Let's Ring In The New Year

My 'Historic Buildings' design is featured on the front of the Age UK calendar for next year. It was an absolute pleasure working with everyone from the Stockport branch and I'm overjoyed to see my work being put to such good use.

 

Pen For Hire.

My business cards arrived! It feels very strange to have a business card promoting myself, but I'm really happy with how they turned out. I used two drawings from my portfolio that reflect my strongest technique and work well as stand alone images, the crow in particular has returned much positive feedback already. I wanted to keep them as simple as possible, so minimal information, plain backgrounds and an easy to read typeface. When it came to describing my skills I opted for 'Pen For Hire' in place of 'Illustrator' as I didn't want to box myself within that particular field. I'm still experimenting with context and like to think I have a variety of skills to take on a multitude of projects.

Portfolio Visit Numero Tres.

I had my final portfolio visit of the year this afternoon with Alan Dalby at his cute studio in Hotspur House, near Oxford Road Station.

Sourced from Hotspur House facebook

Alan's room is right next to LaserLea, who I visited earlier in the year, and in such a unique building right in the heart of Manchester. I was excited just to be back there and to visit his studio which was super cosy and very inviting.

Homepage from alandalbyillustration.com

Alan is my 'guru' who I was paired up with by the tutors and I'm actually very thankful for their choice. Although his work is very different to mine and he uses mainly digital methods of working, we have similar interests and work pace. He's established his work, website and social media as a brand that all resonate on a professional and accessible level, something I've been very interested to pick up on. We had a lot to talk about as we've met a few times previous to the guru meeting and I felt comfortable telling him the problems I was having within my technique and issues with my portfolio.

After taking on board the feedback I'd received from my previous two portfolio visits, I'd refined my portfolio, taken the logo out of the equation, created an introductory page and created business cards, so I had a lot of finalised material to show Alan. I was still surprised at how positive he was though, he said he could barely flaw my layout and that I'd found a balance between my work and the surrounding space. The only criticism he had was to ensure that all the text was in line and flowed between every page, and to remove the dates I had affixed to each piece. He was impressed with my business cards and asked to keep one of each, which I of course allowed, the least I could do. He particularly liked the work I'd completed at the end of second year for Noise, Piece for Protest, of which I had included the series of three animals holding weapons. I asked him for any advice with improving the presentation of my drawn pieces and made it clear that I would be happy to spend time removing the backgrounds and completely re-facing them if that would help. In regards to the line drawings he said that was my best bet, to enhance the original drawings and stop gluing them onto scrappy bits of card (a horrible habit I created in second year for some bizarre reason.)

Alan's Tumblr Blog linked to his site.

Portfolio Visit Numero Dos.

This evening me and Dan Gatens met with Ben Jones, graduate from Stockport College, successful Illustrator and currently, multi-tasking teacher. I knew he had a busy schedule, especially before christmas, so I was extremely grateful that he agreed to spend an hour with us.

Sourced from benjonesillustration.com

After seeing Chris from the Media Octopus a week or so before, I'd updated my portfolio by removing a few pages and replacing them with images that flowed much more smoothly and placing each page in In-Design. The first thing Ben had to say was to minimise all of the descriptive text, leaving it just as a title and one line of context, and to remove the logo I had created to spot on each page. Using the space around the images would allow my work to breathe, speak for itself and attract the viewer with the quality of drawing instead.

After reviewing the rest of my portfolio he agreed with me that some of the pieces created with mixed media didn't fit in with the fine drawing and watercolour paintings and that towards the end of the year it'd be a nice idea to refine it further and invest in a quality portfolio, with removable pages.
I really value Ben's advice and was pleased with everything he had to say about my work whether it was critical or not. Unlike my meeting with Chris, the time spent with Ben was more focused around the layout and style of my actual portfolio and some tips toward an editorial I was working on. His advice for me personally was to keep up good habits, listen to my heart more rather than my head and get stuck in as soon as I finish uni. Apply for competitions (worthwhile ones), give every opportunity your all and never complain about being busy.

He's offered to look at my PDF portfolio early on next year and guide me with anything I need help with, which I couldn't be more thankful for.

Sourced from benjonesillustration.com

Beyond The Book; On the Wall.

'Turning Point' Lino print, hand mounted and framed.

Toward the end of Beyond the Book we were given the opportunity to prepare our work as a semi-professional show, taking into consideration selection, presentation and limitations of space. Personally I think this was a great idea and should be done for every project assessment. It allows you to see you work from another angle and consider elements of the development prior to the final result, more critically. Presentation is everything and I found choosing suitable frames to reflect my work and myself, much more difficult than I thought possible. Even after deciding on frames, mounts, wall fixtures and additional shelving there was the wall plan, the summary, mounted name plaque and then actually deciding which work was good enough to exhibit, far more than I originally planned for. And of course you have to account for everything than will inevitably go wrong. Which in this case, was almost all of it.

'Four Sharp Knocks: A Visual Interpretation of The Outsider.' by Charlie Heselton.

Close up image of supporting material, shelved underneath frames.

Entitled, Four Sharp Knocks (based around the line; 'And it was like giving four sharp knocks at the door or unhappiness.' right at the end of chapter 6, part 1.), I decided to use a series of lino prints as the main focus of the show that reflected this chapter. My sketchbook, supporting material and film negatives are shelved just underneath (as shown in the photograph above) and the laser-cut key-rings relative to the theme are pinned just to the right of the central image to restore balance from the shelf.

In The Outsider, Mersualt acknowledges that the action of shooting the arab will cause him to feel unhappiness yet the clinical symbolism of attaching his emotions to a solid object like a door, instead of describing them. Throughout the entire scene he focuses on tangible, physically felt senses e.g what he can feel, see, rather than emotion. For example, he can describe the murder weapon in surprising detail but cannot portray remorse or regret at the fact that he has killed another human being.

Mersualt also eludes to his weakness to the weather and unpredictable surroundings, and remarks that if the sun hadn't been so hot, maybe the murder wouldn't have happened. The way that the beach is described in this chapter is extremely vivid which is why the series of four lino cuts are printed in yellow, orange, red and black, the portray the blinding hot sun.

In accordance with moral nihilism; killing someone, for whatever reason, is not inherently right or wrong. My focus on the beach scene illustrates how the 'turning point of the book' is only central in relation to human morality. I wanted to portray my work in a sequence; linear and almost repetitive, to reflect the regimented mentality of Mersault (focal character) and project his descent through the subtle variations of a singular symbol.

My opinion of my 'miniature exhibition' has changed drastically over the course of the last week. To begin with I was happy with what I had produced and how it was hung, in hindsight feeling proud was a confidence boost and although after receiving feedback and looking at my work through much more critical eyes changed my feelings on this body of work, I've tried to not let it affect my confidence. Looking at your own work through rose-tinted glasses can be dangerous and even though I remain pleased at the presentation and framing of my pieces I realise that the work presented was subsequently not as high quality as it should be, especially as the focus. Not only that but I didn't consider variation when selecting pieces, I wanted the series to be shown as a repetition but the central image looked far too similar and the surrounding material lacked aesthetic 'oomph'.

Another important lesson I learned the hard way was to do with hand-cutting your own window mounts. I learnt this lesson about an hour before the show was meant to be complete, I was lying on the studio floor brandishing a craft knife and a mounting tool, I was not smiling. There's a knack to it that I just do not have, one to be left to the professionals. It was an eye-opening experience however and in my defense it could have gone a lot worse.

Clients From Hell.

This post is literally about, Clients From Hell. I stumbled across this website whilst seeking some advice on editorials and the development process in any work dictated from a clientel basis.

Poster courtesy of Ireland's creative community; http://sharpsuits.net/.

A Creative Catharsis; http://sharpsuits.net/

It would seem that the battle between designer and client is as of yet, never ending. I've learnt some very important lessons, the easy way really, through speaking to professionals with hands on experience and research via resourceful blogs. Broken down into a couple of main points, here's what i've gathered regarding what to avoid and what to go for;

1. Freelance doesn't mean free...people happy to be paid in exposure or peanuts will most likely make a mockery of you, base designs on your, the client, personal taste and completely ignore the intended target market. Invest in a caring, professional graphic designer and you're much more likely to get careful research, resourceful ideas and bundles of energy to go with it. Someone run ragged with no incentive will not want to play ball and smile about it.
2. C'mon, be realistic...in relation to time scale, quality, quantity and relevance you really do get what you pay for with design. Realistically you can't have everything and even if you find an Illustrator with superpowers who doesn't need to leave their desk for a week one of two things is bound to happen. It's either going to be produced in record timing and be complete codswallop OR in compliance with ticking all said boxes, cost an absolute fortune.
3. Utilise your designer...in short, client and designer alike should never, even accidentally, take the other party as stupid (unless you've got hard evidence). Clients often fall into the trap of telling their designer exactly what to do instead of exactly what they want, forgetting that they're paying a person to make something wonderful of their idea, not a monkey to sling it on photoshop. Patronising someone who probably has much more knowledge and experience in a field you're asking for help in, isn't smart. You'll end up burning money and getting tied up in circles...although on the other, our lovely manner designer will of course understand that said client won't always know exactly what he wants in the first place, and be happy to work through the kinks.

The line is fine but not one to be overstepped often or misunderstood.

Fish Are Friends, Not Food.

  
Fishtank: 'Music' Brief Submission.

'Fishtank Cover Design' Biro, 2012.

So briefly, last year me and a recent Stockport College graduate Jadine collaborated when the opportunity arose to submit a design to the Fishtank installation, ran by a collaborative group called Music. Agreeing on a piece of music, Brand New's 'The Quiet Thing's That No-One Ever Knows' we began to formulate designs, delegate the workload and focus on suitable materials.

Brand New Fishtank: Alternative designs.

One of the most difficult obstacles to overcome was the mock up of potential designs. As the end result would be so large, proportion and detail were two big considerations. To visualise the positive and negative space appropriately we painted the chosen design (photograph above, top split) onto a window with glass-friendly watercolour paint.

Fishtank Design on our living room window. Complete with miniature installation props.

Love letter origami crane.

Unfortunately after submitting our design (and ruining our living room window) we didn't hear back from Music as they were in the process of moving their house-sized glass tank between buildings. I'm not one for holding grudges, so maybe next year?

One year later...

Me and my companion Daniel have decided to have a go this time around. Deciding on a feline theme, we chose Love Cats by The Cure. It's incredibly catchy and will no doubt allow us to anthropomorphisise a whole cast of catty characters. After some rough sketches have been expanded on, the next step will be figuring out how to project a rolling narrative across the glass.