As part of the reportage project for illustration and communication we were to look at the idea of aps and how they could relate to ourselves and our surroundings. We were given a presentation with a range of examples in which we could see how they appeared successful and how they could be used for different purposes. The idea of this mini project is that we would create a map of our own which we would then print using riso graph printing.
Collected Inspiration
Below shows some of my own maps which I found on Pinterest all of which i felt were inspiring for myself and my own work. For example I love the piece below as it uses a range of bright contrasting colours which capture the attention of the viewer and although it is very much illustrated it still has a factual element in which you can clearly see the roads and their layouts allowing you to make your way round. I personally enjoy the use of symbols to represent different areas and activities as I feel it tells more than words whilst also bringing life to the artwork.
This map also stood out to me for very different reasons. As you can see this map is not used to communicate the area or help direct the viewer but is instead used to tell a narrative and a journey. For example we see this person exiting their house notebook along side maybe revealing something about themselves and what the do, they head up north by train where they head more into a city location what looks like work. The train track is finished by a large cup of coffee or tea perhaps suggesting that this is their next stop after their train journey. I like how this map works as it reveals more of a routine then a direct traditional format and it stays reveals more about the artist or characters. I also like the use of colour in this piece, it is a lot traditionally darker than what i am usually drawn to however i love the washed teal that contrasts with the red and the greys of the city, i feel this gives an almost autumnal urban feel maybe connecting to the journey.
The final map i collected was this one above which has actually been printed using the risograph method. I felt this was a great example for how we could use colour to lay our own maps. In this piece we see the artists has decided to go for two colours red and blue. They've decided to use the red in much lighter tones therefore printing this layer first allowing it to not get lost in with the darker blue tones.
However, although the red has been used lightly in places we can see the artist has use the full spectrum of tones as they use a brighter red to create a contrasts within the main roads to make them stand out, I do feel this works however, cant help but feel when used at full gradient the colours are both so strong and the text of the blue seems to get lost within the bright red making it harder to read.
Thumbnail Ideas
When starting to think about my own map i began by creating some thumbnails looking at whether i should stick with a traditional format to tell my journey throughout uni campus or instead go for more of an abstract style focusing more on the illustrative side. Although I like the traditional look felt it would be fun to add an illustrative twist and see how it could work using the two colours within the printing method.
Above shows my final thumbnail idea using the colours pink and dark blue. I wanted to capture my journey into uni from home all the way to class with my stops in between. Moving forward I intended to work digitally playing around with traditional brushes however allowing myself to see how the colours should work and layer together to create the final piece.
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