Something a bit different

Before I started this Illustration course I was out of education for a couple of years and I needed something to fill that time. Within that time I had two knee operations to get my knees fixed and in the right place and I now actually have metal knees (I know when a cold spell is coming before the weatherman) There was a lot of sitting around with my leg in a splint unable to move apart from one sofa to another sofa. I started reading blogs and I discovered quilting blogs, I was hooked and since then quilting and sewing has become a big part of my life. I write another blog about my makes and even sell some of what I make in my Etsy shop.
Along with illustrating children's books I would also love one day to design my own fabric line (which is something I have never told anyone) to be able to sew and make quilts with my own designed fabric is a dream come true.
This summer my plan is to teach myself how to make repeat patterns and to start dabbling in creating fabrics and maybe even getting some printed on Spoonflower and creating sample items that I could send to fabric manufacturers and potentially get a contract with.

These are some of my recent makes, I love using a variety of prints and colour in my sewing, something I wish I could be braver with in my Illustration work, but I feel through the course I am becoming more confident in my work.
So although I said I hadn't really thought about what to do after University, I do have my little (not so) secret dream of having my illustrations on fabric!

Artist Spotlight - Hunter Paper Co.

Today I am going to talk to you about Hunter Paper Co. which is run by Emma Jackson. I first met Emma at the Fine and Dandy market when I was selling my quilted and sewn items and she was just starting out in her business, that was about 3 years ago and since then I have followed along on Emma's journey and seen how her business has grown.
Emma graduated from Falmouth with a degree in Illustration and after graduating decided to go freelance, which was a scary decision.

She now makes a range of cards and prints in her own very unique style. She believes in working completely handmade and does most of her work through either lino printing or screen printing. One of the best piece of advice Emma has gotten is "My uni tutors always advised to just go with what you enjoy doing. An individual 'style' will eventually materialise out of the way you like working, and it'll be 100% you. You can't really go wrong when you're doing exactly what you love!" which I think is very true

What I really like about Emma's work is her use of typography, from doing my HND Graphic Design course I quickly learned that me and typography were not going to be friends, it was far too technical for me, I understand it and admire people who work mainly within it. I really like the minimalist look of Emmas work and that she has developed a distinctive style and she says she is hoping to start including a more Illustrative approach in her work.

You can Emma's work here and follow along on her journey:

Website: https://www.hunterpaperco.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hunterpaperco/

Inspiration

Being a creative person I often look at other creative peoples work that inspires me. Some of the most influential have been children's book illustrators. Growing up my mum and dad would read me stories every night before I went to sleep and I remember just looking at the pictures in aww and wonder.

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One of my absolute favourite illustrators is Lauren Child who is probably best known for her books about Charlie and Lola. I love her child like style and the naiveness of her lines. From my sewing I have developed a love for patterns and would love to one day design my own fabric line, I am completely inspired by how Lauren uses pattern within her work, without it taking away from her illustrations.

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Axel Scheffler is the illustrator behind the Gruffalo. I love the cartoon style of his work and the simple characters. One thing that really draws me in is his use of colour and this has helped me in my work use more colour.

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An artist that I only recently discovered is Oliver Jeffers. He is originally from Belfast (my hometown) and I had seen his work but never really taken notice of it until I had to write an essay about an Illustrator and I saw his name pop up. Again he has the same child like style as Lauren Child where his images aren't drawn really realistically but are still recognisable. He uses a lot of negative space in his work, which gives the eye a place to rest and more appreciate the illustrations.

One of the best things about doing Illustration is being able to buy all the children's books and when the cashier gives you the "aren't you a little old for those books" look you can say 'oh i'm an Illustration student' and they nod knowingly. Of course I am only buying them for the pretty pictures!

My creative CV!

I have talked about my CV before here and how I had used the same format since secondary school in the classes i'm sure everyone remembers. When Debbie from the careers department came in and talked to us about writing a CV and when she mentioned creative CV's I was excited.
I haven't really given much thought to after University because I have been in education since 2003 with only a 2 year gap, being in a learning environment is just what I know, so apart from sheer panic, I'm sort of just not thinking about it.
Of course I obviously have to put on my big girl pants and think about what comes after and an important part of that is a CV. I have my old CV the one that I use to apply for part time jobs to help me through university so i'm not a poor student, but I don't think that it would cut in the creative world.
I had always made my CV's using Microsoft word but apparently that is not the only way! Indesign was recommended but having used that before and having a few naughty words to say about it I was not quick to use that. Instead I used Illustrator a program that I am quite familiar with and feel comfortable using to create something that I would be proud of.

Here is my new and improved Cv. In our lectures with Debbie we were told that a Cv shouldn't be more than 2 A4 pages but I have found that I am someone who only writes what needs to be written, I tend not to waffle on. I would say that it is one of my weaknesses, I find it hard to elaborate on points, this is something I was always told in my school reports.

I kept my Cv to only one A4 page but I think that I got all the necessary points in and all that needed to be said, said. I like to think that it's short and sweet. I enjoyed creating it and had fun adding some creative flair to it. I am sure it will change many times before I finally am brave enough to send it away for an Illustration job but for now I am really pleased with what I have created!

Derby Book Festival

Our third project was a live brief set by the Derby Book Festival we were tasked with designing 6 bookmarks that went along with the winning stories under the theme 'secrets' I absolutely loved this brief as I love reading and stories and when I grow up I want to illustrate books, so this was perfect for me.

Here are some pages from my sketchbook of me working through my ideas. Out of the 6 stories there were some that I found more challenging than others and I found that I really struggled with them. But this pushed me in my work, although I feel that I played it quite safe with my final designs. The judges from the festival came into have a look at our work and give us some great feedback on ways to improve our work, they were so lovely and helpful.

These are my finished bookmarks and I am really pleased with how they turned out. The one that i would 'do-over' would be the little finger, I found it to be the most challenging but overall I am happy I would say that I wish they were a bit more cohesive so that they work together better as a whole. I again used colouring pencils which is becoming abundantly clear is my favourite medium to use. I like how I can get the 'scribbly' textured look which I think adds another dimension to my work.
There was one winner with two runner-ups, unfortunately I was not chosen, but you can read all the stories and see the winning bookmarks here

Self Promotion

One thing I have learnt from the Professional Practice unit is Self Promotion and how important it is an Illustrator (Graphic designer, Animator) to promote yourself and your work, to get seen and get known in the industry. There are many ways to do this such as entering your work into competitions, the saying is true "you have to be in it to win it" there are many competitions for Illustrators to enter and it is a good way to see what others in the field are doing and how they are working.

It seems that everyone and everything is online these days, also another great way to promote yourself as nearly everyone has access to the internet. Social media is so simple to use and an easy way to get your work seen.

I have created a Facebook page so people can follow along with my work and I have also linked back to my blog so that they can read about what I am working on and what is inspiring me.

In this module we are required to design promotional materials to drive traffic to our blogs. One of the items we were asked to create was postcards to be able to send to potential clients and to build relationships with people in the art world.

Here is the postcard I designed. From this course I have discovered that my work has quite a 'child-like' feel (my first tattoo was Peter Pan because I don't want to grow up) so this is reflected in my postcard. I illustrated a few of my favourite things that I feel represent me and my work well. Although it is quite a simple design I think this works best for my work instead of having it all too busy. I have been consistent with my font throughout so it is recognisable as a brand.

Another item i created is a poster that I can send out. I decided to use some of my previous work, the one which I most enjoyed working on.

This was my comic for the Thought Bubble Art competition and I feel this is a good representation of me and my work. I also feel it is quite unique and eye-catching.

Something i have found throughout this module is that I find it difficult to write and talk about my illustration work. I have another blog where I write about my quilting and sewing and I find that much easier to write and far less scary. But this module is all about teaching you for the real world and being to talk about yourself and your work, so that you are able to get a job and be a 'proper' adult!

In the industry

I was out of education for 3 years before starting my Graphic Design course and then moving to Derby to study Illustration. I had always been interested in art, but I have found that the Illustration course is very different from art classes in school. Coming to University has opened my eyes to a whole new world, finding new influences and ways to work. I am slowly finding my voice as an Illustrator and I continue growing and learning.
Within the industry there are many competitions and awards from designers and illustrators from all around the world. Many of these are open to professionals as well as to students like me. This is great as it lets me get my feet wet and into the world of Illustration.
The place to be for Illustrators is the Association of Illustrators (AOI) they hold the World Illustration Awards. It is now in it's 40th year and is partnering with the Directory of Illustration which is widely regarded the leading marketing program in the United States.

Benji Davies was the winner in the Children's book category 2015. This is an image from his book Granddad's Island where he was both the author and Illustrator. The story is about remembering someone and the things you did together, it explores how that connection lives within memory. Through his illustrations he aims to evoke and celebrate human emotions. He works largely in digital, and relies on his own visual memory and allowing his work to surface through his sketching.
I really like this style of work and the thought and emotions put into it, working from personal experiences is a key part in illustration as it keeps you genuine.

The winner of the Design category was George Douglas who is an Illustrator and Artist living in Edinburgh. His wining design were the posters above, he wanted them to show a whole story within a single image and these were made by silk screen.He also likes working with found objects and enjoys most working with his hands and not digitally. 

These two winners work are very different but I like both of the styles as they work for their intended purpose.

There is also the Thought Bubble Comic Art competition, which I have talked briefly about as it was one of the live briefs we worked on within the first module. It is a competition open to Artists and writers in the UK. It is split into two categories 12-18 and 18+. I had not previously heard of this competition before, but having entered it I feel that it is a good one for students and anyone looking to become an illustrator, while still a big competition it is not as big as the World Illustration Awards. 

My entry to the thought bubble art competition

From looking at some other illustrators work and what has won in competitions I can see that there is a place for my work and how important research is in helping me to become an even better illustrator.