603 Summative Evaluation

For this module, I set out with the intent of building a portfolio of work that would reflect my interests in the creative industries. Certain briefs have not been completed due to a combination of poor time management but also the direction of my practice naturally changing over the course of this year. The body of work submitted for this module, however, I still think represents a portfolio that has both professional applications, demonstrated by my responses to briefs such as Penguin Random House or YCN Dog’s Trust, as well as a collection of self-initiated briefs that have a strong sense of authorship and communicate the current direction of my personal practice.

I think I have gained a strong sense of what defines me as a creative practitioner, in terms of both my conceptual development process and the visual aesthetic of my illustrations. Through this, I have identified a number of other contemporary practitioners that resonate with my current practice – such as Kate Gibb, Nicolas Burrows and Jordy Van Nieuwendijk – as well as professional applications that I would like to pursue as a freelance illustrator.

By working on a range of competition briefs, I have found preference in commercial applications that are content-driven and necessitate in-depth research, but still have the opportunity to inject your own tone of voice – such as Penguin Random House and Secret 7”. I enjoy generating abstract or symbolic concepts and, alike to Laura Carlin, leaving a sense of ambiguity to my illustrations.  This, therefore, I think makes me best suited to contexts like adult publishing or editorial, in which symbolism and visual metaphor can be used to illuminate subject matters rather then reveal the whole story.

Despite finding success in the outcomes of my competition briefs, towards the end of the Easter term I was feeling disconnected from my own practice, leading me to embark on a series of self-initiated briefs. In this personal work, I have been illustrating moments or experiences drawn from real-life observations and self-directed research. The final outcomes have a certain air of self-indulgence, but I still think communicate a feeling or tone of voice that make them a valuable edition to my portfolio. Taking time to draw what I want to draw, rather than making something in order to fulfil the outlines of a commercial brief, has helped me to develop a greater sense of authorship and realise the sort of content that resonates with me on a personal level.

A common thread running through my approach to each brief I have tackled, as a part of this module is an extensive use of thumbnailing. It is now rare for me to make a final outcome without first planning it’s visual content - this most likely derives from my strong emphasis on composition, strengthened during the Context of Practice module. Another staple of my practice, which I think has considerably developed during this module, is my use of print and handmade textures. Taking influence from contemporary practitioners such as Kate Gibb and David Hockney, I have developed a number of different methods of generating textures using both manual and digital processes, and often now use multiple textures within one illustration, to create contrast and greater visual interest. Improving my ability to simulate the handmade using a digital finish has also become an important part of my practice – understanding that after degree I will no longer have access to such an extensive number of technical facilities.

At the beginning of this year I stated in a pitch presentation that I see creativity as a job. In this I meant that I struggle to create work without some form of initial content or purpose. Since then, I have discovered that this is not a true description of my practice. I enjoy working on briefs that necessitate in-depth research and the development of a concept built around set content; however I also enjoy self-directed briefs that involve me simply making work for the joy of making it.

Over the course of this module, I have found myself to be most motivated when working on something that is driving my practice forward and resonates with me on a personal level. Working as a professional practitioner I understand that this will not always be the case; however I feel that this module has aided me in identifying which commercial contexts suit my practice the most, as well as underlined to me the importance of maintaining personal projects to keep myself engaged in developing my own distinct visual language.

603 Project Report

4 Reflective Summaries & Original Statement of Intent (as on blog)

Statement of Intent Form

This is a revised version of my statement of intent - it demonstrates my initial interests in setting out on the extended practice, but briefs have been amended according to what I have achieved over the course of the module (my original statement of intent is written earlier as a paragraph on the blog.)

Final Mega Crit

I really enjoyed the mega-crit today - my feedback was lovely and positive, and it was also really fun to see the progression of everyone else's work. 

Moving Forward :

• Continue developing FMP project - consider adding more chinograph and bitmapped mono-print textures to make it more relevant to current practice ... worth a try? 
• Consider printing more than just the dymkovo prints for the final show - positive feedback for the girls - these could be large-scale digital prints (or even screenprints?) And you could screen-print the tree designs ... although the registration might be a bit tricky). 

Development FMP : Dymkovo Prints

Key transformative moments :

• Adding figurative elements to the compositions and moving away from trying to make the project like my Cop work or the prints of Gillian Ayres. 
• Moving away from just thumbnailing and using gouache paintings or cut paper to better visualise how the final compositions could work once screen-printed. 
• Isolating these figurative characters as compositions within themselves and incorporating them in more structured compositions. 

My practice as it stands right now

I feel like I am often critical of my final outcomes from individual briefs, however I think it is valuable to reflect on my practice as a whole body of work to better understand what defines me as a creative practitioner. Sometimes I feel like I lack visual consistency from brief to brief, and so drawing links can help me see, hopefully common trends cross my practice, but also what parts of my work I need to build on to develop a more distinct visual language.  

Shape

• Chunky and wonky block shapes to define figurative elements - like people or animals. (e.g. noughts and crosses snake design)
• Abstract and geometric shapes (for more ambiguous work e.g. COP)

Composition

• I like my compositions to have a sense of either literal or visual balance. 
• Literal balance - I like the sense of tension created in a composition where each shape is placed carefully balanced in relation to one another within the frame (almost as if you remove one of them the rest will topple like a game of jenga e.g. Cop work). 
• Visual balance - using areas of concentrated visual content contrasted with areas of pure fill or negative space to balance the composition (e.g. tree illustrations or christmas card design). 

Pattern and Texture

• `I always like my final outcomes to have a sense of the handmade and high-crafting to them - whether this through using actual print processes and collage or just creating this effect through digital simulation. 
• I like using handmade processes because I think it gives an illustration a sense of authenticity and authorship. Especially since my work is so shape-based I think it sometimes lacks the visceral feeling so easily achieved with the varying quality of a drawn line.
• This year I began (and enjoyed) experimenting with contrasting different textures against one another, as well as putting textures through multiple processes to achieve a final desired effect. e.g. bitmapped mono-prints with pencil textures in secret 7" screen-prints. 

Limited colour palettes

• Limiting my colour palettes I think helps maintain an air of simplicity as well as simulate a more print-based aesthetic in perhaps digitally finished illustrations. 

Tone of Voice

• Even though at times my illustrations can be quite fun and playful (which I think is hard to step away from when using shapes and bright colours), I also like my work to have an air sophistication and I often think this comes from the process in which I make my final outcomes. 
• Abstraction of visual content and not illustrating the obvious - 'evoking a feeling rather than boldly presenting the truth' Karel Martens. 

Things that drive my practice (content-wise)

• Illustrating moments/experiences and the way I see things through my own lens. Taking real-world observations and illustrating these but in an abstract or ambiguous way (e.g. tree designs)
• Briefs that offer an initial content (e.g. editorial, publishing or music) but are open to my own personal interpretation of that content and in terms of idea generation are very research-led. 

Creative practitioners that resonate with my current practice:

Laura Carlin Talk

I found a lot of what Laura Carlin said about her practice, really resonated with my own and how it has developed over the course of this year. 

• I like how she started off by thinking about how and why she started to make art - what influenced her. I think this would an interesting thing for me to reflect on myself. 
• Being an artist (/illustrator) is expressing your own way of looking at the world. 
• The importance of omitting information that isn't important - this helps to communicate what you are trying to say by placing emphasis on the relevant visual elements. 
• Carlin talked about how she tries to say something in the illustration that isn't already there (in the article or book etc.), as well as have a sense of ambiguity and likes to leave people asking questions. 
• There is no correct or incorrect in art - draw how you want to draw. 
• Despite the ambiguity of her work, Carlin consciously likes to think about her audience when creating work- how am i best communicating what I want to say? - which I guess is what drives her to an illustrator/designer more than anything else. 

Self-Portraits and how they have changed...

Thought experiment illustration: illustrating my fears of being a freelance illustrator.

First attempt at self-portrait (I really don't like this one):

Final self-portrait:

I used this image as my final self-portrait for D&AD as I think it illustrates a lot about my existing practice. It demonstrates an emphasis on composition and shape-based imagery, as well as an appreciation for both pure abstraction and figurative work. Although made digitally, it also shows an interest in print-based work and my emphasis on all my illustrations reflecting a more hand-made aesthetic.

My final A5 postcard for exhibition

This is the image I am using for my final A5 postcard - I wanted to use something that shows the direction in which I want my practice to progress. I feel the different textures, wonky shapes and composition of the image summarises my current practice (as well as being one my favourite pieces of work I have made so far this academic year). 

Tutorial with Matt

• Simplify girl drawings 
• reduce colour palette
• adjust composition - think of more contrasting angles, do not have everything existing on one line. 
• Do not mix naivety and texture with purely digital components. Looks out of place. 
• Russian prints - make more intricate so on a larger scale elements are not too overwhelming. 
• Your personal practice is an artists practice, being an illustrator is your job. 

Girls Development

I have been trying to put my mono-print drawings of girls in different contexts - working mainly into the idea of a beach or park. 

THINGS I LIKE SO FAR:

• Textures I am developing ie. the sandy beach or grass texture. 
• The use of shadow - makes it atmospheric and gives an interesting 3-d effect to the girl characters. 

HOW I WOULD LIKE TO DEVELOP THEM FURTHER:

• Struggling with the composition - both beach and park images are too horizontal in their elements. Need to create some more interesting lines in the composition.
• Reduce the colour palettes and simplify the amount of different textures. Treat it as though it were a print rather than a digital image (e.g. make the shadows the same blue as the mono-type drawn line on girls).

Reflection : an artist first and an illustrator second?

Recently, I have been dedicating more time to self-initiated briefs than competitions. In doing so, I have found myself being a lot more engaged and enthused by my own practice. I am drawing and making what I want, and this has led me to produce pieces of work that really mean something to me on a personal level. 

I think illustration as a discipline overlaps with so many other forms of art practice. For example someone who enjoys more pattern-based illustration applicable to clothing or textiles could be seen as nearly a surface pattern designer. For me, I think my illustration practice overlaps with both design and fine art. I enjoy simplicity and graphic imagery, but recently my work has become more self-indulgent in its content – illustrating an experience, feeling or observation.

In some ways the differentiation between personal practice and client-led or live briefs has clarified to me the benefits of being a freelance illustrator. If I were able to sustain a life in which I could make personal work, and fund myself through client directed briefs this would bring a lot of job fulfilment. On top of this, there is no reason why these two forms of practice could not overlap. An especially open brief or a company that suits my own personal practice could cause the two to merge – money and drawing what I would like to draw! 

I understand that this sounds quite bad - as it is essentially the realisation that I enjoy doing what I want to do, rather than working with in the confines of a commercial brief and this does not offer much hope for the professionalisation of my practice. On reflection, however, I did enjoy working on briefs such as Penguin Random House and Secret 7". I think this is because the briefs offered a set content, but ultimately the final outcome was defined by my own personal interpretation of that content and any relevant research. The breadth of themes and possible visual content offered the opportunity for more in-depth concept generation as well as injecting my own sense of authorship and tone of voice to the final outcomes - as apposed to more commercial briefs like Dog Trust that had a more clearly defined tone of voice to be fulfilled. 

Things to think about moving forward: 

• Maintain a balance between professional and self-initiated briefs to keep yourself engaged in your practice and to facilitate more authentic progression.
• Let projects develop naturally - draw something for fun and then find a purpose/context for it. 

Group Crits

Positive feedback:

• Can really see the enjoyment in my personal projects - drawing the girls and trees. Continue working on this and contextualise girl figures in scenic/natural environments. 
• Like the idea of driving forward with process and using different textures - gives flat/shape-based work more authorship and authenticity. 

Moving forward: 

• Find a way of progressing the Dymkovo project beyond just thumbnails as these are getting you nowhere - you need to be able to see the shapes defined by colour to reflect on how the compositions will actual work when screen-printed - use cut paper or gouache painting? 
• Add figurative elements into Dymkovo prints. 
• Contextualise nude girl figures.

Girls (Personal Project)

Recently I decided to develop a set of sketchbook drawings of female nudes into a collection of A5 prints. I think the combination of stencil mono-print and mono-type really compliment one another, and work well with the subject matter. The chunky, shape-based nature of these nudes derives from my personal interest in figurative sculpture, such as that of Henry Moore. The top image is perhaps a further development in which I may start putting these figures into certain contexts - such as at the park or beach?

Album Artwork Submission

I submitted 2 designs into Secret 7"s album artwork competition for the song 'Help' by London Grammar. By working on this brief I am starting to see a correlation between the kind of projects I enjoy working on and those I find a bit limiting. Alike to Penguin, Secret 7" provides a initial content but ultimately what is illustrated in the final design is open to your own personal interpretation. This kind of open brief lends itself to my tendency to develop concepts surrounding considered research and my own personal reflections on content. 

I like the concept of my final designs - based on this idea on looking for the 'blue sky', representing positivity in times of hardship, and aiming to illustrate the bittersweet beauty of London Grammar's melody. I like how this imagery evolved out of personal experience and, at least for me, communicates small moments of taking notice of everyday beauty in English landscapes. 

This brief also helped me to experiment with a mixture of handmade and digital textures - something I have wanted to work with for a while. I would like to continue to mix contrasting texture in my Dymkovo toy project - taking it a step further in that each texture is made using a different form of screen-print positive. 

Dymkovo Toy Research

The brand name 'Dymkovo toy' derives from their place of origin - the Dymkovo settlement near the city of Kirov, formerly known as Vyatka, in rural Western Russia. 

The making of these clay figurines is a form of traditional Russian folk art, primarily performed by women, which still exists within the region of Dymkovo today. 

They were originally created for ritualistic purposes for the spring festival of Svistoplyaska - 'whistle-dance' - local to the Kirov province. Women from Dymkovo would make whistles in the shape of various animals - such as goats and bears - and these would be played as part of the festival celebrations. During the 19th century rural festivals, such as this one, were big affairs, coinciding with other trade events and would continue on for several days. 

The subject of these toys developed beyond the traditional ancient motifs, of totemic animals, to depictions of characters of 19th century life in rural Russia and traditional folk tales. These colourful figurines, of fat merchant wives and elegant gentlemen, became the most recognisable of the Dymkovo toy trade. 

Late in the 19th century this traditional Russian craft fell into decline, forced out of market by factory-made plaster figurines, made to imitate porcelain. It was revived, however, in 1933 through the formation of a Vyatka toy artel, a cooperative association dedicated to craft, artisan and light industrial enterprises. During the soviet period, this artel then became a workshop of the artistic fund of the RSFSR. Today Dymkovo toys are celebrated in folk art exhibitions and make a popular Russian souvenir amongst tourists. 

These earthenware toys are moulded from a mixture of red clay, local to the Kirov province, and river sand to prevent cracking during firing. First the base of the figure is formed and then smaller components, such as the arms, are attached using watery clay. After being left to dry for several days and fired for 3 - 4 hours, they are whitewashed with chalk diluted in milk and painted with tempura of varying colours. 

The Dymkovo toys are distinguished by their bright colouring and geometric patterns, which denote certain traditional meanings - for instance a wavy line represents water and a circle with a star in the middle symbolises the sun or other celestial bodies. They are also decorated with diamonds of gold leaf, to make them look especially festive. 

Every Dymkovo toy is handmade and unique, each individual craftsmen bringing his or her own particular quality and colouring to the figurines. 

Dymkovo Toys: Personal Project

Over Easter, whilst on holiday in St Petersburg I went to a Russian folk art exhibition in which I was especially taken with a collection of traditional clay figurines, called Dymkovo Toys. I really like the geometric patterns and bright colour palettes. I would like to use this form of traditional form of folk art as inspiration for a series of shape-based screen-prints. 

Things to experiment with: 

• Paper collage of different textures : gouache painted Somerset paper, brown packaging paper, reflective gold paper and sugar paper. etc. 
• Screen-prints made up of different kinds of positives : mono-printed bitmapped shapes, chinograph and ink drawn elements, foiling to mimic gold leaf. 

Products:

• Series of experimental screen-prints / paper cut collages. 
• A zine : containing own photographs and research. 
• Selected designs developed into Large A2/A1 screen-prints for final exhibition. 

Tutorial with Matt

Main thing I took away : Illustration does not need to have a direct message and communicate something as a clear as day to an audience. This is necessary in some forms of illustration such as editorial and publishing, but it can just be telling a story by evoking a feeling in the audience - which perhaps best suits my more abstract and shape-based forms of image-making.

So for this final stretch, I am going to expand upon my COP practical project and experiment with using these forms of image-making to celebrate my own personal love for the English countryside and to tell untold stories of traditional Russian folk art I saw in a recent trip to St Petersburg over Easter.

Submission to Lucy & Yak

Lucy & Yak are a clothing brand, making ethically sourced and high quality dungarees, trousers and pinafore dresses. A fan of their clothing, owning a couple pairs of dungarees myself, I noticed they were running an art and design competition on their Instagram - the prize being your design printed on their thank you cards, as a credited artist, and a £100 voucher to spend on their online shop.  

I decided to do this as a mini-brief because its something fun to do, in which I can experiment with my crafting and image-making skills, as well as potentially good exposure - especially for my Instagram.  

Here is my submission:

Kate Gibb

On Instagram I saw these new risograph prints Kate Gibb has done with Yuckprint House in Manchester. In some ways they remind me of the Hockney prints I was looking at a couple months ago - although less figurative they hold similarities in the use of pattern to define shapes. I really like the fact that these prints are mono-tone and the overlap of pattern and textures, and the contrast of some being highly visceral and others more uniform in their registration. 

Kate Gibb's practice is very experimental and process-driven, describing herself as a 'silkscreen obsessive' and her practice thriving on use of 'chance, hiccups and happy accidents' that occurs when using print-making processes. For me, she is an example of a freelance creative that despite her work being wholly non-figurative and not necessarily communicative in a traditional design sense, she has a had a lot of commercial success working for clients such as Nike or Penguin Books. I like the fact that there is a market for work that echoes elements of my practice that I really enjoy - stuff like my COP collages - demonstrating that there is no reason I could not continue making these and gaining jobs from them on a freelance level. 

Submission to YCN, Dogs Trust

I think I struggled with the commercial nature of this brief. I was very conscious that the finishing result had to appeal to a wide-audience and have a clear communicative message, as well as a concept that suited the tone of Dog's Trust. Within this I found it hard to build a concept I was personally excited about and found myself changing my practice to suit the brief, rather than the other way around. 

I think this is often the struggle of doing competitions briefs. In many ways the benefit of doing them is to gain recognition or the winning prize so you have to create the work with an audience and the client in mind. It can sometimes be hard to find a balance between shaping your practice to meet the competitions needs, and still making work that suits you and excites you creatively. 

In a positive sense, however, by making these illustrations I have found a new method of making images that suits my practice and gives myself a quicker turn-around - which would help within a commercial context as a freelance illustrator. This includes making a cut-paper base, with just white card, scanning this in and then photoshopping mono-print textures on top - meaning I do not have to make new ones every time to cut up. In this brief I also enjoyed drawing again - especially for the mono-type dogs - and think I would like to incorporate this more into my practice. 

Overall I am happy with the final outcome. I like the limited colour palette and the 3-D cut paper effect, resulting from the use of my new process. However, I am unhappy with the unimaginative concept of just dog's existing within different 'forever homes' in a surrealistic way - for me it lacks originality or depth of thought. 

Reflection & Moving Forward

I think I have arrived at a key period of reflection in my practice and deciding how I can most effectively use the last couple months I have on degree. 

This term I have seen some successes, working on Penguin Random house and YCN Dog's trust has enabled me to contextualise my practice within the creative industries to a higher standard and produce some good portfolio pieces. The past few weeks, however, I have been feeling especially de-motivated in producing work, and I think this comes from the lack fulfilment I am getting from completing competition briefs. 

In tutorials with both Matt and Ben I have realised that what could better distinguish me as a practitioner are my interests and I need to use these to fuel my practice. I would like to use Easter as period in which to find and outline a passion project to complete when I return to Leeds, so that I can use the remaining time to be creating something for me as a practitioner. 

Ideas / Stuff I would like to do : 

• A printmaking project inspired by David Hockney's 'homemade' prints, working shape, bitmapped patterns and hand-drawn elements - with a similar focus on composition as my context of practice work. 
• A content-driven project on an environmental issue that concerns me - could this still be range of editorials in some way? 
• Screen-print some long-sleeved t-shirts :)
• Produce an animation or series of looping gifs - this could potentially be combined with the content-driven project. 

Mega-Crit

Positive Feedback:

• Like the penguin random house covers - use of texture and shape. 

Moving forward:

• essentially do more work - need to get going on dogs trust brief and maybe start planning a personal project?

Easter Plan

• Design a website (on wix.com) - doesn't have to go live right now ... 
• Design Instagram logo and animate for website. 
• Secret 7" - do cover for London Grammar 'Help'. 
• Start personal projects
• Screen-prints (extension of Cop work) - make positives to print on return. 
• Find a content? - editorials, books, documentaries. 
• Take inspiration from trip to Saint Petersburg - architecture, culture, art ... ? 

Sister Corita Kent

Corita Kent was an American Catholic religious sister, artist and educator. Attending their school as a girl, at 18 she entered into the order of nuns of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Soon after, noticed for her artistic talent, she went on to work in the orders art college, that had a liberal reputation, and eventually becoming head of their art department in 1964. 

At the orders art college, she decided to buy her own diy screen-printing kit and started experimenting. Her early work mostly figurative or religious, later on she began incorporating advertising images and slogans influenced by the pop culture and pop art movement of the time - artists like Andy Warhol coming to the forefront of the American art scene. 

Her work communicates spiritual and activist messages, striving to bring attention to social injustices such as poverty or racism. Visually, however, she just wanted things to be beautiful and her artwork, as well as a method of social activism, was also just an expression of joy. 

Corita Kent created so many pieces, mainly in screen-print or watercolour, but my favourites are the prints she made in the early/mid 1960s. The bold colours and use of type as a decorative shape in itself, I think is so effective in achieving this visual combination of an image that communicates a message, in a similar aesthetic to advertisements of the time - but also holds a visual quality that undeniable defines it as a beautiful piece of art. 

David Hockney (homemade) prints

Last term I visited Salts Mill gallery and bought a book dedicated to Hockney as a printmaker. Within this body of work, I particularly like prints (such as the one above) where he has combined more fine, digital-looking patterns with fluid handmade lines and shapes. This print, and most of the similar ones, state to have been made by a 'office colour copy machine'. I think I could replicate the same effect, however, using 'bitmap' mode on photoshop to modify mono-print or hand-drawn textures. I would like to start experimenting with creating similar digital patterns, to create a body of screen-prints - perhaps expanding on my final work for the context of practice module ...

Research: Dogs Trust

Key Phrases:

• Make 'rescue dogs' the most desirable breed in Britain. 
• The best place for a dog is a 'forever home'. 
• Give all dogs a second chance at happiness. 

Key Facts:

• Every year Dog's Trust cares for around 16,000 dogs at their 20 rehoming centres nationwide. 
• Dog's Trust never put down a healthy dog, once a dog is their care they will be looked after for the rest of their life. 
• Dogs Trust need to find homes for 13,000 abandoned dogs each year. 
• The length of a dogs stay with Dogs Trust is increasing, meaning they have less space to rescue and rehome another one. 
• They put this down to changing buying behaviour - people are buying dogs more online. 
• There is also the common misconception that rescue dogs are 'broken' or have 'issues' - most of Dog's trusts dogs need rehoming due to their previous owners having work commitments, a family crisis, a new baby or ill health. 
• 1 in 4 households in the Uk own a dog as a pet. 
• In America rescue dogs are made popular by their A-list celebrity owners e.g. George Clooney or Ariana Grande - how can you make rescue dogs 'fashionable' in the UK? 

Target Audience : British dog lover. 

Tone : upbeat and positive - do not try to shock people or come across judgemental. Do not make the dogs seem unwanted or unloved, or Dogs Trust a bad place for them to be. 

Possible Ideas: 

• Make an online campaign that could exist along-side other dog-selling sites to compete with this growing market - this could an animation, looping gifs or interactive advertisement? 
• Research into the most common rescue dogs and try to think of ways to make them 'fashionable'. 
• What celebrities in the UK have rescue dogs? 
• Hone in to this idea of a 'forever home' and the connection between a dog and their owner. 

This is Dogs Trust most recent TV ad. It shows people finding a balloon dog that then leads them to a real Dogs Trust dog that need a new home. It aims to create this idea of every dog having a 'special someone' that is meant to be their owner or forever home. I think this is ultimately a very effective ad because it has a sense of sentimentality and makes you think of the special connection we hold with our pets without bringing any form of guilt or sadness that could be associated with rescue dogs. 

Penguin Random House : Reflection

Things that went well:

• Can see clear improvement in comparison to my covers from last years competition - better crafting of imagery as well as consideration of layout and type. 
• Doing the competition again confirmed to me that publishing is an area of interest to me within my professional practice. 
• I enjoy the whole process of researching and illustrating book covers, as well as having to consider layout/composition beyond just the actual imagery - how each component (front, back and spine) will work together as well as separately and the placement/hierarchy of type. 

Things that didn't go so well: 

• I did not plan my time effectively enough to submit to as many categories as I would have liked - shows how important time management is at this point of the year!
• I miss doing personal work! Despite producing cover designs that I am proud of, in terms of my portfolio I feel I am still lacking something that shows my personal interests, rather than illustration that works to achieve more commercial needs. 

Noughts & Crosses, Cover Design Evaluation 1

I am overall very happy with this final outcome. I think the cover design is impactful and eye-catching. Each element - the front, the spine and back -  are being able to stand on their own but the cover also works as one cohesive piece. I feel that the choices I made in typography are appropriate, and all the copy has managed fit around the design, still maintaining its legibility. 

I like the focus on composition across the design in the positioning of the snakes - how they balance across the front and back cover, and frame the book title. I think it was a good choice to take the design from being entirely digital into lino-print to give it a softer, more handmade aesthetic. 

The concept of the cover was to symbolise the hope of racial discrimination disappearing within the next generation, through a visual metaphor of snakes achieving some form of rebirth by shedding their skins. The skins being shed within the design also contain the 'nought' and 'cross' symbols,  iconic to previous covers of the book, and also derogatory racial terms referring to blacks and whites within Blackman's dystopian setting. Im glad I found a way of incorporating the two symbols in a more non-conventional and conceptual way. The only worry I have about the design is the fact that this concept is perhaps too ambiguous, and therefore will be considered not necessarily in keeping with the plot of the book. 

Noughts & Crosses, Cover Design 2

The concept for this cover design is more closely bound to the narrative of the book. The beach scene reoccurs throughout the story - a secret meeting place that acts as a stage for their budding romance, but also Callums eventual betrayal as he uses it to orchestrate Sephy's kidnapping by the Liberation Militia. 

I like the simplicity and clean look of the design. The imagery is a lot softer, and less impactful than the snake skin cover design, which in some ways could perhaps make it more attractive to a younger readership ...? I am happy with the overall composition - the way it flows from front to spine to back, and how each component stands on its own. 

A weakness of this cover design is that it communicates perhaps more about the love and relationship between the two main characters, rather than the primary theme of racial discrimination. Although the image is directly related to scenes within the plot, I think picking up this cover you would expect something different than the actual narrative. 

Revised Pitch Presentation 23/03

SLIDE 1

• As a freelance illustrator, one of my main interests would be to work within adult publishing/book cover design. 
• For Penguin Random House I am attempting to complete all three covers, but so far am mostly motivated by Animal Farm and Noughts & Crosses. 
• I enjoy the in-depth research involved in this kind of brief, as well as the challenge to generate more conceptual ideas. 

SLIDE 2 

• YCN Dogs Trust : good to tackle something more commercially/campaign-driven. 
• Secret 7" : greater degree of freedom creatively, but also based on generated ideas based off a defined content. 
• Going to approach these as less substantial but more quick turn-around briefs. 

SLIDE 3

• Editorials are a key part of being a freelance illustrator. 
• Similarly to publishing, I enjoy the research-based and idea driven nature of these kind of briefs. 
• Mainly interested in producing work surrounding social and environmental issues. 
• Looking to produce a series spanning across a range of content and formats to give diversity to my portfolio. 
• I also would like to produce a series of moving editorials because I enjoy producing animations and they could also prove helpful in curating a more dynamic online presence : on Instagram, my website and digital portfolio. 

SLIDE 4

• I am interested in illustrative products, mainly ceramics, prints and textiles/clothing. 
• I think amongst my more substantial and content driven projects it would be beneficial to set aside some time to non-cognitive drawing to help develop my visual style. 
• I would like to produce a series of limited prints, ceramics and hand-printed clothing. 
• Through this I would also like to develop my print-making skills, primarily by experimenting with different methods of creating screen-printing positives. To help with this I have began reading Print Club London's screen-printing handbook. 

Animal Farm : Research

• George Orwell, was the pen name of Eric Blair, a British political novelist and essayist. 
• Orwell was a socialist, and disliked the Soviet Union seeing it as a negative representation of socialist ideologies. 
• Animal Farm, was written in the style of Aesop's fables, to tell the history of Soviet Communism and thereby criticise Stalin's totalitarian regime. 
• Certain animals are based directly on Communist Party leaders: the pigs Napoleon and Snowball, for example, are figurations of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. 
• With its general themes of oppression, suffering and injustice Orwell's novel could be seen as a powerful attack on any political or military power that seeks to control human beings unjustly. 

Censorship 

• The controversy of Animal farm meant it remained unpublished in the UK until 1945. As war-time allies the UK did not want to publish anything that could compromise soviet relations. 
• In the Soviet Union, Animal Farm was seen as a threat to Stalin's reputation, defaming him as a pig, and to Soviet communism. It was forbidden to circulate after its publication in 1945, in the UK, and this ban continued until the late 1980s after the collapse of the soviet union. 

Plan of Action

I found a way of dividing the following weeks leading up to final submission, and in consideration of external deadlines, dedicating specific time for me to focus upon each brief.

Mon 12/02 -> Tues 06/03 (3 weeks)

Penguin Random House titles x 3

Tues 06/03 -> Thurs 22/03 (2 & 1/2 weeks)

YCN Dogs Trust & Secret 7

Thurs 22/03 -> Thurs 10/05 (7 weeks)

Print and Moving Editorials

Feedback from Group Crits 09/02

• Despite my reservations, people do seem to see a continuity in my work / visual aesthetic.  
• For editorials, instead of doing one long brief like 503 try doing smaller briefs with quick turn arounds to prepare for the reality of this context of work. 
• Article by article will also offer more variety, and help diversify my portfolio. 
• Set out more definitely when I am going to working on each of these projects - maybe do competition briefs up until Easter and then work on editorials leading up until the final deadline? 
• Am I being too under-ambitious in the amount of work I am taking on - maybe do Secret 7" or YCN Dogs Trust as well? Would be good to tackle something more commercially-led. 

Pitch Presentation 09/02

Slide 1 : What is style and do I need it?

I am conscious of the fact that I do not have an identifiable visual aesthetic to my images. I almost always work in shape with bright colour palettes and place strong emphasis on simple compositions and handmade processes. Despite this, my images do not appear to be made by the same creative hand. 

At the 'You Are Here' event at Hanbury Hall many of the agents emphasised both individuality and consistency in a portfolio. At the moment I feel I am a creative chameleon, adapting to different illustrative contexts and influenced by the work of other designers. I would like to use extended practice to build a portfolio of work that has original visual references and a consistent aesthetic value. 

Slide 2 : Penguin Random House

Last year I was shortlisted for the Penguin Random House children's cover award. The competitions emphasis on conceptual and concise idea resonates with my creative practice. Adult publishing, as a context of illustration, I feel suits me as a creative practitioner - I enjoy generating ideas through in-depth research and learning about new subjects. With an emphasis on composition, I also like working within constrained formats and dealing with layout. 

For extended practice, I would like to set myself the task of completing all three Penguin titles this year. In doing do, I hope to build a portfolio of work that demonstrates my interest in illustrative publishing. 

Slide 3 : Editorials

Editorial, to me, is an opportunity to make an impact through illustration and communicate on matters that need to be brought to light in the media. Personally I am interested in environmental and social issues. Here is an example of a project I did last year concerning the endangerment of Orangutans in Sumatra and Borneo caused by the Palm Oil industry and the illegal pet trade. 

For the purpose of my portfolio I would like to produce a series of editorials, ideally working within a number of different formats ie. square, vignette, full page etc. 

Slide 4 : Moving Image

At Hanbury Hall, a number of the agencies mentioned the growing prominence and influence of moving image. My practical animation skills have developed over the past two years and I have enjoyed working on moving image projects. 

For both these reasons and in benefit of my portfolio, I would like to progress my editorial illustrations in to a series of looping gifs, to demonstrate my ability to work on both print and online content.

Slide 5 : Play/non-cognitive image making

For the purpose of developing a more succinct and consistent visual aesthetic, I think it is also important for me to play and experiment within my practice. Working with serious content and generating conceptual ideas is what fuels me as a creative practitioner, however I do also take an interest in illustrative products: ceramics, textiles, print and clothing. 

Working on images purely for their aesthetic appeal will help me develop my visual style, as well as produce a body of work possible for sale online or at local illustration and design fairs. 

A Brief History of Time, S. Hawking : Visual References

Every time I am confronted with a brief, I feel I look at the work of other illustrators and artists, to which they then influence/inspire my final outcome. I am trying to move away from this habit, but for the cover of 'A Brief History of Time' I am struggling to create an illustrative image that moves away from the cliché of stars, the galaxy or black holes. 

Initially I thought of making something diagrammatic - using the diagrams in the book to inspire something that both reflects the content of the book but also feels illustrative and attractive to the average person. 

David Lemm is an illustrator I often reference - he has a strong graphic style based on the concept of mapping rural and urban spaces. 

The Middle Place, David Lemm

The second artist that came to mind was Moonassi - a South Korean artist who has an ongoing project making a series of drawings that reflect his inner most feelings, thoughts and emotions. I think creating something similar could represent our human relationship with time and space, as well as our feeling/curiosity of asking these big questions posed by Hawking - could time run backwards? is the universe infinite or does it have boundaries? 

Personally, as generally a more non-figurative and graphic illustrator, I would like to make something that has similar feeling and depth of concept but not so strongly based around a human character. 

Its My Fall & A Double Negative, Moonassi