Serigraphy Classes

Both myself and Christina decided to choose serigraphy as one of our units because we both enjoyed the workshops provided at UCA and wanted to continue to improve the printmaking technique.

They call the process 'serigraphy' here rather than 'screen-printing'. It is just another name for the process, a method where a mesh screen in used to transfer ink onto the paper or flat surface underneath. One colour is printed at a time and several colour layers can be used to create the final print. To prepare designs for printing, I created drawings on tracing paper. I made pen drawings of a pocket-watch (to fit in with my Interdisciplinary unit theme) and a floral circular pattern to use as a background for the pocket-watch design. I was told to bring these in along with my own paper and acrylic paint.

They use acrylic paint here rather than printing ink because it is fast-drying, they only have one printing screen in operation at a time. I did find this quite frustrating as I felt I was wasting time, when I could have been doing other work, waiting for the screen to become available. I think it would be better if they had a rota or gave students a rough time as to when they can come in and print so the wait time is less.

Photographic emulsion was used to transfer my drawings onto the screen. In contrast to UCA workshops, this was done by the tutors and students weren't even required to clean the screens after printing either. It felt a lot more tutor led with less independence for students which I think impacts negatively because students wouldn't be able to do the whole process alone in the future outside of the university studio if they haven't been taught it.

The printing process was also not independent, the tutors wanted to begin printing and then allow us to have a go. We noticed they also did this with the Polish students so it must just be how the studio is run. I decided to create 2 colour layer serigraphy prints for my pocket-watch floral design. I started with a bright blue for the floral circular pattern and then chose gold for the pocket-watch. The choice of gold paint wasn't ideal for printing, it dried very quickly and I had to add some yellow paint to it but thankfully it did print well even if I had to print at a faster pace than I would usually. I also did a couple of prints with the floral pattern first layer as blue and second layer as gold. This created an interesting textured print and made my design appear more abstract which I quite like.

I went on the following week, to print some more of my floral pattern design on coloured paper as well as two other designs - a circular bridge in a park design and a Polish design to celebrate my time studying abroad in Katowice. I even printed my Polish design onto a t-shirt as a souvenir. I am very pleased with how it turned out and I definitely want to do more screen-printing in my third year of study at UCA.

Przygoda means Adventure. The design features the Katowice heart logo, Spodek arena and part of  Muzeum Slaskie structure

The 'exam' process here involves laying out work for the Professor to examine and assess and then we were given a Polish grade and signed off the unit for the semester. 

They chose a couple of my prints to put into the end of year exhibition at ASP Katowice. Here is one of my pocket-watch floral pattern serigraphy prints that had been framed and exhibited in the corridor outside the serigraphy studio. I am really pleased with this print and I am glad that the tutors like it.

Poster Design Final Outcomes - Film and Photography Posters

With the term drawing to a close, I have been very busy finishing off my projects for every unit chosen to make up my study programme at ASP Katowice.

Poster Design, taken as a graphic design unit listed as Drawing, has been a particularly inspiring class and I have been able to improve my skills of combining text and image. I have enjoyed working on two set projects - creating posters for my favourite British films and using my own photography combined with drawing and text to create humorous mixed media posters.

British Film Posters 
As mentioned in my previous blog post about Poster Design class, here are my first two British film poster designs along with a third, illustrating my favourite Harry Potter film - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I have really enjoyed improving my digital painting skills and furthering my knowledge of using Photoshop. I am pleased that this class has helped me to become alot more confident working in a digital format.

Developing from my previous design for Alice in Wonderland, I moved the title text so that it is easier to read and I made Alice look more cheerful! It is based on a children's book by Lewis Carroll and the storyline is sweet and imaginative so I wanted to convey this in my poster design.

The Harry Potter poster design is bold and has a mystical sense about it, particularly through the choice of flowing font. I'm not sure the font I chose works as well for the cast names, perhaps I should have used a simpler font for these or changed the colour of the text so that it is easier to read. I am quite pleased with how the illustration turned out. I used simple fire forms to create a literal 'goblet of fire'. I also added Harry Potter's famous lightning bolt scar next to the tip of the flame at the top of the poster to simply represent his character. It is quite abstract in representing what the film is about but I like the simplicity and I think the rich boldness of the flames work well against the teal background colour I chose to signify a sense of magic. 

Photography Posters 

Alongside the film posters, I worked on a series of photography posters combining my own photos with drawing and text. I tried to come up with witty titles to accentuate the humorous aspect of each poster. These posters are completely different to any posters I have ever made before so perhaps it was more challenging but it was definitely an enjoyable task. I also had the opportunity to improve my editing skills using Photoshop. 

For my first poster, I used a photograph of a frog water fountain on one of the main shopping streets in Katowice. I drew the frog a very long tongue with a spider at the end to show he is hungry. I also made his eyes blue and painted his paws pink as if they were fingernails to make him look more glamourous. The lush green background helps to keep the viewer's eye on the frog and keeps the white text flowing. 

My second poster is based around a photograph of fire I took on Bonfire night a couple of years ago. Looking back at the photograph made me reminisce about the English playground song, 'Liar Liar Pants on Fire'. Of course I had to draw a pair of underpants and initially I drew three pairs floating around a fire flame but this didn't really combine well with the text because it wasn't bold enough. So I changed the design to one pair of larger underpants, using the original photograph to create flame shapes and adding a black background to make the fire flames really stand out. The text is in capital letters to accentuate the fact it is an exclamation. I am pleased with this poster and it amused the professors, one even said it is beautiful! 

For my third poster, I used a photograph I took of a pretzel we shared at the beginning of our study abroad venture. In Poland, there are pretzel stalls in every shopping centre and in many other populated places. Using 2 copies of the pretzel photograph to create handcuffs, I keep the background and text simple. I'm not sure about the slogan, it is a bit cliche but I think the handcuffs with the added drawing look quite humorous.

The fourth poster uses a photograph I took of a beautifully lit up water fountain outside the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra. We were offered free tickets to the opera in May from our study abroad coordinator so took the opportunity to experience an event we had never been to before. We weren't sure what to expect but it was enjoyable and the design of the hall both interior and exterior is truly stunning. Looking back at the photograph, I thought it would work well as a three tiered layer cake. I added red roses as decoration on top, using the digital rose painting I created for my Alice in Wonderland film poster. I chose an italic scripted font to keep in line with the classical theme of the photograph origin. This is the only poster in which I have used the whole original photograph, I think it works well although perhaps I could have edited out the city lights in the background to ensure the layer cake is the main focus of the poster. 

My final photography poster is summer based, using a photograph I took of my hand held fan. I added a simplistic pastel beach illustration in the background to match well with the colours of the fan. 'Summer Days' seemed like a fitting title and I think the way I have arranged the word 'Days' helps to bring the fan to life more. 

To summarise, I have really enjoyed the Poster Design class. The tutors have been very supportive and lovely to talk to. I felt like I have learnt more about the relationship between text and image as well as some of the important rules of successful graphic design. I have enjoyed doing a lot of drawing and I look forward to creating more poster designs in the future.