PROJECT ONE: Advanced Illustration
In this first project we were given a historical topic to create a separate outcome from, the outcome i felt most interested in was creating a book for my topic because it was what I'd spent the entire summer doing.
Mind map
I mind mapped my project because I wasn't sure what path i wanted to go down, i found noting down all the information was helpful because it helped me visualize certain ideas for what I could design for the project.
Mind map
I continued to mind map, some further information I found out about Molly Houses mostly about certain events or activities that were held there and types of people that went there. It helped me developed my ideas a bit further on what I was thinking of making. At this point I was thinking of potentially making a book based on the Molly's themselves.
The history around the houses has been erased and edited to fit stereotypes, however I wanted to focus on what the Molly's were like as people because they were interesting in how they formed a culture underground but also it wasn't at the same time.
The history around the houses has been erased and edited to fit stereotypes, however I wanted to focus on what the Molly's were like as people because they were interesting in how they formed a culture underground but also it wasn't at the same time.
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Research and References
From initial research I was able to pin point the type of people who would use Molly houses, some records show these men would've been working class or what we in the modern day would call lower middle class. From this it was easier to find references to what the molly's could've worn. I focused more on mens clothing around the Georgian era, which is when most accounts of Molly's were from, however i did research some bits on women's clothes for the cross dressing molly's.
Charles Dana Gibson
When I researched Molly houses I thought of the illustrators and artists that were working around the time, because they give an insight into what was common to see at the time. I initially thought of Charles Dana Gibson, he was working a little after the houses had become less common, but his Gibson girl illustration series has become infamous of that time period. I thought that some illustrations referencing the Gibson girls would be a cool way to go with the project.
Tri Le
I got suggested this artist when I was on Instagram and I liked the way he uses lines to create intricate patters across the subject to reference lighting and shadows. I also could see a slight reference to pen and ink illustrators that I thought was cool, t see a modern take on different types of subjects as opposed to the ones used by Charles Dana Gibson.
At the first formative feedback I presented these few thumbnails, I initially really struggled with this project. I didn't really have the same grip i had with other projects. Afterward it was suggested that I instead keep my idea of illustrating the molly's but think from the cover and onward. The concept being the perceptions on what Molly houses where on the outside vs. what they were on the inside.
Inside and outside
Around here it was suggested to me to focus on the concept of the inside and outside of Molly houses. At first I wasn't too sure how I would do that. Knowing I wanted to make a book I kept this in mind when I was thumb nailing some ideas and mind mapping.
I went back to thumbnail with this in mind, I revisited the concept of the cover being a Georgian house, this time making it more boxy with the idea of it being on a street with horses and people on it. What did change was its colours, this time i painted it as normal but overlay-ed a paynes grey over the under painting, setting it at night. The windows in the colours of the pride flag. (with the knowledge this flag wouldn't be invented for another few hundred years). The windows also have silhouettes of figures and my idea developed that these figures would correlate to illustrations on the inside. I did some further research and sketches on working class fashion of the time, with it in mind that this would be what the illustrations would be wearing on the inside. I found both male and female to use because some mollys cross dressed and in modern terms would be classed as transgender.
Some quick research I found to get a base idea of what to look out for when doing further research.
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Male fashion illustration
Molly houses were mainly used and occupied by men, bar the women who ran them like Margaret Clapps they mostly had men in them. I decided that I needed to learn male anatomy drawing if I wanted this project to serve the Molly's well.
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I opted to include plus size men as well as toned and skinnier male body types. With the confirmation that often some richer men, who could afford more to eat used molly houses to avoid being found out. It was also important to show that Mollys werent just skinny twinks, unlike how're they're perceived.
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I referenced the book 'Illustrated men' by Lamont O'Neal, I found it the most helpful in terms of limited text but detailed instructions. With the basic knowledge of the body being geometric shapes I learned that a way to depict the male body is using straighter sharper lines, assuming its associated to masculinity. After drawing a few body types I moved onto how clothes should sit on the body, fabric falling differently to men than to women. I learned using a few base structure lines where the pieces of fabric meet helps visualise where natural folds in fabric occur.
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These are quick ideas I sketched out in black fineliner, theryre based more on the fashion references I could find for working class people of this era. I also found the aspect of the molly's being 'sisters' inspiring for some illustrations. The Molly's while scared and a smaller community were happy around each-other calling each-other a sister, showing a bond between them, which I really liked.
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With this project I wanted to represent the community of Mollys, which obviously included how they dressed. I was a way in which for them to find eachother in other social situations, and like in modern society their appearance mattered. I found these videos helpful when illustrating Mollys fashion and makeup.
Francessco Lo Iacono
When researching for fashion illustrations I found Francesco Lo Iacono, who works with watercolour paint to replicate the fashions he sees around him. I thought the way he painted and left his brush marks wide and still visible quite inspiring. I liked how fresh they felt whilst still feeling like old illustrations. They also matched with what I was envisioning in my head for the interior illustrations of the book
From feed back I got the advise to to add a coloured background to the illustrations to set them in place and to link the inside and outside. I had to also slightly readjust the placements of the characters limbs to make them slightly more accurate. For the outside covers it was just to keep the window pains more accurately scaled and the window panes to be taller rather than wider.
Final illustrations
Mockups
The end
At the end of this project I have learned that Molly's were strong people who formed a safe space for themselves.