Final Major Project

I have thought a lot about what I am doing for my Final Major Project, and finally I am decided on an idea! 

I have a few books on fairytales which I have been really enjoying reading! I am going to illustrate one of the stories by creating a series of images. I have a book on Russian Fairytales that I found in a second hand book shop, and I also have some old English stories too. Decisions, decisions!

To accompany my images I also want to create a 3D set that will be set up in my space. I am actually really looking forward to starting work and I am brimming with ideas! 

I want to start by practicing drawing again as this is something I haven't done for a while and I need to get back into it. I want to concentrate on the figure and buildings first. I have been looking at a few illustrators for inspiration.

Danijela Dobric

Martin Haake

Portfolio visit with Hattie Newman

On Friday I visited Hattie Newman at her studio in London to show her my work and take any advice that she could give me about industry. Hattie was lovely, and we had a chat over a cup of tea while she looked at my work. 

I loved being in the studio space and could really see myself working professionally in that environment. There was lovely bits to look at, and books and magazines everywhere, I found it really inspiring.

I have loved Hattie's work ever since I discovered it, and felt it was important to get advice from her as we work in a similar way. I really found the meeting helpful and got tips on how to  get into industry; Hattie said she started out by assisting other artists and eventually she started getting her own jobs. This is definitely something I am prepared to do, and to get experience and an insight into how industry works would be a great advantage. 

 I wanted to know how an illustrator should price their work, Hattie told me that she charges a day rate and advises clients how long she thinks she will need to complete the job. I guess the one real worry I have is the money with this job as it's not steady pay, and I need security as I have a child and a house to run, but if you are good enough and try very hard you can be successful! I won't let this put me off! 

There was a few questions I asked about technique because I want to explore working in 3D, and Hattie does this beautifully. Hattie told me what materials she uses which includes foam board along with a range of other things. I am going to keep practicing and creating, I really feel I need more work in my portfolio, and I'm ready to create! Hattie said that she grew a lot more after finishing uni so hopefully this may happen with me!  

I asked a few questions about how Hattie pitches for jobs, she told me that she would make a mock up of one element to show. I think if I ever have to do a pitch I will do this and accompany it with sketches and maybe previous work just demonstrate my style.

After meeting Hattie I feel really inspired to keep my dream alive and focus on what I want; which is to be a successful illustrator! 

Thanks Hattie :)

The Secret Garden

Lately I have been considering going back to collage as my way of working has quite a few constraints. Booking time in the photographic studio can be a pain, and I just want to go back to experimenting and being able to play!

After a trip to Waterstones with my little boy, I was very inspired by 'The Secret Garden' illustrated by Lauren Child. We sat on the floor in the shop and looked through the pages together, I just loved it! It's full of patterns and lovely colours and shapes. I really like the naivety of it, which is something I want to bring back into my own work and be more playful.

Final Major Project: Thoughts and Ideas

I have thought a lot about my final major project, and I know I would love to create on a much bigger scale than I have done in previous works . I am thinking lots of cardboard, fairy lights and small details! I would love to create a scene or environment that people can get inside, and be taken back to childhood. I guess it's creating the sense of nostalgia that I am interested in. I want to make people feel a certain way. 

Artists I have been researching for inspiration are:

Andrew Macgregor

Taylor Mckimens

I will continue my research and also find some books on nostalgia and read up about the aspects of it. I want my project to have a deeper meaning/theme, which I think will come with research, so I will continue this over christmas! 

Illustrations Digital Future

I have read a few articles around the subject of illustrations future, and there seems to be different opinions about working digitally and making from scratch. I also have my own opinions around this subject! 


 Before there was an explosion of technology in the 90's, artists used to paint and make things using craft techniques. Almost everybody was thrown into this computerised world, and from a young age I can remember being forced into Information Technology lessons..and I despised it!! It made me uncomfortable and frustrated that I had to hit buttons, and I did not like the fact that I couldn't get inside to move things, it wasn't something I could physically touch. 


There was a lot of digital illustrations being created, and it seemed everybody was after this sleek, perfect look. Even today everybody wants the latest gadgets, it's a status thing to have a Mac or an ipod, or latest iphone. There has even been discussions on the future of books due to the invention of ebooks, ipad and kindle, where you can read digitally...who wants to do that?! I love to open a book and smell the pages! I like choosing a book by it's cover! If books disappear will there be a need for illustrators? I don't actually think people will stop buying books, its not practical to lug a computer around anyway. Besides, even ebooks would still need art work surely?


I think the thing I don't like about digital work is that it's too sleek and can feel like it doesn't have a personality. I do notice the need for perfection in society nowadays too, women are becoming more fake looking with false hair, eyelashes etc, and supermarkets will only sell veg that is a certain shape. I mean what's the world coming to?! I watched a program called 'The People's Supermarket' on C4, and they were trying to stock up their supermarket and went to some local farmers for some local produce. The farmers were explaining that the big name supermarkets will not buy vegetables that are oddly shaped or have knobbly bits, and lots go to waste. This just seems ridiculous to me when you have people starving on the other side of the world. Besides, I'd like to buy weird shaped vegetables! I hate going into supermarkets and being met with same boring layouts and mass produced items that all look alike..I can compare it to digital work.  I like imperfections, it's intriguing and I respect people that have computer skills don't misunderstand me, but the computer should just be a tool for finishing off a project i.e. for printing or doing a few touch-ups. I wouldn't agree that using a computer is a skill as such and anyone can be trained up to press buttons and move a mouse, that being said its the idea that's important and not the method. I found this quote by Milton Glaser from an article which really 'hit the nail on the head' for me, "Computers are to design as microwaves are to cooking." The man had a point: simply reheating ready-meals rather than cooking with fresh ingredients every time can leave the palette craving new tastes and experiences. Serving up mediocre and mundane dishes day-after-day isn't good for the soul - whereas experimentation is the spice-of-life. (www.computerarts.co.uk).


I think computers take away the element of chance in illustrations, which can sometimes be the making of a project. It's nice to hand make things and feel a sense of achievement knowing that not everybody in the world can do what you are able to do. I think sketchbooks and experimenting are a huge part in making individual illustrations, you can keep mistakes as they sometimes add a little something! Hand made work is quirky, imperfect and unique. It is so versatile, it has no limitations. 


 It seems that there has been a shift again and people are reverting back to craft, some think this a trend and may fade but I will never work digitally it's just not what I do. Maybe people never stopped crafting, maybe it seemed that way because companies were preferring the digital illustrations and so that's what was what we were being exposed to. I think nowadays it's a mix of the two, a lot more people are mixing digital and handmade together, and it works. I think the future for illustration looks bright, and that although people's opinions differ, there's a place for everybody.

Helen Musselwhite Creative Review Article

This article from CREATIVE REVIEW magazine gave me an insight into Helen Musselwhites work, and her working methods. I took it along to share at our Creative Review meeting.

I really admire the skill and patience that she has, which is apparent in her work. I can really relate to what Helen is talking about with regards to wanting to work on a bigger scale, and being able to let people 'jump into' your work, as I think this will be a natural progression for me too! 

CR Blog

  

Helen Musselwhite: paper maker

Illustration

Posted by Satara Achille, 21 July 2009, 14:40    Permalink    Comments (14)

For this month's issue of CR, illustrator Helen Musselwhite created a charming wildlife scene using nothing but a selection of the latest coloured, metallic and translucent papers. Here on the blog we thought we’d show the process of her making it and post some other images of her work...

A sketch plan of the piece in this month's issue

CREATIVE REVIEW: Where and when did you go to college – and what course did you do – illustration?
HELEN MUSSELWHITE: I went to college in the late 80s in, ahem, Swindon (don't really like to tell to many people that, not because of the art school I stress, that was great and I met two of my very best friends there, it's just it's not like saying "Oh I went to St Martins" is it?!). I studied OND and HND graphics but veered towards illustration most of the time.

CR: Where is your studio / where are you based?
HM: I live in south Manchester and work from home.

CR: Do you take on many commercial commissions – or do you see yourself more as an artist than an illustrator?
HM: I suppose I’m more of an artist at the moment as a lot of my work is private commissions and I take part in quite a few gallery exhibitions. I would love to do more commercial illustration work, a book cover would be nice!

CR: How did you get into working with paper the way you do?
HM: I think I got into working with paper because I thought it would be quicker than painting (not true) and I also love the rich, flat and continuous colours of paper. I'm also very keen on watercolour paper, I like the different textures and brown paper and card for its utilitarianism. I really like that you can score, fold, curl and photocopy onto paper. I use a lot of pattern that I get from my collection of 60s and 70s pillowcase and duvet covers.

Japanese patterned fabric is good to use too. I like the idea of building layers, to create a scene that the viewer could jump into, another world that’s a bit like a fairytale or a children's story – everything’s nice and everyone's happy.

CR: Looking at images of your work (rather than at the artworks themselves), it’s tricky to know the scale you work at – tell us about the size of image you tend to create...
HM: I make most of my work to fit into any box frame that I can find to buy, I used to buy a tiny frame (until it was discontinued a few weeks ago) that was only 115mm square x 45mm deep. I've made pieces up to 800mm x 600mm and all sizes between.

CR: Undergrowth, woods and birds... Tell us about your choice of subject matter and what inspires you
HM: My choice of subject matter is inspired by things I see everyday walking my dog. I live in semi-suburbia, really close to the countryside. I really notice the changing of the seasons and am enamored by the beauty and complexity of Mother Nature. I really like leaves, the shape, colour, and uniformity, I like the shapes of trees and branches, the colour combinations that occur naturally and I like the character and natural engineering of birds, oh and I love owls! There’s nothing I like more than to be walking down the lane and being greeted by a Friesian cow looking over the hedge.

CR: Your images are a bit like stage sets – have you ever been asked to design a set for a theatre or film production? Stepping up to a larger scale – and perhaps working with materials like wood and metals – is that something you’d fancy doing ever?
HM: I would love to work on a much larger scale; I think it would be a natural progression as I said before I want viewers of my work to want to jump in – so with a film or theatre set you really could do that.

Metals, wood and plastic would all be great to work with, thinking about it a large sculpture would be fantastic to do... a life-size tree with owls and birds, I'd love to get my teeth stuck into a commission like that.

CR: What else makes you tick? What are your favourite biscuits and what’s on your stereo this week!?
HM: What else makes me tick? Lets see... the vastness and immediacy of the internet, buying a new book, listening to music, the scent of roses, sweet chilli crisps and rosé wine. And my dog when he sits at the top of the stairs with a stolen shoe in his mouth...

On my stereo this week: three tunes I've downloaded that will get heavy rotation then I’ll probably go back to Radio 4 until I find some more tunes I just can’t live without!

Misery Business – Paramore (my song of choice when playing Guitar Hero – I'm not very good but love it especially the end bit, only play it when we go to a friend's house, if we bought a Wii I'd get no work done at all). Jump in the Pool by Friendly Fires, and In For The Kill (Skream’s Lets Get Ravey remix) by La Roux.

My biscuit of choice is McVites plain chocolate digestive.

Here are some more of Helen Musselwhite's creations...

PeepShow Collective contact

This week I emailed PeepShow collective to try and arrange a portfolio visit, as I'd love their advice and to see how they work in studio. Unfortunately they advised me that they used to see students but they no longer take part in portfolio viewings, which is a shame. I've been a fan of these guys for ages!

http://www.peepshow.org.uk/