Ronaldo - Adobe Illustrator Practise

This is a trace of an image of Ronaldo which I have created using Adobe Illustrator. This piece of work links to two parts of my final response, one of them is that it is a large full-colour trace of his upper body, this links to the large full-colour trace which can be found in my fourth stamp, which is of Jesus Christ. This also helped me as it is of Ronaldo, who is a very famous Brazilian sporting hero, who is a popular figure amongst many Brazilians. In my first stamp you will find a silhouette of all of Ronaldo's body which I created in Adobe Illustrator. I mainly created this though to improve my skills whilst using this software as I had not previously used it, and I would be needing to use it to create all four of my stamps that would be my final response. Despite creating it for practise, it has also helped me develop a few of my ideas and even helped me come up with new ideas to make my original ideas better.

Stamp four - final outcome

 

It may be suggested in this fourth and final stamp that the focal point in it was not intended to be the focal point of it whatsoever. The large trace of half of Jesus Christ's face on the left hand side of the stamp could be viewed as the main focus of this image because of its size. Though the intended focal point of this image is the silhouette of the spider found just right to centre of this image. The spider is largely significant to that of the native Brazilian Wandering Spider as it is famous for being known as possibly the world's most deadliest of all arachnids because of its aggressiveness and because of it known to being extremely territorial as well. Though back to the image of Jesus Christ, this could cause confusion as to why it is significant to Brazil though it is simply because of the large amount of the Brazilian population that are know Christians; this fact is evident through the extremely large national landmark of Christ the Redeemer. Also with this image of Jesus Christ, I have created it in the style of which I have due to my research on the work of illustrator Pablo Jeffer da Silva. In many of his images you will find a large image of half of woman's face, so I have tried to add this to my work by using the face of Jesus Christ; a very significant figure to Brazilian culture which makes him a very well known figure to a high amount of the Brazilian population. I have also used other techniques of Pablo Jeffer da Silva's work in this final stamp by once again using the gradient tool and flares.

Stamp 3 - final outcome

In this stamp I have chosen for my focal point to be that of Brazilian landmark, Christ the Redeemer. I have done this as a silhouette once again as my design is colourful it makes it stand out more by being an all black silhouette. I have used this as it is most likely Brazil's most famous landmark, with it standing at 124 ft. in height over the city of Rio de Janeiro it is visible from all around with it also being located at the peak of the Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca forest national park. It is also significant to the culture as a large majority of Brazilians are Catholic, which makes Jesus Christ a very popular figure amongst many Brazilians. Besides it you will see a bird which is native to Brazil, though this bird specifically is located in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, as it is a trace of an image which I have taken myself on my trip to Tropical World. Once again I have used a few techniques similar to the ones that are used by illustrator Pablo Jeffer da Silva, by using the gradient tool for my background and the flare tool. I have also followed a similar style as the ones in my first two stamps by having the Olympic rings located in the bottom right and my Rio 2016 logo in the top left hand corner.

Stamp two - final outcome

With all of my stamps I have decided to make them quite similar as when put together they do not create a larger image so I have done this so that it is still easy to tell that they are all together in a set. The focal point in this stamp is the large silhouette of a woman manoeuvring a Judo kick. That woman is not just there to signify a sport in the Olympic games, she is also there to represent young Brazilian talent - Sarah Menezes. I have used Sarah Menezes as I found after completing a bit of research on her that she is expected to be one of Brazil's main stars at their Olympics. Last year in London she struck gold aged just 22, so it isn't hard to tell why she is one of the country's main prospects for the next Olympics, which is also going to held in their own country. As well as the last stamp it is clear to see in this one also that I have combined two previous ideas together by going back to my original plan to have silhouettes in each of the four stamps, though I have also used more recent research work on some main aspects of Brazilian life and culture. Besides the silhouette there is a much small colour image that is of the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho open-air stadium in Brazil. I have used this in my design as it is located in Rio de Janeiro and was partially rebuilt in preparation for the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2014 World Cup, which will be the first one held in Brazil since 1950, and also the 2016 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The capacity of the stadium is roughly 96,000 so it is clear to tell as to why it will be one of the main stadiums for the Olympic games. Also in this stamp, you can see how I have tried to use techniques which I have recognised from the work of Pablo Jeffer da Silva, by having the gradient as the whole of the background and the flare which is located just above the kicking leg of the athlete. I have also stuck to a certain style by using the Rio 2016 logo in the stamp again and having the Queen's head in the top right corner, and also having the Olympic rings in the stamp, located in the same place as the first stamp.

Stamp one - final outcome

It is clear to see here that I have not completely followed the idea which I have previously published. However, in this stamp I have taken aspects from all of my different pieces of work and research in the months previous to it. I have still kept the idea that I would have Ronaldo as my focal point in my first stamp, and that I have done. Though this version differs from my original plan as I had been previously been creating a full colour trace of the top half of his body in Adobe Illustrator and in this version I have created a silhouette of his whole body. I did this after I realised that it would make it stand out more rather than having it in colour along with the rest of the stamp and the other image which I would create beside it. The colours which I have used in my stamp are significant to Brazil as I have used: green, blue, yellow and orange. I researched the colours of Brazil which include the colours of the flag and the colour of kits which sports teams wear. Yellow, green and blue are used for the Brazilian flag and football team's kit and I incorporated orange as it is a colour which is similar to yellow so looks good in a gradient with it, as well as it being a warm colour to represent the warm temperatures and sun in Rio de Janeiro. Despite it differing from my last idea it still ties in with all of the work I have already done as my first sketches show that I originally planned to have sketches on all of my stamps, although I just planned for them all to be of different sports in the Olympics rather than here I have merged my two previous ideas in to one, as I still have Ronaldo as my focal point in this first stamp, though I have created him as a silhouette instead as I was going to do anyway in my first idea, but instead just of someone kicking a ball and not specifically Ronaldo. Besides him I have traced around an image which I have taken myself. This image is of an Iguana which I saw on my trip to Tropical World and got a good photo of. I used the same techniques to create this image as I did with the Ronaldo which I created as practise in Adobe Illustrator leading up to my final piece. As you will be able to tell from my previous blogs, I have been researching the work on artist, Pablo Jeffer da Silva. I have viewed many pieces of his work so that I am able to get a feel for the sort of techniques which he consistently uses in his illustrations. I have incorporated some of his techniques into my own stamps by using the flare tool in each of them. In this stamp specifically you will be able to see that I have used the tool twice; first just below the Queen's head in the top right hand corner and second to the left of the Rio 2016 logo. Another technique of his which I have tried to incorporate into my own work is the gradient tool. Again, in this stamp specifically you can see that I have used it for the whole of the background for it. And also, I created my own Rio 2016 logo to use in my stamps and I have used the gradient effect once again in that. Aside from that I have also tried to make it look like a real Olympic stamp by using a silhouette of the Queen's head in the top right corner and in the bottom right there are the Olympic rings.

Sketches

Here you will see 4 design ideas for stamps which I drew up for homework earlier on in the brief. In each stamp there is a different silhouette to represent 4 different competitions in the Olympic games and in the background there is the name of the Brazilian city - Rio de Janeiro, though this is only clear when they are all put together as separate parts of it are on each of the 4 stamps. Also you will see that when they are put together it creates the Brazilian national flag in the centre of it all. I am not sure yet as to if my final design will look exactly like this as there are many other things that I wish to add such as flares and gradients, though doing this has definitely helped in developing my idea as there are ideas which I can take from this in my final design.

Trip to Tropial World

As the olympics in 2016 are going to be held in Rio de Janeiro, and we are going to be designing stamps for it, we had to take a trip to Tropial World in Leeds to view different kinds of animals and plants that are found in South Ameria/Brazil. The trip took place on the 21st of October, 2013, and was very useful in helping me think up of more design ideas after looking at the different species there. I took multiple photographs using a digital camera and some of them will be uploaded soon. These images will help me as it will help me achieve a higher grade for this project by using my own images to recreate using Adobe Photoshop.

 

Olympics Stamp Idea 1

Stamp 1:
Initial idea	My focal point will be a drawing of Brazilian sporting legend, Ronaldo, in the 2002 World Cup. Besides him there will be a trace of the Olympic torch. In the top corner beneath the Queen’s head there will also be the 2014 Olympic logo.
Rational (why have you chosen this idea?)	I have chosen Ronaldo as he is one of Brazil’s greatest footballers as of recent times. He is important as he is/was an idol to many of the Brazilian athletes that are competing in the game of football and maybe even others. The Olympic torch is important to include one of the stamps as it is symbolises the beginning of the games. It is also important to have the logo from the Olympics placed somewhere on the stamps as it will show that it is part of a collection of stamps that has been made to commemorate the 2014 Olympics.
How does the idea relate to your investigations/development work?	I have done quite a lot of research and also used the knowledge which I already had on the subject to conclude on my decision to use Ronaldo as one of my athletes on one of my stamps.
What effects do you want to incorporate into the stamp? – justify your decisions	I would like to incorporate the gradient tool so that it is similar to the style of Pablo Jeffer Da Silva.

Evaluation of Olympics Logos

 

This logo is good because it looks very unique how it is very recognisable because of the union jack in the design and the shapes create the numbers ‘2012’ which is the year that it was held. I do not like that there is no background on the image or if there is it is just plain white which is very bland.

Red and white have been used as the main colours in this logo as they are very significant Canada as these are the two colours of which the national flag is made up of. Also, a good point is how they have used a snowflake as the logo as this was used for the winter Olympics and the snowflake represents the ice and snow as there would have been a lot of it in the winter in Calgary.

Despite this logo not actually being used as Chicago was not selected for the 2016 Olympics, it is a good logo. It is significant to Chicago as the shapes represent skyscrapers and the skyline of Chicago is very famous and one of the most significant parts about the city.

Evaluation of Stamps

These are the stamps that were made for the Beijing Olympics in 2008. They are good because in each of the stamps there are different sports but the same effects have been used and they have all been designed the same so that they all follow a certain style. This style has been taken from the official logo of the Beijing Olympics, so that they all follow the same style.

 

 

These stamps were also made for the Beijing Olympics in 2008; though these stamps are Jamaican. It is obvious that these stamps are significant to Jamaica as in all of the stamps there are different athletes that competed at the Beijing games. There are also parts at the sides which are significant to Beijing such as in the bottom left corner in the yellow section there is a Chinese dragon which Chinese people dress up as for Chinese New Year.

 

 

 

These stamps were made for Australia after the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Greece. There are different stamps for each of the athletes that won gold for Australia in the Athens Olympics. In some of the stamps there is more than one athlete, this is because these are teams that have won gold together for a specific sport at the Olympics.

 

 

Evaluation of Pablo Jeffer Da Silva

What are the main strengths of the illustration? (Justify decisions)	Deeper meaning with extra bodies inside the hair, with one covered in ants and the one above it with diamonds and crystals around it, and also some look like they are going through it. There is also a blue eye above the bodies which could signify something about the woman’s beauty and her having nice eyes.
What do you feel are the main weaknesses of the illustration?	The image is hard to understand, as in it is hard to find a deeper meaning to the picture. Also, there is a small sign saying “IN” which is connected to the end of the woman’s hair, which is difficult to understand or know what it is there for.
How effective are the effects that have been incorporated into the image? (Justify decisions)	They are effective; especially the woman that is drowning looks like it could be the same woman as who the big face is. This could have multiple deeper meanings as the woman could believe that it is all about her beauty though inside she is drowning.
What is the focal point of the illustration and are there any areas that you find particularly interesting?	The focal point is the woman’s face. This is because it is very big and her skin and hair colour stands out above the blue background.
Does the image have any meaning or relationship to brazil? (Justify answer)	There could be a slight relation between this image and Brazil, as at the top there is a dark night sky with stars on it, same as on the Brazilian flag where there is the dark blue circle with stars on it that represent the stars in the night sky over Rio de Janeiro.

What ideas would you like to develop further based on the image?

An idea that I could take from this is taking the image of the woman and re making it as another person such as a very famous Brazilian athlete, Jesus Christ etc. I could change the things that have been built from her hair from things to do with her to things to do with Brazil such as wildlife, landmarks, rainforests etc.

What are the main strengths of the illustration? (Justify decisions)	The main strength is the shadows that have been used to make it look realistic such as the light grey on the black suit to show the creases and on the large white mountains and on the floor there is darker shading to create shadows. I think it looks good as there are things in the image such as these that make it look realistic whilst it still looks very weird and preternatural.
What do you feel are the main weaknesses of the illustration?	The floor and mountains are the same colour; they could change the colour of either of them. It would look better if they changed the colour of the floor so that the water stands out more as the ground look quite plain despite the good work creating the shadows and water.
How effective are the effects that have been incorporated into the image? (Justify decisions)	The effects creating the shadows on the ground and mountains is effective as they stop it from looking plain and add more depth to them, since they are both the same colour anyway so that could be an improvement to change the colour of them.
What is the focal point of the illustration and are there any areas that you find particularly interesting?	The focal point is either the man which is standing in the middle of the photo as he stands out very well wearing black in front of the white mountains and ground and in front of the multi-coloured circle shape in the background, or it could be the multi-coloured circle shape as your attention is instantly drawn to it as the rest of the image is made from cool and dull colours and this is very bright and big despite it being in the background of the image.
Does the image have any meaning or relationship to brazil? (Justify answer)	The only relation that could be possible is, once again, the stars in the dark night sky at the top of the image which link to the stars in the sky above Rio de Janeiro which are featured in the Brazilian national flag.
What ideas would you like to develop further based on the image?	I could change the man that is stood in the middle to a famous Brazilian athlete and recreate them in the exact same style.

What are the main strengths of the illustration? (Justify decisions)	The trees, sun and birds silhouettes look good on the edge of the woman’s arm as her arm turns into a silhouette in that area as well but the rest of her body is just like a usual illustration.
What do you feel are the main weaknesses of the illustration?	The top of the image is very empty and plain. There is nothing there and it is just a solid colour. This could be improved by adding text, gradient or some other silhouette or an illustrated image that relates to the rest of the picture.
How effective are the effects that have been incorporated into the image? (Justify decisions)	They are effective as the colour of the woman’s arm changes depending on what is around it. Such as it turns into a silhouette where the silhouettes of trees and birds are. It then turns a blue colour where there are icy mountains and then when it is above the orange, which is possibly a glow from the sun, it turns purple then when it is back over the solid purple colour it changes back to like a regular illustration of a woman.
What is the focal point of the illustration and are there any areas that you find particularly interesting?	The focal point is the silhouettes/shadows of the trees and birds as they are brown which is very different to the colours used in most of the rest of the image. Also, they are over the top of the sun which is orange and yellow so they show up very well.
Does the image have any meaning or relationship to brazil? (Justify answer)	Brazilian wildlife could be related to the image in some way as there are birds that are flying around the tree in front of the sunset.
What ideas would you like to develop further based on the image?	I could copy the idea of the bright glowing sunset that has silhouettes of trees and birds. Although I could take this and add more wildlife that would be found in Brazil so that it is more significant.

 

 

After looking at and evaluating a few different pieces of Pablo Jeffer Da Silva's work, it has helped me a lot in coming up with more ideas for designs such as what sort of techniques to use to get the same sort of style of his illustrations.

Collage

Here are the 2 collages which I made that are made up of images that relate to Brazil. In the first one there are images of Ronaldo and the Christ the Redeemer statue. There is also images of the beach in Rio de Janeiro and a favela in Brazil. In the second collage, the lady in the picture is the president of Brazil and the scenery next to her is from the Amazon Rainforest which is located in Brazil. The snake at the top of the image is a Brazilian Rainbow Boa which as it says in the name is native to Brazil.

Background research

I had to research many things about Brazil as I was not familiar with some athletes, landmarks, events etc. I researched athletes such as Pelé and Sarah Menezes and also the Christ the Redeemer statue which is located in Rio de Janeiro. I also researched the Estádio Jornalista Mário Filho stadium which is located in Brazil and why the Brazilian flag has the yellow, green and blue on its flag. The Carnival is an event in Brazil which happens every year and I also researched this to find out more about it and what sort of things go on there. I researched the Brazilian Wandering Spider which as it states in the name is native to Brazil and according to several sources, is the most deadliest spider in the world.

Overview of Brief

For my final response I have been asked to create stamps for the 2016 Olympics in Rio. I have to research famous landmarks, athletes etc. for this as the stamps have to be relevant to Brazil. I also have to research an illustrator called Pablo Jeffer Da Silva. I will have to research and evaluate his work and take sections of his different images which I could recreate and use as inspiration for sections of my own final response.