Illustration Trends of 2016

http://www.creativebloq.com/illustration/8-huge-illustration-trends-2016-11618888

A really interesting article, listing a range of aesthetic trends that have been noticed in the last year that show no sign of leaving. I have definitely witnessed alot/if not all of these and I think this is pretty spot on. I find it really interesting that trend forecasts like this exist, which could be really useful to a commercial illustrator wanting to remain uptodate. It could also be useful in helping an lllustrator create a timeless style?

Will Terry Interview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl2PStbysdU&t=195s

A really inspiring/eye opening video I came across whilst researching for COP, from Will Terry a Lecturer for Illustration students at UVU, giving advice on working as an Illustrator and how to succeed in the 21st century digital age. 

• You need to get to the people who are in charge of HIRING ARTISTS - directors, executives. 
• Is there room for everybody else to be chosen/picked/utilised as an illustrator? 
• Digital media is taking off  - story apps, digital e-books starting to compete with PRINT. 
• Pinterest, Deviant Art, Illustration Friday, Folio Academy, 
• School of visual storytellers, lamppost guilds - online ways to better your education.
• The talent pool is sky rocketing because of the Internet - Have so much more access to hire people? Is there room for all these talented people to get picked?

There are 2 more parts to this speech which I also found interesting and inspiring, however not that relevant. 

First Day Of Level 6

So I'm back for my final year on illustration! Quite excited about getting into a routine again, and feel like i've done alot of maturing over summer in terms of work ethic, and i'm actually ready to get started. Slightly terrified but i'm sure that's normal.

Mega Crit

Today in the mega crit I was blown away by all the talent from level 5 + 6, here's a few sketchbook pages I found to be particularly inspiring:


(1)



(2)



(3)



(4)



(5)

1 - Really lovely piece by Ian (level 6), thought that the fluid use of shapes and subtle textures looked so effective in contrast with the harsh floating shapes. Really nice colour scheme aswell, conveys relaxing feel which I'm sure was intended.

2 - I really enjoyed the colour schemes used in this character design, but also the controlled expressiveness of the copic markers.

3 - I really appreciated this realistic chair drawing; over summer i've been drawing alot of interiors/furniture (not sure why) but it's quite difficult, so I appreciate the skill - aswell as it being a beautiful drawing!

4 - From the same artist as (3), love the realistic element with the expressiveness of brush strokes, an effective I try alot to create in my own work. I thought it was really atmospheric and almost transporting. Unsure of the artist however (I know they're in level 5, ill find them)

5- A really fun drawing from Hana (level 6), I love the bright colours and the pop arty feel. Think the beach theme is communicated really well (without actually drawing a beach). Really nice use of mixed media to add texture also.

Marcin Wolski

A new Illustrator I have come across is Marcin Wolski, who I found whilst researching for my COP practical proposal. His  shape and texture based work uses colour in a quite muted but atmospheric way which I particularly like. I feel that this also helps his mages to look harmonious as a set. I also liked the use of text in 1986 (image) as I feel that it gives the image so much context about the chernobyl disaster, also communicated via the russian scripture above it. This is a technique I'd like to explore alot more within my work and attempt to push it more in the direction of graphic design. 

PPP3 Summary

Personal + Professional aims as a practitioner:

• Advertising Agency/In house designer
• Build portfolio of commercial work (completing briefs relevant to advertising)
• Improve Idea development process
• Gain wider knowledge of existing advertising agencies
• Understand advertising industry process
• Build bank of contacts 

Evidence of research into practice + Progression opportunities:

http://www.ipa.co.uk/

Networking events:

Career Advice

Advertising Agencies:

Creative Agency

r//evolution marketing

McCann Manchester - (Quite photography/film based) 

Creative Spark / Manchester

Newsworks.org (More Illustration based)

Print Marketing Based Companies:

CUCO

The Creative Clinic

Modus

Ronin - very graphic design 

Research Activities to be undertaken through the year:

Contacting Agencies - What experience/qualifications would be admirable on a job application? 

Any grad schemes, placements available?

Career Advice - In college

Diagonal Thinking - online self assessment (http://www.diagonalthinking.co.uk/ProfilePage)

(where would I fit into Advertising Industry http://www.ipa.co.uk/page/Who-does-what-Job-roles-in-a-nutshell#.V9_ewpMrK7g)

How do advertising agencies work? Processes + roles

My First Ever Invoice

This was my first experience designing an invoice for the Llama Park Information signs that I designed a few weeks ago. I used the visual identity that I created for creative presence last year which I felt was still relevant to my practice. I think the design of the invoice could have been a bit more professional and reflective of my practice, and a bit more creative? However it was quite a last minute thing so had to be done quite quickly. Overall I'm confident that I can create a substantial and fully functional invoice for my business. 

Llama Park: Animal Information Sign Commission

The Llama Park is a family attraction located in east sussex, where I have had the pleasure of spending a few days this summer. I was approached by the general manager (also one of my good friends) and asked to use my design skills to create some information signs for the park. Once again, although this wasn't a huge opportunity to practice as an illustrator, It gave me a bit of experience in meeting deadlines and importantly, executing creative work to a professional standard (as I was being paid for it). 

My photo from the park. 

I began with a simple idea of what the client wanted, examples of existing information boards, which I thought looked a bit crappy. I understand that the function of the board is to provide information clearly, however I felt that could be done in a much more stylish and family friendly way.  

Reference Material

Throughout the process I struggled to give the boards a creative flare (It's a really boring job!) So after countless attempts at trying to organise information, I found that the boards with the most images were obviously more eye catching. I found a way to present the photographs in an exciting way (having their ears poke out of the circle) which the client loved, and found appropriate fonts/colours that matched the environment of the park. 

What I came up with:

(and about 25 more)

 Although this job was quite boring at times, I admittedly liked the simplicity of it. I honestly didn't feel the need to add my own illustrations to the signs as it would've been way too much work towards something that could be achieved just as easily with photography. So this was a pretty run of the mill graphic design job. I think graphic design is something that I definitely do not want to discard from my practice, even if I am doing a degree in illustration? 

Spot Of Sign Painting - Daniel's Cafe, Ilkley

Over summer, I was contacted by a friend opening a new coffee shop on Ilkley highstreet, which was in need of a sign painting on 2 sides of the shop. I was asked because of my artistic know how and access to printing facilities, but also because it'd be a great opportunity to get some work in a creative field (and obviously the payment.)

I exchanged a few emails with the shop owner about the dimensions/colours/textures of the sign. Preparing the stencil was quite a nerve wracking process as I had not been to Ilkley prior to painting the sign, so my stencil had to fit perfectly on to the beam or else my first trip to Ilkley would've been a wasted journey.

The sign in the end was spray painted on, but because of the material I printed the stencil onto, it made a bit of a mess, so the real work was actually in touching it up, amounting to about 4 hours stood on top of a ladder with some paint stripper (not that fun, scared of heights). The second sign was fairly easy as I'd learnt from the previous mistakes and did everything possible in order to stick the sign down fully. 

Driving past, a few weeks after I'd painted the sign

Overall the experience was a valuable one, also prompting me to think about how much my time is worth. As a student and a non professional, doing work for a just starting out family business, my original price was unfortunately knocked back as it had not been agreed prior to making the sign (Big mistake I know) - however I was able to get all prices for my materials and travel etc, and make a little something for myself. I was slightly disappointed with my payment, however it was my mistake for not agreeing a price before, something I have definitely learnt from.