This document summarizes Talya Riggs' process for a "Place in Question Project" focusing on capturing and studying a workshop location through sketches, models, and video. Riggs experimented with different media like charcoal, chalk, and black paper to represent the space. A SketchUp model and video collage helped understand dimensions and developing ideas. Further work included a 3D sculpture, printmaking, and illustration proposals for a safety handbook about workshop tools. Research on illustrators informed styles for the proposals, applying professional practices learned in an interview.

1. Talya Riggs
Place in Question Project

2. Location studies
To examine and record my location I started by
mostly focusing on charcoal sketches as they
allowed me to roughly and easily capture the
dimensions of My Place in question and really get
a feel for it whilst also having the potential for
finer detail and variation in texture if wanted. I
found that when combined with chalk and
occasionally fine liner for detail I could get a really
comprehensive image with some interesting looks
and lighting and shadows. It was also particularly
helpful in my case as my place in question was
quite monosyllabic with few bright colours.
Through toying with different materials and
mediums I discovered the effective ness of using
chalk and charcoal on black paper to explore my
place in question in a new light. By almost
inversing the colours and focusing on picking out
highlights instead of shadows I realised which
elements of my place were most prominent and
fascinating to develop later on even if I moved on
from working with dark paper pretty quickly.
This first study
focused on
mixed media
bases and the
different way
the same
subject had to
be represented
on each. It
brought my
attention to the
things I could
learn from
chalk on black
paper which I
developed as a
technique in
the next study.
From this I
learnt to look
for prominent
shadows in my
place in
question and
also important
elements in it.

3. Location studies
SketchUp and Movie
Multimedia
As a type of study that
would allow me to
more
comprehensively
understand all the
dimensions of my
place in question I
created a sketch up
model or my place in
question using rough
measurements. This
made me consider the
different angles I
could approach my
place in question from
as well as think more
deeply about focusing
on specific elements
of the workshop as
naturally I didn’t
include all of them in
my model.
b)
As well as this I created a minute and a half video collage surmising all my previous work in this
project in a more stimulating way. Editing it together made me consider connections and fully
understand how my ideas had begun to develop thus far.

4. Making and developmental work - (Large drawing, 3D, print)
To develop my work and to try and approach my place in
question as a series of concepts and prominent elements
rather than a solid unfixable reality I created a 3D surrealist
sculpture. By doing this I was forced to consider the
prominent elements of my place in question in a even more
conceptual mind-set.
Photographing this sculpture, and essentially developing it
into another form of media made be consider the ideas and
themes of my place in question and how I could display them,
this made me consider the elemental side of things due to all
the fire used by the workshop furnace. Whilst this was not a
idea I chose to further develop it was a fascinating take on
things.
After my sculpture I moved on to monoprinting and decided
that despite my deviation into surrealist themes, that did help
develop my work in some ways such as selectional focus, I
decided to return to a greater sense of realism and a more
illustrative approach. I found through this that I liked the
sense of movement incorporated in my print but also the ties
to reality that stopped it moving into the realm of the mildly
unrecognisable.

5. Using historical and contemporary research
From researching and recording other
artist’s work I have seen how they are
inspired by others working in the same field
as them and by situations presented to
them in theirs personal lives. Some artists
combine art styles of others who inspire
them to create their own such as Sybille
Schenker
I have analysed and recorded the work
of artists in my field of interest, being
illustration, to see what exactly it is
about each of their styles that makes
them so effective. Specifically how they
approach colour and finer detail as well
as how to find a balance between
aesthetic appeal and clear
understanding of the subject.
I used references of the work of
other designers to inspire me to
explore different mediums and
approaches to my work and how to
focus on key elements. I created
direct responses to artist’s by
illustrating my piece in their style
and then developing the areas of it
that I found successful.

6. Developing your personal brief
I Developed my brief around the area I was interested in
working in, illustration, and the likely practical uses it
would have in connection to my place in question, the
workshop. I realised that the most realistic thing
elements from the workshop would b illustrated in detail
for would be in a safety handbook/ textbook, and as I
have easy access to gather information from students my
age, they became the target audience/ end user.
I had initially considered having a total of three proposals
as my final project but after discussing it with a teacher I
decided that two would be adequate as long as I ensured
they juxtaposed one another for variety.
For this brief I researched the popular styles of
illustration for similar concepts and interviewed a
professional illustrator.
For the creation of my initial ideas I looked back through
my sketchbook to see which elements of the workshop I
had been most fascinated by and that would be suitable
in a safety handbook which lead me to the guillotine and
the anvil. Style wise I drew inspiration from the different
artists I had recorded and researched, focusing on my
proffered styles of Dr Seuss and Maurice Sendak/ Jamey
Christoph.

7. Developing your
personal brief
I developed my ideas by creating a series of
specific images for each style and each workshop
appliance that conveyed the different aspects of
working with it. I looked at colour schemes I might
use and took notes of the colours and ideas that I
didn’t think worked so I could change them. Then
with a general idea of what my illustrations should
look like I created page plans for how my
illustrations should look graphology- wise.
I then chose the anvil over the guillotine for my
final proposal by directly comparing the
illustrations it inspired with the illustrations the
guillotine had.
For the final outcome I initially wished for my
more traditional approach proposal to be a
monprint however due to lack of resources I
settled for fine liner illustrations as the two have
many similarities. I chose fine liner and
watercolour for my other as I felt it best conveyed
the comic book style I was trying to create.

8. Applying Professional; practice in your work
My interview with Ali Berthon taught me
a lot about how to approach working
with a client but also how to display my
proposal in an accurate and effective
way.
I learnt that when a client hires an
illustrator they often send a transcript
with blank spaces for appropriate
illustrations that the illustrator fills
several times with different styles to act
as proposals.
As my client was created for the purpose
of the project and the brief I had to turn
this idea on it’s head slightly, I chose the
layout for my fictional client with the
illustrations as part of it, leaving
appropriate gaps for the text to fill.
Although not voluntarily health and
safety risks connected to use of the
printing press has been avoided dues to
me not being able to create a monprint
for one of my proposals and instead have
to use fine liner.

9. I managed my time quite well throughout the project until an unexpected holiday to Spain meant that
the half term I expected to have to spend on developing my ideas and creating my final proposals was
cut down to just a couple of days putting a lot of pressure on to get everything done to a decent
standard for the final deadline, this was a particularly hard and frustrating part of my project
consequently. For my research I looked at perspective styles, illustration styles and the professional
practice of an illustrator. I used drawing as part of this research, creating many artist copies and
responses that inspired and developed my own work. My responses to different illustrators was
particularly helpful as it allowed me to draw inspiration and develop techniques from a variety of
perspectives.
I think I developed my ideas fairly well however I wish I could’ve had more time to do greater
exploration of all the different possibilities and routes to take, particularly the route of animation and
online illustration.
The main contextual influences on my work was illustrations by Dr Seuss and Maurice Sendak, prints
and comic books.
The most important features of my work I feel is the juxtaposition between the two art styles that still
both clearly convey the messages they are intended to, I feel this is relevant to my brief as the intent
was to give clients variety to choose from but quality illustrations for each proposal.
If I were to redo my final outcome there is two things I’d do differently, the first is that I would print
my traditional proposal instead of drawing it as I feel it would convey the illustrations in the style I
wanted them. I would also make my final proposals bigger, probably each being A3 instead of A4 as
are now.
Evaluation/ Summary