Sewing Illustration

This was one of the things I tried out when I was at home (where we have a sewing machine) and really enjoyed it...I'd love to continue but sadly the machine is there...and not here...and I just bought a new laptop so I have no money forever now o.o" They're up in the order I did them (the first one being a practice the following 3 being based on fairytales/my last comic strip)

A brief what I wrote (really badly I should point out)

Main Goal

Produce a portfolio of work that focuses more upon commercial illustration as opposed to solely comic/picture book. However continue comic submissions (such as ink soup) alongside to make sure I am still in touch with the heavily narrative influence of my work.

Other Goals/Ideas.

1. I must make a website (though this will be more applicable to the vocational studies module) with a portfolio, blog link and contact details. Note: Will has promised to help me make it in the last week of Easter.

2. Merchandising and getting self out there- Comic conventions, artist books etc. Be inventive/creative about self promotional aspects.

3. MAKE MORE CONTACTS!!

4. Create an impressive final show based on the idea of storytelling (think BIG).

5. Become adept at telling a story in a single image.

6. Evaluate and research throughout. DO NOT leave it to the last minute to do writing/finish.

7. Play with the ideas of conception, vision, pattern etc.

8. Become increasingly more comfortable with my visual language but also work on finding ways to take less time on an image (ie. Stop using biros on A2 pieces of paper…its incredibly time consuming)

9. Continue to push composition, use of dark and light.

10. Explore the use of Type.

11. Explore Colour more.

12. Explore different aspects of storytelling throughout (single image, panel, media, books etc)

13. Try to find live/paid work and commissions that would allow narrative elements. Use anyone and anything you can! Leads so far: Record Distributor Plastic Head (Adam’s bosses).

14. Consider own writing/fracturing/working to briefs/previous work.

15. Get over fear of craft and improve on shoddiness.

Inspirations/Influences etc (including inspirational people I have met): Stuart Kolakovic, George Grosz, Stanley Spencer, Heironymus Bosch, Paula Rego, Otto Dix, Tomer and Asaf Hanuka, Charles Burns, David B., Robert Crumb, Gary Panter, Jaime Hernandez (use of narrative), Daniel Clowes (use of narrative), Chris Ware (use of narrative), James Jean, Yuko Shizimu, Winsor McCay, Lane Smith, Randolph Caldecott, Sandrine Pelletier, Tony DiTerlizzi, David Shelton, Satoshi Kitamura, Where’s Wally, What-a-Mess, Marc Boutavant Robert Ryan, Benoit Jaques (especially the big cat display unit), Joann Sfar, Alexis Deacon, Tom Gauld, Blanquet, Andrew Rae, Maurizio Quarello, Chio Aoshima, Yoshimoto Nara (Particularly his show at the Baltic), Stian Hole, Lorenzo Mattoti, J.Otto Seibold, Kristin Roskifte, Caroline Leaf (animator), Ferenc Cako (Animator), Piotr Dumala (animator), Raoul Servais (animator), Erik Patterson, Simone Lia, Anna Blaszczyk, Vitali Konstantinov, Batia Kolton, Jan-Hendrik Holst, Klaas Verplancke (Bologna Annual, winners 2008), Bayeux Tapestry, Own Background (photography/textiles/painting/Hartlepool influence).

Fear Not

The Knight

Fairytale Love

Aims:

*Learn how to digitally compose and colour to professional standard...FAST!
*Get some commissions! Preferably ones with money involved but as I'm already poor doing work for no particular reason any will do.
*Decide what to do for my FMP and get the hell on with it! Consider exhibition aspect, promotion and how employable it might make me (ie. don't do comics >.>)
*Set up website within the next month.
*Contacts, Contacts, CONTACTS!
*Sort out Portfolio!!
*I'm sure there were more but I can't remember...

Spot Illustrations

Here are a few practice runs at doing spot illustration. The poems are from a penguin poetry anthology called monsters that had really shockingly poor spot illustrations (yet poems by big names) so it seemed like a good place to start. They were all done in one night because I'm trying to teach myself quick turn around (which is important when it comes to spot illustrations). My favourite is probably the dragon of staines because it intergrates with the text the best...I still need to work on it I think but I'm getting bored of black and white!