Two portfolio visits in one day.

I had another portfolio visit today with Matt Bray and Chris Madden at half past twelve whilst they were both on their lunch break. I went to Afflex palace for an hour after finishing my review at The Neighbourhood, jotted down some notes over a cup of chamomile and spiced apple tea, then headed over to meet the boys for a bite to eat.

Matt Bray is my 'guru'. This was a scheme set up by my tutors at university, where they paired each member of my class with a graduate, so that we would have a main point of contact for advice. I last saw Matt before Christmas back when I was working towards another big deadline. He said he remembered how lost I was, and how I told him that I wanted a change in direction and wasn't quite sure how I was going to go about it.
Today he told me that he was so happy to see that I had my head screwed on and had come so far since Christmas. He and Chris Madden were really excited by my work and seemed to like what I was doing.

I did all the talking (surprise surprise), and when I had finished what I had to say, I think I was actually a little surprised by myself because I was clear at putting across what it is I want to do. I told them about the voluntary work I was doing and the plans I have for my degree show, and the pair of them kept nodding and seemed to agree with what I had in mind. It really gave me confidence, and made me believe myself.
I took out the postcards I have had printed and told them about my business cards (because they haven't arrived yet) and I got positive comments on those too. I mentioned the idea of printing my work in a newspaper for the degree show in June, to include more of the 'Making of Photographs' and some writing to accompany them. Chris said that this was a great idea, and it would be like a professional scrapbook, and would really help to support my work.

Chris' overall summary to me was "I have never met you before, but I can tell that you have direction and you know exactly what to do." This was especially good to hear from someone I have never met before, because it means that I am managing to portray myself in a professional manner. He also said that he could tell from my portfolio, that I clearly wanted to progress and find jobs via my 3D work, and that the work experience pages would really help with this.

I mentioned that I would like to have a go at window displays and the guys came up with a good idea and suggested I head over to Fred Aldous art shop and ask if I can go and decorate their windows. Matt was also keen to take one of my postcards to show his boss to see if I could maybe go and dress their window too!!

Portfolio Review with Steve Swanborough at The Neighbourhood.

At 10am this morning, I headed to the Northern Quarter to go and meet a successful friend of mine who now works at The Neighbourhood. Steve Swanborough graduated from Stockport College two years ago now, and has managed to work his way to being a junior designer/animator for the creative studio. He was a very busy bee, so I really appreciated the time he spent looking through my work.

He said that by looking at my portfolio, he could clearly see that I had selected the pieces of work that best suited me and showed what I want/would like to do. The main worry I had with my portfolio was the amount of work that is in it. It has slowly become smaller because I have taken everything out that I thought wasn't up to standard, or didn't really reflect what I would like to do. Luckily, one of the things that Steve said about my portfolio, was that he could tell I hadn't just added 'page fillers' which is something he sees a lot of graduates do.

He also told me to take advantage of the fact we finish earlier than most other Universities, and think of it as a head start. Network before the show starts and put yourself out there before the rest of the graduate competition gets a chance! It was refreshing to hear from someone that they believe that you know what you are doing. Steve told me that it was good to know that I didn't just expect to have a job once I have a degree, and that I am fully aware I will have to work hard to get any attention from employers. He felt confident that I knew what to do after I have graduated.

Because Steve is an animator, he was looking for images in my portfolio that he thought he would be able to bring to life. He said that the small handmade 3D objects I made, such as the cardboard birds and hammers look really good to animators. So when I show my portfolio to anyone else, it may be a good idea to think about how some things could be animated and mention it to whoever I am showing it to.

And the main advice given to me from Steve, was to find work experience and look for internships, because that is the best way to get your foot in to the industry!

Hope, Fears and Opportunities Part2

When I returned to university last September, I hoped that in the year to come, I would finally find out who I am as in illustrator/designer and have some idea of what I want to do after graduation.

I can now say that I most certainly have a clearer idea of what I am going to do with my life, post degree. I am also trying to leave myself with many options to explore along the way; by firstly taking a managerial role at the company I currently work for- looks good on the CV!

It became clear to me this year is that, although I am indeed doing an illustration degree, I do not want to be a freelance illustrator. The idea of possibly having huge gaps between work has never appealed to me personally. I really want to focus my time on looking for more active job roles that reflect my personality. Call me crazy, but unsociable hours and constant demand, is much more appealing to me.

One thing that I hope to maintain, is my passion for creativity. For me, it doesn't necessarily matter what my actual job title/description is as such, so long as I continue to explore and be creative. I believe this is what will carry me through and (fingers crossed) make me successful.

Something else I have also managed achieve this year, is to stay true to my working methods. I have found a way of working that feels natural to me, and now have the confidence to explore and combine new techniques in order to show that my work is adaptable, and can be applied to a 3-dimensional environment. I really want to continue applying myself in this way. I have been taking photographs of my work for my major project and working in to them with collage and hand drawn type, and some of the outcomes are really exciting!

The biggest fear that I have for the future is getting 'stuck in a rut’. I am scared that once I leave university and go on to work as a full time manager, I may get sucked in to the 9-5 comfortable routine and forget where I really want to be. I guess this is why my biggest hope is to keep the passion. There is no rush, and I know that because I eventually want a career in retail and merchandising, I will have to work my way through many other job roles. I just don't want t lose heart.

In terms of opportunities, there is nothing I expect. I have learnt in the past year that there are no expectations. The only opportunities I will come across will be the ones I have created for myself. Of course by chance, the perfect job may come up, but it all comes down to how I apply myself and make the most of what is around me. I am a lot more confident than I was a year ago and feel as though I am capable of making the best of myself.

Creative Review.

Last month we had a 'creative review' session at university. This is a group discussion, where everyone brings in an article, a film, and a book that they would highly recommend.

I chose to take in my 'Craft Makers Guide to Photography', and although I had only browsed a few of the pages that seemed most relevant to me at the time, I knew that it was a super helpful book and it was encouraging me to learn about, and understand my own camera.

Subsequently this book has become very important throughout my Major Project, as I’m sure you can tell. I have struggled with organising time with a photography student, so I have just gone ahead, got stuck in, and had a go at it myself.

Another girl in my group brought in Moonrise Kingdom, a Wes Anderson film I could not believe I hadn't seen, so that week I went out and bought myself a copy. It was a beautifully ridiculous film; although you wouldn't rally expect anything less. It is a story of two twelve-year-olds, who fall in love and run away on an adventure together.

The characters were awkward, intriguing and loveable.

It was interesting to see such a juxtaposition of ideas, in the sense that, the characters were intended to be incredibly naive, yet they tackled rather complex and mature circumstances. Even though the youngsters struggled to articulate themselves as loners, they could openly discuss problems such as depression.

Bill Murray portrays the perfect wacky and overprotective father, providing 'old school' humour that you can't help but laugh at, like throwing a shoe at a sheriff's head with anger, or the casual comment of a 'true' man- "I'm going outside to find a tree to chop"!

Don't let the front cover of the DVD put you off. I already knew a little bit about the film, but when I took it from the shelf and my friend saw the cover, she instantly thought it looked dull. I recommend you watch it!

Major Project Progress.

I Just thought I would post an update on how my major project is going so far. I have spent several days carrying around stuffed jeans and other various props (and had a lot of funny looks along the way). I really wanted to get some crude photographs of my work so that I could then alter them on photoshop and rework in to them with collage and hand drawn typography.

Some of the outcomes are really exciting! And because there is huge focus on the history of the Levis brand within my project, my tutor suggested that I incorporate the famous red tag in some of my final images. This way that can be used in my portfolio as posters intended for a particular client.

I then have a few other photographs that I have taken for portfolio purposes. When I spoke to Lord Whitney about my work, they said it would be interesting to get some 'in the making' images. I got a few photographs of me working on  a small set against a white backdrop and zoomed the camera out so that you could see all of the tools I was using and a glimpse of the studio in the bag round.

I really liked the images, so I decided to use it as the header on my website and also used it as the main image for my business cards (along with some collaged typography) of course!

I am now working on a new set of photographs I have taken. I am currently editing them in photoshop and thinking what else i can possibly add. I am not sure that type will work on these?

Here's a sneak preview...

Portfolio review? A Business and prospects chat.

Yesterday afternoon I met up with Moni, a very successful, young Visual Merchandiser currently working for Pandora. Fresh from a company meeting, he took me over to a near by bar where we sat chatting for an hour or so.
Although there was the intention of having a portfolio review, for what I want to do, it was more relevant to have a long business chat.
He began by asking me why I was interested in Visual Merchandising and I told him that it really appeals to me because I want to do something active and creative, yet also linked to another huge personal interest; fashion.

To Moni, the main thing that got him to where he is now is passion. He mentioned this word to me several times during our discussion. He said that if I really want to pursue a career in this field I must be prepared to work hard for it and either work for free, or start at the bottom. This is something I knew I would have to do. I have never worked in fashion/retail before so in order to get a 'foot in the doorway', as he put it, I would need to find voluntary job opportunities or apply for a job at base level and spend time working my way up. He told me to just apply for any job that seems relevant, keep looking for opportunities and take them, most companies promote in house so you never know if it could lead on to something else. The important thing is to stay with a particular company for a year rather than 6 months if you plan to move on; it looks much better on the CV.
"It's all about experience" is what Moni kept repeating, and it's up to me how I intend to get that.

One thing he did regret was not taking photographs of what he has done. He said that it is a good idea to be in the habit of recording my work and keeping a portfolio as evidence to show other employers. I will most certainly make sure I always have a camera!

Moni was extremely chatty and was more than willing to tell me all about his experience and how he moved from working out on the floor at French Connection, to then work alongside the Visual Merchandising team before becoming a VM himself. He has never done a creative degree; he just has a really good eye and knows what works and what doesn't.  The job at Pandora was brought to his attention after he left French Connection, and although he felt unsure about working with jewellery, he took on the challenge and really enjoys his job.

He told me to join the Manchester Fashion Network which I am currently doing as I am writing this post. There seems to be quite a few internship opportunities on there at the moment and they keep you updated with any other events that may be of use and interesting for those who want a career in the fashion/creative industry.

I have been offered a job as a manager at the company I work for at the moment. I asked Moni what he thought, because I have been sitting on the fence wondering whether it is too good an opportunity to turn down, or whether I should be looking for a job that suits what I want to do in the future. Because this job I have been offered is a foolproof fast track scheme to management, he said that it doesn't matter that it is in a restaurant, it looks good on your CV to say you have been a manager of some sort.
I think that managing others will not only give me more experience, but give me some extra confidence to throw myself at other highly responsible job roles. I am constantly looking for retail jobs and visual merchandising roles, so when it is meant to be it is meant to be.

I know that I am going to have to work my way through perhaps different companies and job roles to get to where i want to be, but I think I have some sort of plan and I'm feeling good!!!!!!!!

An unexpected meet.

I went in to town this morning to go and get myself some new art materials from Fred Aldous and then I went over to Selfridges to go and buy the iphone case I have been wanting and looking at online for the past few weeks. I got chatting the lovely girl at the till as per usual and told her what I was studying at University and that I wanted to eventually end up in visual Merchandising. Just as we finished our conversation, she told me that the guy who had been stood behind her moments before, was in fact the head of VM at that store. 

She waltzed me over to speak to him but I could only manage to hold his attention for five minutes because he said he had been working since half past 6 in the morning, that, and the fact his phone was constantly ringing in his pocket.

I just asked him how he got in to the visual merchandising role, and he told me that he had worked in retail/fashion stores whilst studying and that slowly worked his way up once he could work solid hours after he had graduated. Most of the other people he worked with had also worked in fashion stores too.

He also said that most of the VMs he knew had either art or arts/design degrees. In fact it sounded as though it was more popular for them to have a degree in design rather than any studies in fashion at all.

So at least I learnt a little something today:

1.Visual Merchandising offers some long and unsociable hours (I do this now in a job I'm not all that passionate about so I am sure I could deal with that if I can VM)

2. My degree in Illustration will definitely help

3. It helps to perhaps find a job lower down in the chain at a fashion retail store..

Some tasty advice from the professionals.

Ok, so it is fair to say that I lost my bearings a little bit last week. It has only just hit me how soon I finish University and how I need to start pulling all the strings together for my Final Project. I have gotten so caught up in making lots of 3D objects that I lost sight of what to actually do with them all.

The main worry for me is how to present my work for 'hand in' and what to do with my portfolio. I still want to include my flat collage illustration work as well as the 3d sets I have been creating. So who would be more perfect to ask than Lord Whitney?

So here is the incredibly helpful email I received back from Amy Lord:

"Hi Jadine,

Firstly don't panic! Your work looks lovely and you'll look back at this moment and be all like 'what the hell was I fretting about!' trust me!

I think photography is the key to presenting these things at uni and ready for life in the real world. As you will always need some sort of digital image if you are going to use them on the web or to send to people. 

With the subject being jeans it might be quite interesting to look at fashion photography as there are many different styles and you might be able to tie this research into your project I know levis adds have always been quite iconic it might be good to look at these they might spark a style. One suggestion would be to maybe collaborate with a photography student on this - i know that might be hard with everyone so busy at this time of year but they might want some more work for their portfolio too, maybe speak to the photography tutor they might know of someone. It is hard Bek really struggled with this at uni as it's impossible to be good at everything! Finding a photographer is the best bet, maybe even a 2nd year?!?

Another idea if you were thinking of staging an exhibition is to do exactly that and just stage one? All you need is a blank wall and you could set something up as if it was in an exhibition and photograph it? Or display it in a window? not sure where i'm going with this.... just thinking maybe think outside the box a bit...

With your portfolio it will be hard as your piece will probably be a jumble of stuff- like ours- rather than neat finshed one sheet piece of work. Maybe think about creating some sort of mood board/layouts for a project showing the making and designing stages too? we always love seeing that side of thing but then with a nice finished photo. If you want to come over at some point we will have a bit of time i think at the start of May? is that too late?

Hope this helps, feel free to fire over any more questions or pics anytime!

Amy

x"

I have gone ahead spoken to the tutor who runs the commercial photography course at university and I have booked some studio time with a 1st year student in a couple of weeks. Sadly it is going to be quite close to my final deadline, but at least I can make sure everything is completely ready and maybe even think of some more ideas. I will have a little bit of time to tweak the images too if necessary. I have been looking at other designers photography work so that I can show the photography student what it is I want.

Image source: http://www.annalomax.com/#/project/creative-review-photography-annual/ [18.04.13]

This Creative Review cover by Anna Lomax is a perfect example to show how I want my work to look. I like the fact you can see the studio space behind. My images are quite crude so I don't mind people being able to see that perhaps there is a piece of string holding something up, or that the floor has a bit of paint on it etc..

Lord Whitney have also said that I can email some of my photographs over to them as soon as they are read. That way, they can let me know what they think and I can act upon any advice given before the deadline.

I have also taken them up on the offer of a portfolio visit in May. The girls have an exciting exhibition in Leeds called Mock and Roll, which will run until the 7th of May- Perfect timing! I can always go and see the show before going to visit their studio.

Stockport Carnival.

In July there is a carnival held in Stockport town centre, where local charities put together their own themed floats and travel around promoting what they do and generally having a bit of fun. 

Joanne Macey, from Age Uk in Stockport, contacted my tutors at university asking them if they had any students that would be willing to help out with the making of the float, and take part in the carnival itself.

Of course I jumped at the chance to get making, and yesterday I attended my first meeting with the rest of the workers involved in the project. The theme everyone had decided on was a 1950's diner, so Joanne had an image on this table for us all to use for inspiration. 

They have not yet managed to find a lorry to use, therefore things like seating and a diner counter can not yet be decided on because we do not know how big to make them. Instead we have began itemising everything we need, deciding whether not it can be found or borrowed from other people or whether it needs to be handmade.

Some jobs have already been handed out, and as soon as the words "3D Cardboard Juke box" were mentioned, I stepped up to take the role. Once we have made all of the props, we can start to think about the actual diner set.

I have also thought about making a cardboard hamburger and fries to glue on to a tray and position it on the end of the counter. I have just made a half eaten sandwich recently, so why not make some more foods?

Because the carnival isn't until July, there is not real rush to get everything done. I finish university in May so this gives me something fun to do once the Major project is over. We have another meeting at the end of the month so there will be more ideas to come!!

Stepping in to gear.

So today I had a well needed 'crit' with my group at University, we all presented the work we have done so far on our final projects and discussed how we would use the weeks we have left. I was panicking to begin with because I felt as though I hadn't really had a particularly productive easter, but once I began to hear what amazing things everyone else is doing, it really got me pumped up and ready to go again.

I have a lot of ideas, I feel as though I am back in to the routine at University, so now I can just get on with it. Being back in the work environment amongst other creative people always gives me a boost and that's what today did for me! I am still creating all the elements I want to be displayed in my end of year show and managed to find a lot of the props I needed over the easter holidays whilst spending hours cleaning out my boyfriend's family shed/garage.

 Now I have started to think about how I can produce some imagery to hand in at the start of May. I have thought about photographing some of my 3D creations in different compositions and then forming layers over them with collage and some hand rendered type.

Here is an example of something I have seen on the Beach London website:

Image is a screen shot from the homepage of the Beach London Website.

I really like the idea of printing and then working on to my own photography, because I am not really confident with a camera so I guess this way I can disguise or even make the most of some of the 'rough' areas with some extra collage and hand drawing. It also brings together all the techniques I have always enjoyed working with, and knits them all together successfully (or so I hope).

I also think that photographs of my messy/crazy desk and works in progress would be good to use for my website. Again I can work in to them with type and could perhaps use them as project thumbnails or even as a main header for my homepage.
Here an example I have found on a short video by Zim and Zou on vimeo. I think this image works well on its own and would work as a main image on a website or perhaps the front page of a portfolio

Image is a screent shot from A Zim and Zou film on Vimeo

Happy Planet (Beind the scenes)

Available at: http://vimeo.com/58174324 [11.04.13]

Final Project Progress.

For my final major project, I wanted to focus on the book 'People Watching' written by Desmond Morris. Mainly because I am a nosey parker, and I am always interested in watching people, analysing there behaviour and mannerisms.

I just began reading without really knowing what I might find, in the hope that something would spark off some creative ideas.

I found a really interesting section surrounding what and why we wear the clothes that we do and there was a particular focus on the history of jeans. Morris states that Jeans are responsible for a change in teenage behaviour and refers to the 'flop out period' which is what he says to be a time when youngsters began to sit on the floor rather than on conventional seating. The reason behind this change in behaviour is down to the trousers they were wearing, jeans are a long hardwearing item, so people felt as though they could go ahead and sit on the floor without damaging their clothing.

The first thing I decided to do was create my own sculptures of some of the scenarios mentioned, such as reading from books whilst studying. Youngsters in jeans would feel comfortable reading whilst lying on the floor rather than sitting on chairs.
I have made a 3D cardboard book with a section of text from Morris' book painted on, and have also stuffed a pair of old jeans with newspaper. The jeans will be somehow fixed to the book as though they have fallen in to it whilst reading.

My 3d book. Still awaiting black lines to be painted on the side to look like pages.

Me and my friend Mr Stuffed Jeans.

I then went on to research the history of Levis, of course the most iconic and recognisable designer of jeans. I found a timeline that shows the key moments throughout the companies growth. I decided to pick out the most important symbols and pieces of information and have begun making and finding these things.

Jeans started out as workwear, for those in hard labour; such as builders. They were also worn by cowboys for horse riding, before going on to be used as performance gear by cyclists. Levi Strauss and Jacob davis (A tailor from Reno, Navada) worked together to create the first pair of Blue Jeans named 'XX'. They were made using the trademark rivets, which were responsible for giving the jeans such great strength.

The beginnings of 3D builders tools. The first X for the 'XX' logo.

 Pages from my sketchbook showing some of the key concepts/ symbols.

My next step is to find more pairs of jeans (I am currently asking everyone I know for donations), I am then going to stuff the pairs of jeans and mould them in various positions in order to show some of the different roles they have been used in. I am also thinking about painting on to some of the jeans to perhaps tell the specific story behind them, things like where a tear may have occurred, or what created a stain etc.

I also making as well as looking for props such as tools, and cowboy hats. Just generally gathering all of the elements together so that I can go ahead and put them in to compositions and think about how they will be arranged as an exhibition for the end of year show.

A dabble in the world of prop making.

For a few weeks in January, I took on some extra work, helping my classmate Sam walker in her new and exciting job as a prop maker. We were working on the set for a Channel 4 Period Drama that will be shown on television later in the year. I can not really give a lot of information away, but what I can say is that we were required to make three types of cotton bails. It was our job to make sure that we wrapped the bails correctly to represent which country they are supposed to be from, as well as make sure they look authentic, when in fact they are made internally of polystyrene (Real cotton bails would be extremely hard to manoeuver). We had to utilise the materials we were given, making sure we did not have any wastage, as well as constantly think about the time period in which the drama is set.

I was mainly helping Sam, who has in fact landed a job in prop making, but it still felt strange to be given so much responsibility in creating something we knew needed to be perfect. At first we were constantly wondering if what we were doing was 'right', but it was really just a case of trusting ourselves and thinking like the design students that we are; and the final bails looked great!

I also got to spend a day making some really dirty and old looking net curtains. I rolled fabric around in puddles, rubbed it in to the gravel with my shoes, and hacked at it with a pair of scissors. What better way to spend your day?! The weather stayed clear which was fortunate because we had to work outside, but the sun was shining and I had so much fun.

Learning from Lord Whitney.

Third image taken by Betty Lawless for Leeds Inspired. Check out her other amazing work on her website:http://www.bettylawless.co.uk/

I went to spend my last day working with Lord whitney on 'The old Clock shop' on the 22nd of February, I chauffeured the cardboard clocks over to The Nation of Shopkeepers, Applied some clock faces to the interior wall they had created, and went on the hunt for a lovely blue Military style jacket (in the most amazing shop I have ever stepped foot in!) with Kate, their fabulous assistant.
The jacket was for the performers, who would also wear a large headpiece made to look like bird. If you managed to walk past the window at the right time, you would have seen an actor dressed as a cuckoo, appear from the doors of a huge clock in the centre of the window display, with bird puppets in their hands.

Here I am in a world of costume. 

In my element!

It was really good to see the final stages of the installation, It made me realise how many small yet important things there are left to do when you hit the home run. Things like lighting, cleaning, wall fixtures, and maybe another lick of paint where needed.
Most of the work will also need to be done in a studio, so you have to produce all of the elements before you can actually go in to the window itself. That's why you must always have a plan and be constantly thinking about how everything is going to work when you move it in to the window space.

Amy Lord told me that the main thing you need to get used to when working in windows, is that you almost have to think backwards, because you are of course going to need to apply your elements to the glass and at the front of the window before working your way back. Otherwise you obstruct any entry back in to the space to make adjustments. It is also important to get all the DIY done too before you even begin to decorate the space. It is important to make sure that everything is secure and that you have all the wood, nails, bolts, lights etc in place before you can start thinking about all the 'fancy stuff'.

A fabulous photographer called Betty Lawless documented a lot of the work going on both at the LW studio and of the final installation. Here is the image she uploaded to instagram, it shows a perfect action shot of the final window display:

Check out BettyLawless on instagram @ https://instagr-am.appspot.com/u/bettylawless/

This monday evening Lord Whitney gathered all the volunteers together in a pub in leeds. We sat chatting over a bowl of chips, cheese and salsa (very tasty!) and a glass of rose wine. They thanked us for our help and handed over a card and some flyers for us to keep. It was really good to see everyone again, I have met some lovely people and I will look forward to seeing them again, which I'm sure I will-  a trip to the chinese buffet with a few of the other volunteers has already been mentioned.

'Nonsense'

Lord Whitney came to visit us at Stockport College not so long ago and set us a fun brief, in order to relieve us of the dreaded thoughts about our final projects, and get us making something.
They set us the task of illustrating any of Edward Lear's 'nonsense' stories (Find a collection of his work here)

I chose a the small tale of Mr Lear, The Polly and The Pussybite.

"Mr. Lear goes out a walking with Polly and the Pusseybite. Mr. Lear, feeling tired, and also the Polly and the Pusseybite, sit down on a wall to rest.

Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite go into a shop to buy a Numbrella, because it began to rain. Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite having purchased umbrellas, proceed on their walk.

Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite arrive at a bridge, which being broken they do not know what to do. Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite all tumble promiscuous into the raging river and become quite wet.

A page missing here from the manuscript.

Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite peruse their journey in a benevolent boat. Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite incidentally fall over an unexpected cataract, and are all dashed to atoms.

A page missing here from the manuscript.

The 2 venerable Jebusites fasten the remains of Mr. Lear, the Polly and the Pusseybite, but fail to reconstruct them perfectly as 3 individuals.

Mr. Lear and the Pusseybite and the Pollycat and the 2 Jebusites and the Jerusalem Artichokes and the Octogonal Oysterclippers all tumble into a deep hole and are never seen or distinguished or heard of never more afterwards."

I have mentioned in my previous posts, that I have had chance to think about what it is I would like to do after University, so I thought it would be best to tackle this brief with a new approach. I decided to start working in 3D, without jumping too far away from my flat collage work, after all this was a first attempt at this sort of thing.

I made a flat collage version of the image too, just to keep both working methods running alongside each other. I think that this helps me work out how I am going to bring all the separate elements to life, as well as show a diverse range of work in my portfolio.

Lorraine Owen from The Organisation

Lorraine, an Illustration agent from 'The organisation', came in to speak to us last Monday (18th February. It was very generous of her to come and spend some of her time talking to us and giving  us very clear and knowledgable advice about the working industry.

She told us about the benefits of having our own agent. I have always been quite naive about the 'business side' of things, and never really knew how you would go about finding an agent, or what you would necessarily need one for. I guess what I found most important, was that she said by having an agent, it almost suggests that you have already been pre-selected, therefore you are professional and reliable.

It also seems as though it would be a good idea to have an agent if you want to work solely as a commercial illustrator, but do not necessarily know how to advertise yourself or set a price for the work that you do. Lorraine said that one of the benefits of having an agent, is that you are able to 'stick at what you know and do best'- that way someone else can do the rest of the hard work for you.

Although her expertise lie in Children's book illustration, she still had an overall idea of what most clients want to see within an illustration portfolio. 

Key themes she said to include in every portfolio are:

Finance

Travel

Maps

Black and White

Beauty

and The Human Figure/ Characters.

It is also a good idea to include as much subject matter as possible, so that clients can see that you are capable of representing anything, rather than having a whole series of Cats throughout your portfolio, and then someone needing parrots. A portfolio can be tailored to suit whoever it is you are going to visit, and you can also make everything look as though it has already been used. For example, if you think an illustration could work as a magazine cover, then go ahead and make it look as though it has been used as one already! 

Although I still want to build on my illustration work, I also spoke to Lorraine about seeking more active, creative roles in areas such as visual merchandising and window displays. She liked the work I had to offer in my portfolio so said to keep building on that, and it terms of finding a job to suit my own needs, it would be best to look for work experience and constantly be adding everything to my portfolio and CV.

Working with The Lord and The Whitney

I have recently been helping Lord Whitney at their studio, creating elements that will be used as part of a window installation in 'The Window of Opportunities Gallery at Nation of Shopkeepers' in Leeds. I can now say that I am a pro cardboard cutter after making several 3D clocks and birds, all made from cardboard and tape.

The project has been funded by 'Leeds Inspired' and will be up and running by the end of next week. I don't want give too much away, because the installation is a bit of a surprise. At the moment there is a huge egg on display, suggesting that something is going to be born. Something will happen, but nobody knows what is it is yet.

I will be spending some more time with the girls next week, putting up the display, so when it is all finished and open to the public, I will upload some photographs for you all to see!


This has been perfect work experience for me because this is similar to the kind of work I want to produce when I graduate. I must Thank Lord Whitney for the opportunity, and for getting me involved in physically putting the installation in to the window. They knew what would be more beneficial for me and it will be great to see how everything fits in to the space.

Portfolio review with Ross Von Rosenberg

"Hey Jadine, hope you are well. Sorry I'm just now getting my comments back to you. The New year has been a very busy one so far. Hope you had a great New Years. Anyway, I've taken a look at the PDF you sent me. And I've got some comments, that you can take or leave, but above all I hope that they are helpful.

Overall I think you're off to a good start. A global comment, like how you have a layed out your little descriptive note at the bottom of each page. The only thing I would say is that the leaf illustration, which I assume is kind of a repeating trademark, could stand to be about 25% smaller. Right now it kind of dominates the information at the bottom of each page. If it is smaller, you can lock it up with the information better to make it appear as more of a cohesive unit. Also, maybe try a cleaner san serif font for the information. I think what you have is fine but it might be something worth looking at.

A few comments on your pieces for the BMW Warm Heart Fund. I think the first page of the pamphlet is the stronger of the 2 illustrations. The horse in this one feels more unique and finished. Overall on that page I feel the compositional layout of the illustration works and has good balance. Comparatively the illustration on the second page I don't not feel is as strong. Composition wise, I feel the tree is competing with the horse, they both have a similar weight within the layout. Also the main elements within the layout don't have any over lap which inhibits the illusion of depth within the composition. Also comparatively the first horse has lots of interesting textures and patterns going on in it, where as the second horse is kind of monotone and it flattens out the image. Also, it's hard for me to comment on the typography too much because I don't speak or read any Asian dialects. But my main comment in regards to the type is that I think it would improve the visual interest of both layouts if the typography interacted with illustrations more. If the two interact more and compliment each other more then it will make the piece more dynamic.

Lastly I think you can combine the last two pages. Placing the shirt layout, and the shirt photo on the same page. Place the emphasis on the illustrated version rather than the photo example. This will make the illustration the most important thing on the page which is how it should be.

I like the plate and cup illustrations a lot. Just a couple presentations comments. The first of the 2 pages should show the isolated illustrations, one each, you don't need the cup illustration twice. The second page show your photograph of the illustrations on the plate ware in context. One note on the photo, if you can clip the image out so that we can't see the photo edges and then plate ware will be on the page of seamless white. It's presentation will be cleaner.

Love the "As It Was" illustration. No other comments there.

I also really like the "Creation of Woman" spread. The only thing I'm wondering is maybe there is something that can be done, typographically, on the cover. I like the bindings and the craft looking paper used, but I feel a wanting to see something on on that cover.

Anyway, that is all of the comments I have at this time. I hope you find them helpful. I think you off to a great start and I can't wait to see the final product. Hope that 2013 has been treating you well. All my best.

Ross von Rosenberg"

I will take all of these comments and put them in to action, they all make sense to me. I am glad that He thinks my 'As it was' illustration was very strong because I used to think so myself.The second image for the BMW warm heart fund isn't as strong I do agree, I wasn't sure whether to completely remove that from the portfolio or not; this is an option.

The leaf image at the bottom was a mock up really just to see if it would look good with a reoccurring icon on each page so I will go ahead and make it smaller, and maybe even change the actual image itself.

All of the help with the layout and format is great! I can always sense when something doesn't feel quite right but it's often hard to see what actually needs to be done without getting somebody else with a keen eye to take a look.

So I must say thank you to Ross again for his super helpful response to my email and taking the time to report back to me with some advice that I can act upon.