Final Major Project - Sampling

To begin the final stage of my final project to create my final piece, I came up with a colour scheme and started collecting fabric swatches to help with the sampling and design process. 

For the colour schemes I used photoshop to pick out samples from images closely connected to my theme and project from the beginning. This ensures that the palette doesn't clash with the theme and complements the motif and mood I am aiming for, creating a cohesive project:

In the end, what I have selected out are bright blues and reds so that I can use anaglyph themes in my designs, however the rest keeping to sepia and the black and white spectrum to give the idea of aged devices and old photographs. I also got several fabric samples, keeping to whites and creams so that I can add all the design and colour with surface design and thinking mainly about textures.

With this done, I started making samples for my project, experimenting with different techniques on different  fabrics, while also trying to keep the designs relevant to my project:

Blinking Eye - Digital Print and machine stitching
 on White Polyester

Arabesque - Digital Print on Cream Sateen
Polyester

Machine Stitching on White Polyester

Fabric Paint on Acetate

Digital Print and Fabric Paint on White Polyester

Digital Print and Fabric Paint on White Polyester

Fabric Paint on Polyester Crepe and Acetate

Digital Print of a collage on White Polyester and
Cream Sateen Polyester

Fabric Paint on Cream Cotton and Viscose

Machine Stitching on White Polyester

Transfer Printer (you scan in drawing and print them out with
special ink, that then heat transfers onto synthetic fabrics)

Digital Printing on Polyester Crepe, Acetate and White Polyester

I kept my sample within my chosen theme, thinking about representations of movement. With some I also considered how to make them in the style of pre-cinema animation devices, as with the blinking eye and ballet dancer digital prints seen above which could be used as zoetrope reels. As I feel all the techniques I explored - painting, stitching and digital printing - worked well to make detailed designs I think I will include all of them in my final product. As I am planning to represent several different devices with these designs I also feel a range of fabrics will work well to give a range of effects. For example, fabric paint on cotton gives the idea of aged paint on rough paper while on acetate it can look slightly luminous, like a glass magic lantern slide. Overall I am pleased with my samples and they way they have turned out makes me hopeful for a strong final outcome. I also received positive feedback from my peers on them, and the suggestion that I should be more adventurous and try mixing media to add interest to them is one I shall take seriously. One thing that does make me apprehensive however, is that during the sampling process I realised how long each individually design can take, and so will have to be sure to manage my time very carefully if I hope to finish this project by the deadline. Nevertheless, making samples was very helpful as it meant I could test out each fabric and technique and decide which ones would be best to use for my final outcome.