poster draft #1

i began working today around 11.30am, and didn't stop until around 8pm, and this is what i have to show for it! i slaved over scraps of card, paper, magazine cuttings and various tools such as paints, markers and pencils to achieve an illustrative monkey style that i was finally happy with (the amount of hand drawn and collaged monkeys in my sketchbook is something of a joke), then moved onto assembling a background (and i've still to try out a digital style just to see how i feel about it) before finally attempting to tackle the type on my poster.

type's something i don't really get along too well with. there are a handful of fonts that i'm comfortable with because they're just good all rounders, however, when it comes to combining fonts with my illustrations i feel as though the two just don't mix. recently i made a set of font brushes from my own handwriting, and when i've needed to include text on any of my illustrations, i've used those as the style fits in with my illustrative style. the text on my poster was no exception to this rule; i feel as though my font's somewhat childlike and playful, as is the imagery on my poster, so i tried the two together and i think they work pretty well! of course, i'll mention in my sketchbook that i made the font brushes for the purpose of this project, but that'll be our little secret.

the basic idea behind my poster is to promote cycling safety by subtly enforcing the idea that helmets, high vis jackets and waterbottles (there will be three posters in total) are essential items to take with you when cycling, depending upon the conditions, while also getting my audience involved with the poster by directly addressing them and asking them to interact with the poster, keeping it entertaining for them while also educating them.

tomorrow we're having a feedback session at uni so i can get some advice on where to go next with my design as it's obvious it's not quite as strong as it could be, but if any of you had any suggestions, i'd love to hear from you!