Evaluation

I had a few weaknesses throughout this project, time management was one of them, I will say it was better than usual which I am happy about because it shows I did think about it and I have improved on it from my last project. Apart from that my only weakness was not experimenting/testing things enough, I am happy with my final outcome but I think doing more tests would have reassured me that I made the best choices possible for my final piece.

Overall I think my final outcome worked better than I initially thought. I do think I could make my work better if I had longer to do it, I kind of rushed the final piece towards the end which I am disappointed about but there isn't much more I could do, I needed to have more tester pieces so I could make sure I had the best possible outcome I could of achieved. Even though this may be true, I am happy with my final piece because the laser cutting aspect of it works as you can only really see it when its under a direct light which gives it the creepy feel to it that I wanted. I think my work clearly shows that I was inspired by horror films, expecially the film 'Mirrors' that I watched.

Final piece photographs

I prefer the photographs in black and white because I feel they are more creepy, however you cant see the colour of the print on the black and white photographs which ruins the illusion of it being blood-like. The photographs worked really well though because you can only see the laser cut hand if you put it directly under a light making it seem like its not there which makes it really mysterious and scary like someone really is there.

Scary Characters...

I started looking into who actually plays the characters in scary movies/books as they could be used as a reflection in the mirror...
- Dr Jekyl / Mr.Hyde
- Dracula
- The Wolfman
- Freddy Kruegar
- Scream
- Wickerman
- Leprechaun
- Chuckie
- Pennywise
- The Hammer
- The Jaggernaut
- The Jakel
- Blair Witch
- Gage Creed
- The Tall Man (Phantasm)
- Phantom of the Opera
- Jigsaw
- Clown (Saw)
- Jack Torrance
- Hellraiser (Pinhead)
- Pan Labyrinth
- The blob?
- The Exorcist
- Belial Bradley
- Jack Nicholson (The shining)
- Norman Bates (Physco)
- Michael Myers
- Characters from 'Rec'
- Asami Yamazaki (Audition)
- Jame gumb (Silence of the Lambs)
- Hannibal Lecter
- Damien Thorn (Omen)
- Grudge
- Otis Driftwood
- The Invisable Man
- The Ring
- Leatherface
- King Kong?
- White noise?
- The Mummy
- Jason

nightmares/seeing things that aren't really there....

I've been looking into what films contain scenes where things appear in mirrors, windows and other objects that aren't really there or show things that aren't really happening.

Currently I have found the following films....
-Mirrors-The unborn
-Black swan
-The ring (the original)
-5ive girls
-Bloody mary
-5 witches-The skeleton key
-Harry potter-Paranormal activity-Prince of darkness
-Ringu-Ju-on-The shining
-Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream warriors
-From beyond the grave
-Dead silence
-Candyman
-13 ghostsOut of these movies I only looked at three of them in my research. I looked at 'Harry Potter' because it's really well known and I'd seen it before.

The scene I am looking at from Harry Potter is when Harry is looking in th

e mirror that can show you what your heart wants, in this case it was his parents. They appear in the reflection of the mirror but aren't actually there in real life.

The second film I looked at was 'The Black Swan'. I hadn't seen this film before but I had seen the trailor for it recently and could remember a scene where the ballet dancer is standing with her back to a mirror but her reflection is looking at her.

The final film I looked at was 'Mirrors'. Originally I just saw the title and thought it would be good to have a look at to see what it was about. It turned out that it went really well with the work I was doing. There are multiple scenes in the film where different things happen in the mirrors which gave a great variety for my research.

If more gets added to the website it may move some of the links below......

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/2/ - tree trunk lamps

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/4/ - patterns on chairs, curtains and fan (2nd from bottom)

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/5/ - wall panels

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/6/ - ''beautifully worn'' chairs

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/7/ - cushions

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/12/ ?? - background on 1st photo and patterns on the glass (bottom)

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/13/ ?? - carpet

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/15/ - tile patterns

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/17/ - lamp

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/18/ - skull tiling

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/20/ ?? - wallpaper

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/21/ - the ''black artemis'' floor lamp

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/22/ - wallpaper/backdrop (near bottom of page)

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/24/ - gold tiling pattern

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/25/ - ceramic tiles

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/26/ - bathroom wallpaper

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/27/ - floor boards

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration/page/31/ - bathroom wall/tiles

Research

Been looking through this website

http://www.mybigtopics.com/interior-decoration

and it has soooooo many different types of interior design and different ways of approaching a room. It doesn't just show one aspect either i.e wallpaper, it shows everything, beds, chairs, wallpaper and loads more. It takes awhile to go through all the pages but it is definitely worth it, especially if your not 100% sure where you want to go with your work yet as it gives you sooooo many ideas.

Decisions

Not sure whether to look at Dining room or Bedroom interior design. I just cant think about what I want to do right now when we've only just finished two lots of projects. Sooooo lost right now, just need to note down the pros and cons of each and which will go from that and decide which would be more suited for me.

"Prints Of Darkness"

Beginning of the new printing process project. To look carefully and produce artefacts for "Interiors".

This interior can be for household, an office, restaurant, a shop etc. In fact anything you can think of.

* Wallpapers - curtains - cushions/covers - rug - lampshade

* Kitchen/Bathroom tiles - floor tiles - screen

* Chair/Settee covers - artwork - coffee table

Research, exploration of design and final production must be explored and produced in that order.

MUST discuss your intentions, then research, exploration of designs solution/s before progressing onto the production of the final artefact.

Present your completed artefact in an appropriate way

-i.e. Floor tiles on flat board

- Glass in a frame

- Wallpaper to be hung

The work can be 2D or 3D

Week 24 - Stage 2 briefing - Developmental research

Week 25 - Student explorations, developmental research

Week 26 - Reading Week/ Subject Research:

Continued student explorations developmental research

Week 27 - Product Realisation

Week 28 - Product Realisation: Deadline 9th March 3pm

week 29 - Assessment Presentations

Week 30 - Assessment

(Do not forget that you are only using 2 of the printing processes for this project)

Dry Point Thoughts

Even though I found the sound of the etching really irritating, I really liked the end results as you could see all your strokes. I found this method of printing very effective. I would like to try this process again, but try more detailed images/drawings.

Dry Point Information

Buy a sheet of etching plastic (make sure it is NOT just acetate as this isn't thick enough to etch on), then get an etching tool from the print room. Either trace your image through the plastic or just draw by hand.

When you have finished etching your image onto your plastic go to the print room and start mixing your ink. (Make sure you are using etching ink and not normal printing ink)

You Need:

-Etching ink - oil based

- Extender

- Phone book pages

- Blue tissue roll

- Paper

- Newsprints

Put your paper in water to soak (Damp NOT soaking (Put your initals on the paper so you know which paper is yours))

When mixing your ink, make sure you use equal amount of extender and ink.

- No bigger than 2p/10p

- Use cardboard to mix together (50/50 mix might not always be best for you)

Cover your image with your ink mix, then smear it all over.

Use the phone book pages to rub in the ink and to get rid of some of the excess ink.

After rubbing the majority of the ink away with the phone book paper, use the blue tissue roll to get rid of the rest of the ink you do not want.

(Circular movement is best)

When you are happy with your image get you paper out of the water and put into newsprints to dry off.

Put the paper on the presser and the etching image on top (or visa versa). Put all the newsprints and fabric back on top and then use the wheel to press your image (Make sure you go both ways.)

Dry Point - First Print

This was my example/tester sheet for Dry Point. I did 24 small squares and tried different shapes and strokes in the squares to see what I could achieve with the etching tool.

Etching plastic -

First attempt (not all the squares came out, not sure why) -
Second attempt (it faded a little on the last row of squares but printed out pretty well for my second attempt)-

Dry Point - Second Print

Apart from Dry Point having one of the most irritating sounds to produce the image through etching, this process is a very long and time consuming process depending on how detailed you want the image and what strokes you want to use.

Image on Etching Plastic -

First go at this image ( the paper wasn't damp enough)-
Second attempt (Paper was too wet) -
Third attempt with black ink (worked really well and can see all my strokes clearly) -
Adding red ink -

Adding more black ink on top a bit thicker to give a different effect-

Screen Printing Thoughts

I would definitely do this process again. Having to clean, then wait for the screen to dry was pretty annoying, but you can do quite a few prints in one go. I haven't tried screen printing on very many different materials and to heighten my knowledge and skills on this process I would like to try different fabrics and different papers. I wouldn't say this was my favourite process at all, but I plan on trying it again. Also because you don't have to pay for the ink, you only have to pay for the acetate means its worth trying it again.

Screen Printing Information

Gloves on to start.

-Binder for screen printing (Looks like PVA and dries clear (3 spoonfuls))

-Paint (Only need a tiny amount, no matter how much paint you add it won't get darker or lighter)

Binder is only for light fabrics and paper.

-Opaque binder (Needs to be used for black/dark fabrics and papers (opaque binder is a lot thicker than normal))

-Always build up the colour instead of dumping loads in

-Always make notes of how much you are putting in

- About 5 prints with the opaque binder before washing your screen out

ALWAYS DO EXPERIMENTS FIRST SO YOU KNOW THE COLOURS YOU WANT

-There are only 6 colours of ink

The image you are using must always be in black and white (Cannot be in colour)

Buy some acetate and use the photocopier to copy your image onto the acetate (Only the photocopier in the print room can do this so do NOT try doing this through any other photocopiers in the college)

Always book you screen 3 days in advance (Must fill out the appropriate form)

If you leave the screen in the light for too long it will ruin the screen.

Always ask people using the room and/or the lecturers if the machine has been charged. (Needs to be charged for at least 5 seconds)

When using the machine:

- Make sure your image isn't back to front. Must be readable!

- Lid down, claps on

- Press the vacuum button (push down on the corners to make sure it vacuums fully)

- Press the green button to start and watch the time run down (should be on 85)

- Once the clock has gone back to 85, turn the vacuum off

Wash your screen off (Back and front) and leave to soak for a couple of seconds

- Wash of immediately after a few seconds otherwise it might not come off. (If you use other wash room make sure you use the yellow hose!)

Screen dryer - Turn it on (if not on already) About 15- 20 minutes to dry.

(The lower the number the thicker the ink that can go through, yellow is for paper)

If printing onto fabric, iron the fabric first - tape the material down

If layering, build up the colours - start with the lightest colour first

Squeegee - make sure its dry, clean and fits over your image. (Rounded are good for fabrics and square for paper)

Mask the edges of the frame, look for any holes in the mesh/frame too so you can cover them up with tape before printing.

Always use newsprint paper for ink, prints and squeegee so you don't get the ink all over the surfaces around you.

MAKE SURE YOU REGISTER EVERY PRINT FIRST

PRINT IN PAIRS

Hair dry your images when you've finished

Screen Printing

Screen printing was a long printing process but it was one of the easiest even if it did take a while. Once you have got your screen it becomes pretty simple as you can use it a few times before having to clean it. But once your screen is wet you need to wait for it to dry again which can take 20mins but sometimes longer depending on how wet your screen is. (This is the annoying part as you have to keep waiting to carry on with your work. The only plus side with it is you can dry and mount, or do other work while you wait for your screen to dry)

Image on acetate -

First screen print (Black) -

Second Screen Print (Black/Red) -

News paper sheet (black) -

Fabric (Black) -

If you wanted to do a lot of prints in one go this probably isn't the best process to use because you have to keep washing the screen after a certain amount of uses, and if you want to completely change the colour. I did enjoy this process but not as much as some of the others. However, I think I would use this process again.

Lino Printing Thoughts

Out of all the print processes I found the Lino Printing process the most time consumer. After you've finished cutting out your design you don't have effort to actually go and do the printing because depending on your design the process is just hard work. This was definitely my least favourite out of all the processes and not sure whether I would use it for future projects unless I had a lot of time.

Lino Printing Information

Buy some Lino from the printing office.

Either purchase your own (recommended if you want to do a lot of Lino printing) or borrow a Lino cutter from the printing room. You are able to purchase/use different nibs for Lino cutters depending on how thick/thin you want your lines to be and how much detail you wish to put into your image.

Either draw your image onto your Lino by hand or use tracing paper to put a certain image/drawing onto your Lino.

Heat up your Lino, whether its just putting it on a radiator for a short amount of time or heating it with a hair dryer (This will make it easier to cut out the Lino as it makes it softer and more pliable)

Start cutting out your Lino, personally I recommend using a scalpel to cut around your pencil lines first as it is easier to achieve neat, straight edges around your image.

NEVER put your hand in front of your Lino cutter because if you slip it is sharp and will go straight into your hand.

Once you are happy with your image take your Lino to the printing room, get out the appropriate ink and a roller and apply the ink to your Lino (Do not add too much as the ink will run into the cut out areas and your image will not print very well)

Place the Lino and you material into the press plates. Wind the plates under the press and pull the lever once in place (Use both hands for this). Pull the lever 3-4 times to make sure the image has definately been pressed onto your material. Unwind the plates and take out your image. Keep trying this with different coloured inks, different amounts of ink and different materials. See what different effects you can create.

Lino Printing

Even though I cut out a design on Lino, I didn't actually like it as I just wanted to focus on the Ace of Spades symbol. I am going to print this anyway to show that I decided to go in a different direction, but I am going to buy more Lino to produce a better quality Lino cut and to get a result that fits in better with the rest of my processes.

Flock & Foil - My Thoughts

Even though I didn't get round to trying the flock processes I did really like the results of my foil and would really like to try out more, especially after seeing what other people have done and what you are capable of doing. I would definitely use these processes at a later date, especially for small details on an image just to add different textures. The only problem with Flock & Foil is how expensive it can get, as you have to pay £1 for an A4 piece of either Flock or Foil.

Flock & Foil Information

You can either just paint the glue (adhesive) onto your material, or use your screen print from your screen printing to add the glue onto your material if you wish to use the same image again. This also means you will had an accurate and neat final outcome.

Once the glue is applied to your material, chose your flock and/or foil and stick onto the glue.

- Foil must go shiny (coloured) side up

- Flock must go fabric (coloured) side down

Once you have stuck your flock/foil onto the glue leave for around 20 minutes before putting under the hot plates. (You need a high heat to transfer the flock/foil onto your material)

After 20 minutes place your piece under the hot plates and with both hands pull the lever down until it clicks into place.

A timer will go off on the machine and when it starts to play a tune, with both hands pull the lever up. (Do NOT leave for too long once the tune has started, pull the lever up as soon as possible)

Take your piece of work off the hot plates. Leave it to cool for a couple of seconds and then carefully peel back the flock/foil to reveal your outcome.

Flock & Foil

This was my first go at the foil process. I found it relatively easy to do and the results were very neat. I didn't have much time to try this process out so this is my only example of foil at the moment, but I would like to experiment with different colours, mixing the colours and mixing the foil with flock to give a whole new effect to my image.

What was left over from my foil print -

(Didn't have time for flock but will try this process out during the next project to experiment with/try it)

Laser Cutting- My Thoughts

Laser cutting was definitely my favourite printing process, not just because I found it to be one of the easiest and least time consuming processes, but because you could add a lot of detail without taking ages. Also I found the results were neat and high quality, unlike some of the other processes. Another good thing about laser cutting, changing your design without having to start all over again if there is any problems is easy. Overall I enjoyed the laser cutting process and would use it again in future work/projects.

Laser Cutting Infomation

Room T0.6

- Laser Cutting

- Fabric Printing

(Always press Emergency Button if any problems or fire starts)

Artwork has to be a vector file to be able to go through the laser cutting machine. If your image is produced or edited in Photoshop turn in to grayscale and eliminate as much grey as possible. Save the file as a JPEG then open up in Ai (Adobe Illustrator). Select the image, click object > live trace > make and expand. After live tracing your chosen image save the file (when saving the file make sure you untick all the boxes, otherwise it will not open in the APS ethas software).

Start Programmes > APS ethas software > Click OK > Open recent saved image > Keep clicking next, then finish (don't need to change anything).

If you don't want the border around the edge to be engraved or cut out in your work then make sure you delete it before you forget.

(The image size is in the bottom right hand corner so make sure you check the size of your image will fit onto your material. If you wish to change the size, drag cursor over all, press shift and drag bigger/smaller)

If you are bring your image straight from photoshop (JPEG of TIF) the image will need cleaning up. (The image may have 2 layers so one layer will need to be deleted, you cannot highlight the entire image and press delete you have to take each bit separately and delete them). If your going to use a TIF or JPEG file try and chose a simple file so that it won't take too long to clean up.

Editing cutting effects (next to colour bar) - Select number, pick a cutting effect and then press set. (Change the colour of parts of your image to match what cutting effect you want on that particular part)

Click Output > Material Manager > Scroll through materials and choose appropriate one (Don't need to change anything else)

Switch machine on > Open the lid > Place material in the centre > Press the hand symbol on the machine (puts the machine online) > measuring button underneath hand > press ↵ (enter) > use the arrows to move the laser to the bottom left hand corner of your material > press ↵ > move the laser to the opposite corner > press ↵

Go back to the computer screen

> Output > Cut design > Check Material > Send to cutter

If the laser is too light it means the laser is too far away from your material so adjust the nib.

- Turn the machine off

- Hoover up any cut out pieces that are in the bottom of the laser cutter.

Laser Cutting - Finals

Laser Cutting- Final attempt at cutting through and engraving together

This was my final attempt at this process and I'm very pleased that it worked. I'm extremely happy with the result I got and I think that it is very effective. This print process was probably my favourite as it was the easiest to put a lot of detail in.

Final Engraving

My very first go on the laser cutter I decided to just engrave to test out the machine and see how well the design came out and if it came out as detailed as I would like.

I really liked the way the engraving came out, when I have more time I would like to try engraving on other materials to see what other effects I am able to produce. But for a first attempted I am very happy with the result.

Laser Cutting - First Attempt

Laser Cutting - First attempt at engraving and cutting through.

Unfortunately this attempt didn't work. You are able to see which parts were meant to be cut through as they're darker. The reason this happened was because after the laser started I noticed that the card I used was slightly bent. This made it move as the laser ran over it which meant when the laser went over it for a second time it didn't go over the first layer.

Laser Cutting - Second Attempt

Laser Cutting - Second attempt at cutting through and engraving

This was my second attempt at engraving and cutting through, this one didn't work either. Part of the image cut through but not all the parts I actually highlighted for cutting through. Hopefully my next attempt will work.