ILLU6050 - Invaders Of The British Isles

Planning

Historical Research Subjects

Practical Research Subjects
  • 55 BC - Republic Rome invasion of the British isles.
  • 43 AD - Imperial Rome invasion of the British isles.
  • 8th Century - Viking invasion of the British isles.
  • 1066 - Norman invasion of the British isles.
  • 1069 - Viking invasion of the British isles.
  • 1215 AD - French invasion of the British isles.
  • Book printing & publishing.
  • Book page layouts.
  • "Chapter" format/ layout.
  • Paper stock & weight.
  • Cost & Time

Book Content Considerations

Book-Adjacent Content Possibilities
  • Written content for each section.
  • Format of written content's layout.
  • Book jacket - cover & blurb.
  • Book illustrations - spot illustrations, full-bleed illustrations, illustrated maps, character illustrations.
  • Typography - consistent body-copy style, unique "chapter" titles.
  • Book "admin" pages - acknowledgements, author & publisher section, blank fore & aft pages.
  • Bookmarks.
  • Book inserts.
  • Packaging designs.
  • Display items.

Research

Book Treatment Options
(via Mixam's Art Book Selection)

Hardcover

  • 210 x 210mm page size.
  • 90 - 200 gsm paper weight range.
  • 32 side minimum.
  • Silk, Gloss, & Uncoated paper types.
Additional finishing options:
  • Integrated Bookmark.
  • Head & Tail Band.
  • Sewn Binding.
  • Cover Foiling.
  • Coloured Endpapers.
  • Dust Jacket.
~ £540 for 100 copies at 32 sides & no additional options, up to £770 with bookmark & bands.

Layflat

  • 210 x 210mm page size.
  • 130 - 200 gsm paper weight range.
  • ​24 - 48 side/ page range. (with very erratic cost changes between options)
  • Silk, & Gloss paper types. (however, silk seems to be the only available option)
  • 170 - 400 gsm cover paper weight range.
~ £760 for 100 copies at 32 sides.

Subject Details

55 B.C. Roman Republic Invasion

  • Exploratory expedition led by Julius Caesar.
  • Planned landing site of Dover, changed to further up the coast, likely at Pegwell Bay.
  • Contested landing.
  • Troops had to wade through high waters to get to shore, whilst fighting.
  • Outcomes:
    ​Britain & Rome established trade routes.

43 A.D. Imperial Roman Invasion

  • Territory expansion invasion led by Aulus Plautius, under Emperor Claudius.
  • Britain was rich in minerals, mines, & potential slaves. Iron, lead, tin, & copper mines dot the isles.
  • 4 Legions sent.
  • Claudius reinforced the initial invading force after the first battles with fresh troops & elephants.
  • Outcomes:
    ​Established the settlement, Camulodunum, that would become modern-day Colchester.

8th/ 9th Century Viking Raids & Invasion

  • Initial raids on small coastal settlements & monasteries.
  • First recorded raid in Portland, Dorset in 789 A.D.
  • First monastery raid - Lindisfarne in 793 A.D.
  • ​Isolated coastal monasteries were prime targets for Viking raids, as they had concentrated, mobile, material wealth secluded away from other settlements guarded by martially ignorant  Christian monks.
  • 865 A.D. - Vikings invaded in greater force to establish colonies in England
  • 866 A.D. - Vikings captured the city of York.
  • 892 A.D. - A large Viking army landed in Kent with the intent of conquering the kingdom of Wessex, yet Wessex repelled them, and would later launch a military campaign to oust the Viking settlers from the rest of England.
  • Outcomes:
    Wealth & power redistributed from England to the Scandinavian countries.
    Norse settlements & culture integrated into the northern parts of England.
    Power struggles in the British isles between Vikings & Anglo-Saxons.

1066 A.D. Norman Conquest

  • A war of succession; William the Conqueror, then the Duke of Normandy, laid claim to the English throne due to being distantly related by blood to the childless Edward the Confessor.
  • William's claim is disputed by other claimants: Harold Godwinson, King Edward's brother-in-law, & Harald Hardrada, the king of Norway.
  • Following King Edward's death in January of 1066 A.D., Harold Godwinson took the throne.
  • In September of 1066 A.D. Harald Hardrada invaded the north of England, resulting in Harold Godwinson taking forces up north to contest his invasion.
  • 20th of September: Battle of Fulford, a small village south of York - the Norwegian invaders secure a victory against Edwin, the earl of Mercia, and Morca, the earl of Northumbria.
  • 25th of September: Battle of Stamford Bridge, a small village ~5 miles east of York - Harold Godwinson's forces meet the Norwegians in battle, killing Harold Hardrada and Tostig Godwinson, Harold's brother who was in support of Harald Hardrada's claim.
  • 28th of September: William the Conqueror & his army lands in Pevensy, Sussex.
  • Harold marches south to contest William's invasion, leaving some of his army in the north.
  • 14th of October: Battle of Hastings, site ~5.5 miles north west of Hastings - William the Conqueror's fresh army meets Harold's march-fatigued force in battle resulting in William's victory and Harold Godwinson's death in battle.
  • William the Conqueror spent the rest of the year conquering the remaining English resistance before being crowned king in London on the 25th of December 1066.

1215 - 1217 A.D. French Invasion/ The First Barons' War

  • ​An English civil war that came about due to a number of Barons rebelling against the current king of England, King John.
  • The Barons rebelled because King John refused to adhere to the Magna Carta, a royal charter of rights which he agreed to in June of 1215 A.D., and because of King John's failed military campaigns in France.
  • The Barons sought the aid of, the then, Prince Louis of France, resulting in the French invasion of the British isles in 1216 by Prince Louis.
  • Prince Louis joined the conflict with hopes of becoming the new king of England, even being named so by the rebelling Barons, but not officially crowned.
  • With the death of King John in October of 1216 A.D., his 9 year old son, Henry III inherited the throne of England supported by the rebelling barons, as a child-ruler would be more pliant.
  • Henry III and the Barons set about removing the now unwelcome presence of Prince Louis' army from England.
  • Prince Louis' army was defeated in May of 1217 A.D. at the battle of Lincoln.
  • Reinforcing French ships were sent across the English Channel but were repelled in the battle of Dover in August of 1217 A.D.
  • After this defeat, Prince Louis retreated to France and, in September of 1217, the Treaty of Lambeth required Louis to abandon his claim to the English throne and to return the channel islands to English rule.
  • The signing of the Treaty of Lambeth marked the end of the First Barons' War.

Book Treatment Example - Soul Arts Via Kickstarter

Souls Arts is a collaborative project art book that is/ was crowdfunded on Kickstarter. Using illustrations produced by a multitude of artists, this project aims to present them within an art book inspired by the popular video game series' Demon Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, & Sekiro. In getting this project funded, many mock-up images were produced & used on the project's Kickstarter page, these mock-ups showcased the artwork produced for the project within context, as well as showing a preview of the book's rough layout/ typical page compositions.
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Soul Arts Book Cover Mock-Up
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Double Page Spread Mock-Up - "Catarina" by nolan192
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Double Page Spread Mock-Up - "The Twisted City" by Timothy Kelly
Aside from having popular & well-established names within the Soulsborne (portmanteau of (Dark) Souls, & (Blood)borne) community support the project, the clean presentation & book mock-ups helped fund this Kickstarter project within a single day of it being made live on the platform.

Visual Research & Inspiration

Republican Rome Arms & Armour

Picture
Development Of Roman Helmets
Picture
Illustrated Gladius Typology
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Photographed Gladius Typology

Imperial Rome Arms & Armour

Picture
Development Of Roman Pilum/ Pila

Viking Arms & Armour

Norman Arms & Armour

13th Century (French) Arms & Armour

Thumbnails

Chapter Heading Spreads

Front Covers

Page Illustrations

More scenic illustrations can serve as a break between the more information-heavy sections in my work.
Dynamic compositions can provide excitement within a, larger, more subdued work.
Picture
Book Chapter Template Example
Having a rough idea of the desired chapter content visualised allows me to organise my work more coherently and work towards a known goal.

Development Pieces

Viking Church Raid

This illustrations served as a good practice piece to explore techniques, even if in its current state it will not included in the final work or developed further. There are lessons to be learned from failure.

Sword Illustrations

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"Pompeii" Gladius
Picture
"Mainz" Gladius
Picture
Viking Trilobe Sword
Picture
Norman Sword
Picture
Arming Sword
Wireframe illustrations, showing elements clipping through each other assist in the understanding of each sword's parts. Even if the proportions are not accurate due to lack of reference material and data.
PictureFlat-Colour Sword Illustrations
Flat shapes with basic colours, but accurate proportions & relative size. These more graphical depictions will form the foundation for more developed illustrations.
The painting stages for each sword remains the same, this formulaic workflow allows each illustration to retain a familiar style.

Shield Illustrations

The process for illustrating the shields is much the same as with the swords in this work, however they are more visually complicated objects, and so require finer detail & attention.

Republic Scutum

Round Shield

Imperial Scutum

Flat-Topped Kite Shield/ Heater Shield

Kite Shield

Helmet Illustrations

In contrast to the more slick and developed depictions of the Arms in this project, the Armour illustrations are hand-drawn pieces, with limited digital enhancement. This change in style helps separate the two subjects with a distinct visual difference.
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Flat Double-Page Spread Illustration.

Pilum & Plumbata Double Page Spread 

This section shows the process of creating a double page spread composition, rather than focusing on the production of the illustrations themselves. Creating workable files & images that can be used in the production of physical printed outcomes is an important part of the creative process.
Cropped screenshots of the page composition process.
Picture
Finished Double Page Spread Layout, Ready For Print Or Mock-Up Use.

Combat Devices Illustrations

These illustrations follow the more loose style of the Helmet illustrations, focusing on simplifying and abstracting their subject matter to focus on the more gestural elements of a form. The sketches are barely different from the completed versions, keeping the more loose & free looking style.
Placing these illustrations on their own "paper" enabled an exercise in textural work. In keeping with the looser style of the illustrations, the texture work is not overly detailed, as it would contrast too much otherwise.

Cover Spread Illustration

Developing from the second cover thumbnail, these images show the stages of creating the cover art for the book.

Double Page Spread Compositions

These are the flat composition images, with printing bleeds considered, which can be used to print the final pages from.

Sword & Shield Illustrations

These pieces are ready to be dropped into full-page compositions with minimal alterations.

Outcomes

Degree Show Pieces

These pieces are developed, with their relevant text content, for display in the third year degree show. The inclusion of the text elements ground the illustrations into a greater body of work.

Cover Mock-Up

These mock-up pieces help cement this project as a real printed book, showing a conceptual depiction of the final product.

Double Page Spread Mock-Ups

The use of mock-up images help realise the on-screen images as a tangible object, which elevates them beyond mere concept.
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