Foundation

        Following the plans i made earlier, i began with the walls of the tent. I did attempt to cut out a shape with the walls and roof attached to each other and hoped that folding them in a certain way would help the ceiling into a cone shape. Unfortunately this didnt work so i reverted back to the original plans. I cut out the rectangle following the measurements i had planned. I glued the striped paper to it before gluing one edge to create a cylinder shape. I cut a line in the striped paper to see if i could fold them back like curtains for the door. I decided this didnt look effective as it made the door appear too small. It would probably need a bigger door to have space for side curtains, however i didn't have that space here. I folded the paper back to keep the door the same size. I also glued some striped paper at the back, inside the tent to cover the paper seen through the door.    Next i cut out a circle slightly bigger than the ten...

     I drew out the plans to make the tent, materials and measurements. The materials consist of acrylic paper, monochrome striped tissue paper, glue, cocktail sticks, paper, wood shavings and a battery tea light. Then i drew out the method of making the tent and little flags that lead you to the tent. I decided to have the tent monochrome to contrast the colours used in the posters due to everything in the posters being lies. I also identified some issues i may come across when making the tent. For instance the glue may not be effective when holding everything together, instead i could use tape on the inside. Also i may run out of the tissue paper as its comes from a paper bag i got at a gift shop. I will use minimal amounts and if i run out i can try incorporate paint into the stripes so it all matches.

     I printed out photos of the practice poster and Kaen poster. Due to not being able to have them properly printed i wanted to see if printing them out would help give that poster look with a smooth finish. If not i could look into trying to make it digitally, however i have never really used digital art software before and that would make things difficult to create things to the quality i want. Especially as my laptop is not great and i have nothing else to use.    I felt the printed out versions lost some detail on the Kaen poster due to it being so dark. This could be fixed by editing the photo brighter before printing or when i make other posters i keep in mind how they will turn out on camera and make the colours lighter. For the practice poster despite its obvious flaws from collaging pieces together, as annotated on the page, printing it out also highlighted a stain that seeped from the black pen used on the bottom of the poster. Despite this, i ac...

  This poster idea came to me when i was going sleep. I quickly sketched out the basic idea in my book on my bedside in the dark. Originally the idea was that the side of the body outside of the black box would be in normal colour, painted like the gouache experiments. However, i changed it to black and white as i have considered painting Kaen in these colours before for a leathery look. I also thought the line down the middle where it changes would look more effective. In my mind i pictured the dark blue, black n white and a bright orange somewhere. I think these colour influences came from Coraline in the other worlds.   For instance vibrant colours matched with dark colours were used throughout to create a distracting trap for the children. I painted a lighter blue layer first, then went over the top with the darker blue, using a rough paint bush that left scratches showing the lighter blue under. For this effect i painted in circular motions to create swirls in the blu...

  I printed out all the fonts and chose which ones to use for the photos. I didnt choose the top few fonts due to being too simple and not stylised, or i personally felt they wouldnt have worked on the poster. A downside of this experiment is the problem with the white box around the letters, however it did help to see which ones could work. This font here is similar to other fonts i have used, i do like the shapes of the "O" as i could make them look like eyes instead or add a dot in the centre as i have done here.    For the first one i included painting the "Welcomes You!" coming from the branches. i thought the words didn't stand out when hidden in the branches so therefore this style would not work so well for a poster that needs to stand out.      For the next two posters i used a pink sharpie pen to write in the "Welcomes You". This was just to see how well the top font would work with a looser font. If i had an orange pen i would have prefer...

  When looking into fonts i watched a YouTube video where a person showed photos from abandoned circus trailers. I took screenshots of the lettering i saw on the outside that intrigued me. As shown on the left with my recreations for the fonts that are difficult to see. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lWCHwz87Gw - youtube video) I also added a photo on the right of an AD i saw on Instagram. I thought the way they utilised a basic straight font in black with a swirly, larger style to capture the eye below was effective. I created the writing on the top of the left page to see how this could look with the circus name and welcome message. I then looked at a piece of artwork created by Madame Talbot, one of my artist, and how the wording come out of the border around the side for "tattooed". This inspired the writing on the bottom left where it comes out of the tree branches. I quite liked the appearance of this but wasnt sure how to make it come out of the border effectiv...

   Piecing together everything i have so far made sense to see if this style would work for the poster. I painted a pale blue background on to the page and went with the colour scheme i pictured when i first drew Madame Etolarac. I can then explore other colour schemes later or create that linear bright to dark series i mentioned before. Due to the light background the colour had no effect on the skin tone but i think this works as again it looks cleaner and can then appear dirtier later on with the darker colours.    I painted out the branches, three separate branches here are connected. i wanted to keep it simple as i can build up the appearance later on if i decided this works. I added small details and a slight shadow on the left side of the branches to appear as if the light is coming the right and added a more frame like effect around Etolarac so it looks like she can reach right through the frame. I think this shadow does need to be darker and a little bi...

  I sketched out a simple design, incorporating the different border styles to see which one worked best. I began with the simple oval design using, Madame Etolarac for example. The fonts and placement of the words are not the actual design but just to see how spacing works. I added some circles coming out of the oval on eye line of Etolarac to add details to suggest how she sees more than the average person. I also included some stripes in the oval to keep the heaviest amount of colour and details to the centre so it stands out the most on the poster.    I think this design works most efficiently compared to the rest as the focus is primarily on performer, but also not too distracting from the information needed. It also has space to play around and personalise each poster with different shapes and details.    For the next page i decided to draw out the border influenced by an old film poster i saw. I think the performers name needs to be bigger. It coul...

  I first drew out some small sketches of poster border ideas using my biro so i had sharp lines that wouldnt soften like a pencil. The first border is incredibly simple, two spaces for the title and name of performer that could be in block colours with bold font. It also created a square space for the performers image. I felt this was too simple and bare.    Next to it, i drew an actual border that framed the poster. Kept it simple with minimal detail to not distract from the performer. I also included a scroll like frame above where the title could go to break the fixated straight edge and add movement. I also didnt want a border like this as i wanted to alter the border slightly for a few performers to make it more personal and felt this would not cater to that.     Next row down on the left i drew a more detailed, curvy border that framed the poster. I feel this style is more classic to circus posters as it makes it appear fancy and rich to appeal to the...

 I chose Talonmour Kaens to experiment style with. I used gouache for how versatile it is and unable to use oil paint due to not having good ventilation at all times.   I kept colour swatches in my sketchbook of everything i used. I even had a little look into using oil pastels but due to my usual undeveloped skill in that medium i decided it was best to stick to what i know right now.    I decided to use green as the main colour for Kaens right now as i was feeling drawn to it, and it made sense with their connection to snakes. I didnt want to explore their skin pattern like scales due to not everyone else having that detail. I wanted to explore styles that worked for every poster for consistency, rest of the personal details can be added later for the actual poster.       I painted the green background first to create a colour tone underneath her skin to build up on top. I wanted this paint style to be slightly patchy in different tones but...

    The beginning of this page i write about what i will develop and refine for the sketches briefly. Which i went back and did as mentioned on each sketch. Also wrote about my next plans to add a border. Also possibly combining two poster designs together which i have decided to not do.    Rest of the page i wrote down names that could be used for each performer and the circus names. Additionally, the poster slogan which i chose to be "Welcomes you!" I took my own name "Charlotte" and wrote it backwards, "ettolrahc". Then simplified it until it sounded nice to me, which created "Etolarac". For the rest of the Circus name i chose "Blue Moon" as i really love those words for how they sound and simple imagery. Cirque Du Soleil has their circus name in french. I decided to translate mine which created "Etolarac Lune Bleu Cirque".   For the performers name, it was easy to then come up with the Ringmasters name as she owns t...

   The song "Seven Sticks of Dynamite" by Awolnation inspired this idea. I original drew a skull holding seven lit dynamite sticks in the mouth. I felt it looked like an edgy biker jacket image that would be on the back. So i developed it in to this next image here, of a freakishly tall skeleton giving a child a lit dynamite stick. Mr Cadey isn't a performer, instead he hands out gifts and whole purpose is to interact with the crowd before the show. Handing out candy floss when adults are looking, then dynamite when they are not.    The kid in the drawing definitely needs fixing. I struggled drawing the roundness and small features of children in 1950s illustrations. Also her arms are too long and bent oddly. I included the shadow of Zelroth in the background which definitely adds an ominous feel as he lingers.    I drew a smaller sketch in the right bottom corner later when i was exploring border designs. I do enjoy the idea of the performers breaking ...

  Weeping soul is made of goat legs, human torso and a tree for the head. He performs on the uni cycle, and does other things like juggling. In this image he is holding a dying rose. I looked into flower meanings to try find one that means anything to do with deceit. These were the few i came across: Wormwood- absence, bitter sorrow. (absence of actual circus when you arrive) This plant is a herb that looks like pale small leaves, therefore wouldn't really stand out in his hand. Vervain- protection against evil. Used for medicine purposes this plant would connect to Dr Salem a little. Also adds an aurora of evil to the circus. The plant again is small purple flowers, can also come in white and blue. This is more of a likely option due to appearance. Thorn Apple (also known as Jimson Weed or Devils Apple)- disguise. At first i didnt consider using this one due to the appearance of it being a green thorny like plant, until i saw the flower that blooms with it. A horn like shaped f...