OUGD503: Responsive- Secret 7

I choice this brief to complete because this is something I individually enjoyed completing last year. Although my design didn't make it through to the exhibition I enjoyed the process and felt it would be an ideal smaller brief to complete for responsive. 

Song of choice: Dead Flowers

Lyrics:

Well when you're sitting there in your silk upholstered chair 

Talkin' to some rich folk that you know 

Well I hope you won't see me in my ragged company 

Well, you know I could never be alone 

Take me down little Susie, take me down 

I know you think you're the queen of the underground 

And you can send me dead flowers every morning 

Send me dead flowers by the mail 

Send me dead flowers to my wedding 

And I won't forget to put roses on your grave 

Well when you're sitting back in your rose pink Cadillac 

Making bets on Kentucky Derby Day 

Ah, I'll be in my basement room with a needle and a spoon 

And another girl to take my pain away 

Take me down little Susie, take me down 

I know you think you're the queen of the underground 

And you can send me dead flowers every morning 

Send me dead flowers by the mail 

Send me dead flowers to my wedding 

And I won't forget to put roses on your grave 

Take me down little Susie, take me down 

I know you think you're the queen of the underground 

And you can send me dead flowers every morning 

Send me dead flowers by the U.S. Mail 

Say it with dead flowers in my wedding 

And I won't forget to put roses on your grave 

No, I won't forget to put roses on your grave

- From listening to song and reading the lyrics I have found that the song describes a heroine addiction as a lover. The complex love for 'her' (heroine) is something which is a downward spiral of health which ultimately leads to death. There are many options for imagery which could be used for this song as the lyrics are incredibly visual.

I started by looking at already existing photography of dead flowers but felt as though this would be perhaps something which would be quite obvious and what most would create.

https://tobiasmastgrave.files.wordpress.com/2012/12/dead-flowers.jpg

http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs7/i/2005/162/3/3/Dead_Petals_by_und0miel.jpg

However I then went back to my initial thoughts which were based on heroin. I thought about perhaps drawing out the spoon and syringe however that might appear quite graphic. So instead I thought about using a coffin which would suggest the idea of death.

https://therapyfirst.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/coffin-in-ground.jpg

"And I won't forget to put roses on your grave "- This was the lyric that stuck out most to me in terms of artwork. Normally a grave is a coffin which is lowered into the ground. It is often illustrated as a headstone but this is something which is usually considered with a church/ christians. So this is something I want to avoid as graves are used by many cultures so therefore a coffin would be more fitting. 

http://albumcovergallery.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/rolling-stones-complete-studio-album.html

From looking at some of the rolling stone's album covers which I found on the blog seen above. The textures and use of bright colour are definitely reminiscent of that era of music. Rock and roll at that time was incredibly bold and outrageous and this needs to be something I consider in my own design with my colour choices. 

My initial drawing:

I started off initially with working with textures that are very similar to standard looking coffins such as the wood and brass handles: 

http://www.caskets.co.uk/assets/images/carousel/highres/walnut_coffin.jpg

However when I asked for feedback they stated that it looked a little too 'gothic' and realistic and that perhaps I should try the coffin in a grey tone. 

 

However I felt as though adding a texture to the coffin instead of a solid coloured coffin would allow for the illustration to appear more three dimensional instead of a flat object. 

I changed the colour of the handles to match the coffin so they weren't brass:

With the quote above mentioning roses I decided that it would be interesting to use individual roses instead of a bouquet which are normally presented at funerals. Singular roses are given on dates or on valentines day to show love and as the song suggests a love/hate relationship with heroine which is similar to a complex loving relationship too. 

The composition of the roses on top of the coffin are arranged in a 'random' manner this is to ensure that the overall feel of the song/artwork isn't too formal like the expensive and lavish bouquets presented at funerals this is because the song is related to drugs and therefore is not something which is glamorous. The edit of the rose to create it to be bright red is not only something which is given on valentines day but the idea of colour was inspired by the original rolling stone's covers I had previously looked at. 

I asked for some advice on what direction to go with the background as it appears quite dark and it was suggested to perhaps try a darker background which is reminiscent of soil or the ground. However once I tried this I felt it was too intense and took away from the details in my illustrations.

This also reminded me of the initial photograph I looked at of a grave which was surrounded by grass so I thought id try and make the coffin look as though it would be ready to be buried on the grass. Although once I tried this it again seemed too intense and distracting even when I tried to lower the opacity of the grass. 

From returning to the albums covers I had previously looked at for the colour inspiration I liked the texture and gradient on the "voodoo lounge" so therefore I changed the background of my cover to be similar to the coffin which frames it to be the centre of attention rather than be distracted by something busy. (see below)

I then mocked up my album cover as a sleeve design with a matching disk edited to be the same red colour as the roses to allow for consistency. 

I really enjoyed completing this brief as it was something that was quite self fulfilling. Hopefully my design will make it into the exhibition but there are a vast number of submissions and the standard is incredibly high both aesthetically and conceptually. Ive asked a few opinions of the completed piece and they have stated that it is definitely traditional rock and roll due to the black/white and red colours which reminded them of guns and roses and other similar bands. This brief along with others for this module have allowed me to continue to draw and incorporate my own hand rendered work into the design. Having some form of quirky and hand drawn element in my designs when appropriate is something which appeals to me because I enjoy working with textures and creating work which isn't minimal and holds character. This secret 7 piece is a representation of all of those factors and I look forward to being able to continue to create similar artwork and submit to this cause in the future.