Live project evaluation

The prospect of a project, involving live clients petrified me when I first received this brief. I was embarrassed of my work, partly down to the fact I had very little of it. Most of the work I’d produced was in a rush for past projects, it was poor in quality and had little direction. I lacked confidence in my abilities and had been embarrassed to present my work to other people on the course, believing it would be laughed at. Knowing this, it is not surprising I would have been worried to work for a live client with fear of rejection. I have continuously struggled with these issues since I started visual communication, and with a negative attitude towards my practice it has made me more and more reluctant to produce work regularly meaning I have neglected my drawing abilities, not allowing them to develop Obviously this action on my part has resulted in mediocre grades. It had become a no-win situation.
I set about this brief with much the same attitude, turning up for my first crit with a selection of average drawings, old, marked and crumpled, and I wasn’t too keen to get them out for everyone to have a gawp at especially as Richard was in my crit and his illustration work is amazing. Sophie and Nick didn’t seem as interested in the work I had brought with me but more the direction I wanted to go with it. I had planned to address several briefs, contacting a few clients and entering competitions but it soon became apparent I was clueless and unprepared for both of these ambitions. I also felt uncomfortable with this idea, still lacking the portfolio and confidence I needed.
It was suggested I set myself drawing projects, picking random objects and people as subjects and concentrating on getting back to grips with drawing. I left the crit feeling positive and ready to tackle some work.
It took me a few days to put pen to paper, and when I did I sat there for a few hours not knowing where to start. Looking through illustration and art books inspired me on one level but on another, only belittled my work, making it seem ridiculous. I wanted to develop my style trying new things and experimented with acrylic and inks. Some methods worked well, others not so well. I went to my tutorial with a handful of these experimental drawings, getting better feedback than expected.
This gave my confidence a boost and I soon began realizing I wasn’t as awful as I kept telling myself.
After a few weeks of constant drawing, I had found the methods that worked for me, and surprisingly these were quick and easy. I had been using a lot of collage with paper. I really like the contrast of textures along with pen and ink. The more I draw, the easier it became and the more work I produced. Throughout this time my style developed, I still stuck to using Indian inks and scrawls but in a more controlled way. With this development of style I progressed to using Photoshop. At the beginning, my skills went as far as using a scanner but I set myself a day to sit and play around with different tools. I mastered basic paint and airbrush tools, and altered the brightness and colors on my work. I found the results satisfying, even if the process had been a little tedious. After a further crit I was asked to put my work into context so used these new-found skills to Photoshop my work into an existing magazine context. The edges were visible and it was a shame that the text had little relevance to my own work but at a glance it was exciting to see. It made satisfied my curiosities as to what my work would look like in a magazine format and got me excited to think this could be a possibility if I contacted potential clients.
I had contacted Scarlet Magazine in hope of a response regarding this request but with no avail. Another e-mail, and still no response. This hasn’t deterred my efforts though, I will continue hassling them, especially as it is a magazine I am very interested in as it covers issues such as feminism which directly coincide with my interests, and I believe my work would complement their publication.
It has took me this long to identify my strengths as an illustrator. I am pleased with the amount of work I have been able to produce, it is more than I have done in the past two years. My work is also of a higher quality and I am no-longer embarrassed by it.
Yes, it is a shame this live project has not opened any doorways to ‘live’ work but in another wayss I am glad I have given myself some time to gain my passion and love for what I set out to do when I started this course. I was not ready to contact clients, and I very much doubt they would have wanted to contact me with such a negative attitude. Now, I have a bulk of work I am proud to show people, and a new-found work ethic. Illustration is what I want to do, I want to sit down and draw, and the more I do the easier it becomes. Surely, it has been worth sacrificing a small live job for the confidence and happiness I have gained with this time alone to myself, not to mention a portfolio that will hopefully get me far more jobs than the one I came to this project with.
I will continue to develop my work, and continue to find drawing a pleasure more than a chore. I will also develop my photoshop skills and maybe even branch into illustrator as I have learnt using technology isn’t such a bad thing, it can increase the professionalism of my work and broaden the variety of my portfolio widening my services to different clients.
Overall this project has been a great experience for me, I only wish It had happened earlier, before I was finishing my second year but I know I can averaage out a better mark when I start third year with a fresh perspective.

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Experimenting with a little typography.. which is obviously not my strong point..
I want to enter the Don't panic! competition as the theme is 'feminism', one of my interests. I was just playing around with ideas, using the guerilla girl image.

More drawings//

Older illustrations

Birds

Just a few quick drawings that took about ten mins each. Think they work quite well, if i can keep doing more quick sketches i'll have quite a bulk of work. I think they lack a little something so I'm going to try and attempt a little typography to complement them.

Mock-up

I've been working hard, drawing away like a mad woman but Sophie and Nick thought it would be nice to see my work used in context. I scanned in an old issue of vice and managed to photoshop my drawings in. On close inspection, i am aware you can see the lines where the colors of the magazine, and where my work contrast and the article has no relevance to my work but on the whole i think the outcome is really effective. It almost gets me excited to see what my work looks like in a magazine format, not just a drawing sitting on a piece of paper. I feel this live project has allowed me to go from strength to strength..I'm really enjoying drawing again and I'm gaining confidence in my abilities. This process of putting my work into context also gives me belief that my illustrations look good in this kind of structure and pushes me to get in contact with potential clients to see what i can offer them.

Children's book illustration

My brother Jed is 2 years old and when i went home i really loved reading to him. I love the illustrations in his books and have acquired several children's books myself over the last year or so. These are a few of my favorite artists who illustrate for children's stories.

Charlie and Lola were created by Lauren Child. The books were later made into a animated Tv series and tell stories about a brother and sister. She uses a mixture of photographic collage within her illustrations and a variety of textures and colors which make them eye-catching and interesting.








Felicitas Kuhn was an German illustrator for children's books in the 20's onwards. Her drawings are nostalgic yet so modern at the same time. I love the stylized look of her work and the themes are fairytale like.





Judith Kerr 's drawings from "The tiger who came to tea' remind me of my childhood as it was one of my favourite books.




All of these illustrations seem to have similarities; bright colors, good stories and a strong sense of presence. They tell stories of small children and animals. As these drawings are produced for children they must be straight to the point and readable.

It has really inspired me to experiment with my own drawings that could be suitable for children's books. This will also develop my range of abilities for my portfolio.

New drawings

Crit feedback 'you need to set yourself small and focussed briefs, each one only lasting a couple of days at the most. This will help you move forward with more purpose. Committing time to the project is the only way. Enjoy it! Satisfactory at this stage.'

For my live project i am developing my style and creating a bulk of work i can feel confident enough to show people. I origonally wanted to get in contact with magazines, but I still lack confidence in my ability and felt intimidated by the whole thing. I have forced myself to sit down for a few hours i have really moved on and got on with some work that i feel pleased about. I've also been experimenting with photoshop to make my drawings more professional, I'm in no doubt i could probably get better results if i asked for some help, but sitting down on my own has been rewarding if not frustrating.
I'm going to continue drawing, and enjoying it, I'm pleased with the stuff I'm coming out with. My work has developed, not moving totally away from my original style but maturing and becoming more controlled and stylized. My main focus is putting together a portfolio of quuality work, work that i would be pleased to show a potential client. Although it would be nice to get more involved in a live project, this brief is just what i needed to do, allowing myself some time to get my illustration together. I feel more focused and happy in general with the whole course.

FFFFound

I have been trying to find new illustrators and artists on the internet to inspire me and its been getting me excited about drawing again. Sophie told me about this website, FFFFound, that bookmarks art images.
This is where i found these illustrations but unfortunatley i couldn't find the names of the artists. I like the subjects in the drawings, feminine girls and animals. They are quite child-like and cute which attracts me as i have recently become interested in and experimented with children's books and illustrations.
I love the mixture of image and typography, i think it adds extra depth to the illustrations.