AOI Prize For Illustration - Shipping to London

So the day has arrived for me to ship my framed artwork to London for the prize for Illustration! I've got a courier coming tomorrow to collect it so it's all packaged a ready to go. Considering I was chose to be in the show, It's been alot of hard work printing, framing, packaging and printing forms, and all together it's cost me about £70 to arrange everything so i'm hoping it'll be worth it - I'm sure it will be amazing publicity though so I just need to make sure my website is up to scratch. 

I'm a little bit worried that at this moment in time this piece doesn't reflect who I want to be as a practitioner? would this be kind of fake advertising? or could I build a new practice around this image? 

This seems a lot more commercial in comparison to my darker highly illustrative images - something to take forward?

Convo with Joe H - won't be hired as an Illustrator?

I feel like me and Joe are on the complete same wave length in terms of our concerns about the future. 

This is the reason why I haven't wanted to start sending my work to employers etc for design jobs, because I honestly just don't think I'm ready and neither is my portfolio. This has just reconfirmed my worries. 

I want to work in an agency and if they don't hire illustrators then I need to be a designer? That's really the be all and end all. So, like Joe, I really need to just start building a design portfolio as soon as possible. Not sure if it's worth me starting before the end of my degree though? 

I'm starting to feel a bit less worried about time now though - Obviously I'd like to get to my dream career as soon as possible but I understand that it will take time and dedication, so as long as I have something that can keep me afloat while I continue to improve my portfolio, then i'll get there eventually. 

Tutorial with Ben

I booked a tutorial with Ben in the hope of discussing my worries about my work at the moment and my future plans:

- If you want to do design, DO DESIGN BRIEFS 
- I would work so much better as a freelance Illustrator. It's not as horrible as everyone thinks - get a part time job to keep you going while you build up contacts/clients.
- Start a list of Clients / Search on google for art director's email addresses, and send them your online portfolio. This is how you find work!
- Use your AOI Prize for Illustration as spring board - put on business cards/ first page of website/ everything.
- Arts Jobs.co.uk / UAL Jobs 
- Greetings Card Companies are always looking for in-house illustrators/designers 
- Go to events in London - get your work out there.

After speaking with Ben I was alot more reassured and a bit more confident in my work. I was so glad he told me how I'd go about finding art directors etc because I don't think I would've had a clue. Despite me feeling a bit better about working freelance, Ben was really useful in telling me where I could find creative jobs to apply for. 

But yeah in terms of working as a freelance illustrator i'm still not 100% convinced it would suit me. Having my own business doesn't interest me atall(at this moment in time anyway) and most agencies don't hire in-house illustrators?? 

I just feel like being an in house designer is the best route for me however I'd love to still make use of my illustration degree, use it to separate myself from the class of graphic designers at LCA? Illustrative Design?

Mail Chimp

https://mailchimp.com/

A really useful resource, so glad I found out about this! I feel that using this will hopefully help me to stand out when contacting employers - I want to get my portfolio to a point now where I have a clear defined style and a range of projects both Graphic Design and Illustration, otherwise I honestly feel like I'll just get knocked back, mainly because of my lack of design work. 

Blank Slate: Designer or Illustrator?

"I once heard someone describe the difference between a “Designer” and an “Illustrator” as follows… A designer assembles pre-exisiting elements such as photos, vectors, and textures to create a final piece. Whereas an Illustrator creates a piece by hand, creating element from scratch using his/her imagination.

While, I believe that there is some truth to this statement, I don’t think it’s that cut and dry. I believe that designers and illustrators are like engineers, and often times the line between the two is blurred. The more resourceful an artist is, whether it be collecting resources or pre-existing elements and effectively applying them, or putting a pencil to paper and assembling lines and shading to create imagery from scratch, it’s still a matter of effectively conveying the image or scene that the artist sees in his head. In my opinion, that’s what makes a designer or an illustrator an artist.

This brings up the question…
Do You Consider Yourself a Designer or an Illustrator, and Why?"

Action Plan - How to get where I want to be? How do other people do it?

I tried to make a little plan for my near future, concerning what I need to do in order to get to a design studio as soon as possible, and how I'm going to make enough money to live/pay rent...

I've got 'find inspiration' on there referring to finding ways that graphic design and illustration can look good together in one portfolio? find practitioners that consider themselves Illustrators & Designers...

After googling 'Illustrator and Graphic Designer' I got a few results:

Claire Hartley - Graphic Designer and Illustrator 

http://www.clairehartley.com/

From looking at her website I can see that her work isn't overly Illustrative and quite type based, however she does do alot with patterns and line drawings. Still I can see that her work has a style running across it. I think in terms of being an "illustrator and designer" your work needs to be a bit more subtle than what mine currently is? Bit less illustrative and perhaps focus on being more decorative? 

Marketing + PR workshop with Anna Franks

Today I took part in a Marketing and PR workshop with expert Anna Franks that was all about ways to market yourself and a business. Admittedly I went into this workshop thinking it was about working in the marketing industry, however it turned out it turned out to still be useful though, as I could apply it to How can I market myself to employers.

PRODUCT / PROMOTION / PLACE / PRICE / PASSION

What product are you offering?

ME - My services, ideas, experience, design, style, diversity

Who are your competitors?

Graphic designers, other students. What makes me stand out??

Who do people employ and why are they fit for the role?

My marketing Objectives, how are you going to present your services to an employer?:

1. Create promo pack to send to agencies by July 2017.

2. Get 2 design work experience placements by December 2017.

3. Get 5 more things to put on your CV by September 2017.

4. Establish WHO YOU ARE, WHAT DO YOU DO, by end of April 2017. What is your USP?

Where should your time be going when trying to start up?

40% of your time should be spent marketing

50% on Making

10% on admin 

Overall despite this workshop being tailored more for people who are starting up their own business, I found it really useful to think about ways I can market myself to employers. Anna also gave me a good tool to use for sending out mailers to employers (MAILCHIMP) that is useful for composing beautiful graphics for email. 

Quarter Life Crisis - What am I ACTUALLY going to do after Uni?

So I've just properly started to think about my next step after Uni and I'm really not in a good place at the moment in terms of confidence in my work and confidence in a career as an Illustrator.

I don't feel that my portfolio is up to scratch atall and the thought of starting to send it out to people is something that is absolutely terrifying me. I don't really feel like Illustration is the best pathway for me, and that I enjoy designing alot more, however I have hardly any design in my portfolio/on my website and don't really feel like I've had the opportunity recently to explore design as much as i'd have liked. I don't think I want to discard my Illustration work all together and that I need to find a way/style of working that can be applied to both Illustration and design briefs. 

I've had a look at some creative agencies in Leeds that I'd like to work for and I feel like my work isn't relevant to the design industry atall. The idea of working within an agency appeals to me so much more because i'd prefer to work in a creative team - but my portfolio so far is too illustrative that a freelance role would probably be more suitable? I just feel like I'm running out of time to have a decent portfolio that reflects my intentions BEFORE I leave uni and it's really horrible to think about. I just need MORE TIME amongst my part time job and extended practice and life in general to just start making some great design work to go on my website. 

I've booked a tutorial with Ben in a few days to hopefully talk about these worries (and try not to have a breakdown), but as it stands I'm gonna try and organise my time more effectively so that I can start ticking things off on my to do list. 

Portfolio Review with Ben Cox

* PORTFOLIO SHEETS*

- My work has similar subject matter to Kerry Hyndman 

- Darker/Noir images are not very commissionable for commercial Industry. 
- End of room test/In a rush test? Does it communicate straight away? 
- To Kill A Mockingbird cover is beautiful and punchy and really effective. 
- The brighter more uplifting work is more viable/commercial. Expedia could come to you and ask for a sunset on a beach for a travel poster etc. 

I found my 1:2:1 with Ben really useful and in some ways eye opening. I'm not a huge fan of Kerry Hyndman's work but I can definitely see the similarities in subject matter, I have had a look at her other work to see what kinds of work/projects she's commissioned for, including a few maps. Ben's advice on trying the end of a room/in a rush test was something that had crossed my mind previously, and I think that I had an understanding of which images in my portfolio would be better suited for commercial work than others. It was exciting that he said my To Kill a Mockingbird book cover was as effective as it is, as this was my submission for the Penguin Random House stduent awards, which would be incredible if I won.

I also asked Ben how he got into Agenting - Upon graduation he began to organise and curate shows of his and friends work which made him realise that he enjoyed doing it. His tip was if I want to get into a particular job/career, start doing it yourself now and someone will notice. 

Ben Cox Talk (Central Illustration Agency)

Ben's talk was based around the commercial Illustration Industry and how to break into it. His agency the Central Illustration Agency is a diverse roster of artists all specialising in commercial illustration. 

Some tips about getting into the commercial Illustration industry:

- Make sure your practice is viable, can you work quickly to meet deadlines and still maintain professional quality?
- No room for Divas in the commercial Industry (You are in no position to pick and choose which work you want to do, unless you are very well established already)
- You need a good commercial awareness to understand trends etc. 

What should you have in your successful portfolio?

- Consistent Style
- Fake commercial briefs that you have done - make work for your dream clients and send to them.
- A successful Illustration portfolio should have images containing Scenery, Food,  Typography, Conceptual Ideas, MAPS (Everybody needs maps), everything you can draw
- 30 Sides is ideal portfolio size

Other Tips

- Don't feel like specialising in something will close other doors

- Don't undersell yourself, clients are paying for your skill/talent/mind/experience

- Agents are useful but try to do it by yourself first

- Your work is your intellectual property

- Pricing for jobs - Book Covers £800-900 / Editorial £200 /Advertising £2000+

(Really useful to know as I'd never looked into/thought about how much to charge etc)

Mentioned Artists

Mads Berg

I'd never heard of this artist before but had seen alot of his work around. Mads Berg has worked with alot of huge clients including Coca Cola, Orangina and Lego. I feel his style really lends itself to commercial illustration because of the way it reflects elements of vintage advertising with a modern day twist, which creates a classic and elegant image for a brand. I feel this is a bit of a trend at the moment, with other artists like Owen Gatley also using this technique. 

Jonny Wan

It was this image that caught my eye from Johnny Wan because of its really bold use of colour and harsh shadows. I think the intracity of the shapes and patterns give the image a really powerful punch. Wan's style also has reference to vintage advertising images and that airbrushed effect created using vectors and textures.

Portfolio Review Preparation

In preparation for Ben Cox's visit in a few weeks, I've decided to start making some decisions about my portfolio (with the help of Teresa and Ben). Alot of the images need retouching, in terms of light/values, but I am confident that I have selected a range of my strongest pieces, that showcase a range of skills. 

Plum Pudding - Talk from an Illustration Agency

I was invited last minute to sit in on a talk from Chloe at Plum Pudding Illustration Agency, about the Children's Books market and the role that agencies like Plum Pudding play within it. It was also useful to get an insight into other jobs in creative fields and internships that are available. 

Notes -

• America / Europe are the biggest children's books market.
• Pricing of books relies on the category it falls into Trade / Value, Quality Mass Market / Gift. The Gift genre is one where the images tend to be crafter alot more labour intensively and so there price of the book is higher to cover production costs. 
• Tip for freelance illustrators - don't limit yourself to one room. Take a walk around the block before you start your day, get out in the world and be around people. 
• Trade fairs are a good way to see what's out there and recognise the trends.
• TRENDS are huge in children's books industry, last year Pirates and Adventure books. 
• In childrens books Publishers are really into punchy colours at the moment. 
• Why would you need an agent?
  Agents offer support to practitioners who don't feel that they are confident in the world of being published, who need more guidance. 
• A good way to show someone an idea for a book - Front Cover + Few spreads is enough for publishers to get a feel for the book. 

AOI Submission - Bio???

To accompany my submission for the AOI Sounds of the city submission, I have been asked to submit a bio about myself. I have had to do some research into this as i've never written one before and i'm a bit scared that because i'm literally just starting out I may not have much not to write about.

Things that are covered in an artist’s bio:

• Where you are from
• When you were born
• What you are creating
• Your background in this medium (schooling, past projects, shows, awards…)
• What you are working on currently (themes, projects, ideas…)
• Where you live now
• Written in the 3rd person

My submitted bio:

Dan Gilmartin is a Leeds based image maker and designer who explores light and atmosphere through his digital narrative works. Driven by shape and texture, his work has featured in the Off the Page (2016) and Out Of Order (2017) exhibitions at Colours May Vary Gallery, and he has worked with clients such as Stratstone BMW. Having completed A-levels in Graphic Design and Photography and a UAL Foundation diploma at Carmel College, Merseyside, he is now a final year BA (Hons) Illustration student at Leeds College Of Art. 
www.dangilmartin.com

I think this bio is perhaps a little too 'studenty' speaking about my various qualifications and education, however as I am just starting out I think this was kind of expected? Atleast next time I need to write one of these I can include the Prize for Illustration 2017 etc. 

Feature on Out Of Order Instagram

I thought it'd be interesting to write a post on this feature uploaded to the Out Of Order Instagram - I think it's been a really good idea writing a small bio of everyone, introducing each artist to the public and generating more publicity for the show. I'm really interested in the images that were chosen for me, and how other people view my practice - from these images it is clear that lighting/atmosphere/scenery is my thing/my USP? 

Career Track Tuesday - Interviews Part 1

I attended another Career Track Tuesday session tonight, where I learnt about Interviews. The session wasn't particularly useful in terms of learning new things, however it was really good to take the time to actually start thinking about interviews again. 

Out Of Order - Overall Experience

Although I'm not really huge fan of exhibitions (they make me a bit uncomfortable if i'm honest), the private show of Out Of Order was a success and the prints looked so professional, and I feel so proud to be apart of such an amazing year! I caught a few people taking some of my business cards aswell which is good, but I don't feel like I made the most of it? I regrettably didn't do any networking and the show was more of a celebration than an exhibition (for me anyway).

I feel like I've learnt from last night that things like this are important to my career and I cant just waste them getting drunk and catching up with friends. If I see people take my business cards, go up to them, start a conversation about who they are/what they do and why they're interested! 

I need to get my act together and start seeing these things in a professional way. NEXT TIME.

Temporary Business Cards

I'm a bit stressed out as I've not had chance to order some professional looking business cards to be handed out at the show, so I've improvised and made some temporary ones in the print dungeon for now. I simply chose 3 of my favourite images that I feel sum up my practice and designed them accordingly. 

Unfortunately the way that I chose to use a full colour bleed on my design, resulted in them having small white cutting lines around them (which look horrible and unprofessional), so I definitely need to make some more professional looking ones, or go to a business card printing company like moo. 

Out Of Order - Big up Hang Team!

So today we finished hanging the Out Of Order show in Colours May Vary, and it went pretty smoothly to be honest. Luckily alot of us had been in the hang team last year for Off The Page, and remembered a few technical tips from then which made the process alot less gruelling. Hanging the show is always challenging in terms of technicalities, but more so in curating it as a team. Luckily we all worked really well together and made effective curatorial decisions jointly, which could've got a bit messy. We were able to curate the show using colour, judging which compositions were busy and simple, and we ordered them using these categories. 

Overall I think the show looks really professional with such a huge array of talent and diversity on show, and I think that Becky was impressed also. Now I think we are just waiting on people to place their business cards in the swanky and highly functional business card holders to go with their work and the show is good to go - roll on the private view (and wine)!