AS Graphics Coursework
AS Graphics at Havering Sixth Form
First experiments
Evaluation on Coursework - Dr Martens
Overall i am pleased with my outcome, I feel that I have utilised the research I have done to create a piece that relates to the theme I chose. in this project i feel that my research was the strongest area, my research into the background of the boots and the artists I chose all were very beneficial into choosing and creating that final piece. The artists i chose were linked to the actual theme and also covered different things, such as Gavin Watson’s photography which influenced my own use of photography in the project. The way i used the sepia tones to create age and depth was down to the research I did here. Also the other artist, Jamie Reid influenced me in the sense that I knew how to show and create the aggression that the boots were idolised for using techniques that he also used. Overall, the research to this project made a big impact, it taught me that research is key and everything is based upon research, photos and artists work.
The primary photos I took were useful I believe, however, I feel like i could have got more, giving me more room to manoeuvre and to pick and choose between different images. The main problem however was that I struggled to find primary images of male models with the boots on, therefore I felt that I didn’t quite get across the feel of aggression between both sexes, even though i did use a female model. If I were to do this project again I would improve on this area, as i feel this is what hindered me the most, as I could have done with much more different primary images.
My progression of my work throughout the year is quite easy to see as at the start of the year we did some starter activities, hear you can see my early work. Here my work seems unpolished, undeveloped and rather basic. Particularly with the logo project we did, here you can see the beginning of me developing my ideas, however they still seem rushed or undeveloped, as if the idea came from nowhere with nothing to back it up. Then you see my research, from which i began to create much better work from as it had something to back it up or something to inspire it. This being the most important thing that I have learnt from during this project, as i touched on earlier, as my research has lead to not just the development of my project but also the development of how I work, in the sense that I need to go through the process of research, images and development to create a good piece.
The quality of the final outcome is impressive for my first completed piece, I feel that I have done well to create a piece that looks professional and most importantly gives the feelings that I wanted to portray. I could have benefitted from more pieces in my final zine, however i am pleased with the ones that i chose to use as they gave the feelings of aggression and the theme of counter culture well. I am also pleased that they included not just computer based works, but also photography and hand drawn pieces, giving it a much more rugged edge that again shows the aggressive side but also links to my research that the DM’s were previously army boots.
Dr Martens Zine final
With this piece I wanted to have some contrast in the whole project with some pages being scruffy and more complicated with a few contrasting with simple, but not ripped or torn like the majority of the others. Here I have a simple image of burning matches in a pile. I replaced the white background to a darker grey to give it more of a darker or a sinister feel compared to the blank white background. I like the way all emphasis is on the pile and that its simple with no text that is taking the attention away.
Overall I believe that this will be an effective contrast to the messy Zine that i intend to create.
Here I began with an image of the DM’s hanging from a tree in front of a rural background. Taking inspiration from Gavin Watson’s photographs of the Punk and Skinhead era, and his use of the picture tones to create a feeling. He used black and white and various tones of sepia to create a personality from the image.
I first began with the original version of the photo, a black and white version and a sepia tone version of it. They had a small gap in between them, so I decided to close the gap and put them on top of each other. This feels much better as the images all roll together instead of feel broken like they did in the first experiment. The problems i had with the 2nd experiment was that it seemed too repetitive, making it hard to focus on each image. The problem with this is that the different tones gives different feelings, for example the original was taken on a sunny day and invites happy feelings with the lush green rolling hills. As there is 3 different images with separate images and tones its difficult to focus on one and get the feeling that I want to portray. This is where i began to cut down the piece, removing the original and eventually settling with only one image.
I have produced two final pieces, one in black and white, and the other in sepia. Personally, i like the sepia tone one better as its much darker and has much more depth to it compared to the much lighter, and brighter back and white version. I also decided to put different colour backgrounds above and behind the two photos, each adding to the feeling i want to give. The black and white version has grey fills, where the sepia tone one has black ones. I also added a version with text saying ‘Does is ruin it’ as I wanted people to think weather the boots make the photo more interesting or make it worse.
Here I wanted to get across the physical side of the attitudes and feelings that the people and groups that wore the boots.
Here I wanted to explore photography and other sides of the DMs that dosnt include the strong and aggressive view they were renowned for.
