Evaluation - Bye Bye Wild Kingdom!!

Project Evaluation:

Wild Kingdom has been a really exciting project. As soon as I received the brief on tribalism, I knew that I would be inspired by the African tribes. I am instantly attracted by colour, texture and pattern – which African tribes combine a lot of. I enjoyed the research and the fact that it was all put together on a blog because it allowed me to explore a lot more. I got on with blogging a lot more than sketchbook work. It was so much easier because you could do it wherever you were, and if I found something whilst out I could easily upload in as opposed to having to wait and forgetting! Its got me inspired to start blogging myself as well!

The tribe that I chose to explore was African. Because the project was introduced as a tribal mash up, I tried to combine a lot of African tribes together. I looked at Zulu mostly, but then tried to bring the native idea into it. This allowed me to produce two very different shoots for catwalk and editorial.

Out of the two, I think my most successful shoot was my editorial. This represented African tribes in every way that I wanted to, but also showed beauty and fashion. I was able to combine the makeup with a beautiful headscarf and lots of colourful accessories. It was fine to overcrowd the model because there was no need to consider the idea that catwalk needed to be mobile. The final image was really successful and is one of my favourite shoots so far.

I am also proud of my catwalk shoot, but this is my least favourite out of the two. Not only was the final image not at the best quality, the over all look was a little basic compared to the first one. I had a lot of trouble with models and time management, and this was reflected in my shoot. I was really disappointed with myself for this because I ended up settling for a male model when really I wanted a female model. The hair was supposed to be a lot more styled and designed in this look than it was the editorial, but because I used a male model the hair is barely noticed in the shoot behind the head piece. Despite having to submit the shoot I have for the deadline, I will be doing this look again in my own time to satisfy myself. I intend to include this image in my blog, but it will only be done at home by myself as I am unable to redo it in the studio.

Wild Kingdom was definitely one of my favourite projects so far. I preferred it to the rest because this time there seemed more of a purpose, Having to consider the needs for editorial and catwalk shoots make it feel like I was actually working for a shoot in the industry. Its made me a lot more critical of my work, but also shown me how hard I really do need to work to be satisfied with my final outcomes.

Timed Assessment

TIMED ASSESSMENT BRIEF 

The timed assessment is between two members of the group. I was paired up with someone, and then I have to create one of their tribal looks by looking at their face chart and their project. Obviously, this is done within a time frame and then will be photographed.

Artists Information:

Face Chart:

These are my final images that show you pretty much what the look is. Its nothing too difficult and I still have all the necklaces… feel free to add any more to it if you have any.

Face:

Basic, natural makeup –full coverage and a soft coral/red colour on the lips… nothing too bright (I think it was in my screenface lip pallet )

Along the right hand jaw line of the models face I used tuplast to create the lines and highlighted them with my aqua colour palette.

This is the same technique on the lower back of the model but as you can see its blue into green. A sponge worked best for this.

Hair:

Curled the models hair and added small plaits for extra detail. Back combed the top of the hair to give it height before gripping into place as a quiff. Try and hide the grips as much as possible by crossing smaller pieced of hair over them.

Styling:

I don’t have the bando or trousers as these were hers, but I do have everything else (all of the necklaces and strings and bracelets) 

Final Images:

PRACTICE:

I decided to have a practice on the look before actually working on it finally. The technique used is similar to mine in the sense that its created using tuplast, so I do feel confident because I am familiar with the product. I have also used the technique on other shoots before. I am interested to try out the look on the models back because the main focal of the makeup isnt on the face this way. I think this is a really good way to test my skills. I love the look that she has given me so I am excited to give it a go!

Drawings:

I drew out the patterns that I could see on the final images to see if I could get the hand of how they are drawn.  The colour blending seems simple enough and adding the colour to the pattern on the face is also simple. As I have said, I have used tuplast before so I am confident enough to know how to do this technique.

Practicing Technique:

I practiced the application of the makeup on the back and the design down the side of the face before the actual shoot. This was so I could get the hang of that I was doing and help me feel more confident. I also allowed me to understand what products I would need and how much time I needed to do the makeup. This will be really helpful when it comes to my time management on the day.

TIMED ASSESSMENT FINAL SHOOT:

These are my final images from the Timed Assessment.

Evaluating Final Images..

 For submission, we are to show two images from each shoot. These images are to portray a close up shot and a half body shot. The close up will emphasise the makeup and hair, showing the detail in full. The half body will show the complete look, accompanied by the styling and accessories. Narrowing the final images down is always a hard task, especially when lots of different photos have been taken! They also need to look different, for example by showing a different angle. This allows you to see the full outcome of the look and show off skills.

EDITORIAL

These are the two final images I have chosen for my editorial shoot.

EVALUATION
This is definately the stronger tribal image and I love the outcome. When I first began the tribal project, I knew exactly what tribes I wanted to look at: African. After doing thorough research, I just became more and more excited about this idea. It made my editorial idea a lot more exciting for me because the ideas where coming from everywhere! My favourite part of the shoot is the use of jewellery. For me, this was the best way to represent African tribes, along with the head wrap. Its a classic style for many of the tribal women, and something that is an obvious trait. I also love the idea of the scarification being so raw. I chose this idea because I think it shows a little more danger to the image. The jewellery and the head wrap make the image look beautiful and fashionable, suitable for editorial, but then adding the raw scars almos draws the attention to the fact that yes, tribal is beautiful, but it can also be painful. I think my idea for this is shown really well through this shoot.

CATWALK

EVALUATION:
The quality of this image is not something that I hoped for. The lighting is a little too orange, and hasnt quite captured the detail of the makeup like it should. I had trouble in the studio this day with cameras and the lights, which has really put a strain on my final image. However, I couldnt get my model to reschedule. To try and fix the problem, I have tried my best to edit the shots to look more professional and how I intend them to be. Despite the lack in quality of image, I am proud of the outcome of the shoot. The idea of Native African/American has been pulled through really well here. The only critisism I have towards this is that the hair isnt visible. Hair is something that is going to be looked on thoroughly in this shoot, but because of the head piece the hair has been blocked out. I had long fake hair down the sides of the head which were matted and covered in clay. I also matted and covered the main hair in clay.This is something that I will have to reconsider if I were to do the shoot again.

 

Final Images

Here are my final images for Wild Kingdom. The images represent my theme of Native African - exploring the tribes of africa and america. I foucsed more on African tribes because I was more inspired by this, but I wanted to combine some more styles for an overall look. 

I am so pleased with my outcomes! I feel the are strong and represent my research that underpins the final designs. I also love how both images represent the themes in different ways. My editorial image leans more towards African tribes, whereas my Catwalk leans more towards Native American. However, both of them have areas that represent both tribes to complete my tribal mash up!

EDITORIAL

 CATWALK

Catwalk Preview!

Heres a preview of some images that I have taken for my catwalk look!

I am pleased with the outcome of the make up and the styling, but the camera, focus and lighting all need to be done properly in the studio, not just up against a wall! The quality just isn't right.

But, take a look anyway!

So, I yet again changed my mind for this look.

I tried the red across the forehead but it just didnt work. Basically, I had to design the look from memory and expectations of the head piece because it hadnt yet arrived. However, this didnt work in my favour because the front of the head piece came down so low, which meant the red was lost. I do prefer this idea for scarification though, because the scars look old as opposed to raw, which they are for my editorial shoot. I also changed my mind for the accessories. Originally the chest was going to be covered in a clay mud mask (to look like mud) and there was going to be etching into it. But when I put this look together I decided that I wasnt a fan of this because it looked to plain when combined with the head piece. Instead, I accessorised over the top of the mud with a fur neck piece and a wooden necklace. This look was much more successful because the outcome was more African inspired, where as before it didnt show elements of my chosen tribe, 'Native African' it just showed elements of native American. The animal print fur worked perfect for Africa as did the wooden beads, but the feathers represented the research I recevied when looking into Native American.

I am so pleased with the outcome and the fact I did a test run! Now I need to shoot this properly in the studio!!!

(the positioning of the ear needs to be corrected as well! this has bugged me more than the bad quality image!!)

Practice, Practice, Practice... Catwalk!

These images show my practicing for this shoot. I am pretty confident on my idea now, but I have experimented using different shapes, colours and sizes to see what I prefer. For example, I practiced the scarification under red, then plain foundation, and then clay. A lot of my practices were on paper just so I could get a rough idea of the technique, but some more important are on the skin.

Take a look!

But first, have a look at the face chart I am working from. This will help you to recognise the link between my idea and my outcome.

NATIVE AFRICAN / AMERICAN FACE CHART FOR CATWALK SHOOT.

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PRACTICE IMAGES:

CLAY OVER THE SKIN

ETCHING INTO CLAY WITH WOODEN STICK

SCARIFICATION ON THE FOREHEAD

These were three images taken from my practice shoot. The model used here is the model I intend to use for the actual shoot. This practice was very helpful for me. I learnt that the clay face mask I used wasnt right for me because it came out green, when I wanted one that was grey. Green was an olive face mask, which isnt right. It doesnt look like a muddy effect and it didnt blend with the skin or the rest of the make up well at all. I also learnt that the thickness of the glue for the scarification needs to be much larger because it didnt show up under the makeup or the lighting very well. The final thing I learnt was that the clay dries extremely quickly, so instead of applying it all over the body first, I should apply it section by section. I should etch into one side first and then apply and etch on the other side so the clay separates well and has the same outcome on each side.

Experiments for shoot - finalised ideas.

Catwalk FaceCharts

FACECHARTS

IDEA ONE - AFRICAN TRIBAL

IDEA TWO - MAORI INSPIRED

IDEA THREE - NATIVE SCARIFICATION

CLOSE UP OF TECHNIQUE FOR IDEA THREE

IDEA FOUR - NATIVE SCARIFICATION

CLOSE UP OF IDEA FOUR

Idea 3 and 4 are my favourite designs here. They are exactly what I want to pursue because they represent native tribal. The techniques I have focused on are to represent the idea of scarification, which is a popular thing within many different tribes. I also wanted to recognise the important of accessories because this is what is going to complete my look.