First week at uni!

I have really enjoyed this week getting to know the people on my course and the work that we have done. The work consisted of studying a foam head, that one of the first years made last year, and taking technical and observational drawings of it. The main thing that I learnt from doing this was that I needed to take more measurements of the head as they too it away and told us to recreate in paper which we couldn't do as we hadn't measured it enough.

Technical drawings of the head 

Observational drawings of the head

3D paper model of the head

Nose of the head that I drew and the ear of another groups head

Getting back to work..

I have enjoyed reading the script of Frankenstein, really glad I've had sort of a project over the past few weeks so I can get back into doing work before I start. As well as taking notes I've started to do a few sketches that could maybe be used for the characters.

 Really happy with how they have come out to say ive had a couple of weeks off doing anything

Danny Boyle and Nick Dear on Frankenstein

As part of the pre-arrival activity we've been told to have a quick look at this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8mbDmwpJ_h0

There has also been a documentary on channel 4 which I think will be worth a watch 

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/frankenstein-a-modern-myth/4od

NTU pre course activity

We would like you to complete a small task before you come to university to help you prepare for your course.

Purpose

These tasks will provide you with an introduction to some of the skills required for your career as a student within Costume Design and Making

• Reading and understanding written materials including texts for performance, with a more precise, sophisticated and purposeful approach than you may have experienced previously and help you to develop further your interests in, and thoughts and feelings about, what you read.
• Record your experiences and perceptions of the world around you and relate them to the material read.
• Widen your appreciation of the world and the work of fellow artists, solving the task of illustrating and ''telling the story”.

Activity

• We would like you to read the text of Nick Dear’s play, Frankenstein, (based on the novel by Mary Shelley).
  Published by Faber and Faber publishers, London, 2011. ISBN number : 9780571277216.
• You should note the names of all of the characters and the number and description of different scenes in the play. Compile a sketchbook of about twenty of your own drawings from life of people from the world around you, who you think are like the characters in this play. You should record their appearance, what they wear and how they stand and hold themselves.
• If possible, watch the interview National Theatre - Danny Boyle and Nick Dear on Frankenstein.

Link to course

Your work in reading, observing and watching will be used during the Autumn term, in your major design work, and in the spring term in your making tasks when you will both design and make costumes for Frankenstein. Throughout your study, we will be asking you regularly about the observations that you are making, and how they are impacting upon your own designing and construction within the costume area.

Scene and character breakdown

	Scene One	Scene Two
Snow White	Wears outfit one in this scene, she starts off in the forest then runs out into the forest when is warned by the huntsman about the queens plan.	Wears outfit two in this scene, living and working in the seven dwarfs home
The Evil Stepmother	Wears outfit one in this scene, she is just in the castle talking the mirror and the huntsman in this scene	Wears outfit two in this scene, She visits Snow White and sells here corset ribbon and ties it to tight hoping to kill her.
The Prince		Wears only outfit, comes to save Snow White from her sleep
The Huntsman	Wears only outfit in this scene, takes orders from the queen to kill snow white but can’t so warns her to leave the castle for her own safety.
The Witch		Wears only outfit in this scene, visits Snow White a second time to with a poison apple to try and get rid of Snow White again.
The Seven Dwarfs	Wear the only outfits I have designed for them. They don’t change situation to need a costume change.	Wear the only outfits I have designed for them. They don’t change situation to need a costume change.

Exhibition set up so far

Just a few photos to show where I am up to with my exhibition set up, still need to put all my photos up and designs but its going well.

Photos for the exhibition

They still need a bit of adjusting on Photoshop but I am happy with how the garments look on the photos. These are just the ones of the front and the back, I've got ones of close up details as well.

Layer One; Chemise

Layer Two; Corset 

Layer Three; Kirtle

Layer Four; Gown

Final Gown

I have, after a few days of finishing the fine details and hand sewing all the hemming on, I have finished my gown. I am really happy with the final outcome.

Snow White Colour Schemes

 I initially tried a few different colours for the character of Snow White and chose to go with the pink.

I tried a few different combinations of the colours to see which I preferred and also looked at the pattern of the fabric I had go and incorporated that into my designs as well.

Final Snow White colour scheme 

Prince Colour Schemes

I have chosen blue for this one as I think it would work well with the purple and pink of Snow Whites design. It is not necessarily a traditional Tudor colour but I think that it works well.

 I did a few tests on my design variations before doing the final colour scheme on the final design

Gown; Days 2 & 3

These show where I am up to at the moment with the gown. I have come quite far in these two days and have just got the little detail left to do. The only issue that I have had so far is with the zip. I have had to put a longer zip in the dress so that it is easier for me to put on and it is also can be put on a mannequin. I have chosen to use a zip in this ,even though it is not historically accurate, to allow it to be taken on and off easily when doing a costume change. The only thing I don't like about this up to yet is the fact that the zip isn't completely straight, but I think that this has both to do with how I have sewn the zip but also the gap I had cut or it wasn't completely straight.

The first thing that I did was to sew all the pleats to the panels so I had a full skirt to work with rather than it having gaps all through it.

 Can see in this photo where the zip isn't quite straight. 

Shows the shaping of the sleeve, I am really happy with how symmetrical the sleeve look. 

 This shows the full length of the dress and where I am currently at with my progress. I needs to finish off the sleeve and the edging to make sure it is all finished off cleanly and I also need to sew the top of the zip in properly so it is neat and secure.

Gown; day one

I have worked on this for around 7 hours today as I want to get all the layers of the clothing done so I am able to photograph them and mount the photos ready for the exhibition. I am really happy with how it has gone up to yet, I have managed to get the sizing and shape right so it fits me. These are photos from throughout the day to show how I have progressed.

These both show the body with the panels pinned onto them, before I had put all the fabric in the gaps to form the pleats 

 I have pinned the zip in so that I could try it on and make sure that it fits before I started to attach any of the skirt to it as if I had to alter it when the skirt was attach it would have been much more difficult.

 These two photos show the point that I am up to at the moment, I think that I have made really good progress with what I have done. The next step with this is to sew all the bits that are just pinned together so I can then start to look at the smaller details.