4/05/14

This week I am preparing for the deadline of my final major project. I have written my 300 word statement which will support my project and explain to the examiner what exactly I have done, and why I chose to do so. 
Also in preparation for the end of this project I have written my 1500 word evaluation. I found this easy to write as I simply referred back to my blog posts to help me recap on each step of the project. 

Revised budget

Now that I have finished my Major Project , I have looked at my proposed budget, I had to make a few changes to the budget:

This was the budget which was included in my proposal. However as I had to go to a different book printing company I had to make the following changes:

Cost of book - £90 

(I ordered 2 - £113)

Total cost of makeup products - £76.50

Travel Expenses - £200

(Parking, Petrol etc) 

Studio Cost - £0

Photographers and Models - £0

Total Budget - £389.50

I managed to come in under the proposed budget, and the most expensive expense of creating the project were parking and petrol, to get the the studio and shooting destinations.

Week 21/04/14

Today I received my manual, and I am very happy and impressed with the final outcome. 
Here are some images of the manual:

My manual is a hardback wire bound book, containing 62 pages, on glossy pages. The manual contains images of my own makeup looks, as well as tutorials and tips on applying makeup.

I have been waiting for my book to be printed, and I have been told it has been scheduled to be printed on Thursday the 24th of April.

Whilst I have been waiting, I have been creating images to fill up my portfolio.

I sent off my book!!

After checking, double checking and triple checking, today was a very exciting day, as I sent off my book for printing!!
I used a book printing company called Caromar, after they were highly recommended as the best book printer in southampton by another company. They had many options for me to choose from, however I finally opted for an a4 hardback book which is wire bound. I chose this as it looked very professional and the best option for me. I was told the process would take around a week to be completed, and I am very excited to see the finished result!!

Week Eleven 7/04/14

I have finally finished writing up an editing my book. I have completed my acknowledgments page, thanking everyone who had helped me om my project, for example stylists, photographers and models. 

I have spent this week completing my front cover and blurb. For my front cover I wanted to show off one of my favourite images that I created for my manual. I wanted the title of my manual to be in bold clear font. I also created my back cover page. On this page I have included an image of me on set working on a model and brief explaination of what my manual is about. 

However, this week i have encountered a problem as i tried to send of my book. I have my my book using 'Blurb', an Indesign plug in which i used to create books online, however as i went to send off my book, it repeatedly said there was an issue. After searching online for a resolution for this, many people have said it is an issue with the plug in and often cannot be resolved. I continuously tried to contact blurb customer service, however i never received a response.

I have been researching different book printing companies in southampton.

Week Ten 31/03/14

Again this week I have spent  most of my time makeuo eting my manual and editing pictures. I have nearly completed it and am just working on the final few pages. 
This is going well, I have been to see my it teacher for more technical help, I have found these classes really helpful whilst completing book.

I have spent time this week completing the 'special occasion' section of my manual. In this section I have used some images of my make up and given examples of when this certain look can be worn. For example a cat eye liner and bold lip would be suitable for an evening out. 
I have also included a day to night page which advises the reader how to adjust there makeup to make it suitable to last all day and to wear in the evening.  

Week Nine 24/03/14

This week I mainly focused upon collecting research and constructing my book. I struggled understanding the 'bleed' line which is important when creating a book, as this is the section which gets trimmed when the book is made. However after speaking to my IT lecturer, he helped me understand this and use this on my document. 

Whilst collecting research for my book I have been extremely influenced by the book by the book named "MAKEUP IS ART', this book is a similar format to the one I am creating. It is full of extremely beautiful and creative images of stunning makeup. 

As well as this,  I awnsered five of the questions that were asked im the survey. These questions were,

How do I know what colours complement my skin tone?

How can I make my foundation and concealer look smooth and well applied?

How do I cleam my brushes correctly?

How do I quickly correct makeup mistakes?

How long should I keep my makeup for?

I chose these because I feel that they are common makeup questions which young women would want to be awnsered. These questions will be included in the back section of my book.

Week Eight 17/03/14

This week i focused on the 'Perfect Lips' section of my manual. For these photo shoots I collaborated with a fashion styling student Rachael Corri and photography student Matt Angell to create the images.
The lips section consists of 2 images, one with a striking red lip and the other with a nude lip. The purpose of these images were to show the contrast between a bright lip and a nude lip.
The first shoot we did was a natural makeup with a nude lip. I wanted a very natural look which shows off a simple yet effective nude lip.

The other lip shoot i did was the contrast of this, with a very bold lip and heavily eyeliner.

 I found it very exciting working as part of a big team to create a collection of images. Here is a background images from the shoot:

Creating the manual is coming along successfully, I am learning to use In Design and finding it very exciting and quite fun creating my own book.

This week I created a survey, using www.surveymonkey.com, which asks respondents what makeup questions they want answering. This is to go in the FAQ section at the end of the book, i will chose 4 or 5 of the most relevant questions and answer them in as much detail as possible. The link to the survey can be found here:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QHZF29B

This survey is an important piece of primary research which I feel will involve the target reader.

Week Seven 10/03/14

This week I started creating my manual using Indesign. I'm finding it relatively difficult to use however  I think with practise I will get the hang of it and so far I am really enjoying making the book. 
On Wednesday I collaborated with a friend who does fashion styling, for a photo shoot. The shoot was a gothic themed shoot, with the makeup focused upon well contoured skin and thick black eyeliner, with striking black lips. This shoot links well to an eyeliner section in my manual which i can use, as well as putting in my portfolio. 

This makeup look focuses upon well contoured skin and heavy eyeliner, paired with a black lip.

Here are some behind the scenes images from the shoot...

Week Six 03/03/14

This week in tutorial i was advised to focus further upon who my target audience were. I had already planned that i wanted my manual to focus on a younger age group, however I was undecided about whether my target audience was going to be aspiring makeup artists who want to learn techniques to apply on models, or whether to aim it at teenagers who want to learn professional techniques to apply on themselves. 

I decided that there would be a larger target audience for teens who wanted to apply makeup to themselves. I then decided to hold a focus group, to find out what people of the target age group would be interested in seeing in the manual. I gathered a group of 5 13 - 17 year olds and asked them questions about what they would like the manual to focus on. A common response from all of them was they wanted to learn about brushes and which certain brushes are used for. This has showed me that I would like a lot of focus on the brushes and tools section. 
Another thing i noted was that several of them were unsure about which areas to highlight and contour, which also made me realise i need a detailed section about this.

This week I did a very exciting shoot for my manual. This shoot focused on well highlighted - flawless skin. I found a couple of images which really influenced me and i wanted to incorporate this into the shoot.




I thought these to images would show off the makeup well, and match the well highlighted theme of the shoot.

Week Five 24/02/2014

This week my main focus was to begin to build my manual on InDesign. I have successfully finished 10 pages of the manual. This week I completed the masterclass on Airbrushing. Although i'm not including an airbrushing section in my manual, from the master class i got an image which to include in the manual, i feel it would work well in the perfect skin section, as airbrushing creates a flawless skin. 
Overall I found the airbrushing hard to begin with, however after some practise with it I feel more confident.
I also managed to complete a test shoot for the 'Eyelash' section of my manual, ready for shooting next week.

As well as this I collaborated with a good friend, Maisie Webb, who drew up all the face shapes for my 'Face' section in the manual. Some examples are seen below, these show examples of the most common face shapes. 

 

Week Three 10/01/14

This week there was no tutorial as instead there was a trip to London. The trip consisted of a visit to Bobbi Brown, with 20% discount off all purchases. However most of my day was spent in the MAC store, where we were put into small groups and had mini tutorials of how to recreate looks which were seen at London Fashion Week. 

This week I did two photo shoots for my manual. The first shoot i focused on was a well concealed skin. I used a heavy MAC foundation and concealer to create a flawless, contoured base. I then applied a dark smoky eye paired with a bold red lip. 

  

Week Two 03/02/14

This week i had my first tutoral session with Sharon, I found it very helpful as she helped me re-write my introduction. She also showed me Francois Nars makeup manual, which has given me plenty of new ideas to help with my layout, and also influenced me to create my manual with a ring binder. It is a very inspirational book which is interesting as it has a new approach to teaching makeup. The manual is titled "Makeup Your Mind, Express Yourself" Which i think is a good title, as it shows that makeup is very much about expressing yourself. 

This is his second book, he has an interesting approach because in his pages he hows you where exactly what product goes where. 

Other areas which i feel i need to research more after having my tutoral are; my audience demographic, my styling and which book printers to use, which i shall aim to research this week.

I also managed to complete a second photo shoot, which was focused on the use of blusher. I feel that this photo shoot went well, and i have an image which will go into my manual. The shoot I did this week was for the powder blusher section. This shoot use a lot of bright pink shades; a bright pink lip and bright pink cheeks. 

As well as this i have another photo shoot planned for Wednesday, which will be with the help of another makeup student.

Week One 27/02/14

This week i wrote up my introduction for my manual and i also planned the contents page, and layout of the book. I also began to write the brushes and tools section. I missed my tutorial session as I was busy helping out on a photo shoot, which was for my sisters fashion styling blog, which is based on high street trends which are influenced by the trends as seen on the catwalk. 

I also managed to do my first photo shoot for my manual. The photo shoot was for the section 'The Perfect Base', and the makeup was simple, just focusing on using makeup to achieve a flawless skin.

This is a photo of me on set working with my model.

This week I also completed my second shoot which was based upon a block eye colour. I used a mint green colour to show of the colour of my models eyes. I paired this with lightly contoured skin and a nude lip. I'm really pleased with the final outcome of this shoot as the images were very successful. Here is the face chart i used for this shoot.

About my Final Major Project

My final major project is a makeup manual, which wil consist of makeup 'lessons' and photographs of the makeup, aswell as hints and tips about applying makeup. This idea was influenced by other manuals such as Bobbi Brown. 
However i felt that there was a gap in the market for a manual which is aimed at the younger audience. The manual will be targetted to to a younger age group, such as teenagers (14 - 20) The name of the manual will be MAKING UP: THE ONLY MAKEUP ARTISTS GUIDE.
I am very excited to get started on working on my manual, and will be spending a few days planning shoots, organising models and creating face charts for each of my shoots.

Here is my production schedule of my final major project which I intend to stick to throughout the progress of my project.