The Lost Box Film & Infographic
18 months ago a friend of mine mentioned that he was working on a school space project with some ambitious and talented Year 11 students. The principal idea was that they were sending a weather balloon up into the stratosphere with a bunch of devices that would capture data and beam it back down.
I had the opportunity to capture the amazing story in a couple of short films. Here is a YouTube playlist that brings together all of the clips.
My ongoing fascination with creating infographic material led me to begin constructing a diagram that summarises/commemorates the journey of the first Lost Box.
Roughs
Biro on a notebook. Some quick thoughts summarising my general approach. Remember tat I had spent a lot of time absorbing the material at this stage, so I wasn’t coming ‘cold’ to the event.
Provisional Mock-Ups: exploded diagram and characters
This image was a combination of biro on paper, clip studio paint and some rudimentary colouring. I labelled all of the parts and used it to enquire with Pete Clarke (the lead teacher on the project) what each item was.
I began playing about with some humorous renditions of the main figures involved. One of the 16 year old students is quite literally like a Wookie, so this was particularly satisfying.
Exploded Diagram 2
This time I took the material into Affinity Designer - my favourite vector app ever, complete with the ability to bring hand-drawn strokes. I love that app.
The Flight Path - some early messing about
The main benefit of making mistakes is that you can clear the way to something far better - this early attempt at combining dates with the flight of the box has a few issues with it that became immediately obvious on producing the image.
Exploded Box further annotations
You can see where this was going.
Data-crunching the old fashioned way
I asked the team to produce some detailed (and date-specific) notes on the stages. I think it was interesting reflective exercise for them to undertake. I then processed these into a shorter version that would translate well into a poster format.
Here is my first attempt to try and understand how it might look graphically spread out across a page. I think this was the first time I properly understood what had been going on all that time with my mate Pete.
I then produced this outline with the possible idea of illustrating each of the dates. I particularly liked the bit where Vella and the 360 camera go skiing together but this was dumped later on because the overall poster was in danger of losing it’s focus.
Scale of ascent - solving it visually
The problems identified with the early diagram led me to do some extra homework and thinking about how to picture the ascent in a way that was simple to grasp. What was meaningful to the audience? How could you communicate this journey?
First Proper Compositions
For the first time I felt I could bring all the different elements together. It takes a while to understand complicated bits of information and how they link up - I now had the confidence to create an all0in-one summary. The project was beginning to fly.
After sleeping on it, I adjusted the shape of the diagram to reflect the height of the ascent. I like that this rough was done in red biro.
Timeline - first vectors
And so I began the long slow shuffle between biro scribbles and actual legible text/image in vector format. Everything was shifting as I knitted the bits together.
A more detailed composition
A step closer
This is a screenshot from Clip Studio Paint - I am taking a vector timeline (see above) and mashing it up in a bitmap format. CSP is my favourite drafting app - I just like the pencils set up I use. I can work quickly with it and move things around in ways that feel natural to my thought process.
Inking (AKA vectoring!) the final version
This is my favourite stage - most of the underlying thinking has been done and so I can listen to some music while enjoying drawing carefully. I could spend days in this state. Affinity Designer I love you (although I should add that it is essential to have it on both Mac and iPad because organising thousands of vector layers can be a royal pain on a tablet).
This page was generated using my previously posted process shots on this page.
POSTCRIPT
Just a week before the end of term we received news that the project had been given a finalist place in the Big Bang fair in March. This event is very well attended, so I am delighted to say that both the film(s) and infographic will get the opportunity to reach lots of people with this inspirational tale.
October led me back into Instagram
So I felt the need to get back into the daily/regular discipline of drawing things and posting them online after a bit of a break. Maybe it’s related to being in a stressful day job? Maybe something else?
Hopefully it won’t look like this.
Anyways, so I decided to get back into something regular and have found a nice little rhythm developing including some new ideas emerging.
Some of the usual notes on my process:
Scanner Pro - pops up nicely in the top right corner when you go to edit any photos in iOS. I like it’s simple ability to bleach stuff.
I like these results - they are useful for taking things to the next level.
scribbles in my square tiger-purchased blank sketchbook that I also happen to use as my daily teacher planner. I use an orange bic biro. I love the nib on it. Even with a decent iPad Pro knocking about, this is by far the best way to get my thoughts out quickly.
I take a photo with my iPad camera and then I process the imagery in Scanner Pro (unfortunately the track record for Prizmo has recently gone down the toilet so I gave it a shove - Scanner Pro has almost the same functionality).
this gets dragged into Procreate where I have set up some templates for Instagram/Twitter-friendly image creation. Essentially I produce a square image with four smaller squares. This gets posted to Instagram and my twitter feed gets the first image.
I use my own smooth brush with bobbly bits for line work and a non-smoothing brush for grey colouring.
the great thing to come out of this (so far) is that the use of a four panel structure forces me to create three or four distinct ‘beats’ which takes a bit of pressure off. One or two of the posts so far use a single larger box, but that’s because I am just messing about (and seriously who cares).
Palindromes
Playing about usually gets other things going. I was chatting to my son recently about Palindromes and then did a bit of research online. I was amazed how many there are and how complex! I noted a bunch down and have so far illustrated ten with an eye on keeping it up in my spare time. I like how you can take a really weird sentence and create some bizarre mini-narrative out of it. I posted them here.
The Big Picture
January 2018
Shortly after I started working at Chatsmore Catholic High School, I got into a discussion with Pete Byrne, the Headteacher, about the values of the school and how important the idea of a 'meta-narrative' is in helping people understand their place and value within history.
We were both in agreement that it might be a good idea to create a mural of some description that reinforced the Christian values of the school. In this post I am going to risk giving too much information as I document the stages that this piece of artwork went through.
February 2018
Early drafting using abstract ideas, pencil sketches and a magic whiteboard.
An initial document where I mapped out the ideas of the Bible storyline.
This image was drawn on a magic whiteboard sheet and then processed in Prismo.
By now I had arrived at a visual solution and flow for the main ideas - now we had to decide an exact spot and dimensions.
March/April 2018
Choosing the spot, detailed drafting of the first wordless version.
The spot that Pete Byrne chose is very high profile. I felt a little nervous and excited. Something might have to happen with that yellow though...Joe Fairburn measured up a useful first set of sizes for me to work with.
This is an example of one of my magic whiteboard sheets in action - they are awesome for drafting using the whiteboard pens I use every day.
Here it is - the cleaned up image I produced.
Clip Studio Paint - pencils. Clearly the left here is more developed than the right.
I began to dabble a little with some shading but eventually decided that wouldn't work like this. I said I was going to overcook this blog post.
Colour - first draft. I was trying to make some symbolic connections throughout. It semi-works.
June 2018
I parked the mural for about two months and got loads of feedback from various people. Thankyou all of you who contributed - students, friends, colleagues, family members. Apart from simplifying a few things and tightening the symbolism across the piece, one of the big changes was suggested by Pete Byrne - he was keen on a set of three Bible texts linked to the image.
Initially he was looking for something from the Old Testament and maybe a couple from the New. I suggested that we use one unifying text - the conversation that Jesus has with the disciples on the Emmaus road after his resurrection is a great moment because it draws together the whole sweep of Bible history - from Creation, Fall, Promises, Sacrifice, Prophecy, Fulfilment in Christ, the giving of the Holy Spirit and End Times.
Pete was a little unsure of this move - was it too intricate/involved for a school mural? Would it lose people? My own wife had already made the point that the entire image was probably too complicated to begin with - and here I was adding something that not many people were that comfortable with or knowledgeable about.
In the end we decided to go with this idea - and were happily backed by the Governors. My own view is that this image follows in the tradition of stain-glass windows: something that is rich in detail and provides something to ponder and reflect on. While I can happily elaborate on every detail of this sequence and make it clear what I intended, not everyone will see it in the same way - but that doesn't mean you can't have some depth!
And so I began work on version two - combining Bible text and image - it meant redrafting the entire thing, but in these steps I think the whole thing was improved as I channelled several weeks of feedback and settled reflection.
Clip Studio Paint is the best drafting software I have ever used. As you can see here I have it set up in a particular way to suit my own approach.
Neat inking.
Colouring - this was still going to change - I wasn't happy with the golden scrolls.
This is a digital mock-up. The walls were still very very yellow, so I put together this image to get a sense of the scale/colour in that specific context. Having never worked to this scale before, I needed to do some pre-visualisation.
This is the penultimate version - there were still a few changes, but at this stage they were quite minimal.
The first undercoat of grey was too blue, here are some swatches that Callum and Farhun put up. Almost there...
August 2018
Final bits and pieces - oh and a radical overhaul using vectors...
I have written here extensively about my journey into using Affinity Designer. It is a long post that outlines my learning curve over the summer holidays. The upshot is that it was a good move and the end result is much much sharper.
This is a screenshot of the left-hand panel while using Affinity Designer. This has been converted into vectors.
Here is a zoomed-in section. All smooth and no rasterisation.
Here is the same section from the previous image - Clip Studio Paint is a bitmap raster tool and the blockiness is how it operates. Although I had designed this first bitmap version knowing that it would be blocky I was aware that from a distance it wouldn't matter.
Here is the first bit of printing being done at MotoFX in Littlehampton. The vectors are smoooooth. In fact, it is a little shocking how many of my mistakes can be seen up close.
Okay it's a bit of a rainy day but there we go.
Postscript
I cycled early to school in the rain to see what the end result is like. My honest conclusion at the moment is that I have no objective distance on this. I see all the tiny things which could be improved or didn't look as good as I thought... it didn't take long to realise that I am overthinking this, and just need to step back. I have to leave it to breathe for a few months and see what people make of it.
A sincere thanks to all of the staff, students, governors, parents, friends and family who had any input into this project. I hope that it blesses you in some way.
Affinity Designer on the iPad: Taming Vectors
Travelling to that Far Horizon
This summer I took a break from paid jobs and spent a solid chunk of time sharpening my skills with vector graphics. Affinity Designer for the iPad was released just before the school holidays arrived and I felt it was worth taking the time to get to grips with it. This blog post is a crude attempt to document what I have been doing. I hope that this is of use to others out there who have similar leanings. Apologies for any over-baked verbiage.
Affinity is a great alternative to Adobe
When Affinity Designer/Photo came out on the Mac a few years ago, I bought them without hesitation - an Illustrator/Photoshop replacement suite of tools that side steps cloud-subscription fees. It was a no-brainer - I now had something I could use to open and edit all of my legacy .psd files without the same kind of frustrating commitment.
But... I wasn’t using it to create much stuff
I have blogged a few times on this site that Clip Studio Paint and Procreate are superior bitmap drawing tools. I had no need to use Affinity - partly because vector drawing often gets in the way of the creative process¹ .
And then they brought out the iPad version of Designer
This software has a number of terrific qualities that will permanently change my illustration practice. Here are a few of my tips, observations and conclusions:
Vectors are confusing and difficult.
They are not spontaneous expressions. You have to be organised and put in the foundational prep work to get decent results. Whenever you see some fantastic vector-based artwork remember that this didn’t just appear one day because the sun started shining - the person creating it took the work through a very careful journey.
It might help to think of vector art as existing at the end of a carefully staggered journey - a bit like this:
Vectors are largely unforgiving and unintuitive. Yes the end results can be spectacular, but it takes a lot of hard work get there². I think I have managed to find my way somewhere across that horizon this summer. Here are the steps I took towards taming the vector beast:
A. I watched all of the official videos. Tip: have the app open while you are watching and try to do something parallel. These baby steps are really useful for getting around the interface and will open up your brain what is possible. Even seasoned pros usually miss something.
They really are a superb introduction.
I would also highly recommend purchasing the Frankentoon tutorials. They are really well produced and give you a clear idea of how an excellent vector-practitioner might approach the creation of gorgeous imagery. You can trawl around on youtube (I did) but in the end the paid stuff is worth it. I think I spent about two hours studying something I paid £20 for, but it guided me in lots of valuable ways.
B. I took something that I had previously produced adapted it using my new knowledge.
<BRIEF DETOUR KLAXON>
A couple of months ago I constructed an infographic to support a course I currently teach in my day job. This is the initial sketched out plan (created on a whiteboard and then photographed/bleached using Prismo:
I used the Mac version of Affinity Designer³ to add editable text to the image:
Then I inked a careful set of drawings over that exported image using Clip Studio Paint. In the image below you can see three layers: a fainter draft set of lines, and two final artwork layers - black ink and grey shading:
I then brought it back into Affinity and combined/adjusted the two pieces so that they worked smoothly together:
Finally I made a final colour pass to emphasise different areas of taught content:
This final image is a combination of vector (text) layers produced in Affinity Designer, and bitmap/raster drawn layers produced in Clip Studio Paint.
<DETOUR OVER>
I took this infographic and attempted to draw the entire thing in the same style with the pressure pen capabilities of Affinity Designer on an iPad Pro. Here is the end result:
I was really pleased with this - vectors feel a lot less threatening once you get stuck in, and it took less time than expected.
Here is a closer detail of the image.
Trust me - those edges are all really smooth and there is no bitmap rasterisation going on anywhere!
These are the brush tool settings I used. Firstly, the controller needs to be set to ‘pressure’ (for some reason this has to be done every time I open the app - quite annoying) - it gives you the lovely variable width using the Apple Pencil.
I set the windows stabiliser to 30. It feels just about right when I am using it.
Clicking on the 'more' button takes you to the 'size variance' setting. I stick it onto 100% as so:
Something else that I did early on was to delete all of the existing brushes and stick with one basic brush⁴:
I renamed it as you can see, but it's the basic default solid brush.
C. I went further and converted a huge mural into vector format.
Here is a mini snapshot of the finished mural design in question:
Originally drawn as a bitmap raster piece in Clip Studio Paint. It was big enough to work at scale, but vectors would be waaaaay better.
And here is a detail from it:
And an even closer detail:
Look: rasterisation!
Once I had completed the re-inking the vectorised result was sent to the printers as a CMYK hi-res PDF. The result was a very clean super-sharp image:
Trust me - it looks terrific.
Working through this was surprisingly straight forward - and I discovered a couple of extra techniques along the way that are going to be useful going forward:
Creating a 'parent' blank vector layer first will mean that all of your strokes end up automatically grouped from that point on. Arranging and keeping a grip of all of your layers is really hard to do once you have thousands of layers knocking about. (I also noticed that if you nest everything in this way, the brush pen responds more quickly).
An eraser layer. This is a HUGE thing. After creating a parent group for all of my ink marks to be dumped into, I then figured out that if you create a similar blank group WITHIN the parent inking group like so...
...and change the mode to ‘erase’ you effectively get a layer that can be used to carve out and erase/sharpen up any messily inked lines.
I usually change the name of the layer to 'erase' just to keep everything clear while I am working.
I’m not entirely sure that this screenshot does this justice, but the principle is a very powerful one - to be able to carve out aspects of your inking with an editable erase tool is a hugely powerful feature.
So after this I decided to have a go at creating something from scratch.
D. A meditation on Psalm 63
Taking some notes I had scribbled into my sketchbook from a church meeting I started to doodle and create some visual ideas. If you look carefully at this image you will see an initial attempt to structure the image around some geometric shapes.
Sketchbooks are the best.
I then created a similar layout using shapes and the alignment/layout tools in Affinity Designer on my Mac:
I exported this as a jpeg and began to draft some ideas in Clip Studio Paint (I prefer the way the pencils work here and am able to lose myself in the drafting/erasing/thinking process).
Then I applied all of the above and created a final piece:
There's a typo here somewhere.
E. Using a Mac and an iPad are the best of both worlds
As was said before - the taming of the vector beast on that far horizon requires considerable resolve and energy. If you are fortunate enough to possess both a big-screen Mac and an iPad you have the opportunity to muscle-in from both directions.
The weakness of the Mac - it’s input method is more than compensated for with the iPad Pro/Apple Pencil. The weakness of the iPad - it’s interface and organisation of huge numbers of layers - is very ably dealt with on the Mac. For this reason I have been using the 'open from Cloud’ function throughout.
Each time you save it, you can just pick up where you left off on the other platform. Simples.
Each platform in isolation can be frustrating, but taken together you have a brilliant context for making some gorgeous artwork.
F. Finally a few thoughts about Artboards
The Artboards function is another aspect of the software that I almost missed - to my loss. Two projects I completed in the last week or so (yes I have been busy) have made good use of the Artboard feature.
The first was for a series of images for an educational blog that I contribute to. If you look at the screenshot here you can see the ‘all art in one go’ Artboard at the top left. I used this for laying out the material in a logical arrangement once I had drawn it.
Then I broke the panels into moments and gave each a discrete Artboard. I applied final presets to each and did a batch export. It was both useful for arranging the material and creating a final set of shareable results simply.
The final example is from a series of tweets I illustrated last week. In a similar way to the example above, I used the Artboard function to create a spread of pages in a way that was meaningfully laid out. I was able to make something easily and export in the same way.
One of the great benefits of using Clip Studio Paint is the ‘story’ multi-page creation feature. If I am illustrating a book with 40+ images I usually give up on something like Procreate because it becomes such a chore churning out pages one by one. Multi-page creation is the way to go, and CSP has it sorted.
The Artboard feature on Affinity Designer goes one further than this by allowing you to arrange the pages however you want on the same screen. I love this feature and have already used it to save lots of time arranging an upcoming book project.
My main anxiety with using software like this is that when I am investing so much time into it - will it be dependable? Will it output reliably? The answer so far is pretty good - this will change the way I work permanently.
(Edited 13/1/2020 - this post is toooo long by half)
¹ I think about this quite a lot - there is a sweet spot for all great artists where expression is effectively minimal - doing just enough without overworking things. The best tools go at the speed of your decision making - if something occurs to you, ideally you should be able to change it there and then RAPIDLY. If the tools slow you down or snuff out those sparks of creativity then something is probably wrong. Perhaps you need to spend more time with a biro and scraps of paper and less time on a computer?
² This is probably why Procreate is so (rightly) popular as an app - you can just get stuck in. Vectors on the other hand usually take some thinking - how you organise your material, how you manage the tools etc. It can feel quite the opposite of creativity at times, so somehow you need to build those more fluid stages in BEFORE you get there.
³ This was about a month before the iPad version was released.
⁴ Yeah man I am badass. Actually I honestly think that limiting your choices is probably a better thing long term. "Creativity thrives within intelligent constraints" - John Maeda.