Merging Newspaper Text with Reportage Illustration

Through researching into newspapers, I managed to collect several small artcicles about the missing flight MH370 and words which related to the news story. I found this very hard as I was looking at UK newspaper a few weeks after the initial crisis had happened, therefore the story had died down quite a lot. Even so, I managed to create a small composition from the articles/ text to make up a double page background.

Using the background image I overlaid some watercolour reportage illustration on Photoshop to experiment with the effects it could create.

Merging the watercolours over the newspaper is extremely effective. Hints of the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 news story comes through the illustration which create a unique effect. Due to the nature of the news articles in the background being about the physical search for the missing plane, the illustrations bring the importance of the relatives to the foreground. The real impact has been on the families and friends of the missing passengers, who still cling onto any last ray of hope that their loved ones are alive.

These images would be most effective as a collection to highlight the relative's anguish as the main focus of the news story as a whole. The relatives being in the foreground emphasise their ongoing role in the story and how they shouldn't be forgotten, as well as the missing passengers.

Reportage Illustration: Relatives of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370

Using a selection of watercolour illustrations portraying the relatives of the missing passengers of flight MH370, I decided to put them into a more professional context in the style of Kugler's reportage illustration where he uses text alongside the imagery.

To begin with, I made grid lines to divide the page into two sections to form a book/ newspaper double page spread layout. 

The next stage was to add a collage of reportage illustrations which I had previously formed. I flipped the image horizontally so that the heading could be situated in the top left hand corner so it would read chronologically.

I added text into spaces incorporating it within the imagery. The text relates to articles about the relatives of the missing passengers of flight MH370. In particular, this text (below) was quoted from the article which I had illustrated the image from, relating to Chinese protests about the missing flight.The text (far below) relates to the missing passenger, Paul Weeks, and his family, using a quote from his wife to portray the heart-ache of the ordeal.

Adding the heading to the image put it into context as a news story similar to the way George Butler puts his reportage work into commercial contexts. I didn't want to use a conventional font, so searched for one online, leading me to 'headliner no.45'. This font is bold but still a little rough around the edges, fitting in with the news story.

Text used for heading

Final Design

Above, this is the final design. The text compliments the imagery effectively without making the whole image seem too busy. I could definitely see this in a newspaper as a double page spread. The subtly of the watercolour takes on a sensitive approach to such a controversial topic, allowing the reader to understand the necessary information about the thoughts of the relatives of the missing passengers. Overall, I think the image and composition relates well to a professional news story context.

Ny Daily News: Relatives Have Hope

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/relatives-missing-malaysia-airlines-passengers-hopeful-article-1.1723195

Looking at several articles online has given me an insight into the anguish the relatives of the missing passengers of Malaysia Airline flight Mh370 have had to face.

I have illustrated one of the photographs from this article:

'A man cries at a prayer ceremony for passengers’ family members Saturday in Subang Jaya, Malaysia.'

The deep tones I have used bring out the detail and emotions of the relative. He is situated within a large white space signifying the loss he has suffered. However, the watercolour is quite dark portraying the image as quite harsh in comparison to others. Even so, the composition is effective to demonstrate his emotions and significant loss, once again touching upon the idea of a 'void' felt by the relatives.

Keeping the illustrations quite simple is effective for focusing on specific aspects of the news coverage of the missing flight MH370. As there are so many variations and elements to the story as a whole, along with past, present and ongoing articles, I have picked out specific articles relating to the emotions of the relatives which they have to endure without finding answers to their questions and any knowledge about what really happened to the flight.

Future illustrations will be more subtle, although this image could be de-saturated in Photoshop to make the tones less harsh.

Reportage Illustration: Relatives of the Missing Passengers (MH370)

A series of illustrations in mixed media watercolour and watercolour pencils, depicting the relatives and supporters of the passengers who went missing on the Malaysian Airline Flight MH370. All imagery has been illustrated from various news articles, re-invented in my own style to convey the sensitivity of the tragedy, and focus on the heartache, anger, frustration and hope of the relatives.

Some references to the original articles are provided as links of the imagery.

Relative of a passenger lighting a candle of hope

Relatives Protesting in frustration about the lack of information they have been receiving

Relatives lighting candles of hope

The subtlety of the watercolour demonstrates the sensitivity of the topic which I believe works very well. Reporting these areas of the news is important to generate a sense of empathy with the viewer who may or may not be familiar with the tragedy. For the standard viewer, the plane has been found. However, to the relatives of the missing 239 people onboard, there will not be any closure until the truth has been found and their questions have been answered. These images portray a sense of long-term loss and hope that some day they will be able to let go.

This is what is important.

Reportage Illustration: George Butler and Evan Turk

As a direction for my latest University project based on the missing Malaysian flight MH370, I have decided to look at several illustrators who use a method of reportage through art to depict certain events and locations of places around the world. My aim for my personal project is to portray the main events which have occurred since the flight went missing on the 8th March 2014.

For inspiration, I looked at some illustrators who practice the art of reportage themselves:



George Butler is a reportage illustrator specialising in travel and current affairs. His main choice of media include pen, ink, and watrcolour, a similar medium which I love to work in. He has published works in several newspapers such as the Times, the Guardian and the Evening Standard. Butler offers a unique style which captures the emotions of each place he visits. Sitting amongst the landscapes, he draws from life which give a sense of authenticity in his work.

'Goats' - Ismail, Syria

Here are some examples of his work:

'Battle Scene' - illustration of remains of war in Kilis, Turkey

And here is an interview with the artist himself giving a true insight into his work:

Evan Turk

Evan Turk is a New York based artists who uses his blog to document his reportage illustrations and animations from all over the world.

Mahane Yehuda Market in Jerusalem 

Morocco: The Tanneries

Turk's illustrations are loose and sketchy, though provide detail and information about the scenes he has encountered. 

More of his work can be found on his blog: 

http://evanturk.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/morocco-tanneries.html

Self-Initiated Project Brief: Missing Malaysian Flight MH370

Brief:

For my self initiated project, I will focus on looking into the current news event of the missing Malaysian flight MH370. Keeping up to date with several articles, I intend on recording past, current, and on going stories about the missing flight. This will be recorded through illustration to depict the most important aspects of the news story. My main focuses will be on the missing passengers and their relatives, perhaps using photography from news articles to depict the events.

Summary of Missing Flight MH370 so far...

The Malaysian Flight MH370 went missing on the 8th March 2014 along with 239 victims on board, including passengers with various nationalities. As expected, there was much anguish and frustration felt by the relatives on board the plane. Helicopters and Navy vessels have gone to a calculated search zone in the Indian Ocean. Debris has been found but so far none of it has been identified as part of Flight MH370.

Initial Ideas

Initially, I have began looking into current and past news articles about the Malaysian Flight. This has led me to look at online UK based news sites such as Sky News and BBC News to give me a better insight into the story so far. However, I felt that when I looked at several articles I was very unsure what was a portrayal of truth or speculation. This has made it difficult though I can use this as part of the reportage of events I will illustrate. 

One article I came  across of Sky News showed the faces of some of the missing passengers on the flight, including reports on some of the backgrounds of certain passengers. I feel this connected the audience with the story on a deeper level rather than using only statistics to describe the traumatic event. 

Here is a link to the article:

http://news.sky.com/story/1227545/missing-plane-mystery-faces-of-flight-mh370

As soon as I read the article I was touched at a deeper level by the story. From this, I realised that I wanted to portray this same deep level of meaning in my own illustrations which would create a reportage of events relating the missing flight through various articles I find. 

Source: The Guardian newspaper online

Here are a couple of illustrations I created on post-it notes to focus the attention on the missing passengers and the anguish faced by their relatives. The post-it notes reflect on how many of the relatives and others have written notes of prayers and wishes for the missing people on Flight MH370. By illustrating the faces of the passengers, it draws attention to the real crisis of the event; the unknown whereabouts of the plane leading to speculations about whether the passengers survived. This conveys the idea of hope which many of the relatives hold on to.

Missing passenger: Ju Kun

Missing passenger: Paul Weeks

I have also illustrated the 'void' in which the relatives may feel due to the traumatic event: 

Missing passengers: Muktesh Mukherjee and Xiaomo Bai

Here I have illustrated the silhouette of two missing passengers to reflect on the unknown whereabouts of the missing flight. They are not portrayed as deceased nor alive, it is just a mystery. The blue tones are symbolic of the speculative search areas in the Indian Ocean.