LORD WHITNEY.

On Monday we had the privilege of being visited by the lovely folk from Lord Whitney gave us a lecture and live brief. Lord Whitney consists of the humorous and fun works of Amy Lord and Rebekah Whitney. The two met at Leeds whilst studying at uni and combined their skills as 3D illustrators (prop and costume making) and photographers to create life size illustrations and installations.

Their relaxed and friendly lecture talked us through the journey they've been on since leaving uni in 06 through to present day client work. The key point that stood out most to me was that it doesn't come easy. If you don't put 110% in then don't expect to get anywhere. The girls said then when it felt like time to call it a day you've got to keep on pushing through time and time again. This is what separates you from the other arty people out there and gets you the work. Other then this it was evident that a big part of their work is about having fun and doing things that make you smile. When speaking to them afterwards its completely evident that their works screams their personalities and lust for making the unusual.

It was refreshing to hear that LW found their feet just before graduating and haven't worked like this forever. Having completed a full circle of working they spoke of how their work is scarily similar to things they did as kids and realised that they enjoy the work they make just like they always did. I feel I'm just starting to get my head screwed on work wise myself in the direction I'm taking things so it was cool to hear they they weren't initially job smart (without sounding too harsh) before finishing their degrees. Keeping their friends in a close niche seemed massively important to them and the stressed that working with them and keeping in touch regularly is a must. Even if its just a pint of tea or collaborating its always a good excuse to meet up with old chums. As I've made a tight little group of friends whilst at uni I have every intention in the world to stay in touch with them and hopefully join forces in the art world at some point.

My favorite installation to do with the art industry trying to drag you down. Made from many purple sleeping bags and polystyrene bowls.

Later in the day we had the opportunity to chat with the girls as they set us a week long brief to do with compound nouns. As a big part of their work is about the process of making their installations and making it obvious how they've achieved it they stressed on the point to capture how we go about completing the brief visually. With LW consisting of a duo, myself and Jordan decided to team up and tackle the brief as a pair. It's a little out of my comfort zone but think it'll be a nice change to work slightly differently.

To sum up an inspirational Monday, we couldn't have had two nicer people come in and talk to us about themselves and their work. If I end up working in a similar way they do then I think the next few years are going to be something to look forward to. 

MUSIC: PORTFOLIO VISIT 2

So as I mentioned earlier, when in Preston we had the opportunity to book slots with professionals to talk about portfolios. I managed to talk to Jordan, who works for Music creative agency based in Manchester.

As I'd briefly spoken to Craig Oldham when he came to Uni last month, and seeing he was completely sound I hoped Jordan would be the same. I was right. We were pretty limited with time so I think I only had ten minutes to quickly go through my work. I talked about each project explaining the fundamental elements of each brief and the reasons for me choosing to execute them the way I did.  

Having blasted through the majority of my work we started to chat about the target audience I was trying to appeal to as my work seems to have quite a morbid and dark theme to a lot of it. Having discussed that it was quite mixed but some was aimed at children he suggested either lightening my working style up a little or think about the intended audience in more depth (i.e changing it). He liked the illustrations I had produced for the Macmillan books but thought they were slightly too intimidating for smaller children. I had produced the work in the particular style because I was trying to make a book that I would have liked at that age but in looking back perhaps the weirder, older stuff appealed to me more.

Having taken his advice on board I think I've realised that rather then tackling a brief all guns blazing I need to break it down critically. Jordan mentioned that as he wasn't an illustrator himself that he could only give me his opinion on my portfolio rather then critical feedback but I think he managed to do this subconsciously a I feel I did benefit from seeing him.

 For future reference I think I'd also like to try and get a viewing with and illustration agency, this way I'm covering more types of the industry and not limiting myself. Overall it was a brief but positive viewing that left me with some good ideas for upcoming work.

PRESTON DOES D&AD.

Last week a few of us creative folk jumped on a train and made our way across to Preston for a most pleasant day that D&AD were putting on all around the university campus (which I thoroughly enjoyed). It was a great eye opener for what D&AD can offer students, as I didn't really have a clue what they were really about other then the awards but more importantly the whole event didn't cost a penny. The day was packed full of lectures, workshops and a portfolio surgery with helpful advice professionals that thankfully involved no operating.

I found the morning lecture really valuable as one of the D&AD organisers (Rianan I think) opened the talk introducing what they’ve done past, present but more specifically future plans including the White Pencil awards. It was pretty insightful to see the behind the scene side of the awards and just how much work and effort goes into putting the awards together.

Jack Renwick followed this up with an inspirational talk on how she’d worked her way up through the industry to become an art director, former creative director at The Partners and creator of a her own agency. It was nice to hear a talk from such a down to earth person that you could relate to. She gave advice on how to deal with clients and how to really push your ideas across and create a bond with them, working as part of a team being crucial and your working showing your personality. It gave me faith that I could hopefully do something similar if I’m dedicated enough and try hard. Even though she made it clear that she’d started from rock bottom and climbed her way up the mountain of job positions she made it sound like a pretty smooth process. I hope that when it comes to my turn, similar opportunities pop up so frequently for me. Jack is one of the judges at D&AD and has won awards herself in the past as a student and work associated with The Partners. 

Jack started out her career in the art industry by making wheelchair ramps and sign designs then moving her way up by getting work for The Partners (design agency based in London and New York). She talked about some of the projects that shes worked on involving typography, corporate design work and logo designs.

One piece that I really liked was a brief to create packaging for Indian flavoured sausages. As well as making designs for the outer packaging they focused on giving each indivudal falavour of sasuage its own style. They did this by printed onto the skin of the meat using an edible ink to look like henna tattoos. I think this work shows how to stand out against the rest and that they really pushed the idea as far as they could. In doing so they've created something thats pretty unique and shows they really care about their work and reputation. 

I found her talk really inspirational and the ideas used massive imaginitve. You can tell she takes pride in her work and puts passion into it and it definitely pays off. I look forward to seeing what the future holds with her new solo agency.  


Later on there was a workshop hosted by the Manchester based design agency WeAreThoughtful. Unfortunately, at this point I was dying of starvation and had to take a swift pit stop at the nearest Wetherspoons to refuel myself for my portfolio visit with Jordan from Music Studios (more to come on this). The portfolio surgeries were an opportunity for students from across the region to have a chat and gain some industry input from a gathering of great design agencies. The advice was offered from The Chase, Music, Because Studio and many more. It was also a chance to talk to other students that are completely in the same boat on how they’re coping with the trials and tribulations of third year and preparation for the future. It’s reassuring to hear that you’re not the only person stressing about the next steps that follow after uni. The designers on hand gave some good advice about how portfolios could be strengthened and what my work would benefit from with slight tweaks here and there.

Overall I thought the day had been coordinated very well making it hugely beneficial to all us post grads that turned up. There were plenty of speakers on hand concerning pretty much all pathways that were processional and knowledgeable but more importantly approachable. If D&AD are doing any other events in the near future I shall definitely be attending.  

RED SEA: PORTFOLIO VISIT 1

Yesterday I had my first portfolio at the talented Red Sea tattoo studio in Manchester. I had previously organised to speak with tattooist Dan Morris but ended up speaking with the owner of the establishment Laurence Stogsdill. I was massively nervous and worked myself up about it as I haven't shown my work to any professionals other then uni tutors.

I went to talk to Laurence during their consultation hour expecting to be in an out in about 15mins but was pleasantly surprised having spent a good 40mins chatting. I was a bit skeptical showing a tattoo studio my work, as the majority is editorial/live brief work slightly edging towards tattoo art in the work I'm producing at present. Laurence mad me feel at ease and relaxed throughout the duration of my visit and set a friendly atmosphere. He mentioned a few times that he didn't usually get the opportunity to see illustration students work, which was a nice change as it was usually peoples drawings of tattoo esq imagery wanting a job.

As well as taking my finished portfolio, I also brought along a printed version of the 8x8 publication that featured my illustrations and a sample of my rough ideas and sketches.

Altogether Laurence had nothing but kind words to say about my work and gave me some little pointers on how he thought bits could be improved and benefit from slight changes. A few pieces such as the Macmillan Books illustrations and some other first year work he said were very popular styles of working and even though he liked them thought that they didn't really show my personality that much. More recent projects including the freak show and Victorian superstitions and beliefs were a prime example of what I was passionate about and he could see this in the images.

A pointer he gave me was to try and illustrate some happier and up beat pieces as my work doesn't need to be all doom and gloom to show my potential. After going through my portfolio we discussed what he would expect to see from a person applying for an apprenticeship job as hopefully that is a career path I would like to go down. More sketchbook work showing initial ideas generation is what he likes to see to make sure the person isn't just a one trick pony and can think about imagery as well as just having the craft to execute it.

I found him a pleasure to talk to and feel like we got on very well on a whole. Unless I blocked out any negative words I'm pretty sure he liked my work and seemed to have enjoyed talking with me. I was annoyed at myself for not having a business card printed as i feel it would have been beneficial to have left one with him. In saying that he added me on facebook later that day so fingers crossed that I might be able to follow the visit up with something in the not too distant future.

BUT ISN'T THAT YOUR JOB?

The other day we had the privilege of a listening to a lecture by Craig Oldham (designer at Music studio) entitled But Isn’t That Your Job? It was a great incite into the relationship between how art director and illustration work with once another following six projects, each with different artists. The first four illustrators were part of a campaign promoting the rise of Manchester City football club through four posters of their key players.

The work was created by (in clockwise, from top to bottom) Michael Gillette, Chris White, Todd Slater and Shepard Fairey.

Craig came across as being a very genuine and down to earth chap from my side of the hill and definitely wasn’t afraid to voice his opinion. The talk opened my eyes to the role of an art director and cleared up any stereotype people might have of them.

He described the full ins and outs of a job stating with finding the right man right through to negotiating payment with either the artist themselves or an agency. He definitely showed that when an art company is picked to execute a job that they really care about the end result so that it suits the clients demands and not just their own. It was dead interesting and really informative especially at the end when he answered questions from the group and touched on the subject of presenting work to an art director.

We were all set a brief to design the lecture poster for Craig's talk with the chance to win a set of the Man City posters and some pretty cool books. The only limitations we faced were the usage of only two colours and had to include relevant typography. I decided to do some research by looking on Craig's website where there's quite an in depth section about his likes, dislikes and hobbies. I went for the standard weird approach and clocking it said he liked cups of tea, Prince and the fact he's from Yorkshire, I tried to combine the three together. My final image consisted of Prince rising from the steam of a cup of tea, with a Yorkshire rose in the foreground. It was me being a bit weird and didn't really turn out how I planned in my head but struggled with the hand generated typography. My poster can be seen below. Needless to say I didn't win but hadn't much hope behind it.

WEBSITE RESEARCH.

Having a website is a crucial and almost essential method of getting your work viewed by the public eye when working as any sort of freelance artist. However, whether it does your work any justice is a different matter as so  many people seem to mess them up. Many sites can quite easily come across as being half arsed and unprofessional, leading to the standard of work looking lower then it really. The text and writing style used must reflect the artist’s personality in a friendly and professional manor as its quite easy for a potential client to dismiss work due to bad grammar and overconfidence. Getting the balance right could be the difference between getting a job and being left staring at the phone. Giving a piece or art credit where its due can also be a challenge especially when trying to capture the essence of a hand generated piece and displaying it digitally. On saying this there are tons of sites out there that tick all the right creative boxes and present their work spot on.

 There are loads of template-based sites out there that can easily help you build up an idiot-proof page (if like me you’re completely clueless when it comes to URL’s and HTML codes). Last year I used cargocollective to make an online portfolio site that has loads of easily changeable layouts and styles to use or you can customise them if you wish. I don’t think that I’ve used mine to its full advantage yet as I’m pretty bad at remembering to update and promote it. Having looked around at various other online portfolios and sites I’ve come to the conclusion that mine could do with a little bit of tender loving care as well as my blog. I’m currently in the process of creating a new site through a friend having just recently purchased my own domain so having done some research into fellow artists I think I know what sort of atmosphere I want mine to create.

Travis Millard’s website has always been one that stood out against the rest for me. You can tell a lot of time and effort has really been put into it and it reflects the humour and fun aspects of his work. You’re greeted by a flood of different creatures and object that flow from one side of the screen to another each time you click on a subsection. The ability to rearrange and move different images and pieces around pulls you into the site letting you explore the creativity the site has to offer. In doing so you instantly find yourself hooked and entertained with Millard’s work.

Another site that’s at the complete opposite side of the spectrum to Millard’s site is work by Collate. Although the site is incredibly aesthetically pleasing to the eye and easy to use I’m not overly sure whether Collate are a design team/graphic designer/agency as there is no about me/contact section (unless I’m being completely blind). Anyway, the site on a whole looks very graphic and runs incredibly smoothly, giving you the option to slide through each project from left to right effortlessly. Other then the fact that I have no idea who the artist is or how I’d get in touch if I wanted to hire them for work its overall a very well designed site that gives of a level of high sophistication and class.

I think that to compliment my work, I would be better suited to something little more structured like the amazingly talented Dan Matutina. His work is displayed in a grid like system through little thumbnails showing projects with the title placed over the top locked in by a neat list of options centred at the top of the page. It compliments the slickness of his artwork and gives you’re an incite to multiple pieces without having to click through them one at a time. Matutina’s logo is viable on all pages of the site, which I like and think it’s important to brand yourself correctly like and he’s achieved it well.

Having looked and thought hard about how I eventually (over the next few weeks) want my site to look I have decided to customise the cargo profile I already have using HTML coding. I just need to tidy the typeface up and play about with the thumbnail aspect of displaying my work. It’s under construction at the moment but keep your eyes peeled at www.kris-sale.com for what I hope to be a visual treat.

ILLUSTRATIONS DIGITAL FUTURE.

Whether we look it or not, the age we currently live among is one the most fast paced times man has seen. Swamped with technology and branding everywhere we look, various ports of advertising are appearing everywhere. The main source of this of course, is the Internet. People’s lives are constantly infested with tweets, pokes and posts. New ways of reading the news are cropping up at every turn with inventions like the kindle and ipad but is this going to put the final nail into the casket of illustrators and publishers? I came across a pretty interesting article on the BBC website about how the sales of books are decreasing due to electronic devices and the closure of high street shops such as Borders. It made me think about the future of work concerning illustrators.

It was inevitable that the next leap for technology would be a form of moving, digital literature (not quite as advanced as the papers in Harry Potter) and Apple seem to be doing a pretty good job by releasing the first of its type and now following that the ipad 2 with tough competition from Amazon’s Kindle.  The way we view literature seems to be changing into smaller bite sized chunks rather then, the sometimes viewed as off putting paragraphs and pages we were so used to seeing. So could the ebook be taking things back to basics in some respects by kick starting people’s love for reading where some would find it a repellent? The fad for new gadgets and what’s hot could give reading the boost it needs by using the ebook as a gimmick to get people back into reading literature instead of wasting their time getting square eyes.

As a designer (sort of), I think it can be looked at two very different points. When people discuss the work of illustrator 9/10 would stereotype the role being to illustrate book covers and imagery for storybooks. If the invention of digital reading is to carry on at the pace it’s doing so, could it eventually wipe out the use of tangible books and magazines? This could seriously affect job roles from all points of the spectrum involved in publishing. Sellers, illustrators and publishing companies could be hit pretty hard leaving only the writers themselves untouched so to speak.

Then again, this could give illustrators a real boost and chance to get involved in something quite alien to some peoples usual practise. With the ipad containing not only still imagery but moving GIFs and short animations, this could merge the boundaries of illustration and moving imagery together to create something new and exciting. With more and more people investing in these different types of technology it could be seen as a massive form of free advertising for the artists to gain more recognition. If the modern man is now too lazy to read bigger pieces of literature then they are perhaps more likely to be attracted to the ebooks appose to the real thing. Hopefully this might turn things round for the artists and significantly increase the exposure of their work in the public eye leading to a bigger client base?

I’m not overly sure about what’s in store for the future of illustration. I can be quite a tech geek at times and love playing about on my iphone but for me personally, I don’t think you can beat reading a nicely printed magazine with the smell of fresh ink on a good quality paper. My eyes start to boggle if I read for any amount of time online so I usually end up printing the article out anyway and reading on paper. I’m all for the traditional proccess of the printing press and much prefer the analogue way of reading but if us artists can gain from it then perhaps digital illustration could be the only option in years to come. I’m all for which ever will benefit the artist most and enough more people to read. Not sure they both go hand in hand though…