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!

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]

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.

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.

What is illustration?

The word 'Illustration', in terms of a job role, can not easily be defined. It is one of the many disciplines that fall under the genre of 'Art', and it is one that is often being questioned by fellow artists and critics.

"As our visual language evolves, the playing field is levelling. Graphic designers, sculptors, painters, creative developers, and even musicians amorphously meander across different parts of our creative industries. As a consequence, I often wonder what the term 'Illustration' now means. Maybe as a medium it might need to do more than vocationalise aesthetics and cultivate a broader palate of profundity for its own survival" Michael Salu. Artistic director of Granta Magazine 2012 Varoom.

First of all I find this statement rather contradictory; Salu has stated that musicians and sculptors etc, work across different areas of the arts industry, yet he does not question their meaning. There seems to be a fascination with trying to define illustration as well as questioning its content and motives, perhaps because it had recently stepped in to the foreground of the design industry and is continuing to evolve?

The definition of illustration is "a. The act of clarifying and explaining" Farlex 2012, and this is our main role. I am not sure that there needs to be a name change for illustration, although I am aware that there is a presumption of how an illustrator is expected to approach a task. Salu says that illustrators need to "cultivate a broader palate of profundity" and I have to agree. I do believe that it is important for an illustrator to be able to work across different fields; it makes you more knowledgeable, aware of all aspects of design, as well as broaden job opportunities. An illustrator can explain an idea through sculpture if necessary or adapt their work in to animation; they just need to have a keen eye to be able to visualise the correct medium to suit the brief, and execute it successfully.
Lord Whitney Create life sized illustrations and installations "Inspired by the nonsensical, humorous and the everyday, we approach each new project in an inventive and playful manner. Combining photography, prop making and set design with buckets of imagination"

Source: http://cargocollective.com/lordwhitney/JUST-SO-FESTIVAL

The line has indeed blurred between graphic designers and illustrators, When John Hill (The design editor of The Times) came in to speak to us at Stockport College, we asked him about his 'in house' team and he told us that he liked to mix them up, so they can dip in to other areas. Having people that had some understanding of all aspects of the job was important to him because he needed them all to be able to work well together.
People are not often aware that an illustrator can often do the job of a graphic designer too or visa versa for that matter, perhaps we need to advertise ourselves as more than an just an 'illustrator' because others may not be aware of what skills we have. We need state exactly what we are capable of.
Let's face it, clients are more likely to pay someone who can do more than one particular job, they will get more for their money.
Andre Da Loba is an illustrator who adapts his work to lift off the page, his website even has a link titled 'Catagories' so the Clients can actually look to see exactly what they will be able to use his work for.

Screen shot of website:http://www.andredaloba.com/

This is why I find it extremely important for me to create a portfolio that reflects all that I can do. I want clients to see my imagination and how I can turn an idea in to something visual as well as see my designs in a wide range of contexts. I can show my best illustrations, yes, but I can also show you how I can adapt them in to different outcomes.

Website Research.

I do not yet have my own website, blogging is how I roll right now, but I know that I both want and need one in the near future. I am aware that we will be taught how to create our own websites at University towards the end of the year and so of course it would be a good idea to have a look at what already exists. See which websites are successful and why? I will also take note of the features I do not like, and by going through the process I should end up with some idea of how I would like me website to look.

Oliver Jeffers' home page, http://www.oliverjeffers.com/, has a very simplistic and professional look, not entirely reflective of the work he produces but probably more of his studio space. His name exists in his well known handwriting, but the links below it remain in a bold and clear type, it reminds me more or a photographers website. It doesn't say too much and I like that, because it means you have to go further to see the actual images of his work.

Interesting, because during our time at Charles Hively's house/studio, he said that photographers are the ones who know how to present and promote themselves. If you want to see a website done properly, then you should look at ones created by photographers. Art directors generally want to see a gallery of final images, with thumbnails alongside so that they can randomly select which ones they want to observe.

Ian Crawford's is a great example, I really like the layout of this website, all the information needed remains in the left column whilst the images you select blow up to fill the rest of the space on the right.
http://www.iaincrawford.com/

Default images also appear when you click on one of the subheadings before you even chose to select from the thumbnails given. These images can be carefully selected as the ones that are most well known or successful.
However I would like an area were people can interact with the website, perhaps where small illustrations are the links themselves. They could even move when you click on them or there could be an animated icon in the corner.

There are many photography websites out there that are a little too basic for my liking. I want to hold people's attention, so I am not fond of scrolling down endless streams of images with no interesting links to anything other than random final pieces. With a teeny tiny font being used at the side of the page, that strains my eyes.

I want viewers to enjoy looking through my website and be surrounded by my illustrations almost as though they are stepping in to my world. Beatrice Alemagna's website: http://www.beatricealemagna.com/ gives me this feeling, everywhere I go I am presented with another one of her characters, even in the 'contact' section.

Guru Meeting

Last Monday I stayed late after University to meet up with some of the old illustration and surface design graduates to discuss what they have done since leaving university. I spent a long time talking to Matt Bray who was incredibly helpful, giving me advice on how to use my final year at university wisely as well as giving me a list of events and opportunities that I really shouldn't miss. He told me that attending New Blood at then end of the year is an absolute must,because it is a chance to be proud and 'show off' what you can do and is ultimately where his book 'Bear have you been?' was noticed by someone he is now doing some work for.
He also said to stay in touch with other friends on my course because ultimately they are additions to my contact list, and provide options for collaborations. Matt himself is now part of a group called Foursight, with three other illustrators who all graduated from Stockport college last year.
I also have a list of printers and companies to use when printing my work on to products and making business cards etc, ones that have been given the Matt Bray seal of approval!

"About

We are a collective of four Manchester-based illustrators, who have joined forces to change the world… or just make some cool stuff.

We each have a different approach to illustration and design and by working together we want to learn from each other and hopefully create something a little bit amazing (at least that’s the plan)

We are Dominique Byron, Jordan O’Brien, Matt Bray and Kris Sale. 

This blog is a place for us to share what we’re up to, as well as other’s work that we’re into."

Source:http://wearefoursight.tumblr.com/about

I feel lucky to already know Matt in such a way that I feel comfortable talking to him as a friend and I have his contact details, so in the future if I need more help and advice, I will hopefully be able to speak to him once again and he can share his pearls of wisdom.

Tea, Beanbags and Zines

Thursday 13th September.

My illustration group met at Nexus Art Cafe in Manchester's Northern Quarter at 10am, ready for a morning of sipping fine tea and looking through their new addition; The Salford Zine Library. 

Next week we will be learning how to do perfect binding, taught by Lucy Wilson in the hope that we can use her technique and adapt it to suit our own style and method of work, and use it in future to create our own zines. 

It was really useful to look at existing zines in order to find out what I personally did and didn't like. I made note of the types of paper, realising I much preferred a thick textured paper rather than anything remotely glossy. I Loved seeing the stitching down the spine, all qualities that really show that it has been hand made. I took some photographs as examples of how they can be approached in different ways. The first image shows that the pages do not all need to be the same size which as an idea I would like to experiment with. The second image encourages the incorporation of writing/note taking as part of the book. I often find that a high percentage of my sketchbooks is me writing about all my ideas and theories which are really, the essence of my work. Why not include my notes to give my illustrations meaning. Finally the third image displayed a wide variation in compositions. Some illustrations were vignettes in the centre of the page and then when you turned over you would be faced with a full page spread or perhaps a small drawing placed in the corner of a page.

I will keep all of these ideas in mind for next week at university when creating my first zine (the contents of which will be my summer project). Below is an example of lucy wilson's beautifully bound sketchbooks, found at http://www.elizabethsheart.com/index.php?/new/sketchbooks/.

Personal project

I have been continuing with research for my personal project over the summer, surrounding the idea of women being an object of the male (and female) gaze. The amount of information and theories available is rather overwhelming, there are so many ideas I am interested in, and they all seem to interlink with one another.

Some of the key ideas I am focusing on are:

-Women must continuously watch themselves.
-Adam and Eve- She is to blame for the sin. Deviant, and feels shame.
-How women disguise what they truly look like and why do they feel it's necessary?
-Women try to differentiate themselves from the male species through behaviour and looks, yet they still do so to please men and want to be treated the same.
-Women replace a penis with fetish objects of 'extension' such as cigarettes and high heels

(Derived from John Berger Ways Of Seeing and Carolina Hein Laura Mulvey, Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema. seminar paper.)

So many paths to follow.
Here are some photographs of my sketchbook.

Personal Project. False Impressions.

I have had my head down in books for a while now reading through John Berger's theories on women, and I have recently ordered Laura Mulvey's essay titled "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema".
There are so many ideas surrounding the behaviour of women and how they are viewed by others; particularly men.


I have been looking at social networking sites and it is clear to see that women upload 'profile pictures' of themselves seeking for confirmation that they are attractive. This is the photograph that everyone will see when looking at your profile. It is their first impression of you, and quite often it is a fake one.
Women want people to believe that they are this false perfect version of themselves and when people respond to these images positively it makes us feel pretty even though we know that we very rarely look like this.


When looking through a fashion magazine, I was constantly faced with images of beautiful women advertising different make up and skin products. Presenting me with a false idea that somehow I will look the same if I use these products. Yet the photographs of these women were not realistic either, I found evidence of photo editing when looking at two different advertisements using the same model.

How do we even know if any of these photographs have any resemblance to how the model really looked. How can someone's eyebrows completely change shape, or someone's eyelashes be so much longer? When we try to present the most perfect versions of ourself, we are simply mimicking the models we see in the magazines.

Summer holidays and thinking about 3rd year project

I haven't posted anything on my blog for quite some time now, but I have been focusing on working and catching up with family and friends since I returned to York, so sadly the blog has been neglected. After a tutorial last Wednesday at university, I have made a decision as to what I am going to do for my personal project next year.

I have been interested in feminist theories and women being objects of the mail gaze, since being introduced to Laura Mulvey when studying media at A level . Then recently, when writing an essay on postmodernism, I found myself drawn to the subject once again. This time I found a huge interest in theory books by John Berger such as 'About Looking' and 'ways of seeing'. He talks about women being forever conscious of people observing them and that the way they behave is defined by what they believe other people to think of them.
I am fascinated by women's' behavior and how we almost disguise ourselves with make up and the way we broadcast ourselves through social networking sites, presenting the most perfect versions of ourselves. Young girls have even began a trend on YouTube, where they ask the public whether they think they are pretty or ugly.
Arts student Sophia Roessler from Kansas City Arts Institute brought attention to this absurd trend by fooling the public in to believing she was a young 'misguided teen'. See the article by clicking on the link below.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2109450/Insecure-tween-asked-YouTube-watchers-I-ugly-outs-21-year-old-arts-student.html

 I often watch friends of mine apply there make up before a night out in town, I observe their routines and how everything has to be done in a particular order. What are each of us trying to hide or cover up and why? Why must there be a need for false eyelashes or a change in hair colour?

I am keeping a sketchbook recording female friends and members of my family, and how each one of them chooses to present themselves. I am going to take photographs and hopefully get some short film footage in hope to find an insight in to the characters they created for themselves.

Image is a screen shot of Youtube page when searching for "Am I pretty?"
http://www.youtube.com/results?q=am+i+pretty&oe=utf-8&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=w1&gl=GB[20.07.12]

E- Books

On Friday, Andy and Sophie from my illustration group at university, held a discussion about the possibility of producing work to be used in E-books. They were saying that the artwork in many of the E-books they had found seemed basic and not 'iconic'. We questioned whether expense had been spared in the design because of how cheap an E-book is in comparison to a physical book?
 I must admit that I have never really seen a difference between books and E-books and both have always seemed to be on par with one another when it comes to the quality of the design/illustrations.

What would be the benefits of E-Books?
- They are easier to get hold of
- They are environmentally friendly
- Characters can come to life, and have movement
- Don't have the process of taking it to print


With an E-book you don't get the same interaction as a book, you don't get to turn the pages, feel the texture of the paper or have pop ups. For a book to be online it needs to be made interactive, and elements need to come to life to make it different from the book itself.


Our generation is getting more literate through the use of computers and they are becoming more important at Primary School level.  E-books are definitely becoming more popular and they offer a new area for illustrators to work in, being able to create things for an online environment. They help us to extend what we can do and be paid to do!!

How to create a portfolio.

As I come to the end of my second year at university, plans for my final year are coming together and I have to start thinking about how I am going to approach the world of illustration. One important thing to start thinking about is creating a portfolio. Alan Dalby came in to speak to my class last week, to tell us how he puts his portfolio(s) together, and to give us a few tips for our own. He explained how the size of physical portfolios are getting smaller and an A4 or A3 format may be best for portfolio work, and also that online portfolio's are becoming increasingly popular. in fact, he has  only ever received work through his online portfolio. He had a collection of work all in one document, and would select which ones he wanted to put in to his digital portfolio template, depending on which client he was hoping to work for. It seemed like an easier way to customise a portfolio and show the right selection of work for the right job.

I also bought a fantastic book called "How to create a portfolio and get hired", it pretty much does what it says in the title. First of all it explains what a professional portfolio actually is, then the book is broken down in to sections, each one helps you taylor your portfolio to a particular area of illustration, e.g editorials and web design. One section I did find particularly helpful was 'location'. I have never kept it a secret that I want to live in a small rural district rather than in a city, it is very important to me and I have always worried about having to move somewhere where I will not feel at home. I wondered how to promote myself as an illustrator in a smaller environment, and this book helped me to understand how I will need to include a "wide variety of styles" in my portfolio to enable me to "service more clients". The book constantly refers to geographical location and how to appeal to the "broadest possible client base".
Something to focus on!

A visit from Jill Calder

Image Source: http://www.friendandjohnson.com/#p=artist/jill_calder/overview

Jill calder, a very successful illustrator from Fife, Scotland, came to our college yesterday to talk to us about her experience in the industry and give us some advice on how to approach illustration as a business. She certainly knows what she's talking about with 20 years in the job.

She first went to 'The Scotsman' Newspaper with her huge portfolio of work and visited the art department there, which she described as "chaos". She managed to get a job and received her first ever payment for illustrating an article on dyslexia, which was £65.

"I thought it was a fortune at the time".

It was reassuring to hear Jill say that she had no idea about what to get paid for quite some time, "People can see that you are good and understand what you do, but not necessarily think about paying you for it". She told us that there was a lesson to be learnt and that you can be passionate, but you must not let people "muck you around" because after all it is a business. I am providing a creative service and that is my job. It has given me confidence to believe that I deserve to be paid, and there is no harm in expecting a payment if illustration is going to be my career, at least people will take me seriously.

When Jill spoke about her studio space, I felt as though she had the exact environment I have always wanted. I enjoy being in the small villages of Yorkshire with friendly neighbours greeting me in the mornings and the view of the countryside out of the window. She described her hometown as a "thriving music and culture scene" and told us that passers by would often tap on the window of her ground floor studio and give her a wave. It seems as though you don't have to give up everything that is precious to you in order to have a career, Jill Calder seems to have both.

One interesting comment Jill made (and the top tip for me) was how she has her own reference material in order to remind her of how she would draw something. "I've kept every single sketchbook I've ever had".

I am a hoarder; there is no hiding it. I can't seem to throw anything away and I have a huge box of textures from, magazines, different types of paper, fabrics etc. As well as draws full of pens and crayons and random objects that have caught my eye just before throwing them in the bin. Yet one thing I hadn't thought of was keeping a collection of observational drawings, I know that I have many, but what I am going to do now is compile them all in to a folder. Jill gave an example of how she might have to produce a new illustration of a man holding a newspaper, but can't remember how to draw a hand holding something. She can look through this collection of observational drawings and look at how to draw that hand shape, and more importantly, remind her of how she would draw that hand.

"Go back to basics and draw. It is important. You could start with something like that and then apply your illustrative style. With observational line drawing, you can get something that you can't with a model."