Playing Cover Designer with Calvino

This is quite soon after waking for me to be thinking about work!  Woken up by the fabulous Dave appearing at 8am in the doorway, which I was confused about till I remembered I was sleeping on the lounge sofa last night.  

The wonderful Tash Brissenden a-visited yesterday, to join me and other lovely Prestonians Abby, Andrew, Ben and Joe in reliving our teenage days and seeing Bowling For Soup at 53s (third time for me. I really shouldn't fancy Jaret this much -.-).  Quids after that resulted in late/early walk home and finishing Dave's pizza (which I owe him for now...).  This Tuesday involves a slightly hungover trip to Didsbury and hopefully, finally, asking at the screenprinting lab to get this book cover printed once et for all.

These are the potential covers for my book cover project, which was redesigning the gorgeous classic amazingness Invisible Cities.  Inexplicably made it complicated -.- could've designed a nice cover on paper, digitally printed it and produced something clean and professional and whatnot.  What I actually did was draw individual designs on ceramic tiles with the aid of fancy pens and worryingly large amounts of aerosol fixative.  Then use my meagre photography skills to make a final image.

But the good things I've found about this, I feel, outnumber bad things about the whole fiddly process. For one, I now have a box of illustrated tiles to hand in too, which although delicate and heavy are also pretty nice objects, I think anyway.  Talking to my tutors Chris and Craig reminded me of artists who scratched onto copper, and produced black and white illustrations such as Blake.  I saw this as a nod to that style, because of the use of building materials, and the black and white designs are similar to how my drawings will look inside the hypothetically reprinted book...fingers crossed.

Secondly, it relates to the story in some ways.  I chose a chessboard layout with the colours of tiles because of Polo and Khan's chess games and how they use it as a metaphor for communicating their memories in the book.  I also think at making lots of smaller images that fit into one larger, sprawling image is a good depiction of how Polo talks about Venice: as different conflicting dimensions which all somehow reflect the city as a whole. Plus, you know...it about cities...tiles can decorate a city...I decorated tiles...there's a link there surely ><

Also, the shading and bevelling in the photos is real, and worked with the filters and Photoshop edits.  If I'd tried to get a stone effect digitally, I could never have done it as good, I'm not that skilled!

Fourthly, I really really enjoyed it all. Anddddd the guys at Topps Tiles know me now, and ask after my art project. The special feeling this gave me is akin to friendship for me.  Sad maybe...but nevermind.

Until Tash wakes up, am completing the designs for the inside...or, obviously, procrastinating by putting the designs on my Illustration course blog :) Dave just left to do his driving test! Soooo good luck and praying for you sir.  Veh nervous as I know I'll have to take mine soon.  Still have theory to go, but I'm liking lessons - have one tomorrow in the afternoon.

Now to put the kettle on and plan the book end pages to new Taylor Swift album.  Something of a guilty pleasure I suppose >< it reminds me loads of my sister and home.  Buy it and read the message she's put in the booklet, it's lovely :D

More photos of tiles, because tiles.

Byeeeee