CoP3: Christmas

Christmas is always a difficult time as when I return home I have to work around other people's households, which can be quite difficult. I haven't been able to work on my dissertation which has thrown my planning further into disarray, this is due to host's incredibly noisy house. I can barely hear myself think, let alone string a argumentative sentence together.

However I hate not being working, so have at least pushed forward with my visual investigation in my sketchbook. I began by drawing the Tory characters out in exaggerated forms, more akin to cartoons. However I thought this was too far and was not the aesthetic I was aiming for. So I returned the characters to their more realistic versions and focused on their facial features more. Cameron, already a pig, George Osborne became more lizard like, Rupert Murdoch older and more skeleton like, and Nicky Morgan more idiotic.



I then spent time refining some of my earlier Tory Chums panels whilst also experimenting with my new inking nibs. I found that as I got used to the nibs the line quality of my pieces worked better. I intend to use my inking nibs for my final piece.



To help me in my visual investigation, I further researched the work of Steve Bell and Martin Rowson for inspiration;

CoP3: Giles Collection

As an unexpected Christmas present, my partner's mother brought me the Giles 2016 Collection. Carl Giles (1916-1995) was a cartoonist best known for his work in The Daily Express.



Whilst being amused by the cartoons inside, I found the book to be quite informative in terms of layout. For some time I've thinking about how to make my work more accessible to those with a limited knowledge of politics. This book gave me the idea to insert a section of text before each comic strip to give it context. Furthermore, I've decided to include the date the piece was made as this book has done with Giles work.



This was an unexpected gift but had aided me greatly in research. Here are some more of Giles pieces;

CoP3: Internet Troll

I've now had the pleasure of interacting with my first internet troll. This person, on my Zoom Illustration Facebook page, was offended with how I portrayed David Cameron with a pig's head in my latest comic strip 'Cameron's Credibility'. He informed me he took issue with the general level of humour in my Tory Chums strips specifically the one mentioned already.

I feel that this strip really struck a chord with him, and with the feedback from my last crit session yesterday, believe drawing David Cameron with a pigs head is the best way to portray him from this point forward.

Here is a more refined version of Cameron with a pig's head:

CoP3: Pre Christmas Crit

Today I took part in the final crit session before Christmas; this was an important session as I wouldn't be seeing my peers as often over the next month.

Prior to the session I mocked up an idea of how I want my David Cameron portrait to look in Photoshop;

Again my Tory Chums was well received, but the piece hasn't really changed since the last crit due to my dissertation work. The portrait idea was also commended, largely due to the inclusion of David Cameron having a pigs head. After a investing his appearance I feel that this inclusion both makes him hilarious and unique to the character I need him to be in Tory Chums.

I've set myself a few goals for over Christmas;
- Refine the comic strips I've already created into final pieces. Remember to explore with different tools.
- Develop Portraits
- Correct minor blog related issues
- Create detailed boards for final crit
- Research and investigate the best way to present my zine

Here is my Practical Response Form and Feedback Sheets;

CoP3: Syria

MPs have voted to unfortunately bomb Syria in the hopes of ending ISIS' centre. I disagree with the bombing and felt like I needed to respond to this. Here is the process;




I experimented with textures, a process I haven't used enough in this module due to the aesthetic of the comic strips I've been creating. So it was nice to use them in this piece which is rather unconnected to the rest of my work.

Here is the final piece;

CoP3: David Cameron's Credibility

In the past week David Cameron has argued for the UK's involvement in the Syrian civil war. However despite his best efforts, he lacks a lot of credibility with many holes within his statements. To reflect this I drew a new Tory Chums comic in which he falls into madness and devises a new way to gain credibility. The strip was heavily inspired by Batman: Year One by Dc Comics and artist David Mazzuchelli.

David Cameron in 'Hameron: Year One'