Water for Elephants: Final Banner

I made my images bigger and adapted some of them  to work with the final banner, i.e. the sizing of the elephant, and experimented with composition, combining both the back and front cover so that you can see both the book cover I created and this banner relate to one another.

Once again I added a drop shadow to the text and used a bold version of the font Candara to make it stand out against the background clearer. For an interesting effect I have tired to balance the words "Sara Guren" on the ballerinas hand.

I used text wrap as a means to align the text so the eye follows the text and images together linming them  all to one another.

Water for Elephants Banner: idea 1

This is the first idea I produced for the banner of my book cover, I tried simplifying my images here completely, as the first front cover I produced was quite busy. So on the Banner I just used a few images and a central alingment.

The banner to me reflects the depression and circus life, and the image looks quite creepy, showing that side of the storyline.

I put a drop shadow on the font to make it stand out against my textured background, as when resized for the banner the texture becomes more grainy and legibility harder.

water for elephants final book cover

After playing around with composition on the image I have come to the final version of my book cvoer pictured below:

I felt the image on the front cover of the previous idea could also work well on the back cover, the tents behind the circus were made in a similar style to my elephant (using oil paints)

The stroke was removed from all vectors, I changed the image of two ballerinas to one, as it fits better with the storyline and used the colour pink in my work repetively to reflect the colours in the characters costume in the storyline.

I chose a script font as I felt it worked better with the more "delicate images" the script font also connotates romance novel, which  is what the story is deep at heart.

The grim green background reflects the depression and 1930s colour scheme.

I centered the blurb text as I felt this alignment worked and made use of space, I put the books quote in bold to show how important it was.

Water for elephants idea 1:

Using some vectors I had created I started putting together my first idea for a book cover, although I like the idea I think the book cover is too busy, and the images are too contrasting when draped across one background. Originally I wanted the old man to be placed on the front cover on the blurb, however after recieving feedback on the idea I realised that this wouldn't be commercial, which is why I placed it by the blurb instead.

I quite like the text wrap style of text on back cover here, though it doesn't neccesarily make use of space.

I do like the idea of characters and eccentricity, And the cut off circus, I originally put the word in to anchor the image, however when looking at it here it is self explanitory to me what it is, especially witht the other images around it.

I wanted to replace the hippo character with an elephant to reflect the title of the book better, however I think the positioning of the character should be reconsidered, as here it looks as if it is floating in middair.

I think on the spine the wording of the title could be smaller, and sara gruen could aligned to it, having less characters at the bottom of the sign.

Although I like all the individual vectors they too contast a bit, some have stroke, and some don't so I am going to make them appear more consistent on the next version of the book cover I produce.

Further research into project

Wanting to focus the water for elephants cover on the emphasis of character, the idea of the main character sitting in a house I done some research into 1930's interior and colour schemes, to create an authenic styled front book cover.

Below are some useful links I found to help me with my project:
1930s style interior design sketches

room layout, fabric ideas

1930s lights

colour schemes

a virtual 1930s house research

Gordon van tine

This research helped me when creating  a textured background for my book:

I also created my own interior objects in the style of the era

carpet

clock

Table and Lamp



book cover links - water for elephants

Links on which I found great book cover designs:
smashing magazine - excellent book covers
book cover archive

Assignment 2: Water for elephants - a book by Sara Gruen

The book water for elephants was set in the great depression. I thought a great way to start my research would be to look at the styles of artwork that were around in this era.
http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/artgallery.htm

I found the above website very useful as it contains many different images from the era. I particularly liked the works of Edward Hopper and Reginald Marsh. From this website I done further google image searches into these artists, and some other artists found on the above link.

I like how all of Edwards Hopper's characters seem to be deep in thought, and have a back story. And in all the images above although bright colours are used, they contain black and look drab.

I was thinking I could include the main character in the story (Jacob an old man aged 90) on my front cover, the book is all about the old man reminising, and flips between the past and present where he waits for his family to take him to the circus. And for the clothing of the character and room he is sitting him could contain elements from the images above.

Another part of the story is the circus life - I would definitely like to suggest the idea of a circus on the front cover on my book as it's such a major part of the storyline.

On google I managed to find some images of old circus banners and carriages:

http://www.circushistory.org/

The above posters could come in useful when looking at typography for my book cover. I could trace some letters in Illustrator.

The posters also contain show names/acts I could put on posters on the book cover. These images could be useful ideas for colour scheme and composition. I could try drawing some elements from these images, and others I have found and included in my sketchbook to see if they would work on my book cover.

I could relate these to an old man character reminising about the circus life.

Assignment one: my finished images. Main inspirations: Ingrid Baars, James Dawe and Sarah Howell

Blue sky thinking:

The phrase Blue Sky Thinking is all about being open minded and letting your thoughts stretch as wide and as clear as the blue sky.

In this image the birds to me represent the persons thoughts, and the bird cage is a symbol of the minds structure, the cage is open and the birds have been relased. The thoughts escaping represent being open minded.

I experimented with the swirls using a variety of mix media from cotton wool to paint, and filters on the programme Adobe Photoshop. I organised the composition of this piece in the programme Adobe Indesign.

This image is for the phrase paint the town red. This phrase suggests going out and having fun.

This image sums up my home town Hastings, I like the pictuesque old town and thought it would work really well with the phrase. I overlapped the images and experimented with transparency in a David Hockney style.

I also experimented with photoshop filters, using poster edges in many of the images to give an old fashioned painted feel.

The paint tube was drawn up in Adobe Illustrator and the paint tube adds the fun element to the image.

This Image was created for the phrase Red Letter Day

The composition for the final imgage was arranged in the programme Adobe Illustrator.

The image shows the envelope taking an journey to the door, the envelope represents a present and the idea of celebration. The lines in the image are supposed to be fun and string like - i.e party streamers. The stars in the image are a symbol of celebration and luck.

In china on "red letter day" people give each other red letters with money in and this is a symbol of luck and prosperity.

In the ivy leaves on the door are leaves of clover to relate the image to luck.

Above is a CD cover I designed for the assignment it includes elements from the images I produced for my first assignment.

assignment 1: image inspiration

Above Images from the illustrator Sarah Howell, I like the way all the images flow using swirls images etc.

Above two images by the illustrator James Dawe i like the use of colour and how they contrast with the use of grey.

Above images by illustrator Ingrid baars, i like the way the photographer has experimented with colour, photoshop and transparency

Images from the famous photographer David Hockney I like the clever use of image overlapping and transparency.

Art Nouveau work featuring Aubrey Beardsley, Gustav Klimt, William Morris, William de Morgan, Louis Comfort Tiffany, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Henry van de Velde and Wassily Kandisnsky.

Art Nouveau and Advertisement:
This is a poster for the first Phalanx Exhibition by the artist Wassily Kandinsky. The work was created in 1901. The poster features charging soldiers in battle pointing their sheilds and spears as they race towards the enemy.

y in this German poster.

Art Nouveau: Aubrey Beardsley

•(1872 -1898) was an illustrator and an author. I think Beardsley's work shows a clear link between good and evil, myth fairytale, and class. As well as being influenced by the art nouveau movement he was also a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement – in which the well known play write Oscar Wilde.rite Oscar Wilde was also involved.

Other example of Beardsley's work:

Typography - Art Nouveau the letter V designed by Aubery Beardsley.

Art Nouveau - how an interior of a place may look.

Alphonse Mucha's famous Art Nouveau poster "Zodiac," also known as "La Plume. It was designed in 1896 as a calendar printed by F. Champenois, Paris. Shortly thereafter, the popular French Magazine "La Plume" purchased the rights to Mucha's illustration. The image was widely popular, and it became closely associated with the Magazine. 

•William De Morgan November (1839 -1917) A tile designer and potter – was associated with William Morris another artist involved in the Art Nouveau movement. In 1872 he founded his own pottery and showroom in Chelsea, London.

 

•Louis Comfort Tiffany  (1848-1933) was an American artist who worked in the decorative arts and is best known for his work in glass design. 

Gustav Klimt:

•(1862 – 1914) is a well known artist, one of his paintings was recently sold for $135 million in 2006. His work is defined by swirls and interesting shapes and the colour gold. 

•William Morris (1834 – 1896) was a craftsman, poet and socialist educated at Oxford. In 1861 William Morris opened the company Morris and Company which produced wallpaper, stained glass, tapestries, textiles and furniture.

•Walter Crane (1845 – 1915) was an artist and illustrator. His work featured some of the more colorful and detailed beginnings of the child-in-the-garden motifs that would characterize many nursery rhymes and children's stories for decades to come.

•

This poster was designed by the French Artist Pierre Bonnard. The poster uses fashionable art nouveau curves to create a light-hearted image of a woman holding a glass of frothy champagne.

•This is a poster designed by Henry van de Velde in 1899.

•

•Tropon “the most concentrated nourishment”  is advertised with curving plant forms that represent only the most abstract idea of nourishment and growth. The lettering of the poster is fully incorporated into the linear design.This is a poster designed by Henry van de Velde in 1899.

•Tropon “the most concentrated nourishment”  is advertised with curving plant forms that represent only the most abstract idea of nourishment and growth. The lettering of the poster is fully incorporated into the linear design.

Below: Art Nouveau "Harvest moon" By Charles Rennie Mackintosh.