i'm not touching pencil work for a while, i want to concentrate on my key styles more, i'm happy with this piece but it's hardly anything original.

"Legs from here to yar yar"

Just a little discovery

Man About Town issue 4 - contents page. I just really liked this little composition. That is all.

Nina Ricci Fall 2010

I'm not sure on this yet tbh. This is more a case of warming myself up for better work. it looks a lot stronger when enlarged anyway. I think i prefer this simplified crop below.

NewWork STUDIO / MAGAZINE

I am in love with the layouts and designs from this magazine. NewWork studio produces this alongside it's other creative projects (www.newworkmag, www.studionewwork.com), and the layouts are absolutely gorgeous. The large format newsprint works perfectly and offers a vast space with which to explore effective and original design layout. I did see one newspaper size book at the Self-publishing fair in newsprint but alas, i had already spent my money on others. here are some of my favourite spreads, these really inspire me to try layout on large format paper.

Zine Review / Analysis - Fever Zine (First Issue)

Fever zine is fast becoming one of the most prolific zines, and has recently been mentioned in The Independent (more on that article later). Alex Zomora has created a strong identity for the Zine through it's simplistic and similar covers, using pink paper and a custom illustrative font, and it works well. It remains consistent throughout and a really enjoyable read, if slightly brief. I know the following issues have increased in page number though so that's not a major issue at all. The simplistic feel works well with the laser printing, as it's not attempting to look like a professional publication anyway.
One important thing is that it's the first and only zine i've encountered that has advertised on the back of it. I actually really like this touch, it adds to the community aspect that a zine should reflect, even if the advert and product itself is fairly poor. It also helps to round off the zine as a lot of back pages on zines seem wasted.
The library section is a great idea that has been done well and with interesting suggestions, despite that half of the zines are no longer available as this issue was made a good year or two ago. Overall everything in the zine is fun, lighthearted and well written.

My Zine Manifesto

It's probably best to give an idea of what i want my zine to achieve before I go on about what zines I believe work and what don't.
It isn't simply a base for my illustration and graphic abilities. I feel there is something lacking in the fashion press industry, not least things that I miss, and I believe there are enough people that do too to provide a customer base. I want my zine to include or cover the following points:

1. FASHION ILLUSTRATION. I'm finding it harder and harder to be inspired by or even find any strong amounts of fashion illustration in the fash mags today. I've always loved the ideas of illustrational editorials, but seems it's not commercially viable these days! There are so many amazing new illustrators coming out who don't rely on overly done Adobe Illustrator garbage. Illustrators like Alex Noble, Ricardo Fumanal, Cedric Rivrain and Sabine Papier are perfect examples of ones who need and deserve more printed exposure of their work. Artwork (not just diagrammatic illustrations) based on fashion is something that needs to be explored more.

2. NONE BIASED COLLECTION REVIEWS. Advertising always plays a big overshadowing in honest reviews. Obvs, i won't be having advertising (unless my zine grew really big and i could include my favourite ads simply to talk about or drool over blah blah blah, but that's not the point) so i can feel free to speak my mind.

3. DISREGARD FOR TRENDS. Too many editorials are churned out these days and they are always striving to pinpoint or provide a look. Not only that, trends are something that the press use as material to fill up pages and babble about. I want to return to a passion for individual items. Stronger focus rather than truck loads of items and vague discussion. That sounds crap reading it back to myself, but it will make more sense as the idea develops. I just don't want any disposable journalism.

4. INTERVIEWS with specific people who I admire, not just for the sake of bagging an interview. The zine is my baby, and I will only feed it what I want. An issue will be ready when it's ready.

5. IMAGE MAKING. Too many mags are literally all text, then all editorial photography. I'd like to break it up a bit. This all sounds very precocious, as if i'm actually going to challenge magazines. That's not the point, there are many amazing mags out still, i just want the overall art direction of the zine to have a great experimental diversity without being self-indulgent.

Zine Analysis / Review - Gym Class Magazine

I am going to review Gym Class Mag's latest issue, despite having all three. This is mainly because out of all the zines I have acquired so far, this is most definitely my favorite. The content flows perfectly and it manages to be the right balance of interests, which mainly stick to illustration and architecture, whilst including articles on Fever Zine and film.

The main thing that works with Gym Class Magazine is that it has that fanboy feel of things, you can feel the passion for the subjects involved, yet it's mature enough to rise above the type of conversation that you get on forums and what not. Likewise with mine I'm really looking forward to producing a fashion-based zine, with strong illustrations and great articles that i'm passionate about and want to discuss, and what i feel is lacking in zines/mags/net etc.

Like a lot of zines, it's A5, litho printed and on 32 pages. it looks great but doesn't overstep the line of looking like something that could be officially retailed, possibly due to the good quality non-glossy paper used. The cover by Jean Paul Thurlow is also a great addition to this personal feel and provides a memorable cover, especially as the only illustrations i'm seeing in the industry are generic advertising ones. I haven't seen any strong features on illustrators in a good while! Possibly to do with the recession, who knows?

Anywho, back to Gym Class, there aren't many negatives at all! The layout is strong and consistent without being overbearing, and there are some really nice graphical elements. It's important to note that with A5 format everything has to be very considered, as it's easy to make everything appear too busy. My only niggle is that the articles aren't longer really. One thing i can't make my mind on is the four pages that are used to display just two quotes, but at the same time these help break any form of monotony and keep things interesting. Overall, a definite winner.

Zine Analysis / Review - Tough Crowd

As I'm in the process of creating a Zine and using the first issue as my final major project, I'll be analyzing many a zine on here. This is essentially to show my research to my tutors who read this, but also for my own understandings and to learn from the best and the worst.

So, first zine is . . . .

There's no doubt that Tough Crowd is exceptionally well made. At the 'Self Publish and Be Damned' fair in London this was no doubt the most professional looking zine. It ticked all the boxes, colour print, high quality glossy paper, professionally stapled and cut etc.

However, the main dilemma with zines is that they are something that has been born out of passion, and should have a voice and personality that distinguish them, and this was the one thing that lacked. Despite some great interviews with interesting and more importantly, actual known figures such as Bruce LaBruce and Matthew Stone, the issue lacked any kind of voice or personality. This was mostly due to their clear need for professional appearance. Something like an editor's note would have been a great inclusion for what is basically intending on being a mini-magazine.

The editorial included also bears the same problem with the personal/professional dilemma. While being well-executed, photographed and styled, it doesn't seem to have any narrative function or major personality. The clothes have great shapes but are rendered bland by the ivy garden background.

A stronger point is that the articles are a really good length. The longest one that borders on being dense however, has been cramped into a fairly packed article. This is mainly down to font size and page layout, as it could have done with breaking up a little. I'm not quibbling about long articles at all though, if anything they should be included more!

The idea of theming each issue is one that also worries me. i.D magazine I felt took it too far and just went theme-crazy every issue (the day Leona Lewis was on the cover was the last straw), so it's dodgy territory. They've managed to work it really well though I feel, and it doesn't at all feel gimmicky, and instead well thought out, and the cover reflects it well.

The whole issue is up online on their website, which looks great using 'Issuu' as a pdf viewer. Without wanting to digress too much, i believe if you are going to have the whole zine available in high res online for free, it needs to be something extra special to want to pay for the printed version, so great design, collectibility, photography and illustration are a MUST.

I feel incredibly harsh for saying all the negatives above as it is still a great zine and still worthy of buying, it just seems to lack a certain presence. It's a problem many face in the quest for professionalism, they lose the voice that prompted the thing in the first place.

V Magazine - Richard Kern - 'Naughty by Nature'

These are two scans from the editorial by Kern, which come in the supplement for issue 61. I love the idea of sculpting letterforms around editorial shots, although doing the whole alphabet felt a little long in the tooth. These two are my favourites and in my eyes, the strongest. It's not often you find high fashion mags incorporating inventive graphic elements (I MISS YOU FACE MAGAZINE!!!!) and these work really well as a breath of fresh air, the whole pagan thing with the supplement is FAR too exhaustive.

They also give me confidence that this combination of elements can be executed succesfully, and especially since I usually hate most of Richard Kern's work! The Zine is several months off but my ideas and research are already mounting up. I shall be posting soon about some of the zines I discovered at the Self Publish and Be Damned fair too, so be warned, there will be a lot of reading and analysis on here (for my tutors innit)





P.s, R.i.p Irving Penn, yeah, i'm jumping on the blogging bandwagon with that one, but it's still totally necessary, such a true inspiration to so many

Hedi Slimane - new shots of Alex Dunstan

OH. MY. GOD. I am in LOVE with these. Just when i thought Hedi Slimane was running out of ideas, out he comes with the Vogue Hommes Japan shoot and now THIS, for Another Man. SOOOOOOO beautiful. WORTHY OF CAPITAL LETTERS!! black and white skies, vast landscape suggested, beautiful flowing shapes wrapped around Alex and fantastic a/w pieces.
However for the first time in a while, i find these better to look at in digital format. Having the pictures on a double page spread really affected their simplicity, and also i'm becoming suspicious of the quality of paper in mags lately, i'm sure it's been downgraded? There seems to be that annoying watered effect that causes paper to ripple ever so slightly, making light reflection incredibly annoying. anyone else noticed this? Check out the rest on his site.

*foaming at the mouth . . . .

Keko on Gaga

Well done to Keko, Gaga wore his gorgeous neckpiece to the VMA's last night. I just wish her music was as diverse as her wardrobe.

Madonna & Vanilla in 'SEX'

Hitchhiking in high waisted lamé hotpants, hoop earrings, colossal weave and vanilla ice on one arm, it just doesn't get more trashtastic than this. I managed to get a copy of SEX for just £10 on ebay, one of my greatest bargains on there.

I shall be interning at . . . .