PRINT DEVELOPMENT_

PRINT DEVELOPMENT_

For me, fashion construction has always come more naturally to me. It has more of a recipe to follow, whereas I get left behind with print making. I struggle with the composition and making of the print- layering it up and choosing the colours. In the first semester, I didn't take to the textiles half- and definitely not photoshop. 

To start off with, I chose 6 pages in my sketchbook that I thought related well to my theme and research. This was to help me keep my way, and as a way to refer back to and include the important parts of my research. From this, and keeping the theme of the Bowery 1970s, I began to crete background ideas using different media. Drawing on my experience from the jumpsuit designing, I started with simple shapes and mark making based on first site and the 70s. This was t give me a rough idea, and I could refine these down. I started to play around with cutting out interesting textures into shapes and repeating them, such as a herringbone shape (featured in first site)- this worked really well. 

for me the ideas did not come naturally, and the motifs looked dull. I do struggle at line drawing, it doesn't fit my personality. Then it clicked- why do the motifs have to be so precise? It would look a lot more interesting with sketchy motifs, and it would also fit the gritty mood I wanted to suggest. I found it quite hard to come up with specific motifs, they were mainly shapes taken from first site.

I usually have more of a hands on approach, and like to do my work by hand- I often struggle on the computer. Using my skills from the previous semester, I created large scale 50x50cm prints using photocopies and mark making. In my eyes, these were successful, but not as a main print. Perhaps more relevant as a companion print, theses large scale prints were a little simple. This could have been due to the scale an also the time it took to cut out the components, but I just wasn't clicking with this method of print making. I decided to have a go at photoshop (brave of me due to the last experience). Its not that I cant do it, its just a frustrating piece of software. However it does have its pluses, as it is a lot easier and quicker to create a detailed and complicated print. Believe it or not, this semester I actually worked well with photoshop. Now it took me a while to get the hang of it, I felt rather slow compared to everyone else (comparing is something I have to stop). The prints I was producing seemed to be relevant to my theme, and with more work and development they could be something special. What I learnt this time around was to tweak prints and change small things to build up a print collection, rather than starting over each time. 

I really enjoyed layering up the sketchy marks and lines to create interesting prints, and even in the monochrome it looked great. A technique that was really successful was blowing up a textured motif- it was a painted dot to be precise. The detail was accentuated when the scale was increased and when layered they suggested an eery print. 

The colour palette, based on the hardships and distressing years of the Bowery in the 70s, was effective when applied- luckily both textural prints and subtle colours worked together. However, these prints were great for companion prints (although I rather liked the simplicity), but I felt I needed some really built up prints, just to see how they turn out. I was stuck, and everything I layered up in an attempt to do this didn't look how I wanted it too, it was just messy and chaotic. It was suggested to me in my module review that I should use photos in my prints, much like Dries Van Noten’s SS 2012 collection. The images of the Bowery, taken by Leland Bobbe, were incredibly dark, mysterious and gritty. They were truly inspirational and had shaped my project, so what a better idea to incorporate them. I cut the image up, copied it into shapes, layered on top of it. These to mw were incredibly successful, and will hopefully be the main body of my print collection. 

I seem to have a love hate relationship with photoshop. However this semester it has treated me well. In a way, I feel slightly more inclined towards textiles, and will definitely consider textiles for fashion.