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