Tim McDonagh is a freelance illustrator that I connected with after attending a presentation by him in my foundation art course. My interest started with his ink pen and digital techniques that produced an amazing colourful style.

“Greedo” Pen ink on paper,2015. Illustrator: Tim McDonagh[6]

“Greedo” is a unique piece of work; rather than for a client this illustration was made out of his own interests – the story being his love of Star Wars. It was from this image that he was noticed by Egmont uk to create illustrated STAR WARS: GALACTIC MAPS. His advice to aspiring illustrators was to “be sure to create work that you love and that you enjoy working on.” The work and clients will come later on” as an aspiring illustrator I connected with this because there is usually such heavy focus on tailoring style and design to a brief(or client) where developing my style should also have more emphasis.[2]

“Witchcraft in Liberia”, Animation, 2016. Illustrator: David Folvari.[3]

David Foldvari is another illustrator I find relevant to my interest in illustration and in developing my own style; this image was from an editorial for the Telegraph on child witches in Liberia that was about the unfortunate story of a child accused of witchcraft.[5] Foldvari’s saturated black ink on a white background is an example of how style can influence the feeling of the subject; his style can cover darkly political subjects with its dark appearance. I also connect with his concern “that we’re going to go back to the ’80s and people are going to think illustration is nicey-nicey and not saying much”[4] I think its important that illustrations say something in order to help educate and communicate, Foldvari does this though editorial illustration that articulates news articles, issues and viewpoints from just an image, otherwise why have an illustration?

“Stadt Theater Basel” offset lithograph,1963. Designer: Armin Hofmann[1]

I am interested in the manipulation of photography with typography and one of my favourite graphic designers Armin Hofmann does just this. This poster shows how condensing simple visual elements (in very much Swiss design style) can be incredibly effective for communication. For me it gives the feeling of movement and performance like shadow puppets which is fitting for message of Basel theatre. It is also a good example of how effective photography can be without the clearest resolution. “Sensible and meaningful form of advertising can be achieved by simplification of the formal language and by restraint in the treatment of the verbal message” I connect with this because in a world bombarded with colour, imagery and information it is important to remember sometimes simplification is most effective to communicate graphically.

References

[1] AIGA | the professional association for design. (2011). 2011 AIGA Medal: Armin Hofmann. [online] Available at: https://www.aiga.org/medalist-arminhofmann [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

[2] Floyd, J. and Floyd, J. (2017). Star Wars: Galactic Maps Illustrator Tim McDonagh Interview | StarWars.com. [online] StarWars.com. Available at: http://www.starwars.com/news/charting-the-galaxy-an-interview-with-star-wars-galactic-maps-illustrator-tim-mcdonagh [Accessed 2 Dec. 2017].

[3] Foldvari, D. (2016). Witchcraft in Liberia. [Blog] davidfolvari. Available at: http://davidfoldvari.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/witchcraft-in-liberia.html [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

[4] Ideastap.com. (2016). David Foldvari: Illustrator. [online] Available at: http://www.ideastap.com/ideasmag/the-knowledge/david-foldvari-interview [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

[5] Rowley, T. (2016). The child witches of Liberia. [online] S.telegraph.co.uk. Available at: http://s.telegraph.co.uk/graphics/projects/child-abuse-witches/index.html [Accessed 3 Dec. 2017].

[6] TIM MCDONAGH. (2017). PORTFOLIO. [online] Available at: https://www.mcdonaghillustration.com/#/greedo/ [Accessed 2 Dec. 2017].

– Give some examples where you see games being clearly influenced by other work?

In the survival horror game, Resident Evil 7, it is clear that the movie Texas massacre chainsaw had an influence on the production of the game. The dysfunctional, inbred family in the Texas massacre chainsaw movie live in an isolated, derelict house and have scattered idols of human bones around different locations just as the Baker family’s rotting mansion. The Baker family dinner scene in Resident Evil 7 borrowed heavily from the scene in Texas chainsaw massacre, as both introduce the disturbed minds and sadistic nature of the family members, that the protagonists and player would have to escape from.In the action role-playing game, Dark Souls, designs of characters, tombs and monsters resembled many of those from the Anime Berserk. Siegmeyer from Dark Souls is a large character, his bulkiness and round shaped armour is almost identical to Bazuso from Berserk as he shares the same proportions and round onion-like shapes.   

1. A) Neural Networks are often used for predictions and/categorizing things. What ethical issues might arise from the use of neural networks when used for decision making in games?

The use of neural networks for decision making in games can lead to the game being quite unfair or one-sided, depending on how the decision making affects the player. For example, if neural networks are used for the programming of an ai boss that can dodge and block attacks, the experience for the player will be unfair. The reason for this is that the boss will have an advantage over reaction time to the player’s attacks, as the neural network will predict and calculate different possibilities of player’s next decision. Another issue the implementation of neural networks in AI has is that the AI could not follow its purpose. If the neural network is programmed to survive and attack the player, the neural network could decide to continuously dodge the player or move away. Neural networks can also make mistakes if it has not gone through cycles of the particular tasks it has been programmed for as it would not fully understand how to achieve its set goal this can also annoy the neural network and cause it to react strangely.

1. A) select one example to outline the key concepts of human-computer interaction. Reflect upon the role of the “human”, the “computer” and the “interaction”.

The scientific calculator and user, interact through the user giving the calculator an input in return for an output. The calculator has an interface where the values of the user’s inputs are displayed. Buttons on the calculator indicate that user should press these to solve mathematics on the interface provided. The buttons on scientific calculators are comprehensible to the user as they display standard mathematical symbols. When these buttons are pressed by the human, the calculator registers the value of the button as a code it understands.The calculator will then will display image of the pressed button on the interface for the human to see their input. The layout of the buttons on the calculator separate numbers, functions and symbols in order to be accessible and support the user’s needs efficiently. The scientific calculator’s layout is optimized to cater for different levels of mathematics. Symbols such as minus, plus, times, divide are grouped together as these are commonly used symbols to calculate simple maths. Symbols such as sin, Cos,Tan and pi are grouped together as these are used to solve more advanced mathematics. This layout allows inexperienced and advanced users of the calculator to operate it at ease.