Continued Research on Flowers

Looking at flowers again, I decided to add fabric, folding it around the flowers and covering them completely. I also played around with bows, as bows were a big aspect to the Regency/Neo Classical periods. I used different types of fabric to get different type textures, highlights and shadows. I added flowers to the bows as well as ribbons. I feel they work well, they have given me inspiration to draw from and is a unique way of doing primary research.

Research for Final Major Project (FMP)

Now I am concentrating on my last ever module at Uni, this one will be about 20 weeks long and has to be the best work we have done throughout our time at Uni, no pressure! So, for my final project I am looking into Haute Couture evening wear as well as Bridal influence. I am extremely interested in Haute Couture design especially bridal and is something I would consider expanding when I leave.
My theme is "Return of the Romantic" looking at traditionalist like flowers, architecture and traditional dress design especially amongst bridal wear. I will also be looking at the Regency and Neo Classical period and how romance was captured in those particular periods.
For the moment I am concentrating on my research, I have gathered all my market research and influences. I have also started photographing my visual research.
Today I captured images of flowers but in a different and unique way, instead of shooting them as a whole I decided to deconstruct the flowers by their heads or petals and place other flowers petals within the heads to create a whole new style. This was extremely effective and has inspired me loads for drawing sheets and research. 

Final Designs Printed and Embroidered

Finally after a stressful 8 weeks I have managed to do a collection of finished designs, using digital print, screen print and hand painting as my base techniques. On top I have added embroidery, machine embroidery, beading and metallic foils.

I feel they all work really well and work well together. Personally my favourite ones are the orange fox print, the swan print and my modified floral print. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did to make them.

Using reactive dye pigment with metallic foil and hand embroidery/beading

Discharge print, with hand satin stitch embroidery

Discharge print with machine embroidery and applique, as well as beading and metallic foil

Digitally printed with hand embroidery and beading

Digitally printed with hand embroidery and beading

Final Painted Designs

After doing my Black and White development I then went onto painting out the placements so I would know what colours to use when it came to digitally printing and embroidering.

Development for Designs

Below are the development sheets for my designs, I used balck and white photocopies of my drawings to play around with composition, and decided on 5 final designs, 3 being placement designs. All 3 being unique and different but work togeather. The other 2 are multi directional repeats which I had just learnt so I triend it on 2 designs and I feel they work really well and aid the placement designs.

Multi directional repeat; black and whitle layout and traced ready for screen exposure.

Multi directional repeat; black and whitle layout and traced ready for screen exposure.

Black and White placemet, with tracing ready for exposure and a print sample of the design using discharge and steaming for 30mins after.

Black and White placeent, tracing over the top to hep alter the original design, digital print samples down the side and on top, both different as I altered the original design on photoshop to take out the figure in the middle.

Black and White placement, with photocopy to use transfer inks to do with the heat press, unfortunatly that technique did not work. Digital print samples down the side.

Drawings For 'Ballet Girl'

With all my research i gatherd it togeather to create my mood board, which will give me inspiration throughout aswell as a colour board and a market board, the last two to help me with my final designs.

From my research I have managed to produce a range of drawings, that hopefully I can take through to development! With these drawings I have used a range of media and styles, however I ahve stuck to doing A4 drawings which looking back I wish I had varied size of drawings to get a different qaulity.