Colour Research for 2015

Colour in Trend Research

So right now I am researching the colours that will be 'in season' in 2015, I am researching 2015 because I would rather be ahead of my time than current and I believe it could give my concept a longer life in the limelight by grabbing attention for longer. 

According to the Executive Director of the Pantone Color Institute, Leatrice Eiseman, 

The spring of 2015 will move towards the cooler and softer side of the colour spectrum. 

'An ethereal mix of understated brights, pale pastels and nature-like neutrals take centre stage as designers draw from daydreams of simpler times. Remembrances of retro delights, folkloric and floral art, and the magical worlds of tropical landscapes restore a sense of well-being as we head into warmer months.' -from the web page.. 

  

http://www.pantone.com/pages/fcr/?season=spring&year=2015&pid=11

The top 10 colours listed are;

*Aquamarine

cool, calming, ethereal, watery feeling, makes us feel rested, stress reducer

*Scuba Blue

cool, more playful, vibrancy, exotic paradise, escape

*Lucite Green

has not been around recently, but is creeping its way back in, retro feeling, minty glow, light in weight, transparent feel

*Classic Blue

anchor colour in spring, faithful, strong, dependable, reliable colour that is eternal and enduring, creates background for all other colours

*Toasted Almond

suntanned neutral, comforting, warm, timeless, versatile, organic, natural feeling, authenticity, toes in sand kind of shade

*Strawberry Ice

warming, healing, charming, also cooling, pinks throw a wonderful on skin in spring and summer

*Tangerine

oranges have been around in the last few seasons, spontaneous, softer, cooler, playful and tangy

*Custard

sweet, sunny, cheerful, pleasant, relaxing, good feeling, subtle, easy disposition

*Marsala

one of the foundation colours like classic blue, strength, confidence, stability, natural earthiness, excitement of wine.

*Glacier Gray

cooling, neutral colour, unobtrusive, contrasts and yet enhances all other colours, truly natures most perfect neutral colour. grey makes us think of rock, sediment and things that are dependable, strong, confident, relaxing and constant and peaceful.

And the rest are;

*Dusk Blue 

*Treetop

*Woodbine

*Sandstone

*Titanium

*Lavender Herb

I am going to take these colours and try not to stray from them for a while.. I think that if I stick to these colours, it will not only give me a decent colour pallet to try working with (something I haven't done yet), but also.. I'll be in fashion in spring 2015 lol. 

Video Research

What I've Been Watchin'..

So while I'm researching for my brief, any spare time I get I'll watch a documentary, short clip, interview etc.. to gain even more knowledge of the blues and Robert Johnson. I'm also doing this to gain a better understanding of how things were around the time that Johnson was alive, and to feed details and information into my brain so that I can better establish a more detailed and convincing concept for my work. 

Heres a song to enjoy if you fancy it... 

Mississippi Shakes - Sittin' On Top Of The World.

List of things I have been Watching;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYtyNHyzRCY&list=PLCJ2kGrkFDZutXue4k9ubbKRMjnTbHgJN

(Martin Scorsese - The Blues. Documentary film series produced by Martin Scorsese, dedicated to the history of the blues. In each of the seven episodes, a different director explores a stage in the development of the blues.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1gVtKIxRew

(Peter Mayor - Can't You Hear The Wind Howl, The Life and Music of Robert Johnson, A film starring Keb Mo as Johnson, documentary film about the life of Robert Johnson.)

(Chris Hunt - The Search for Robert Johnson, hosted by John Hammond, is a 1991 UK documentary providing an amazing insight into the life of Robert Johnson, showing interviews with people that new him.) I can't find a link online for this but I watched it at home and its excellent. 

(Son House, a renowned blues musician that had the pleasure of knowing Johnson, talks about some experiences he had with him.)

( Eric Clapton - The Robert Johnson Sessions, how could someone better express the influence Robert J has had on modern musicians... a full album dedicated to Johnson's music, played by the one and only Eric Clapton.)...love it, like I love it. 

Music Demographics Research

Music Demographic Research

I have been reading and researching the statistics etc of musical demographics.

What type of people like what type of music essentially, and what to take into account when tackling the challenge of my brief.

Demographics for music are normally placed into subsections;

Gender

Overall, gender plays a small role in explaining who listens to what type of music. According to statistics, men are more likely to prefer blues, r&b, rock/heavy metal and jazz etc. Whereas females are more likely to enjoy dance/electronica, hymns/gospel, easy listening, musicals etc..

  Although of course this does not always apply. 

Race

Statistically white people are more likely than all other races to enjoy every type of music except blues, r&b, ethnic, gospel, jazz, hip-hop and reggae.. funnily enough basically the only musical genres that I (white) listen to.

 Apparently whites are four times more likely to enjoy country/western music. All races are equally as likely to enjoy dance/electronica, latin, easy listening and opera etc.

Age

Age relates directly to musical preference, older generations are more likely to prefer big band, classical hymns/gospel, easy listening, musicals, opera etc whereas the younger generations are more likely to enjoy dance/electronica, hip hop, rock/heavy metal etc. 

 

Income

Once other demographic factors have been taken into consideration, income is rarely of statistical value. However, in the cases of country music, blues, gospel/hymns, hip-hop have often been associated with the lower and middle income classes. 

Soooo, taken from this research.. my Blues demographic statistically is more likely to be;

*Male

*Black

*Older

*Of low or middle income

However of course this is not always the case, especially now in this modern world the younger generations of both sex's, all incomes and races have incredibly varied musical tastes that span way out of there stereotypes. So Although my concept will be aimed mainly at an older, low income, male demographic.. I will keep elements in my theme that communicate to all types of people. 

Demographic Research, Relating to My Brief.

So now I'm researching my specific demographic, which is the blues music audience, and fans of Robert Johnson and the legend that surrounds him.
 I believe I can try to tackle more than one demographic with this challenge, blues fans, people that are interested in folklore and demonology etc, and maybe attack the people today that have not heard of Johnson, and give there ears a good rattling!
 I have just sent a message to The Blues Foundation, The international home of blues music, to see if they could share there extensive knowledge of the blues scene and shed some light on the cultural personalities of blues listeners.

Hopefully hear back off them soon enough.

Introduction to Branding Research

Introduction to Branding Research

I have been researching into branding techniques, I looked into it myself a few years ago when starting a t-shirt and apparel company with friends, (didn't work out because one of the friends was not quite a team player). 

My understanding of branding is so;

  The most important thing to consider when starting a brand is the consumer, I believe it is best to look at the consumer from a cultural point of view rather than a marketing point of view... Who the consumer is, not 'what' the consumer is. 

   All people make their decisions based on their cultural context, so when taking a cultural approach to branding things to consider would be,

  *Traditions

  *Beliefs

  *Experiences

  *Ideas. 

  Brands, instead of just selling us products, sell us ideas and lifestyles.

Take for example brands like Apple, Starbucks, Harley Davidson and Nike..

 none of the ideas that these companies are known for are inherent to the products they sell, but are the result of the social meaning that these brands have attained in our society. This social meaning can be attained in culture through;

  *Narratives

  *Social Activities

  *Rituals

  *Symbols

  

Apple, for example have created a potent symbol in its logo.

Harley Davidson's anniversary celebrations are powerful rituals that draw in millions of followers from all over the world.

I believe it is these cultural components that help a brand convey a sense of meaning that provides fulfilment and self affirmation and belonging to consumers that receive these ideas.

Who the consumer is, not 'what'.

-Demographic

-Behavior

-Preferences

-Purchasing

-Psychology

-Sociology

-Social outlets

This type of approach, gives brands the level of understanding that they need to help build productive and lasting relationships with the consumer. Take the market research and marketing data and develop a set of characteristics that will resonate with the brands followers. 

 Creating messages and marketing strategies that will strengthen brand culture, allowing a brand to be more influential in the lives of its consumers by giving them WHAT THEY'RE REALLY LOOKING FOR. Which is not just a product, but a sense of fulfilment and belonging that comes with being part of a great culture. 

 Ofcourse the goal of all this is to maximise return on your marketing investments, and while this approach is more theoretical than the more traditional approaches, I believe it would be more effective in this modern world than approaches of the past. 

Albums from the 60's - Jazz and Blues

Album Art 60's Blues & Jazz

To bring my research home and steer it into a more applicable direction for my brief, Im starting to look at blues and jazz album artwork from the 60's.

The reason I am specifically looking at the 60's pieces for now is because I want to give my own piece a very vintage style and 60's based heritage, although I will try to blend it with a modern and contemporary theme. 

Here are a few classics I've picked out from the 1960's.

Love the font on this one!

Excellent composition, more my style, although seems to have drifted from the standard blues cover art.. more contemporary. 

Really nice font, very 60's, contrasting with a very old style photo of Muddy, Bo and Howlin'.

I like the sense of age the black and white (sepia) style photo has, maybe representing the earlier days the musicians became established in...

Very basic but also self explanatory. I think the font is beautiful,  it stands out like a sore thumb in a yellowy okre and blood orange stating the album name quite proudly.. yet humbly. 

Love it, although I probably won't take much from this piece as it is a very basic photograph and I want my piece to have a fair bit more going on to communicate my concept.

All of these covers, barring 'American Folk Blues Festival' , depict the artist/musicians. 

All have a very plane washy backdrop of pale colour, with a loud standout text that sharply expresses what the album is. Also, I've noticed, other rock albums etc of the same era, like to express a lot in there cover artworks.. sometimes a strong sense of personality.. wealth.. status etc.

Whereas blues albums seem to stay humble, nothing to prove.. blues music is not about fame, popularity or success, it is the music for the thinking mind, the awkward ponderer, the lonely romantic and the heartbroken.. it remains patiently calm, and wishes to state nothing about itself other than what it is...

The blues. 

The main points I have taken from looking at 60's blues album art is thus:

*Pale washy background

*Strong stand out text

*Depiction of the musician

*Dont show off, stay humble, be respectful of the genre and do it quiet justice. 

Album Artwork 60's Research

Jefferson Airplane - Takes Off

1966

I'm really struggling to find any information about the making of this album cover, as far as I can tell it was designed by the band themselves. 

What I like about this is the composition, the very 60's font and the use of colour.. it is not as contemporary as other album covers of its era but it communicates what it has to and personally, I think it is a very successful piece. 

 The Velvet Underground & Nico 

1967

The banana itself is the of course the handy work of Andy Warhol, Warhol managed the iconic band and acted as an umbrella for the band during the days when they weren't big enough to tackle some of the tough situations they found themselves in, Warhol's status of course big enough in the 60's to tackle most complications. 

The original album cover was designed to allow the fans the peel back the banana as a sticker, revealing the nude-coloured fruit beneath. This sexually metaphorically charged marketing ploy caused complications however, the manufacturing being more complicated than normal meant that the album was released after the release date. The sticker covers later became a rare collectors item, and the banana became a symbol for the protopunk genre. 

I personally absolutely love album cover, so much that I referenced it in my narrative illustration brief, the banana image being the logo on the t-shirt of my main character...

Anyway I think altogether the piece is very contemporary, a bright yellow phallic banana symbol on a plane white background with the album name at the top... job done. 

 The Rolling Stones - Let It Bleed

1969

This album cover is 'mint'. It displays an over the top and gaudy cake, made from random layers including a tire, a clock face, film canister and a pizza. there are small figurines of the band members placed on the top of the cake, and its all placed on top of a record player.

Keith Richards hired close friend Robert Brownjohn to design the cover.. Interestingly, Brownjohn hired a younger and less famous Delia Smith, to bake the cake..lol. 

Originally the album was to be called Automatic Changer, although the name changed, the band kept Brownjohns piece because the liked it so much.

I like this piece a lot, its randomness, playfulness and colour expresses the feel of the album perfectly.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Are You Experienced

1967 

Jimi Hendrix was not at all pleased with the packaging and art work on the UK release of this album, claiming, "It makes me look like a fairy."

He took this complaint to his manager Chas Chandler, who then called artist Karl Ferris. Ferris worked with them to come up with the new psychedelic inspired art work for the up and coming US release. 

I love it, I love psychedelic artwork from this era it really nourishes my inner need for colour and madness. Ferris said that when he started creating this image, he was listening to the music Jimi had sent him away with and thought that it sounded 'far out' and as if it was from outer space.

So he decided he would like to create an image where the band was blasting through space on a 

journey to bring there outer space music to the earth... hence the space circle thing ^^

. 

I have managed to find a link with a first person account of the processes working with Jimi for the cover from Karl Ferris ...

http://rockpopgallery.typepad.com/rockpop_gallery_news/2008/02/cover-story---j.html

Album Cover Research

Album Covers Research

I am now looking at and researching albumin covers of the sixties, mainly because the album I am working with was first released in 1966. (even though it was recorded in the 1930's).

Im going to try to find similarities in the album covers, and take note of how they change as time moves forward. 

To start with, I will look at one of the later 60's, but most iconic album covers of all time..

Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

Peter Blake, the artist and designer behind the iconic art piece said, " In my mind i was making a piece of art rather than an album cover. It was almost a piece of theatre design." 

That I agree with, it does look like a piece of theatre design..

He went on to say, " I offered the idea that if they had just played a concert in the park, the cover would be a photograph of them with the group who watched the concert.. If we did this using cardboard cutouts, it could be whomever they wanted."

Each Beatle was told to come up with a list of people they most admired. Ringo, being the least pretentious said, " Whoever the others choose is okay with me." 

John Lennons creative mind instantly came up with Adolf Hitler and Gandhi, both were axed, Hitler for obvious reasons and Gandhi because they thought it would lessen their sales in the far east.

George Harrison chose four Indian gurus, and Bob Dylan was an obvious choice as all of the band members worshiped him.

Fred Astaire was Paul's choice, and was chosen to help sell records with his legendary dancing status.

Among many big names, some of the most notable are:

*Sonny Liston (boxer twice defeated by Ali)

*Lewis Carroll (Johns writing hero, based 'I am the Walrus' on Carrol's poem 'The Walrus and the Carpenter')

*Marilyn Monroe

*Oliver and Hardy

*Marlon Brando

*Oscar Wilder

and Albert Einstein 

The most touching tribute however was for former bandmate Stuart Sutcliffe to appear in the shot.

Sutcliffe who John considered his 'best friend' barring Paul, died in 1962 aged just 21 from a head injury and never got to see the success of the band.

The cover was shot by Michael Cooper on March the 30th 1967. In the cover the band members are shown wearing custom made military style outfits made satin. Four wax dummies of the Beatles are shown standing alongside the living members of the band, symbolising the 'old Beatles' sporting mop tops and plane suits. 

The Album cover won the 1967 Grammy award for best album cover, Graphic design.

Who Was The Devil that Appeared to Johnson

MEPHISTOPHELES?

I have been reading about the demons that appear to people in different circumstances for different things, and the one that stands out the most is Mephistopheles.
    Mephistopheles or Mephisto is a demon from Germanic folklore, originally appearing in the legend of Faust.
  In the Faust chapbooks (based on the historical Johann Georg Faust) The lord challenges Mephistopheles (the devil) that he cannot lead astray the Lords prized scholar, Dr. Faust.
Disappointed with the science of natural means, Faust tries and fails with magic to gain knowledge of nature and the universe, and becomes depressed and suicidal at his failed attempts.
 After being followed by a poodle, Mephistopheles appears to faust and offers him a contract: He will do Faust's bidding on earth, and Faust will do the same for him in hell.

The word Mephistopheles, may derive from the Hebrew word mephitz, meaning "distributor" and tophel chequer, the literal translation of which is "falsehood plasterer".
 It could also be a combination of three Greek words: "me" as a negation, "phos" meaning light, and "philis" meaning "loving" which would make it mean "not-light-loving", a possible parody on the latin "Lucifer" or "light-bearer".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5fhRQQmi8Y

^^^^A great link with a short clip from the 1926 film Faust, in which Faust summons Mephistopheles at a CROSSROADS....coinsidence?? I think not. 

ALSO JUST FOUND THIS, THIS IS A DEPICTION OF MEPHISTOPHELES FOR A THEATRE PRODUCTION, AND HE IS SHOWN PLAYING A GUITAR.. NICEE (the story goes with Robert Johnson that when the demon appeared to him, in the form of a black man, he took the guitar from Johnson, tuned it and gave him it back..)

Crossroads Folklore Research

CROSSROADS FOLKLORE

So I've been doing some research on the folklore surrounding crossroads.
    In ancient Greece, the people used to place marker stones at crossroads to commemorate the god Hermes. In ancient Rome the god Mercury who was similar to Hermes was the crossroads guardian.
In India the god Bhairava, the older version of the god Siva, was said to have guarded the crossroads at the outskirts of villages and towns. Stone phalluses and statues of Bhairava's eyes where erected to represent him as the guardian of the boundaries.
 In Africa, basically every cultural subgroup has its own version of crossroads god, their belief is that the spirit opens the way, guards the crossroads and teaches wisdom.
      In more modern times, the crossroads beliefs are still in effect but have changed slightly over the years with the emergence of new cultures, like Voodoo. In Voodoo, (conjure, rootwork and hoodoo) the African American magical spirituality, they say that in order to achieve various skills one should attend a crossroads at midnight.. you shall be greeted by a large 'black man' (some call the devil) and he will bestow upon you your chosen desires in trade for your immortal soul.
     This is what is said Robert Johnson did, it is supposed at the crossroads that intersects highway 61 and highway 49, although Son House the blues musician who knew Johnson has said that it was in fact in Rosedale where the crossroads intersect highway 8, with highway 1... I trust in Son House's knowledge and believe it was in Rosedale.

In Europe there is also a lot of old folklore involving crossroads and demons, mainly in pagan belief.. and I actually have managed to source a Grimm's Fairy Tale given in full on the internet, that explains the Germanic belief about becoming the Devil's servant and also bears reference to musical ability!
http://www.grimmstories.com/en/grimm_fairy-tales/the_devils_sooty_brother

Non-Narrative Brief - Packaging Ideas.

Packaging

So, for the brief the first challenge I have come to is packaging. I have been asked to produce professionally presented packaging for a CD or 12" vinyl, I have decided on the 12" vinyl.
 I came to this decision pretty much as soon as I had decided to choose Robert Johnson for my brief. My reasons for this are simple;
          *Robert Johnson was alive from 1911-1936, there was only vinyl then and his first album was released on mono LP.
          * I am a massive blues fan and play a little myself. I believe that with the perfect match of rustic, delta, slide blues on acoustic guitar, accompanied with Robert's shrill and haunting voice, all played through the cackle of vinyl on a turntable.. it would be a great dishonour to choose a format (CD) that to me would let down the authentic sound and also represents the basic opposite of Robert Johnson's message.

So... To help me get started with ideas on planning my vinyl sleeve...I started with a basic mind map on paper, listing some buzzwords I felt would guide me in the right direction, and then branched them off into there own separate categories with there own associated words.. These are the words I started with, with the associated words I came to, to keep in mind when planning my composition.

(sorry that was a mouthful)

DEVIL
satan, evil, deceitful, scary, powerful

CROSSROADS
(pick one of the two possible crossroads to work from, if deciding to draw crossroads)

COTTON FIELDS
white, vast, field clothes, workers, slavery

GUITAR
gibson L1, old, tatty

BLUES
cool, honest, sad, historical reference

WHITE/BLACK DIVIDE
racism, mobs, plantations, slavery, linching, hangings

MISSISSIPPI
floods, river, deep south, flatland

SOUL SELLING
gives soul for gift of musical ability, midnight, trade, immortal soul, satan

DEATH OF WIFE IN CHILDBIRTH
sorrow, utter dispair, life changing moment that lead to decision to become travelling musician

After this, I then jotted down all of my associated words (shown above in softer font) separately and wrote down some associative words for them, I then went back through them and circled all the ones I felt were going to best help me when creating a composition for my piece.

these were;

*Deep south
(colours, attitude, culture)

*River
(wide, important,floods)

*Racism
(it was basically horrible back then)

*Plantations
(slavery, low wages, poverty clashing with wealth)

*Dispair
(sadness, depression)

*Sorrow
(can be represented with colour)

*Soul trade
(desperation, awesome)

*Satan
(awesome power, deceit, symbolism)

*Evil/Scary
(colours, imagery, symbolism)

*Midnight
(dark, moon, stars, colours)

*Gibson
(gibson L1 flattop, tattered, old)

*Vast
(open flat land, horizon)

*Workers
(black, poor, hardworking, under-appreciated)

*Field clothes
(rough spun, tatty, hats)

I know have an organised and categorised abundance of buzzwords to refer to and help me. I can now research all of the elements I wish to express with finer detail, I will grant myself the ability to achieve a higher level of authenticity with the piece, and hopefully will create a well grounded believable composition to flow through my project.

King of the Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson

King of the Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson

I'm currently listening to the chosen album for my brief, Robert Johnson's - King of the Delta Blues Singers >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TdJmkv9lyI

Whilst listening to the album, probably over and over again till the day is done... I'm going to use this time to search the internet for some research on Robert and the actual album itself, I'm going to watch documentaries, read an abundance of articles and compare them till I come out with some general basic true life journey of Johnson, (as most of his history is lost and has been pieced together by people who knew him, and knew of him). Once I've squeezed enough juice out of my internet lemon, I'll make an organised lemonade from it and move onto the library for some book history.

"The thing about Robert Johnson was that he only existed on his records. He was pure legend."

—Martin Scorsese, Love In Vain: A Vision of Robert Johnson

The Album (A Brief bit of Info)
KOTDBS* (king of the delta blues singers)

The album was released in 1961 by Columbia Records as a mono LP. At the time of the release very little was known about Robert Johnson's life, and the only two known photographs of him where not found until over ten years later in 1973. The cover painting on the album depicts a faceless musician in field clothes playing a guitar.
 King of the Delta Blues was reissued on September 15, 1998 by the Legacy Records label of the Sony Corporation, with a new discovered alternate take on "Traveling Riverside Blues" as a bonus track.
 The Wall Street Journal wrote that "when this album king of the delta blues singers made its delated way to England in the mid 1960's, it energised a generation of musicians". And it really did, Eric clapton has said that KOTDBS* and its second volume, where of huge importance as early inspiration in his music career. In 1980, it was the first album to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.


Tracklist:
Side 1

1.	November 27, 1936	unreleased alternate take	1961	Cross Road Blues	2:29
2.	November 23, 1936	Vocalion 3416	1937	Terraplane Blues	3:01
3.	November 23, 1936	unreleased alternate take	1961	Come On in My Kitchen	2:52
4.	November 27, 1936	Vocalion 3601	1937	Walkin' Blues	2:30
5.	November 27, 1936	Vocalion 3445	1937	Last Fair Deal Gone Down	2:39
6.	November 26, 1936	Vocalion 3445	1937	32-20 Blues	2:50
7.	November 23, 1936	Vocalion 3416	1937	Kind Hearted Woman Blues	2:51
8.	November 27, 1936	previously unreleased	1961	If I Had Possession Over Judgement Day	2:36

Side 2

1.	November 27, 1936	Vocalion 4630	1939	Preachin' Blues	2:52
2.	November 23, 1936	previously unreleased	1961	When You Got a Good Friend	2:56
3.	November 23, 1936	unreleased alternate take	1961	Ramblin' On My Mind	2:52
4.	June 19, 1937	Vocalion 3723	1937	Stones in My Passway	2:28
5.	June 20, 1937	previously unreleased	1961	Traveling Riverside Blues	2:47
6.	June 20, 1937	unreleased alternate take	1961	Milkcow's Calf Blues	2:17
7.	June 20, 1937	unreleased alternate take	1961	Me and the Devil Blues	2:34
8.	June 20, 1937	Vocalion 3623	1937	Hellhound on My Trail	2:37

Robert Johnson- A little background knowledge

Robert Johnson, May 8 1911- Aug 16 1938. (Speculated dates) 

Robert Johnson was born in Hazlehurst Mississipi to Julia Major Dodds and Noah Johnson.
  Julia's husband Charles Dodds had had a dispute with white land owners and was forced by a mob to leave Hazlehurst. After around two years Robert was sent to live in Memphis with Julia's husband who had changed his name to Charles Spencer.
 Circa 1919 Robert rejoined his mother in the delta area near Robinsonville. After school Robert married 16 year old Virginia Travis in Feb 29. Virginia died in childbirth shortly after, surviving relatives of Virginia said that this was a divine punishment for his decision to sing secular music.
  Around this time, Son House (a fantastic and world renowned blues musician) moved to Robinsonville to be close to his musical partner Willie Brown. House remembered Johnson as a boy and recalled he was embarrassingly bad on the guitar.
 Not long after this, Johnson left for Martinsville close to his birthplace in Hazlehurst possibly in search of his natural father. The next time Johnson appeared in Robinsonville it seemed he has somehow acquired miraculous guitar playing skills and techniques that people had never seen or heard before. It is said this is because Robert Johnson had sold his soul to satan at one of two possible crossroads I have narrowed down from many. (lots of people say it was at a lot of different crossroads, I have narrowed it down by reading where the most likely people to know have said.).
   While living in Martinsville, Johnson fathered a child with Vergie Smith. He also married Caletta Craft in May 1931, in 32 they moved to Clarkside in the Delta. Here Caletta died in childbirth and Johnson left to pursue his career as a walking (travelling) musician.
    From 1932 until his death on Aug 16 1938, Johnson moved from town to town between cities like Memphis and Helena and all the surrounding areas in Tennessee and Arkansas, sometimes travelling even further to places like Chicago, Texas and New York.
  He recorded 29 songs between 1936-37 for the American Record Corporation, which released 11 78rpm records on their Vocalian Label, and one after his death.
   He is known as the King of Delta Blues and his music has inspired and continues to inspire musician and blues fans today, some notable musicians that sing the praises of Johnson and also recorded some of his songs are Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and the Allman Brothers.
   Johnson died on Aug 16 in 1938 making him the third member of the 27 club after Alexandre Levy and Louis Chauvin. Although the cause of his death is unknown, as is the location of his true grave, it is speculated that Johnson was flirting with a married woman at a local dance whilst staying with friends near Greenwood, Mississippi. One opinion is that Johnson was offered a Poisoned bottle of whiskey by the woman's husband, which he accepted, drank.. and fell ill dying three days later.
Another opinion is that the poison expected to have been used would of killed him much sooner than he died.. and on his death certificate it is written that he may have died of Syphilis.

This knowledge is a mixture of mostly, things I already knew having being interested with Johnson for a few years.. and information from the RobertJohnson foundation website.

Level 5 HE Assignment Brief - Illustration Concepts for Commercial Audiences - Non-Narrative Illustraion

For this brief I have to choose a musical artist from a list given by our tutors, and through a self initiated 'concept' I have to represent the music and the artist.
I have to research the artist, album and market and build my own conceptual ideas around my analysis and solutions.
      (research my chosen artist thoroughly, build my own conceptual ideas around them and discuss how my outcomes and processes relate to my chosen artist)

I must document and evaluate personal progression and evidence of theoretical enquiry, technical skills development and commercial viability.
      (basically, document and explain my progression of how my processes change and improve for this specific brief, also explaining and documenting my research into the specific subject.. and explain how it commercially viable in a modern market?... I think..)

This must all be supported by a final conclusion and description of my overriding concept in my journal.
    (so a written final conclusion is needed to explain my overall concept and the journey that brought me to it.. on my blog)

The artist and album I have chosen for this brief is: Robert Johnson - King of the Delta Blues.
(I chose this because I am a huge fan of Johnson, his music and his mysterious life has fascinated me for years. I will not struggle to keep inspired, I will stay passionate and enjoy this brief!)

I have been asked to produce ONE of each of the following:

PACKAGING.
CD
or
12"Vinyl.
(likely to go for vinyl because it is more suited to Johnson's era)

EDITORIAL ILLUSTRATION
Fashion Editorial
or
Interview Editorial
(more likely to pursue the fashion challenge as Robert Johnson is pretty dead, so an interview editorial will be difficult as there where no recorded interviews with him.)

A PRODUCT
Apparel
Home wear
Ceramics
Greetings card
Stationary
Toy
(not sure where to go with this, will put much thought into it..apparel is sticking out to me at the moment because vintage style dress is somewhat in fashion and i can imagine a modern take on 1920-30's delta dress style... but yeah not sure..i'll put more thought into it)

ADVERTISING
A poster
This must be in digital and printed formats.
(looking forward to this, I would like to screen print my poster.. as it is something I have had no practise or experience with as of yet, though I know of its uses and importance in the industry and believe that screen printing is going to be 'right down my alley'.)

Narrative Illustration (changes to cover)

I decided to change my book cover last second because i really didnt like the one i had done. I felt it didnt look as professional as i wanted it to. i wanted it to be of less colour and more power. Luckily i had drawn a skull a while ago in pencil and had not used it for anything so far, so i used it to make a quick cover from what i had.. i am very pleased with the results and feel it looks how i originally wanted it too now . below is the one i had first.. and the one i have now changed it too .

Narrative Illustration (changes to final pieces)

 I have made a couple of changes to a couple of my final pieces, the ones that i changed i did so because i felt that they looked flat.


 For example, the image with the dead baby, after i had completed it i kept looking at it and something didnt feel right, what came to mind was that Rentz was hallucinating at this point, big time style... so i messed around with the hue/saturation and levels to make it look more psychedelic and scarey, with toxic blues and purples. see below...

This one i felt was way to dark, not muched was changed to this piece other than brightening it up to make it more visible and not such a strain to look at... i also slightly edited the hue and saturation to make the green colours more vibrant, i felt this was important as the toilet is described to be pure disgusting.. and i associate that kind of filth and grime with green colours.

Narrative Illustration (rentz image)

This piece is different to the rest, as this one has a limited colour pallet of orange shades and tones.

The reason i did this is because i wanted at least one illustration, showing one of the characters high on heroin.. in a glamourous way, not in the vile way that i see it, but in the nice way the characters describe it.
The effects have been described as a warming feeling of peace that covers the body and brings on total relaxation and clarity. This is why i have chosen to do the whole thing with an orange pallet, because orange is a warm, calm colour.. and resembles the colour of the drug itself.

Narrative Illustration. (processes)

I'm now coming close to the deadline, so currently im finishing my illustrations so that they are fully realised, the right size in relation to the specifications of my copy of the book that i own.
I thought i'd shed some light on my process from a sketchbook drawing to fully finished piece.


So first of all i scan my image and email it to myself, then i download it and open it in photoshop.
I then use the magic wand tool to select everything except my line work on the drawing, and delete it all.

I then make a layer behind the line and start to colour it.

I do this by selecting sections in the line work as to not colour out of the lines, and use the brush tool to colour in the gaps.

Once i have laid down a basic flat colour layer, i then go back over the edges of the patches of colour adding tone with darker and lighter hues of the colour. 

Once i have finished colouring the piece, I add a water colour filter over the whole thing to smooth out the line work and tone work to give the piece a more smooth, finished consistent look.

Then i cut only the actual drawing from surrounding sketchbook carry on.

I open a new file in photoshop the same size as my book ( 19.7x12.9cm).. i use the rulers on photoshop to measure out my 5mm bleed, drag and drop my image into the new file and fit it to size... then its done.

Narrative Illustration, Rentz

Here are a few drawings showing my progress in development for my character Mark Renton from my first sketchbook on this project.
I feel that the representation in the film was way off, as Rents is described with scruffy ginger hair and a resemblance to footballer Alex McLeish shown below.

There is much more work on this character in my sketchbooks, this is simply my initial development. I did not spend as much time on my other characters as once I had decided I was happy with Rents, I had a basic face template that I wanted to keep for continuity, and I put this into practice on my other characters adding there individual features and changing the shape of the head etc where appropriate to give em their individuality's.