First Day Back - Mega Crit

These are the sketchbook pages that stood out to me in today’s mega crit. There was so much amazing work it was really inspiring to look through what everyone had been doing this summer. It has definitely motivated me to get stuck in to this year!

These two images are from the same sketchbook and there are numerous things I like about them. These include the subject matter of animals, the pure use of black and white and the way the form of the animals has been captured with the variation in line weight. The second image is particularly stylised which is something I feel I need to explore more with my own work as I can often get too caught up in my reference imagery. I can explore this through repeated drawing of a subject until the image becomes my own. I really like this work, the natural world is a big inspiration of mine but this is pretty broad, I feel like I could learn more about how I draw if I explore animals in more depth. 

This image caught my eye as it looks similar to some of the hair drawings I have done in the past, and over this summer. I liked the use of pencil crayon to achieve this effect. It appears very fluid and intriguing, and again, I always seem to be drawn to black and white imagery! 

I love this! There’s something really spur of the moment about this drawing and its great. Pigeon feet are are funny looking and more people should pay attention to the funny looking things in the world. I’m not sure whether this was done using ink or pro markers (or similar) but the sketchy application of the greys is perfect for the tone of voice of this drawing. 

I recognised this piece of work as Emily’s straight away, I love the fluidity of the design and the clear line of sight in the image. There is a real softness to this piece and it is so calming and dream-like. 

Finally some colour! It is really clear to me that black and white imagery is what resonates with me the most but I do love these colours. The layout of this page also looks like the perfect starting point for a pattern design to me. 

Today has definitely made me feel ready to get going with final year. Speaking to the new first years made it hit home how far I have come since I was in their position two years ago and how nervous I was about everything! The level fives definitely had the same concerns I did at this time last year so it felt really good to give them some honest advice, hopefully I didn’t scare them and it was actually helpful. 

Humpback Whale Commission

Earlier this summer I was commissioned by a friend to produce an original piece of artwork. This presentation explains the process I have been through. A lot of our communication has been either verbal or through relaxed forms of communication like text message and Facebook but I have tried to record the process the best I can. 

When the piece was completed I attached it to the mount she had provided me with and delivered it to her in person. She was thrilled with it which is obviously great for me to see. She also sent me a message a few days later to say she had shown her mum and she was really impressed with it too and they are going to get it framed very soon. 

Obviously because my client here was a very close friend of mine, I have handled things very differently to how I would have done in a more professional set up. I still feel I have conducted myself in a professional manner by sticking to deadlines and but contact between us has been very informal and as there is a strong trust between us, I have been more relaxed about when I receive the payment for it. This has been a really positive experience for me and I feel the process has been quite straight forward and relaxed, this is probably because I know who I am dealing with and I had plenty of time to get the required work completed. I've just got to wait until November now to see if her dad likes it!

Agencies, Studios, Collectives, Practitioners, Companies

I have been doing some research into agencies, studios, collectives and practitioners to try to pull together an idea of where I see myself fitting in within the industry. I have also started to think about clients who I would like my work to appeal to and I could potentially work for in the future as a freelancer or part of a studio/collective. 

Agencies

The Central Illustration Agency

Dutch Uncle

The Artworks Illustration Agency

Handsome Frank Illustration Agency

Heart Agency

NB Illustration

Eye Candy Illustration Agency

Column Arts Agency

Lipstick of London
Greetings Card Association 

Studios/Collectives

Puck Collective

ALSO

Dogeatcog 

Tuppence Collective

John Lewis Design Collective

Oh Deer

Beard Multidisciplinary Studio

Practitioners

Julia Rothman 

Leah Goren 

Lisa Congdon

Lee John Phillips 

Emma Bridgewater 

Clients

John Lewis 

Urban Outfitters 

Joy 

Paperchase 

Oh Deer 

Anthropologie

Hallmark

Overall, I think I am starting to build up a clearer image of where I want my work to exist and where it potentially could. This is going to be a list I can continue to add to (or take away from) throughout the year as I continue to learn about myself and my work.

Life After University

I already have it in my mind that I do not want to continue in education after I graduate but I wan’t to see what opportunities are available just to make sure that i’ve not missed something that would be good for me. 

Masters - I don’t want to be in education any longer and I don’t see how a masters degree would benefit me at this stage in my life. Most of the masters courses available in the field of illustration are routed towards children’s book illustration, graphic design and illustration, sequential design and drawing skills. The only one that appeals to me from this list is the final one but I feel that my drawing skills will continue to develop anyway as long as I continue to draw all the time! There is not a more specific field I want to learn more about and I don’t think a more general course would benefit me any more than this illustration degree program already has. 

PGCE - I have no interest in teaching at the moment. Maybe after I have gained more experience and have done what I want to do then I may become interested in then this might change but for now this isn’t an option for me. 

Apprenticeship - I didn’t really know what this was properly. It is learning on the job and getting paid for it but I wasn’t aware that you are actually working towards a specific qualification, the highest level of which is equivalent to a foundation degree or diploma. This is not what would be best for me either. 

Internship - I would consider this with the prospect of a job afterwards as long as it was relevant to my aims for the future. One concern I have is whether I would actually be gaining experience or just making tea? After researching internship opportunities online, I am struggling to find many roles that would suit me. A lot are very digital based and focus a lot around graphic design, fashion and styling, and doing the ‘in-between’ tasks, which is understandable. I have not ruled out this option though, its a good way to get your foot in the door. 

Moving on from education, I have started to look at employment opportunities.

Jobs - I have been browsing jobs websites looking at creative vacancies. It became clear that most companies ask for you to be competent with Adobe creative suite, most commonly photoshop, illustrator and indesign, even if it is not clear how these would be relevant to the job. I think I need to use this year to learn a lot about these programs so I have more confidence in saying that I would be able to use these programs effectively. Some jobs  found actually sounded really interesting, I just don't know whether they are specific enough to what I do for me to fulfil the requirements of the position. 

Part time work - Another option for me is to get a part time job which would allow me time to develop my own practice alongside this. I would want this job to connect to the creative industry too so I can be learning relevant skills while I am working and not doing something mind numbing that I would grow to hate. I will need some form of definite income to fund my living expenses/rent/board. 

Lisa Congdon - Design Matters Podcast

http://designobserver.com/feature/lisa-congdon/39265

I analysed this podcast as part of my contest of practice preparation but I felt like there was some good advice here relevant to PPP. 

"This is the dirty part of the business that no one ever talks about. All of the other stuff, making art, working with clients, promoting the business, etc, felt easy and fun. But I was in debt after years of careless spending while I had a decent paying full time job. I knew that if I was going to be self employed I needed to pay off my debt and become as adept as possible at managing my money."

• Lisa Congdon spoke openly and honestly about her money issues and it got me thinking about how I am going to manage financially when I leave university. I am fairly good with money but I think now is the time to really start saving so I have a backup fund if things don't go my way. I wont have a student loan to rely on next year! 
• Being a student has taught me a lot about managing my money and having had a number of jobs since the age of sixteen, I have learnt that earning is hard work and you're not always doing something you enjoy. 
• I think I do need to look into financial issues I may face next year to be as prepared as possible for the real world of work. 

Co-owned a shop/gallery - learned a lot of valuable business skills though this process. 

• Buying a shop/gallery with one of her friends was Lisa Congdon's way of getting out of a job she didn't enjoy. From this she learnt a lot of valuable business skills. 
• Although I am not in any position to do anything like this at the moment, it is important for me to take any opportunity I can to learn about business skills. 
• How can I do this? Read books about it. Read online about it. Speak to people who have done it before, my dad for example set up his own business over ten years ago and is self employed. 

Connecting with people all over the world at this point in time was easier than ten years previous but not as simple as it is today. 

• I am already trying to take advantage of this, although my instagram and facebook has been slack over summer. I could probably make a greater effort with my social media accounts if I gave them more time (for professional purposes). 
• Maybe its a case of needing to do more things so there is more to put on them! I feel like I need to keep people engaged with my practice if I want to maintain a steady following of people interested in what I do. 

Tipping point - its not one single thing that propels you to success, people start to show and interest and it just grows from there. 

• I really need to keep this in the back of my mind all the time. I hate feeling demoralised when things progress really slowly but sometimes that can't be helped.
• However I don't entirely agree with what she says about one single thing propelling you to success. I still think it is really important to take any opportunities I am given as who knows what it might lead to. Maybe saying yes to one thing could be the thing that gets the ball rolling. 

You need a strong sense of how much you deserve to be paid - you learn this as you go but having an agent to begin with is helpful money-wise. 

• I need to feel lie I deserve payment and that my time is worth something. 
• It is interesting what she says about having an agent before entering the creative industry totally alone. I feel like this is something I need to look into as a possibility post-uni. I'm not sure quite how agencies function so it will do me good to read up on that. 

Own it as something worthwhile and as something we should be paid to do. 

• Don't put myself down so much!
• Work hard to make things I am proud of.