Thursday 28 April 2016

Internships

http://freefashioninternships.com/internship/Antwerp%2BAtelier/Photography%2BIntern/17041#.VyHxODArLIU

Competitions

http://www.secretartprize.com/#about

http://www.glyndebourne.com/discover/news-and-blogs/2016/february/glyndebourne-launches-international-competition-for-young-artists/

https://www.creativelab5.com/

http://www.artgeminiprize.com/

http://www.artgeminiprize.com/

https://sundaytimeswatercolour.artopps.co.uk/

Thursday 21 April 2016

300 Word Summative Position Statement

My work reflects some key elements of my interests and inspirations; colour, pattern, detail, people and nature. I think my work can still be applied to most contexts, however I am more interested in creating work along the theme of reportage. Creating work purposely for Editorial is not what interests me, because I like putting care into a project and I wouldn’t enjoy really quick deadlines as much as I would longer ones. I am currently looking for work and internships to be part of a creative company. I think this would work best to my social side and I really enjoy being around other people and working for a bigger purpose.

Saying this I am also certain I will be continuing my illustration practice even if I do not work directly under the job title of illustrator. The Start Up Wednesday and Career Track Tuesday talks have really helped me and encouraged me to register my business. Working on my portfolio and creating commercial work for sale is what I plan on doing this summer whilst working and alongside actively searching for internships and work.

Travelling after Christmas also gives me a reason to get in touch with travel publications and propose some ideas for an illustrated travel diary or a collection of work for exhibition etc. I have started contacting people regarding this but I will be continuing throughout summer. Summer also gives me an opportunity to improve on and add work to my Travel Diaries section on my Website, online portfolio, which I think will be really beneficial to show potential commissioners or employers.

I am also really interested in creating personal work for people. This will fit into my commissions over summer. I have been doing this throughout the year in PPP, starting off with my Art for Arthritis Research Project. It is really fun creating illustrations specific to someone, however creating broader commercial work is best for making money!

Evaluation

PPP EVALUATION

My Personal and Professional Practice module this year has been really useful but a bit of a struggle. I found it really hard to pin down a brand or visual identity that I was happy with. This came down to finally creating an illustration which I could use throughout my branding, which I felt really reflected my illustration practice and what it is all about. The key elements I focused on for this were colour, pattern, detail and nature, well specifically wasps. I also wanted to reflect the analogue led nature of my practice. I really noticed during Level 6 that I found working by hand makes me work more expressively and experimentally, it allows me to get to grips with colour and line work more instinctively.

Photoshop and digital media’s work best in my practice to adjust an already existing image and get it resolved to a professional standard, which is what I have done with all of my branding and other work. For my online presence this professionalism has been crucial. At first I uploaded pictures from Instagram or just used phone photographs but I learnt throughout this module the importance of keeping all your work up to a certain level. I still have some work to do on my website reflecting this.
Being around other creatives and constant sources of inspiration in the studio has really encouraged the idea in my mind that I want to work as part of a team for a creative company or business. I am not someone who thrives on being alone, I like doing my own thing which I can easily do when I take time out to do commissions, but my ideal situation would be to work in a creative environment perhaps for a commercial purpose such as Liberties Ltd or Anthropologie. Concerning this I have connected and made contact with some of the individuals which work in the creative sectors in these companies such as; Lauren Wallace, design studio manager at Liberty Ltd, and other creatives like Suzanne Dean the creative director at Penguin Random House Group.

I have found social media a good way to promote my practice, publicise my work and engage with other practitioners and clients. Facebook and Instagram have been good for sharing artwork and it has shown me the importance of collaborating with others as this always widens the audience to the post or artwork dramatically. I enjoy keeping a blog on Tumblr, because there is less pressure for finished work, as it is more focused on inspirations, ideas and processes. This is something I plan to continue after university as a way of keeping up to date with current artwork and exhibitions, as well as motivating me to keep creating my own.

My website is a more selective and professional online presence. Making a website functional and visually attractive was a lot harder than it looked and I still have a lot more planned for it.
Throughout this year I have found the ‘Start Up Wednesday’ and ‘Career Track Tuesday’ sessions at college really helpful and they have inspired me to register my illustration as a business so that I can get into the habit of producing and selling work professionally. To begin with I see it as being something I prioritise during my days off. The lecture from AOI also inspired me to think about registering with them, as although I have learnt a lot on my degree, I will definitely need extra guidance once I leave.

This module has forced us to plan after university. I want to focus on my portfolio, in particular my Travel Diaries’ section on my website. If I create a good portfolio of quality reportage work, it can be used to show how I would tackle a similar brief to prospective clients and it could lead to projects incorporating travelling and illustrating which would be really interesting. I have also planned travelling around Asia after Christmas and I have contacted people that I think may have advice for, or be interested in a project like this. Similar to my plans for my India Brief, which I plan to enter into an exhibition in Oxford, which is focused on the theme of a ‘journey’.

I have contacted a lot of illustrators that have produced work for companies I love, such as Anthropologie and Liberties. I am looking forward to sending off some promotional material, that I have explored and created within this module to companies I would love to work for. My main focuses are creative companies which really care about design and quality products over supporting a throw away culture.


While I am applying for jobs and internships, volunteering in a creative role will be crucial for keeping up a structured and directly involved interest in the arts. I have been researching this a lot to try to find one which is most appropriate for me and I am in the process of applying to some.

PPP Presentation

ISSUU link to power point presentation slides:



My Presentation:


SLIDE 2 Summer and Starting Third Year!
Last summer I was lucky enough to visit New York for the first time where I visited the Met and other galleries back in London and Oxford. The amazing art there helped to inspire me again. When I came back I had an operation and spent a few months unable to walk so I decided to make the most of this boring time with a self run project I named ‘Art for Arthritis Research UK’. I managed to raise £300 for the charity by starting a justgiving page which offered a drawing or painting in return for a donation. They ranged from a portrait of a girl and her friends as the Sex in the City characters to a portrait of another girl as princess leia surrounded by ewoks. This project emphasised what I enjoy most about illustration; creating personal work with an emphasis on portraiture and working towards a good cause that kept me motivated to finish work to a good quality, quickly.

SLIDE 3 Collaborations!
One of the projects I really enjoyed working on last year was a collaboration with Fashion Communication student Robyn Shaw. This brief inspired me get involved in more collaborations this year. One project which has been an ongoing collaborative brief throughout the year is the Q&A section on my blog. Because the brief is mutually beneficial, it has shown me the benefits of professionally connecting with others. For example, fashion blogging duo Today we Wore, shared my illustration on their Instagram and blog so it received a lot more attention than usual. I also worked on some illustrations for Feminist Sci-fi and fashion zine Vagina Dentata and I’m working on another 2 collaborations at the moment. I really enjoy working collaboratively because I am always motivated by their passion for the project and its really exciting to contribute to it!

SLIDE 4 Struggling with Context
For me art has been a really personal and therapeutic thing. In some ways this has been really good for my practice because it means I will always create work, not just specifically for a brief. But I have also found it means I am happy to produce work that might appear just ‘pretty’ without having any other meaning behind it. Which of course isn’t really the definition of illustration. So I have probably found this one of the hardest things in my three years because creating something of meaning conflicts with making something which is just pleasant to look at.

SLIDE 5 Writing my Dissertation
At the same time I love the historical, societal, and theoretical contexts that drive illustrations. I have really enjoyed the essays throughout the three years, and I love the research that goes into it. For my dissertation I learnt loads about a subject I am fascinated in and I think my written work really reflected this. However I found the practical side harder to prioritise. I should have allowed more time for making the final pieces. From this I learnt that you really need to time manage effectively - so with my Final Major Project I have started creating potential pieces already, in preparation for them taking a while to produce.

SLIDE 6 FMP – India Brief
At the start of the year the key elements I identified in my practice were an interest in colour, pattern, detail and people, and I found that an India based project is perfect for creating a portfolio that reflects these. This reportage project is based on my memories, primary sketches and primary photographs. It was fantastic to be amerced in the everyday life there, but as a westerner it is also hard to separate yourself from the worry of waterborne diseases when you see a child brushing his teeth in the kerala backwaters. This project is a view of India through the eyes of a visitor rather than a local. Although I think this can be good as it has drawn my attention to things a local may ignore. Such as a man carrying hundreds of eggs on his head.

SLIDE 7 – Printing!
Gods and Yoga prints will form another smaller piece of my project. I see them as more commercial as they have a specific target audience. Keeping commercialism in mind is key for me when I create work after uni, because as well as making work that I enjoy, it also needs to be art that people want to hang on their walls. Lino cut is my favourite method because I love the mark making involved. For printing after uni, lino cutting is the simpler option over screen printing, and I have visited some local print studios in my area which will be really useful.  

SLIDE 8 – Media
My practice is led by analogue media, something I have really noticed this year. I find working by hand makes me much more expressive and experimental, and I get to grips with colour and line work more instinctively this way. Photoshop and digital media’s work best in my practice to adjust an already existing image and get it to a professional standard.
My SunDIY project has pushed me to experiment with media and it has produced some random and quite useless things, such as a pink penguin out of a used gas canister for my penguin obsessed flatmate.  Not only have my housemates loved this project but it has given me a good insight into a commercial view of how illustration can be entwined with other products.

SLIDE 9 - Studio Peers & Tutors
My time at uni has been made really enjoyable by being around other creatives and constant sources of inspiration. Being part of a specialist Arts college has allowed me to see the industry as a combination of separate disciplines, which although I have not studied myself, I have learnt a lot about through peers and COP lectures. Being able to express ideas with other creatives is something I have loved but taken for granted here which is why I would love to work as part of a creative team or company after uni.

SLIDE 10 – Portfolio & Online Presence
I have found social media a good way to promote my practice, publicise my work and engage with other practitioners and clients. Facebook and Instagram have been good for sharing artwork but I’ve found it hard to get an increase in followers or likes unless I work collaboratively on a project. I enjoy keeping a blog, because I feel like there is not as much pressure for finished work, as it is more focused on inspirations, ideas and processes. This is something I will continue after uni as a way of keeping up to date with current artwork and exhibitions, as well as motivating me to keep creating my own.
My website is a more selective and professional online presence. I was totally clueless at this and although I have it up and running I still have lots of improvements to make on it.

SLIDE 11 – Visual Identity
I am currently working on my branding because I think it is crucial that it reflects the colourful handmade elements of my work and at the moment I don’t think it does. I have found it hard to pin down a visual aesthetic. I wanted to incorporate the themes of colour, a handmade quality and nature, as well as wasps. I have chosen champagne and limousines as my type face at the moment because I like its clarity and simplicity and I think it sets a friendly yet professional tone.

SLIDE 12 - Life After Uni: Own Business
I have found ‘start up Wednesday’ and ‘career track Tuesday’ sessions at college really helpful and they have inspired me to register my illustration as a business so that I can get into the habit of producing and selling work professionally. To begin with I see it as being something I prioritise during my days off. I also think it is a good idea to register with Association of Illustrators, as although I have learnt a lot on my degree, I will definitely need extra guidance once I leave.

SLIDE 13 – Travel Past and Future
This summer I want to work on my portfolio and in particular the ‘Travel Diaries’ section of my website. I was lucky to do loads of travelling last year and if I create lots of quality reportage work, I can use it to show how I would tackle a similar brief to prospective clients. I will be travelling around Asia after Christmas and for this trip it would be really good if I can get people interested in the illustrations I will create from it. Similar to my plans for my India Brief, which I plan to enter into an exhibition in Oxford, which is focused on the theme of a ‘journey’.

SLIDE 14 Job
I have contacted a lot of illustrators that have produced work for companies I love, such as Anthropologie and Liberties. But as soon as I have finished my branding, I will contact the companies directly. The companies I would love to work for are places which really care about design and quality products over supporting a throw away culture. I would love to work in any part of the creative industry to start with as I think there are hundreds of jobs I may love but don’t know about yet.
While I am applying for internships and jobs in the creative sector, I will be working at my current job in events. This job actually has quite a lot of creativity involved and my boss has an amazing eye for detail and manages to execute events that run smoothly no matter how drunk the clients get. Although I do not see it as my career, the beautiful houses and land, down to the carefully positioned coloured ribbons on chairs to subtly signal a vegetarian, are aspects that appeal to my creative side.

SLIDE 15 Volunteering

While I am applying for jobs and internships I think it is crucial I keep up a st ructured and directly involved interest in the arts, so alongside working on my portfolio and working I will continue to get involved with volunteering with arts in the community. During my time travelling in Asia I will also be volunteering and keeping my eyes peeled for any potential arts opportunities to get involved with while I am there!

How I thought it went:
Speaking from a script... After watching everyone else's presentation I don't think it was a good idea to read from a script, I did this because I wanted to ensure I said everything I wanted to and I was worried that I would go blank. I was really nervous when I was up there but I think if I had a lot more practice actually speaking in front of that many people I would soon find it much easier. By the end of the two days of presentations I felt that I would be able to stand up and deliver my presentation without the need for a script. I am happy to speak about something I know a lot about, and I would be able to talk about my work, but what I found really daunting about this presentation was having to stand up and talk about my future, which is something I am not confident or sure about at al1!
Technical Errors... Also although I had spent a while ensuring my presentation worked, I somehow missed that because I had used a different variation of powerpoint, the font on the uni computers program had moved so that half of the font was hanging off the line into the images or hidden behind them. This was a rookie error. I also think now that I have all my branding completed I could make my slides visually cleaner and more attractive with an ongoing theme throughout as I have done with my CV etc.
Future... from listening to the other presentations I was actually really surprised that there was only a very small amount of people planning to go travelling. I am going to push the boat out to try to gain internships and other work experience now that I have completed my branding and my CVs and Cover Letters are at the ready. However I think travelling is essential! I am really not sure where I will be living this time next year because I am tempted to apply to some internships and work in Brisbane. I have so many decisions to make that I have still not made which is why I found it a struggle to organise my presentation and why I have been putting off applying to things. But there is nothing better than having options so as this module draws to a close I am applying and researching a range of different roles along with different locations. Linkedin was another thing that was bought to my attention in the presentations because I have been using it for a while but I've been googling creative directors etc and then trying to find them on there, I didn't realise that you could directly search for the role or the company on Linkedin. I have now been doing this and connecting with people in the creative roles from loads of the companies that inspire me. This provides such a good client list and contact information.

Presentation Boards

ISSUU Link to Presentation Board PDFs:

Portfolio

Follow the link below to the PDF of my portfolio on ISSUU:

Wednesday 20 April 2016

Who Have I Contacted and Why?

Name: Lauren Wallace
Job Role: Design Studio Manager
Company: Liberty Ltd.
Contact: Linkedin
Location: 
Why: Possible studio visits, internship, job etc. To see what happens in the studio & find out what her favourite liberty fabric is/ favourite animal/colour in order to make custom illustration to send with promo pack.

Name: Suzanne Dean
Job Role: Creative Director
Company: Penguin Random House Group.
Location: Kingston, London.
Contact: Linkedin
Why: To see what always makes a great illustration (book covers/inside) and her favourite artwork/book cover? With this information can create a custom illustration to send with promo pack if necessary.

Anthropologie Artists

Name: Amelia Herbertson
Job Role: Artist.
Company: Created work for Anthropolgie.
Location: Sydney
Contact: Email
Why: For advice and tips on illustration in general and also benefits of further education, this was when I was considering masters options, her husband actually replied and said that she had actually returned to university this year to study illustration further.

Name: Bridget Bodenham
Job Role: Potter
Company: Created work for Anthropologie.
Contact: Email via her website
Why: On producing work for companies such as Anthropologie and her influences behind her choices of media and limited colour palettes.

Name: All Roads
Job Role: Textile Artist
Company: Created work for Anthropologie.
Contact: Direct message via Tumblr.
Why: Ask about inspirations for work, choices of media and how nature influenced their work in creating colour palettes and textures.


Name: Holly Frean
Job Role: Artist
Company: Created work (animal crockery) for Anthropolgie
Location: London
Contact: Email - studio@hollyfrean.com
Why: What inspires her charming/goofy animals, how does applied illustration (making physical objects) compare to just making a simple illustration? How did she get started making her own designs?

Name: Molly Hatch
Job Role: Artist
Company: Hatch Designs, LLC. Created work for Anthropologie.
London: Florence, Massachusetts.
Contact: Linkedin
Why: How doing a masters helped her practice and business? How did she get 'spotted' by Anthropologie?

Name: Sally Muir
Job Role: Artist
Company: Created work for Anthropologie.
Contact: Email via website.
London: Bristol?
Why: What inspires her to create the animal work? How do you go about capturing the animals personality? What did you do after uni? - to get you on track with your career.

Name:
Job Role:
Company:
Contact:
Why:

Reportage Illustration

Name: Kremena Dimitrova
Job Role: Freelance Illustrator
Company: Lonely Planet
Location: London
Contact: Linkedin & Email
Why: Ask about working for a publication/company like Lonely Planet, how does your drawing and illustration practice work while you are travelling, do you draw on the spot? Do you set time aside for drawing? Or do you do some of your work in retrospect? Do you take a lot of photographs while youre travelling working on a brief?
www.kremenadimitrova.com
kremie@hotmail.co.uk
@KremieDimitrova


Name: Piers Pickard
Job Role: Managing Director & Publishing
Company: Lonely Planet
Location: London
Contact: Linkedin
Why: Who would I speak to concerning illustrated travelling projects? Would Lonely Planet be interested in an illustrated travel diary?

Name: Daniel Houghton
Job Role: CEO
Company: Lonely Planet
Location: Franklin, Tennessee
Contact: Linkedin
Why: As above, and what motivated you to focus on world travel as your content etc?

Name: Tim Cook
Job Role: Publisher
Company: Lonely Planet Kids
Location: London
Contact: Linkedin
Why: (Research Lonely Planet Kids) Why is it important to get kids excited and aware about travel and the rest of the world? Would you be interested in an illustrated travel diary?

Name: Jen Feroze
Job Role: Commissioning Editor
Company: Lonely Planet
Location: London
Contact: Linkedin
Why: Would you be interested in an illustrated travel diary?

Name: Tasmin Waby
Job Role: Travel Editor
Company: Lonely Planet
Location: London
Contact: Linkedin
Why: What is the role of a travel editor? Would you be interested in an illustrated travel diary?

Name: Ally Head
Job Role: Intern/ Birmingham Student
Company: Lonely Planet
Location: Reading
Contact: Linkedin - we share a mutual friend- Lily Thomas
Why: (Research Lonely Planet Kids) Why is it important to get kids excited and aware about travel and the rest of the world? Would you be interested in an illustrated travel diary?

Name: Hayley Warnham
Job Role: Illustrator & Designer
Company: Junior Designer at Lonely Planet Books, Penguin Ltd.
Location: London
Contact: Linkedin
Why:  Would you be interested in an illustrated travel diary? Who would be best for me to contact regarding this?

Invoice

This is my invoice. To be honest I wasn't even very sure what an invoice was supposed to include or look like, but after taking the time to research it I think I have included all of the nessacary information and I made sure to include extra parts which may be specific to my practice such as 'due up front' and 'due on completion' because as discussed in some of our lecturers, like that from AOI and John's advice, it is important to get some of the amount up first before even starting the work. 

I went for a really clear and simple table-style layout because I wanted to make sure it was easy to use and navigate for the client. I also used my branding (heading, font and colour palette) both to ensure that all elements of my professional practice are presented as part of a set and that my illustration practice is reflected. I also think it works as a way of not intimidating and putting off clients from the information on it - it looks pleasant to look at so this should allow the client to 'enjoy' paying! (Wishful thinking perhaps.)

I made sure to include my online presences and contact details at the bottom of the page too. Just in case they are tempted to require more of my work!.. or need to get in contact.

Promotional Pack

For my Promotional Pack I wanted to ensure that the packaging had an A4 base because I needed it to be big enough to store my CV and Cover letter, along with postcards, a book mark and a business card. So I found a basic net online and then uploaded it to Photoshop. I created an A4 sized shape and then lined up the base rectangle of the net to this size. I made the overall page A1.
A basic net I found on Pinterest.
 I then added layers and incorporated my own design onto the base net design. I decided not to put the transparent sections on the lid of mine, but this would be something cool to include if you arranged the layout inside the box so that other illustrations could appear through the 'windows'.
This is my original design. I used a dark red for this, which was the same colouring as the font, a swatch taken from a patch in my branding illustration. When this was printed I realised the colour was disgusting and made me want to be sick so I decided that needed to be the first thing to change! I thought a turquoise (or blue & green) colour would look best for this large black section (it is the base of the box) and my peers and Patrick agreed. Patrick also pointed out that it would look much better and cleaner if I kept the lid clear from the contact information - just keeping the illustration and name to stand alone. The contact information could be placed inside instead.

This is my final inner net. As you can see I moved the contact information to the inside lid section. I definitely agree that this looks better and makes more sense to have all of the information on the inside - it gives you more incentive to open it too.

This is the outer net - as you can see I have used a paler greeny-blue colour here. I just feel that this looks a lot calmer and more connected to the original illustration than the dark browny red did. I makes it look fresher, as does the more simple outer lid part. Using just the illustration and name makes it look clean and simple and stops the crazy patterned sections becoming over baring.
Technical Difficulties - Unfortunately the print technician that was working during my slot didn't print out my work aligned. If I had known this I would have set it up on illustrator myself - she did it and I kept pointing out that it wasn't lined up but she was stressed and seemed to think it didn't matter. However once I was home and went to cut it out I realised it was not aligned properly at all. I also had issues printing it at the size I wanted. A4 to fit my CV and cover letter. The paper the net had to print on had to be A1 in order to fit all of the parts of the net on. It also had to be double sided so needed to be done with the inkjet printer. This only went up to a paper size of about A3 unless I used a roll of paper, but this didn't print double sided. I decided to just print it out double sided on A3 and use it to contain my postcards, bookmark and business cards instead.

The Net - I do really like this net and I enjoyed playing around with layout and composition of my headers and patterns etc. However although this is a really good net if you don't have glue etc, it doesn't look that professional as a finished product - I think it looks really DIY (because it is). So in future I wont use tabs because I don't want to have to cut into the card to avoid tears or weakening the box. I would instead use glue, which would make the whole object more secure in general.

CV & Cover Letter - Now I still need to have some sort of casing which allows for these A4 documents. While I was in the print room I saw some printed textile design students which had printed folder type things, they had an illustrated cover flap which you open and then slots to store the A4 documents such as a cv. you could also insert sections to store postcards and business cards etc. I think I way prefer this method so I will produce some of these instead in future - they are also a lot more simple to print out and can be stored easily. Although I am happy with my little postcard box! I really love the patterned design and the way it all works together as a set. I just think it could look a bit more finished in regards to the net design itself.

Bookmark


This is my bookmark! I thought I would include a bookmark in my promo pack because they are really quick and easy to do and a great application for my original pattern illustration. I think my illustration works really well in this context, it doesn't have much deep meaning behind it, although you could probably read into the symbolism of the wasps, flowers and birds, but it is pretty and colourful and vibrant! I like these factors about little things such as bookmarks. Having a nicely decorated one just brightens up your day a bit. I think these are also great for promo packs because they can change in size depending on the size of the pack. This one is set at 6" by 2" which is a good size to fit the illustration at quite a detailed level. I like it having some negative space too as it juxtaposes well against the colourful nature of the illustration. 

Technical difficulties- Unfortunately I had some technical difficulties when printing my book mark because there was a student technician working and she printed it wrong! She put the first side on both sides, one of them upside down. This was very annoying but I will have to ensure I just get a slot with a print technician that knows what they are doing next time. 

I wanted to add a tassle to the end of the bookmark so I left some blank space for this. On the bottom of the book mark I included my website. Unfortunately this was the side that wasn't printed by the technician!


Postcards

Postcard Backside 
The backside of my postcard is the same landscape version on all of my postcards. I own quite a few postcards where the picture on the front is portrait, but the back must still remain this landscape layout - I am not sure if this is regarding postage(?). I kept to my branding for the back as the front is purely just the featured illustration. I also thought it was important to have some of my social media and contact details on the back. I added two little wasps in the negative space of the left handside because it looked a bit empty and in need of some angry insects...


Unsuccessful Postcards
I printed these designs out as postcards for my promotional pack. I thought they would work well but I could tell from my practice plain paper print outs that they just didn't work well in the composition and scale of a postcard. Luckily I had quite a few potential options so scroll down to see some designs which worked better to this format...



Successful Postcards
I think the postcards that worked best as postcards were the ones where the illustration took over the whole of the front side, like the Egg Man image, or where it is emerged in negative space like the Palm Leaves. I don't think it looks as good when there is a white border type of thing around the image. 







Technical Difficulties
Unfortunately the print room technician was a student and didn't align my postcards correctly - next time I will do it myself. This was really frustrating because my postcards are not lined up correctly on the back and front. It makes them look really unprofessional and unsalable. However in future if I line them up myself and ensure the print technician is capable I think they will work really well - I could also use a company such as vistaprint which may actually turn out cheaper. 

Business Cards

Follow the link below to my ISSUU PDF describing the experimentation process, progress on branding and final business cards...

CV and Cover Letter

I decided to produce both a red and turquoise colour text version because I wasn't 100% sure on the colour scheme - mainly because the red looked more like a brown than a mauve and I don't think brown font gives off the right impression for my brand. The first two are the cover letter formats, the latter two are the CV's. I wanted keep the same branding throughout but I wanted to mix it up a bit - the format of the font etc was already a different format. The changes I made were: 
  • I made the header larger on the Cover letter because their is less writing, I also wanted this sheet to have more impact with the illustration as it is the 'front cover' and the thing the employer will see. I am selling my illustration skills so it was important for me to include an illustrated component on this section. I like how the leaf and wasp come in between the writing, I adjusted the image on Photoshop by erasing some other aspects of the illustration so that this was possible. 
  • I kept the banner that has an abstracted and faded version of the pattern. 
  • Instead of taking up space on the left upper side of the page with my contact details, I just put a select few on the bottom line of my Cover Letter page. 






Wednesday 13 April 2016

Artist Research: Yusk Imai's Body Art

http://hifructose.com/2016/04/12/interview-yusk-imais-monochrome-bodypainting-project-exoskeleton/

I really like this body art work and it actually has really inspired me for potential designs for the Crispin Orthotics Brief - even though I have already completed this brief, but if I had extra time to design some more work it would be cool to look into a similar aesthetic to this.

Monday 11 April 2016

Berkshire Based Volunteering

http://www.royalberkshire.nhs.uk/get-involved/volunteers.htm

Loads of these opportunities for volunteering are a minimum of 3/4 hours which would be fine to do on a weekend or evening/morning or something.

Or putting on exhibition to raise money:http://www.getreading.co.uk/whats-on/arts-culture-news/berkshire-artists-raise-cash-hospital-9750292

London Based Hospital Art Volunteer Oppurtunities

http://www.lahf.org.uk/resources/links/london-hospital-based-arts-programmes

I live near-ish to London so if it was just volunteering one day a week or something I would be able to do this- also I may be working or interning in London in the future anyway.

Oppurtunities in Oxfordshire

I can't actually work out what the brief would be for the exhibition below! I can't work out what the theme is! Deadline pretty soon but possible if already have work.
https://www.oxonarts.info/opportunities/12691

Potential art exhibition HOWEVER I am in Leeds and Manchester during the dates it is on which could be a big problem!
https://www.oxonarts.info/opportunities/12678

Oxford Festival of the Arts - This looks good if you can volunteer for specific days and not the whole time because I am already working some events during this time. Contact them once you have checked your timetable!
https://www.oxonarts.info/opportunities/12618

Exhibition in Studio Space under the theme of Journeys - this would fit in really well with my FMP India Reportage Project!
https://www.oxonarts.info/opportunities/12597

Hospital Exhibition Space - Available all the way to the end of the year! 
Closing Date: 
Monday, 30 May, 2016
Free Gallery Space in Oxford
The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington are looking for artists to take part in their exhibitions programme 2016-17. The hospital has three galleries in busy parts of the hospital, with space for up to 40 pictures. Dates are available in the programme till the end of the year, with technician support and invigilation.
Individual, student and group shows considered.
For more information contact Tom Cox on 07876 202 734 or tcox76@gmail.com
Contact Details: 
Tom Cox on 07876 202 734 or tcox76@gmail.com
https://www.oxonarts.info/opportunities/12486

Branding: Hattie Stewart

I think this work on the walls would make a really good backdrop for a professional photograph or something because it is a pattern of her own work - so the theme of her illustrations is kept in all elements of her branding (if she were to use this as a backdrop).

http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/141079419010/hattiestewart-a-teeny-section-of-my-fly-posted


Professional Display Picture

For social media's CV's I want a professional photograph of myself. So far it has gone okay but I don't have a final one I am happy with yet!

Backdrop
http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/142421565440/i-created-this-simple-colourful-flower-pattern-as


Branding Inspiration

Handmade 

I am really struggling with my branding and I think it is because I am doing the majority of it digitally when in fact most of my work, and the elements which I enjoy the most about my work is creating it with analogue techniques.
Because of this I think I will create some more potential designs tonight and maybe actually write 'A Wasp in a Wig out in ink or paint. These designs will NEED to be drawn in pencil before and colour scheme carefully considered!

These anthropologie pieces are the type of illustrations and colour schemes that I want my branding to fit in with:
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-dinner-side/A23730187.jsp#/
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-dinner-side/F37860541.jsp#/
http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/product/home-dinner-side/C37893096.jsp#/

I could even incorporate a typical Henley scene into my headers etc if I wanted to use my personal influences etc. Or like illustrations of cups of tea etc but I feel like this has been over done… we will see!

I was looking over some of my India brief work and I actually love the colour combinations on this orange piece:

http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/140961418585/130316-eggs-and-palm-trees-kovolam

Perhaps I could have a go at using orange as a base for my branding. This also is very similar to yellow so fits into the natural colour scheme of wasps - some wasps are actually much more orange in colour as well. I could then have my type as white on the orange background, which is the ideal colour I wanted for my type as I prefer white because it gives a more clean cut and fresh aesthetic.

Because I want to maintain the same 'portrait' illustration, I think it would be a good idea to stick with this pale pink/beige colour scheme in the rest of my branding - BUT not just those colours because I want it to be colourful with vibrant colours so maybe bringing in some oranges and reds or even blues and turquoises in different parts. The places I think that would be really fun to work for the design team for, such as Anthropologie and Liberties, really emphasise an importance on patterns, floral and wild life designs. This is good for me because I love patterns and my theme of wasps, which will need to be present in my designs, are obviously interwoven with floral and wildlife themes.

Even if I choose not to incorporate my 'portrait' into my original header and business card designs, this does not mean it can't be present. I can put it in a circular frame or something similar in the header on a separate layer. When designing my header I need to think about this for layout. I also think if I decide to draw or paint the 'A Wasp in a Wig' title, it should be in a wide patch of negative space so that if it doesn't work out it will be easily removable on Photoshop and replaced with a digital font without affecting the rest of the design. I think it would look best if the rest of the font and writing was all kept digital as it gives a nice neat and professional look to the branding.

I need to create work which is at an A4 or A3 size because I want to keep its visual quality and scan it in. Then if I shrink it it should look nice and neat and not pixelated. But I don't want to create it too much bigger than its scale in reality because this may make details less obvious once I shrink it down to size.

Somewhere I have been recording my inspiration for this module is my Pinterest board, which you can find by following the link below:

Follow Alice's board PPP Inspo on Pinterest.

STICKERS!

For my range of stickers my main priority is having my name 'A wasp in a wig' really visible and obvious. Then having my website in a smaller font underneath. I can then create a range of designs for the background of the stickers - all with the wasp theme.

Update: I did not do the above. Although I still probably will! Instead I created a range of wasp character based stickers. 

Characters: 

  • Cute Wasp
  • Weird Wasp
  • Mother and Child Wasps
  • Playing Wasps
  • Devil Wasp
  • Angel Wasp
  • Sassy Wasp
  • Dazed Wasp
  • Elderly Wasp
  • Hench Wasp
  • Admirer Wasp
  • Loved-up Wasp
  • Not-a-fan Wasp
  • Edgy Wasp
  • Sleepy Wasp
  • Nerdy Wasp
This is the collection I have drawn so far, I just did these in pen with some shading in black coloured crayon. These have been slightly edited on Photoshop with Levels and getting rid of some page marks. However ideally I would spend a lot longer editing them to make sure all the line work is right. I also think it would add more visual interest if I was to add colour and shading. I did some really quick examples below with some basic colours. I think I will put the finished ones on my website to link more content to the name 'A Wasp in a Wig'. It would also be cool to make little GIFs of them and it would probably be quite easy because it is just simple line work. 


I was really disappointed but because there were so many issues with the print technician when I had my slot, it wasn't appropriate to print these out. These will be printed out in future, perhaps once I have coloured them all to a good standard!

Sunday 10 April 2016

Travelling: GAP360

I have applied and been accepted onto a trip to Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia after Christmas next year. My cousin is also travelling around that time so depending on where I plan on working afterwards (which is dependent on how I plan my future over the next coming months and what work experiences I can get). I am also looking at potentially finding work in creative companies in Brisbane after Asia. I think it is really important for me to spend the next year pushing myself out of my comfort zone and see the world as much as possible while I have the freedom of not being tied down to a career at the moment.
  • Vietnam
  • Thailand
  • Cambodia

Postcards

Front: Own work
Back: Contact details like business card

Project Pack: Origami Wasps



This would be a cool thing to add to my promo pack but they may be very time consuming to make and they may just get squished. If I made them really pretty and good quality they would look really nice and could be kept by potential clients.

Friday 8 April 2016

Collaboration: Sarah Woolley Reference Photographs

 Here are the reference photographs I will be working on for Sarah Woolley's Fashion Communication FMP book: 

V&A: Gift Shop

Match Boxes and China Houses

V&A: Bejewelled Exhibition


http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-bejewelled-treasures-the-al-thani-collection/

Business Cards

Black with white outline
or black and white with gold outline 

Research and ask in print room how gold outline could be possible - or could hand draw the gold parts e.g the wasp

Life After Uni: Travelling

Research and look into the company GAP360. People gap year age & group with one leader and itinerary so you will get the most out of the trip - be busy majority of the time, but sets of days are also given to explore the areas for yourself. A bit safer than braving it alone.

V&A: Bejewelled Treasures and Bottecelli Reimagined

[Photographs and key info about the pieces ]

Check out my blog post about my visit below: 

http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/142448849225/va-londonbejewelled-treasures-the-al-thani


Wednesday 6 April 2016

Portsmouth: Website 'Sets'

When I was in Portsmouth I spoke to Aaron Baker, another third year illustration student. He told me about 'Sets' as he also uses cargo for his website. He also told me that when he had had problems with the layout of his website he had just emailed Cargo and they'd replied within a matter of days and given him some codes to help him to fix the problems.

The 'sets' help you to organise your portfolio. Now I have an issue that you cant see the side bar with all of its sets and pages, it only shows you the top few! I will have to email them to figure out how to rectify this.

Collaboration: Sarah Woolley

'Also, wondering if you want to collab for my book I'm doing on power. I think some illustrations of some photos I've taken would look cool. Let me know if you're interested'
Hi! so These are some of the photos of a muse I've had to do an interview for for my book I'm making. When sketching these I'm possibly thinking outlines of gold? what do you think? x
Also, i'd need the illustrations digitally if thats ok xx
Deadline: 29th April Media: Digital
Colour Scheme: Gold outline.
Content: Illustrations from an interview with Santa Agolli for Fashion book under the theme of power.
Size: A4

Buxton, Peak District: Art Show/Craft Shop

http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/141966686785/buxton-peak-district-the-gardens-arts-and

InDesign: CV and Cover Page Continued...

I have found designing my Creative CV and Cover Page such a challenge! The workshops I took part in at LCA helped so much but I am still struggling with making a decision about final designs - I am still not happy with it! I want to start sending them out though so I will have to just make a temporary decision for now and continue working on it in my spare time. 

The workshops held at uni have helped me with the content and layout of the CV as well as the importance of a Cover Page when applying for a job or internship. For the design of the header itself I knew there needed to be a focus on wasps and perhaps even wigs (!) to tie in to my blog and illustration pages name 'A Wasp in a Wig'. I still need to put an explanation and illustrated description of this name and why I have used it on my website in my 'About' page. 

For the designs for the headers and side bars I was inspired by a lot of the CVs uploaded to Pinterest and I decided to follow a theme of a darker more complicated header combined with a paler but similar side bar. The side bar has more writing so it was best not to over-complicate this with an image. I started off the wasp illustrations by drawing some roughs and then more detailed ideas in my sketchbook; I came up with these illustrations (below) with the idea that if I made it quite a complex image the possibilities for cropping and adapting the same image for multiple purposes and looks would be a lot more flexible and achievable. 
One of my initial black pen illustrations focusing on the theme of wasps. 

My initial black pen illustration, this focused on the theme of my illustration name 'A Wasp in a Wig'. I created this image by taking some self portraits looking confused and to the side whilst holding my hair in the air. I imagined my hair being covered in wasps like a hive. I also wanted to combine other elements of my own art in to the image. I included big floaty flowers because of my love of nature and pattern in art. I thought the self portrait and linework in the hair looked a bit static so the floaty empty (of line work) flowers were important in adding some expressive freeness to the image. I obviously started off this illustration by looking at lots of images of wasps before hand, because I wanted to ensure I captured the visuals of a wasp and not a bee so the drawings had to be quite specific. Once I got a good idea of the components of a wasp it was pretty easy to draw them free hand and particularly with the number of legs etc there was more creative licence. I also wanted the wasps to be interacting with the hair and the flowers so I had to create them from my imagination anyway - otherwise they would not of fitted to the image. I love the parts of flowers which come out from the middle (Research name!) and I always like creating flowers with these parts, I mainly just focused on creating a flower that was easy and free to draw but it probably relied a lot on a combination of the flowers I have drawn in the past that are stuck in my memory. 
I played about with my scanned illustrations on Photoshop and came up with lots of variations and possible ideas however it wasn't until I had added them to my InDesign layouts and printed them out that I found out what worked and what really REALLY didn't. Most of my designs came out of my printer a totally different colour from the CMYK designs I had used - when I was adapting the colours some of them must have changed compatibility with the CMYK mode without me realising. Also even when the colours were correct often the design itself just didn't look as great once printed. It was really hard to decide on the scale and layout of where to have my illustration in the coloured box. I initially really wanted a turquoise colour but this was sooo hard to use at CMYK mode. I think I will continue experimenting with colours such as blues and maroons. I started off with beiges and greys because I thought this looked the most professional. However when I was looking at them I just didn't think those colour choices reflected me correctly- you would be hard pressed to find a purely grey or beige piece of my own work!



I decided to go for two slightly different adaptations of the same design for my cover page and CV headers. I wanted the font on the header to be white to contrast with the rest of the page. So because the cover page had more information on the header, I thought this design needed to be a darker shade with less white elements. I also liked the upside down rotation of the image for the Cover Page as it fitted in best with the font this way. I think it worked best like this as it left some black space of colour where the writing was on the left hand side. However for the CV itself I kept the image the right way up because there was less writing and a blank space to the left of the header. This was where the header joined the side panel so having the illustration 'come out' of this area worked well. I also kept it a lighter shade of purple because the only writing (my name and course) could be moved to the area of blank colour.

I kept forgetting to change the bottom panel where I kept the icons for my social networks and contact details on my CV. But it was very important this was always the right colour scheme for the rest of my designs.

Here are my current designs for my CV and Cover Page. I really wanted to fit in a photograph or my logo but I thought this may over complicate the image of the header. I think I will play about with another design and colour scheme that can support my logo or photograph. But these will do for now!

COVER PAGE TEMPLATE

CV TEMPLATE


Anthropologie Visit

http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/141967118315/anthropologie-visit

Monday 4 April 2016

Portsmouth: Livy Has No Life Photoshoot

During my time in Portsmouth I helped out at a photoshoot for the artist Livy Has No Life. She is a street artist and current illustration student at Portsmouth University. These T-shirts were designed and screen printed and tye dyed by Livy.

Her current project is focussing on drawing attention to the mundane and usually neglected parts of day to day life... she is creating her final major project based on can pulls and has been leaving street art and tagging around the city with this motif.


http://awaspinawig.tumblr.com/post/141967020605/modelling-for-livy-has-no-life-t-shirts-in

Sunday 13 March 2016

Indesign: CV Design!



  • I want to create a header design with my own illustrations - so I just used a blank pink rectangle to pitch this area. 
  • I downloaded some black icons to visually represent my contact details like email/phone number/website/instagram etc.
  • I downloaded the Champagne Limousine font to try out because I wanted a simple and clear font to work with for my CV. 
  • Also I want to use a more professional photograph but I haven't got one yet so this will need to be done.