West Side Story

Commissioned to produce a poster for the advertising of the Bournemouth University Parts dramatic group's production of West Side Story, directed by Jack Diplock.
Printed in a range of sizes from A1 to A4.

 I wanted to put across the Brooklyn back streets feel where the musical is set, incorporating the recognisable fire escapes and windows into a bold and powerful setting within the striking text. The objective is to quickly grab peoples attention through the bold text, then the subtleties of the urban motive and screen-printed texture come into play giving a visually interesting piece that will hold the viewers attention. I screen-printed the original text to achieve the grainy and gritty effect that compliments the urban underdog theme of the musical.

Seeing my work professionally printed on A1 was really inspiring and I'm looking to go back into producing large works, rather than the smaller prints I'm now doing. The visual impact of a large textured image is stunning.

Finishing the String internet

 

After many delays the string internet has finally reached its conclusion. The huge mass takes up half the studio and everyone wants to jump into it. After untangling myself from inside it I managed to take a few photos...

 

 

With more string and a lot more patience I want to fill the room, totally take over every corner, object, and anyone standing still for long enough!

This work shows the mass of the Internet and how the network grows and grows with new websites and more information added every day. In many ways it works much like a natural organism developing and evolving, which is almost the opposite of the digital phenomenon that the internet represents.  This is my response to taking something invisible and digital and representing it in a tactile physical form for people to understand.Thee string is playful, colourful and a simple childlike way of communicating the complex Internet.

Day 1

 

 

Day 2

 

Day 3

 

Getting all tied up over the internet

How to illustrate the internet?  its just a load of string really...

Day 1

Developing the visual explanation of the internet; how does it work, what does it represent?

I'm looking to make something different, break away from my usual work and push my own views on illustration. It isnt just a picture, the process influences the final outcome, documenting the process is sometimes more interesting and informative than the final outcome...

 

Online recognition

Me Design Magazine; an online magazine displaying all the hottest an exciting creative talent around has selected my Ragged Trousered series to be included in their talent section.
"How to visually reinterpret a century-old story for the modern reader?
A pretty tough gig for a graphic artist, but Finn O'Brien, an illustration student currently in his second year at the Arts University College in Bournemouth, UK, has done a mighty fine job of it."

 Check out the link to see the work and peruse the site in general.

Book Publishing - The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

This is my most recent work to date; Illustrating Robert Tressell's The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists. Written 100 years ago the book portrays the struggle and hardship of the British working class as they battle class oppression, hunger, and isolation, whilst trying to raise a family and pay the rent. On the face of it not a million laughs. However the book is a classic and marks the rise of Socialism in England as it picks apart the floors in the then and current Capitalist system.
My work aims to take these issues and relate them to a contemporary audience, using the themes of isolation and social division throughout the series of images and to accompany the text.

Disproportionate Design hits the web

Well hello and welcome to the first post!
From here onwards you can follow the development work and eventual world domination of d.pro design, keep watch...