theillustratingholly
Illustrative Adventure
Investigation, reflection and analysis of the journey through my BA Hons Illustration Course.
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C O M M I S S I O N U P D A T E As can be fairly common with me, I changed my mind on the style I was working in for my commission. I was half asleep (also fairly common) and had a brain wave, so I changed the style and it's something that I think works a lot better and more easily communicates the message of the coat of arms. These are a couple of images of the new base style, which I will be place on top of some washes of ink and paint for colour and texture (and a little bit o' charm). I shall update with final images next week, and the verdict of the client!
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MY FIRST COMMISSION
So a few months ago I was asked if I would be interested in working on a commission which is basically a thank you to other companies that they had recently had business with. The job involves taking preliminary doodles that 13 different groups of malaria scientists have done on flip chat paper, all to signify what a coat of arms would detail to reflect their team.
My job is to redesign these coat of armsā into a more professional format so that they can be sent off as thank youās for a project that they all worked on together.
My first commission! Above is just an example of some of the development that this project is taking, as I donāt usually work in this way, so I am trying out different techniques to make sure I capture the spirit of not only their coat of arms, but the gesture.
This design was to signify unity towards knowledge and a common goal.
More designs to come!
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Wild Rumpus; The Lost Carnival
I was thrilled to receive an email the other day explaining that my application to work with Wild Rumpus for an upcoming project has been accepted!
The Lost Carnival is a huge event that takes place in Crewe later this year, accepting me into the mix to help with set design as part of a team. Iām so looking forward to the opportunity to work with other artists, as I have already had so much fun on collaborative projects in the past.
From what I have understood about the role there will be a lot of prop and set making and designing involved, which will be amazing not only because of its exciting whimsical carnival theme, but also because I will be able to build on my experience with 3D and working on a larger scale.
I will no doubt post updates and photos of the event and the steps leading up to it. Wish me luck!
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F U T U R E Ā S E L F
With ourĀ ācompanyā specialising in the mental health of young children, we have decided to call our companyĀ āYoung Mindsā. And here is a quick visual of the journey from logo sketch to full on faux business cards!
I really enjoyed coming up with the logo, because it showed me that I could. If someone had asked me to create a logo before I had done this project I would have had no idea where to begin, However, starting at the beginning, basing our designs off what children will genuinely relate to (because they drew them!), and working from there gave me the idea for this lovely, child friendly yet simple logo.
Obviously we chose a monster to appear in the logo because that is that we have chosen to personify different aspects of mental illness through. But rather than being scary, we decided to run with a more monsters inc vibe and make sure that these creatures were friendly and accessible. Just like mental illness, yes, sometimes that can be scary. But if you work with them, they can be manageable, and even your friend.
The child shown in the logo is not just holding the hand of the monster but is completely joined to it. This design element was not just added for simplicity, but to also illustrate that mental illness is a part of who you are. NOT who you are, but a part of it. And that isnāt a bad thing.
Loving our cute monster riddled business cards, canāt wait to get screen printing on things like T-Shirts and bags!
#art#illustration#uni#degree#project#collaboration#design#monsters#monsterproject#children#kidsdrawings#mentalillness#mentalhealth#childrensmentalhealth#depression#anxiety#businesscards
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F U T U R E Ā S E L F
Incredibly exciting updates on the monster project collaboration front.
After months of designing monsters based on childrenās drawings, myself and Beth Mills had our theater photo shoot to showcase of lovely monsters; depression, and anxiety.
These are a tiny snippet of out some 600 photographs, which we have yet to fully sort through and edit into a campaign format. The end result will hopefully be a huge campaign to raise awareness of mental health issues in children.
Exciting things happening, Iāll keep you posted.
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With a LOT of help from graphic design I am now semi-computer literate, and have fashioned myself a website. It is basically a collection of work which gathers to form a sort of online portfolio, work which I can never make my mind up whether or not it should be included!
But, I hope you will enjoy and bear with the ever changing theme in good spirit.
All comments, horrendously critical or ego inflating welcome.
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My hopes for the future, with a sprinkling of fear.
Being at University has genuinely taught me a lot, not only about art and design, about how to screen print and use photoshop, but also about myself.
In my first and second years of university I used to panic with every brief that I was set; it was like I forgot who I was, all my influences and favorite techniques any time I was set a challenge. I used to try and tackle all of my coursework in a really literal way, which is the exact opposite of how I work. But since I spoke with a favorite artist of mine, Carl Melegari, I feel a lot more comfortable. He told meĀ āpaint for yourself, and Ā no one elseā.
Achieving a good grade at uni is really important to me, but I eventually came to realise that it was equally important that I found a way of working that felt natural, and that I could create work that I was proud to sign my name under, no matter what the brief.
What scares me is relapsing back in to old habits; being assigned a brief by a prestigious company and making absolute shite. But at least now I know that I can produce work that Iām proud of, so if I get stuck I know where and who to look to for inspiration.
If Iām being honest Iām also quite scared that I wonāt grow up. That the side of my personality that is cripplingly shy and awkward will take over and I wonāt be able to arrange interviews or get out there and meet people and network.
I hope that these things donāt happen, though. I hope that I use my resourceful, independent and confident side, and build a healthy portfolio of work that Ā I am genuinely proud of.
I also really hope that I get the job that I applied for as an Art Technician at Manchester Academy School. I know myself enough to know that if I stay in a creative environment, I will stay creative. And this job is something I think I would be really good at, and would also allow me the time to work on independent briefs.
Fingers Crossed!
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Client List
A part of my courses requirement is that I contact and meet with illustrators and/or companies to discuss my portfolio with and gain some feedback.
After hours of scouring through editorial and local businesses and design companies, I still couldnāt find someone I really wanted to speak to. Other than that, I was really nervous. It is quite a scary thing to suddenly push yourself into the real world, which was of course one of the ideas behind this exercise; to prepare us for interviews and to prepare ourselves and our work to a professional standard.
This however didnāt feel like the only issue; I felt genuinely out of my depth because I constantly feel like I am fighting between my artist side and my Illustration side, and contacting industries and designers felt forced and fake. So (fingers crossed this is accepted by my course, hi guys) I sent off a selection of my work both personal and professional to a handful of artists to hear their comments on my work.
When I finish University I would be thrilled to work on briefs and be an illustrator, but what feels most natural to me is the idea of creating my own work and hopefully sharing and selling that work.
I decided to contact:
Carl Melegari
Ghislaine Howard
āConradrosetā
āEllysmallwoodā Ella Wood
Mike Rachlis
Leah Thiessen
Eva Oliver
Henri Kaau
Birgitta Boholm
and, Matthew Carp.
These are a selection of artists and image makers that work in a wide range of materials, but that have not only a similar style of work but a similar goal and way of working to my own.
Unfortunately, almost none of them got back to me! But with Instagram as my main link with these artists its no surprise.
Stay tuned for the comments from the lovely people I did manage to speak to!
#art#uni#degree#contactswithindustry#design#illustration#illustrators#artists#portfolio#professional
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A little bit of playing around with photoshop and illustrator, trying to mould my preliminary business card ideas into a more cohesive mock up.
Iām trying to stick with quite a simple design for my business card. Because I work with a variety of materials and in a variety of styles, it is hard to pick just one idea that defines me as an illustrator to potential clients. If I chose a monster from my current project for example, it would be confusing for people to think I worked digitally and then discover a load of other styles on my website.
I chose something simple like my spare time doodle faces because this is my favourite way of working; continual line, ink, human form. The danger with this however is that my business cards won't be interesting enough.
With this worry in mind, I think it is likely that I will choose paper with a 400gsm thickness and hopefully laser cut the sketched face onto my card. Not all the way through, but I think the added texture and natural and homemade feel of the burn residue could add a little more intrigue.
The top image is a preliminary idea for my logo, just to show an example of what the back of my business card will look like.
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F U T U R EĀ Ā S E L F
How adorable is he! This is leggy, a product of both mine and Bethany Mills' work, and a combination of mark making, drawing, and photoshop.
Seeing how well our monsters are turning out already makes me so excited for the things to come in this project. I feel like these creatures are coming alive already, which encourages me every day to put my all into this project. I cant wait to see what is to come, and to make 'Leggy' into a 3D figure!
#art#Illustration#uni#photshop#mark making#colour#ink#water colour#monster#monster project#collaboration#drawing#mental illness#kids drawings#childrens drawings#anxiety#depression#awareness
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F U T U R EĀ Ā S E L F
A little compilation of all the monsters we have chosen to adapt!
#art#uni#illustration#childrens drawings#kids drawings#drawing#collaboration#project#monsters#monster project#mental illness#anxiety#depression
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F U T U R EĀ Ā S E L F
The next step in our project has been to adapt the children's original images into simple and charming little monsters. These can then be made into illustrations and hopefully be the basis for some model making- lets bring these guys to life!
#art#uni#illustration#drawing#ink#line#monsters#monster project#childrens drawings#kids drawings#collaboration#project#mental illness#anxiety#depression#awareness
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F U T U R EĀ Ā S E L F
As I've talked about in a previous post, myself and Bethany Mills have decided to work together focusing on raising awareness of mental illness in children.
To do this we are using the theme of monsters and creatures, something that we feel can represent aspects of mental illness such as depression and anxiety and their effects, whilst still being relatable to children. And what better way to keep our project relatable than to gain the starting points for our creatures from the children themselves?
We created a colouring sheet to be distributed to children aged between 5 and 11 as part of a competition. This 'Draw a Monster Competition' asks children to draw a monster or creature based off the words at the bottom of their sheet- all words to do with mental illness (simplified for the children of course).
These are some of the magical drawings we got back! I love the pure and straight forward imagination of a child, they have created some really charming monsters. I especially love the little cheerleader who is currently pinned up above my desk spurring me on through this final project.
#art#illustration#kids drawings#kids#drawing#crayons#competition#collaboration#uni#project#monsters#monster project#mental illness#anxiety#depression#awareness
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Some preliminary rumblings for my business card design!
It feels surreal sometimes to think that I'm supposed to be an adult, making business cards makes me feeling like i'm stumbling into the world of employment (fingers crossed) at lightning speed.
Time to start looking and feeling professional.
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Panelists
Its no surprise that I am freaking out about finishing Uni. It feels like there is so much that I don't know, not just practically within my work, but in relation to life. How do I become an Illustrator? Am I alreadyĀ one? How do I get work? How much do I charge if I ever actually get work?!
Thankfully, we were invited to a panel meeting with Illustrators Emma Reynolds, Chris Madden, and Barney Ibbotson, and my god do we all feel better now.
This talk was ridiculously informative, and seemed to answer any question that has ever plagued my thoughts late night as I panic about being an adult. But not only was it informative, it was nice to be spoken to on the same level. They have all been illustrators for so long, but they still get confused, don't know how much to sell their work for, and lose their way in their practice sometimes. It was nice to get all this straightforward advice without it being sugar-coated.
For some reason I feel loads better knowing that I'll still be worrying inĀ a few years, it's just all about experience, and talking to people.
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Future Self
The brief for our final project (wait, what?) is all about 'future self'. The idea is to design a project that will allow you to create your best work, work which will be a reflection of who you are as an artist, and that you can ultimately use to promote yourself via website and portfolio.
Myself and fellow illustrator Bethany Mills had a similar idea when designing our project proposals; raising awareness of mental health in children, aimed at both the children themselves and parents. You know what this means.... collaboration!
We have decided to work together for one last project in university, as we have similar interest in the abstract and 3D, and both have a very experimental and hands on approach. Our project will personify mental illness and medication and other treatments as monsters and other creatures, to make it more relatable for children, and will hopefully include a theatrical element with lots of costume and mask making!
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