Wednesday 28 January 2009
Natural History Museum
Drawings to follow - I need to buy a scanner first.
Got lots of photos of birds and the buildings interior and exterior. Thinking about a bird man character. Photos taken are of birds, above and below..
Above-from ground level looking up (human perspective) eg ceiling/arches/windows/structure/architecture/anywhere my character could potentially hide or sit.
Below-from the different levels in the natural history museum looking down (the characters perspective) lots of people within the spaces.
Photos to come.
Got lots of photos of birds and the buildings interior and exterior. Thinking about a bird man character. Photos taken are of birds, above and below..
Above-from ground level looking up (human perspective) eg ceiling/arches/windows/structure/architecture/anywhere my character could potentially hide or sit.
Below-from the different levels in the natural history museum looking down (the characters perspective) lots of people within the spaces.
Photos to come.
Friday 23 January 2009
Change of direction
I need to stop thinking about the story so much. Still, trying to get ideas...found these few from
http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/sitemap/sitemap.htm
Grey Greyhound
Location: Alphamstone (Essex) - Sycamore FarmType: ShuckDate / Time: One night during the late '40s.Further Comments: After seeing a creature in his chicken coop, a farmer fired a shotgun at the creature - it ran through the wire netting and escaped. Examining the scene in the morning, the farmer could find no holes in the netting or footprints of the dog.
S for Sugar
Location: NW4 (Greater London) - Hendon Air MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Late twentieth centuryFurther Comments: The Lancaster Bomber 'S for Sugar', which is kept on site here, still retains its crew from World War Two in spirit form. A gunner has been observed sitting in one of the turrets, while the sounds of people working on the aircraft have been recorded late at night.
The Insane
Location: SE11 (Greater London) - Imperial War Museum, LambethType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: World War TwoFurther Comments: The site of the second Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane, the site was used by the Woman's Auxiliary Air Force during World War 2. Staff based there reported hearing ranting and screaming at night, and the sound of chains being rattled.
The Great Bed
Location: SW7 (Greater London) - Victoria & Albert MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Made by Jonas Fosbrooke in the 1460's for the King. In later years, as the bed passed from owner to owner, Jonas' spirit began to attack anyone who slept in the bed who had no royal blood, unless a toast was drunk to him before lights out.
Lights Switching
Location: W8 (Greater London) - Natural History MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2006Further Comments: The lights have been known to switch themselves on and off in the Entomology Library, while doors are locked and unlocked by an unseen hand. The Waterhouse building is also said to be haunted, this time by a phantom woman.
The Case of Amen-Ra
Location: WC1 (Greater London) - British MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: The fable here concerns a haunted mummy case - as well as the traditional curse, the casket in question was accompanied by acts of poltergeist like behaviour and the manifestation of a female figure. Thirteen mysterious deaths and suicides have been attributed to the sarcophagus. When the museum was Montague House, two brothers fought a duel in the land behind it (known as both Long Fields and Southampton Fields). So intense was their fight that no grass ever grew again in their footprints. According to T F Thiselton Dyer (Strange Pages from Family Papers), the footprints were located 'about three-quarters of a mile north of Montague House and five hundred yards east of Tottenham Court Road'.
The Man in a Tricorn Hat
Location: WC2 (Greater London) - British Optical Association Museum, Craven StreetType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 13 March 2006Further Comments: While engaging in redecoration of the building, one of the decorators encountered a crouching figure of an old man. Another ghostly figure was spotted a couple of days later, this time of a middle aged man wearing a dark blue coat with a tricorn hat, who asked the witness ‘Where’s Mary? I can’t find Mary.’
?
Location: Cold Ashton (Gloucestershire) - Manor HouseType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 1930sFurther Comments: A lost woman driver stopped at this building and asked the butler for directions, which he gave. However, she soon found out that the house had been empty for many years. She returned and found the building in a disused state, completely different from when she first called in.
House Party
Location: Downend (Isle of Wight) - Area near Knighton GorgesType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 31 December knight seen (reoccurring), house reported in the twentieth centuryFurther Comments: A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing the sounds of music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year.
Orange Triangle
Location: E17 (Greater London) - Skies over WalthamstowType: UFODate / Time: 18 October 1996Further Comments: Two children reported seeing a large orange triangular shaped object above them, making a funny noise.
Orange Lights
Location: N19 (Greater London) - Skies above ArchwayType: UFODate / Time: 2 February 2007, 17:30hFurther Comments: It was reported that traffic was brought to a standstill when between 10 - 15 orange lights were seen moving in a southerly direction. The UFOs all moved at the same speed, before stopping and moving upwards. The sighting lasted for about ten minutes.
Banana
Location: NW2 (Greater London) - Above Wembley StadiumType: UFODate / Time: 15 and 17 March 1985Further Comments: A flying banana shaped object was seen in the sky over the stadium a couple of times. It was described as bright and made up of several different colours.
Also, from an earlier video post..
Superstitions around the tower of london-
The ravens around tower hill which possibly nested in the turrets..Myth - if the ravens were to leave the tower of london, the tower would crumble and the monarchy would fall.
There were also lions kept there..Myth - if one of the lions died, the king of england would also die.
http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/sitemap/sitemap.htm
Grey Greyhound
Location: Alphamstone (Essex) - Sycamore FarmType: ShuckDate / Time: One night during the late '40s.Further Comments: After seeing a creature in his chicken coop, a farmer fired a shotgun at the creature - it ran through the wire netting and escaped. Examining the scene in the morning, the farmer could find no holes in the netting or footprints of the dog.
S for Sugar
Location: NW4 (Greater London) - Hendon Air MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Late twentieth centuryFurther Comments: The Lancaster Bomber 'S for Sugar', which is kept on site here, still retains its crew from World War Two in spirit form. A gunner has been observed sitting in one of the turrets, while the sounds of people working on the aircraft have been recorded late at night.
The Insane
Location: SE11 (Greater London) - Imperial War Museum, LambethType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: World War TwoFurther Comments: The site of the second Bethlehem Hospital for the Insane, the site was used by the Woman's Auxiliary Air Force during World War 2. Staff based there reported hearing ranting and screaming at night, and the sound of chains being rattled.
The Great Bed
Location: SW7 (Greater London) - Victoria & Albert MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: UnknownFurther Comments: Made by Jonas Fosbrooke in the 1460's for the King. In later years, as the bed passed from owner to owner, Jonas' spirit began to attack anyone who slept in the bed who had no royal blood, unless a toast was drunk to him before lights out.
Lights Switching
Location: W8 (Greater London) - Natural History MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 2006Further Comments: The lights have been known to switch themselves on and off in the Entomology Library, while doors are locked and unlocked by an unseen hand. The Waterhouse building is also said to be haunted, this time by a phantom woman.
The Case of Amen-Ra
Location: WC1 (Greater London) - British MuseumType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: Twentieth centuryFurther Comments: The fable here concerns a haunted mummy case - as well as the traditional curse, the casket in question was accompanied by acts of poltergeist like behaviour and the manifestation of a female figure. Thirteen mysterious deaths and suicides have been attributed to the sarcophagus. When the museum was Montague House, two brothers fought a duel in the land behind it (known as both Long Fields and Southampton Fields). So intense was their fight that no grass ever grew again in their footprints. According to T F Thiselton Dyer (Strange Pages from Family Papers), the footprints were located 'about three-quarters of a mile north of Montague House and five hundred yards east of Tottenham Court Road'.
The Man in a Tricorn Hat
Location: WC2 (Greater London) - British Optical Association Museum, Craven StreetType: Haunting ManifestationDate / Time: 13 March 2006Further Comments: While engaging in redecoration of the building, one of the decorators encountered a crouching figure of an old man. Another ghostly figure was spotted a couple of days later, this time of a middle aged man wearing a dark blue coat with a tricorn hat, who asked the witness ‘Where’s Mary? I can’t find Mary.’
?
Location: Cold Ashton (Gloucestershire) - Manor HouseType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 1930sFurther Comments: A lost woman driver stopped at this building and asked the butler for directions, which he gave. However, she soon found out that the house had been empty for many years. She returned and found the building in a disused state, completely different from when she first called in.
House Party
Location: Downend (Isle of Wight) - Area near Knighton GorgesType: Environmental ManifestationDate / Time: 31 December knight seen (reoccurring), house reported in the twentieth centuryFurther Comments: A manor house has been seen in the area, a party in full flow visible through its windows. However, the house was demolished many years previous. Even when not seen, locals have reported hearing the sounds of music coming from the site. A large black knight on horseback is still occasionally seen, once a year.
Orange Triangle
Location: E17 (Greater London) - Skies over WalthamstowType: UFODate / Time: 18 October 1996Further Comments: Two children reported seeing a large orange triangular shaped object above them, making a funny noise.
Orange Lights
Location: N19 (Greater London) - Skies above ArchwayType: UFODate / Time: 2 February 2007, 17:30hFurther Comments: It was reported that traffic was brought to a standstill when between 10 - 15 orange lights were seen moving in a southerly direction. The UFOs all moved at the same speed, before stopping and moving upwards. The sighting lasted for about ten minutes.
Banana
Location: NW2 (Greater London) - Above Wembley StadiumType: UFODate / Time: 15 and 17 March 1985Further Comments: A flying banana shaped object was seen in the sky over the stadium a couple of times. It was described as bright and made up of several different colours.
Also, from an earlier video post..
Superstitions around the tower of london-
The ravens around tower hill which possibly nested in the turrets..Myth - if the ravens were to leave the tower of london, the tower would crumble and the monarchy would fall.
There were also lions kept there..Myth - if one of the lions died, the king of england would also die.
Wednesday 21 January 2009
Modern day equivalents
Also thinking about shape shifting like in ‘Queen Rat.’
'Reptilian humanoids are a common motif in mythology, folklore, crypto zoology, sci-fi, fantasy, urology and conspiracy theories.
They are variously described as beings that evolved on Earth parallel to humanity, extraterrestrials, supernatural entities, or the remains of a pre-human civilization.'
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_humanoid)
'There are a variety of conspiracy theories involving reptilian humanoids. Conspiracy theorists believe that the so-called Greys are in fact reptiles, and should be categorized as "Reptoids". Some conspiracy promoters, especially David Icke, have also claimed that they are capable of shape-shifting.'
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_humanoid)
'David Vaughan Icke is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling the world."
According to Mr Icke's beliefs, the world is ruled by a secret group of illuminati, a race of shape-shifting reptilian humanoids known as the Babylonian Brotherhood. Among their number are President Bush, Boxcar Willie and, of course, the Queen.'
(from: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4226273.ece)
'Reptilian humanoids are a common motif in mythology, folklore, crypto zoology, sci-fi, fantasy, urology and conspiracy theories.
They are variously described as beings that evolved on Earth parallel to humanity, extraterrestrials, supernatural entities, or the remains of a pre-human civilization.'
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_humanoid)
'There are a variety of conspiracy theories involving reptilian humanoids. Conspiracy theorists believe that the so-called Greys are in fact reptiles, and should be categorized as "Reptoids". Some conspiracy promoters, especially David Icke, have also claimed that they are capable of shape-shifting.'
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_humanoid)
'David Vaughan Icke is a British writer and public speaker who has devoted himself since 1990 to researching "who and what is really controlling the world."
According to Mr Icke's beliefs, the world is ruled by a secret group of illuminati, a race of shape-shifting reptilian humanoids known as the Babylonian Brotherhood. Among their number are President Bush, Boxcar Willie and, of course, the Queen.'
(from: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4226273.ece)
So according to David Icke, the Queen is a shape shifter bringing it back to a modern 'Queen Rat' story of shape shifting and London (Buckingham palace.)
However, I'm not sure if it's a good enough match..
Thinking about modern day equivalents to Victorian toshers and the queen rat from the 'Queen Rat' story.
A tosher is someone who scavenges in the sewers, especially in London during the Victorian period. This activity began around the time of the construction of the London sewerage system.
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tosher)
A waste picker, or a scavenger, is a person who picks out recyclable elements from mixed waste wherever it may be temporarily accessible or disposed of. A person who scavenges for junk, food, materials, or other items is also referred to as a scavenger. Waste pickers may be employed in material recovery facilities or mechanical biological treatment systems to manually recover recyclables as opposed to automated systems.
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waste_picker)
Therefore I think that it should be more like, for example, people who mudlark on the Thames.
Victorian toshers - Queen Rat
Modern day...
Mudlarking on the Thames - ?Animal in river?
Homelessness in London - ?Animal in streets? Rat, mice, pigeon, fox.
Tuesday 20 January 2009
Possible animals
Thinking about possible animals which I could use instead of the 'Queen Rat' (adapting the story etc.)
http://www.bypest.com/rats.html London pest control. Animals include:
Rat
Mice
Cockroach
Cockroach
Pigeon
Squirrel
Also, possibly foxes as you can always see them in London at night. Possibly bats. I still quite like the rat though. I will try to experiment with all the 'pests.'
Going to think about their anatomy, habitat, sleeping patterns, texture (fur, shell etc) and create character from this.
Monday 19 January 2009
Animal
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shapeshifting)
'Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a metamorphosis (change in the physical form or shape) of a person or animal. Shapeshifting involves physical changes such as alterations of age, gender, race, or general appearance or changes between human form and that of an animal (therianthropy), plant, or inanimate object.
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy)
Therianthropy (part man and part beast, from the Greek theríon, meaning "wild animal" or "beast" (impliedly mammalian), and anthrōpos, meaning "human being") refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings such as the sorcerer at Les Trois Freres.
The term therianthropy was used to refer to animal transformation folklore of Asia and Europe as early as 1901. Sometimes, "zoanthropy" is used instead of "therianthropy".
Therianthropy was also used to describe spiritual belief in animal transformation in 1915 and one source raises the possibility the term may have been used in the 16th century in criminal trials of suspected werewolves.
http://www.geocities.com/schablotski.geo/Werewolf1.htm - 'Timeline of werewolf and therianthrope fiction'
I'd like to look more into this kind of story. Similar to 'The Queen Rat' story..
(From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29320962@N07/3031581619/)
'The Queen Rat
The most idiosyncratic of my illustrations for my weird book. Below is an excerpt which explains the picture:
A vestige of much older traditions about the sexual potency of rats may have survived into the Victorian era in the folklore of the Toshers, or scrap metal scavengers of Bermondsey, in London. They repeated tales of the Queen Rat, a rat-like supernatural being who could transform into an alluring young woman and seduce an unsuspecting tosher. If the tosher failed to notice her rat-like characteristics (eyes which reflected light in the dark, claws on her toes) and made sufficiently passionate love to her, she would give him good luck, but if he detected her animal nature and shunned her, she would shape-shift back into a rat, and he would suddenly become alarmingly accident prone. In the case of Jerry Sweetly, who slapped the Queen Rat when she bit his neck at the height of her passion, the price was death and misfortune for his future sexual partners, although he always did well in business after their assignation. The Queen Rat also seemed to be capable of passing on some sort of genetic inheritance through the men she seduced, for amongst the children borne by their future sexual partners, there would always be a girl with mismatched eye colours, and very acute hearing. Once again, the rat is both admired and despised for being so like us: it exhibits an evident enjoyment of sex and a prodigious reproductive capacity.'
'Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology and folklore, as well as in science fiction and fantasy. In its broadest sense, it is a metamorphosis (change in the physical form or shape) of a person or animal. Shapeshifting involves physical changes such as alterations of age, gender, race, or general appearance or changes between human form and that of an animal (therianthropy), plant, or inanimate object.
(From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therianthropy)
Therianthropy (part man and part beast, from the Greek theríon, meaning "wild animal" or "beast" (impliedly mammalian), and anthrōpos, meaning "human being") refers to the metamorphosis of humans into other animals. Therianthropes have long existed in mythology, appearing in ancient cave drawings such as the sorcerer at Les Trois Freres.
The term therianthropy was used to refer to animal transformation folklore of Asia and Europe as early as 1901. Sometimes, "zoanthropy" is used instead of "therianthropy".
Therianthropy was also used to describe spiritual belief in animal transformation in 1915 and one source raises the possibility the term may have been used in the 16th century in criminal trials of suspected werewolves.
http://www.geocities.com/schablotski.geo/Werewolf1.htm - 'Timeline of werewolf and therianthrope fiction'
I'd like to look more into this kind of story. Similar to 'The Queen Rat' story..
(From: http://www.flickr.com/photos/29320962@N07/3031581619/)
'The Queen Rat
The most idiosyncratic of my illustrations for my weird book. Below is an excerpt which explains the picture:
A vestige of much older traditions about the sexual potency of rats may have survived into the Victorian era in the folklore of the Toshers, or scrap metal scavengers of Bermondsey, in London. They repeated tales of the Queen Rat, a rat-like supernatural being who could transform into an alluring young woman and seduce an unsuspecting tosher. If the tosher failed to notice her rat-like characteristics (eyes which reflected light in the dark, claws on her toes) and made sufficiently passionate love to her, she would give him good luck, but if he detected her animal nature and shunned her, she would shape-shift back into a rat, and he would suddenly become alarmingly accident prone. In the case of Jerry Sweetly, who slapped the Queen Rat when she bit his neck at the height of her passion, the price was death and misfortune for his future sexual partners, although he always did well in business after their assignation. The Queen Rat also seemed to be capable of passing on some sort of genetic inheritance through the men she seduced, for amongst the children borne by their future sexual partners, there would always be a girl with mismatched eye colours, and very acute hearing. Once again, the rat is both admired and despised for being so like us: it exhibits an evident enjoyment of sex and a prodigious reproductive capacity.'
Tales
From http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lighton.asp
'We fear becoming the victims of random violence, and we fear being vulnerable in an unsafe world. The more unsafe we percieve the world around us to be, the more tales get told.'
'We fear becoming the victims of random violence, and we fear being vulnerable in an unsafe world. The more unsafe we percieve the world around us to be, the more tales get told.'
Crossbones Graveyard
'This is Cross Bones, an unconsecrated graveyard going back to medieval times. The Tudor historian John Stow refers to it as a burial ground for 'single women' - a euphemism for the prostitutes who worked in Bankside's legalised brothels or 'stews'. In his 1603 Survey of London, Stow writes:
'I have heard of ancient men, of good credit, report that these single women were forbidden the rites of the church, so long as they continued that sinful life, and were excluded from Christian burial, if they were not reconciled before their death. And therefore there was a plot of ground called the Single Woman's churchyard, appointed for them far from the parish church.'
'I have heard of ancient men, of good credit, report that these single women were forbidden the rites of the church, so long as they continued that sinful life, and were excluded from Christian burial, if they were not reconciled before their death. And therefore there was a plot of ground called the Single Woman's churchyard, appointed for them far from the parish church.'
William Blakes' London
London by William Blake
I wander thro’ each charter’d street,
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant’s cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.
How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every black'ning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
But most thro’ midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot’s curse
Blasts the new-born Infant’s tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
I wander thro’ each charter’d street,
Near where the charter’d Thames does flow,
And mark in every face I meet
Marks of weakness, marks of woe.
In every cry of every Man,
In every Infant’s cry of fear,
In every voice, in every ban,
The mind-forg’d manacles I hear.
How the Chimney-sweeper’s cry
Every black'ning Church appalls;
And the hapless Soldier’s sigh
Runs in blood down Palace walls.
But most thro’ midnight streets I hear
How the youthful Harlot’s curse
Blasts the new-born Infant’s tear
And blights with plagues the Marriage hearse.
One Eye Grey - Chris Roberts
'One Eye Grey is a penny dreadful for 21st century that draws on the tradition of those as well as the pulp fiction that followed. It features modern stories based on traditional London tales of the uncanny, paranormal and supernatural.'
14th January 2009 - Lecture from Chris Roberts (from One Eye Grey.) Notes from the lecture:
History, mythology, folklore based around London. Messing around with traditional stories. Gothic novel tradition. 1780s-1830s - mass of ghost stories. Ressurrectionists (body snatching) - laws changed so there were less bodies to dig up etc. Stories created to induce fear. William Blake - London (poem.) Rural - urban. Running patterers or flying stationers - make money through their mouth. Person hung, shout about it/sell broadsheets, penny dreadfuls began and evolved. Introduction of lots of characters (Sweeney Todd, Spring Heeled Jack etc.) 1860s - London wild boys. Jack Haraways 'School Boys'. Dick Turpin - real criminal, penny dreadfuls romanticised him, Black Bess (pictured in previous post) ran for 250 weeks (about Turpin.) Sailor/British Empire stories. Spring Heeled Jack - circus performer, masked, jump over walls, super natural being. Ended up being a protector of the working class. Very few female protagonists. Mainly male characters - primary market was male. Female characters were just associates of male protagonist. Legend of Queen Rat (exception) toshers in sewers, Queen Rat looked out for them, transform into a woman and sleep with them. If she liked him, she'd give him good luck and their first born would have ONE EYE GREY and one eye blue. South East London Folklore Society. Well in the middle of Greenwich park - stories. Londons ley lines. Haunted houses. Crystal Palace - roof fell on workers. Death Line (film) also known as Raw Meat. Modern - 'Mind the gap.' Haunted underground lines - Monument station - Stockwell. Vauxhall - Oval - giant in the tunnel. Source material - PARANORMAL DATABASE - search London. 'Elvis impersonating demon.' Cross bones graveyard in Southwark (Union Street) - prostitutes. 23rd of each month - John Constable - ceremony in graveyard. Walworth Road - old zoo - dissapeared in 1880. Tower of London used to be royal zoo, small events can change alot - Primrose Hill zoo was kept open. Peckham ghost. One tree hill - ballet dancer. Tower cinema - floating ghost. St Giles Crypt - 1979 - people looking for vampires. Penny dreadfuls evolved into todays comics. Varney the Vampire. Jarndyce - shop near British Museum where you can buy penny dreadfuls. Nuclear waste company invented story to keep people away - word of mouth lasts longer than signs and fences etc. Urban legends - local. 1950s - pulp magazines. Illustrations are there for people with poor reading skills, supports the text.
From the website: 'Paul Rivas who will be in the next One Eye Grey has started up a rather interesting online story called the secret tramp which can will be an on going saga set on the streets of London.'
http://secret-tramp.blogspot.com/
Make sure I read this!
Sunday 18 January 2009
To follow up tomorrow:
http://members.lycos.co.uk/skitster/ -South East London Folklore Society
http://www.fandmpublications.co.uk/pages/oneeyegrey.htm -One Eye Grey Penny Dreadful
http://www.folklore-society.com/ -The Folklore Society
http://www.thelondonword.com/category/weird-folklore/ -Weird Folklore - The London World
http://www.transpont.blogspot.com/
http://www.into.org.uk/SouthwarkMysteries -The Southwark Mysteries
http://www.fandmpublications.co.uk/pages/oneeyegrey.htm -One Eye Grey Penny Dreadful
http://www.folklore-society.com/ -The Folklore Society
http://www.thelondonword.com/category/weird-folklore/ -Weird Folklore - The London World
http://www.transpont.blogspot.com/
http://www.into.org.uk/SouthwarkMysteries -The Southwark Mysteries
Penny Dreadful
Penny Dreadful (also called penny number) was a term applied to nineteenth century British fiction publications, usually lurid serial stories appearing in parts over a number of weeks, each part costing a penny. The term, however, soon came to encompass a variety of publications that featured cheap sensational fiction, such as story papers and booklet “libraries.” The Penny Dreadfuls were printed on cheap pulp paper and were aimed primarily at working class adolescents.
(From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Dreadful)
(From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_Dreadful)
Brief
Create a 'penny dreadful', sourcing a piece of London folklore. The story may be set in the murky past or the lurid present. Find inspiration in the fictional, the factual, the mix thereof.
Begin by sourcing, writing, adapting a story-event. It might be rooted in an event or character. Gather plenty of picture research and draw from the figure, on location, from the media. Establish the story through rough sequential drawings by next tuesday. Establish an efficient, natural, growable place for your research and ideas to be seen. A book? A folder? A BLOG?
Work 1: Print on demand (Deadline: 27 January)
Create the snatcher, the stabber, the leaper, the slasher, the ripper, the harlot, the rake, the wastrel, the banshee, the ghoul, the THING. The protagonist of your story. Submit a vignetted image of the character as a full-colour (CMYK) image, with a short text (details to follow), for a compendium, a rogues' gallery, a bestiary of London folklore. The book will be then sent to 'Lulu' for production as a hard-back editioned group book, available as print-on-demand.
Work 2: Hand-Editioned Penny Dreadful (Deadline: 9 February)
Create the Penny Dreadful. Two colours on white paper. At least 16 pages (8 spreads) in any format. An edition of three identical copies. Surface imprint and object quality important. Consider embellishments (slipcase, foldouts, tipped-ins, etc.) Choose to work with images and (hand-rendered or set) type, or purely images.
Notes
This project is about authorship, self-publishing and the reprographic image. The two 'outputs' address the editioning of a work through hand-printmaking and through digital-print-on-demand. Use them to investigate the potential for you as self-publishing excercises. Each has a distinct object qualities and audience reach.
Need to find a way of assimilating the melodramatic, sensationalistic aspect of Penny Dreadfuls into your natural imaging and tone. What is a contemporary, popular equivalent?
For character, consider the influence of habitat and mode of existence on morphology. Think of the character as a simple abstract. Avoid overwrought, overworked cliche.
Reference
http://camberwellillustration.blogspot.com
Begin by sourcing, writing, adapting a story-event. It might be rooted in an event or character. Gather plenty of picture research and draw from the figure, on location, from the media. Establish the story through rough sequential drawings by next tuesday. Establish an efficient, natural, growable place for your research and ideas to be seen. A book? A folder? A BLOG?
Work 1: Print on demand (Deadline: 27 January)
Create the snatcher, the stabber, the leaper, the slasher, the ripper, the harlot, the rake, the wastrel, the banshee, the ghoul, the THING. The protagonist of your story. Submit a vignetted image of the character as a full-colour (CMYK) image, with a short text (details to follow), for a compendium, a rogues' gallery, a bestiary of London folklore. The book will be then sent to 'Lulu' for production as a hard-back editioned group book, available as print-on-demand.
Work 2: Hand-Editioned Penny Dreadful (Deadline: 9 February)
Create the Penny Dreadful. Two colours on white paper. At least 16 pages (8 spreads) in any format. An edition of three identical copies. Surface imprint and object quality important. Consider embellishments (slipcase, foldouts, tipped-ins, etc.) Choose to work with images and (hand-rendered or set) type, or purely images.
Notes
This project is about authorship, self-publishing and the reprographic image. The two 'outputs' address the editioning of a work through hand-printmaking and through digital-print-on-demand. Use them to investigate the potential for you as self-publishing excercises. Each has a distinct object qualities and audience reach.
Need to find a way of assimilating the melodramatic, sensationalistic aspect of Penny Dreadfuls into your natural imaging and tone. What is a contemporary, popular equivalent?
For character, consider the influence of habitat and mode of existence on morphology. Think of the character as a simple abstract. Avoid overwrought, overworked cliche.
Reference
http://camberwellillustration.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)