Practice

Inspiration

Online

Competitions and Exhibitions

Getting Out There

Becomming a Business

Portfolio

Trying to describe my practice is a lot more dif-

ficult than I first thought as I feel it is constantly

changing and evolving. That said there are cer-

tain aspects of illustration, art and creativity that

intrigue me and therefore affect my practice. I

have a hands-on approach to drawing and have

always really enjoyed creating work that pushes

my technical drawing ability. I use a range of

different mediums from pencil, paint, pen, ink,

crayon, and some digital elements. I much prefer

the physical act of making work, drawing and

as my practice and abilities have developed I

have been able to concentrate more on what

the work I create is actually about. I have a real

interest in people and the environment, how we

act within it, what makes us feel comfortable/

uncomfortable and how we move through it in

our daily lives.

I would consider myself an explorer; I like to be

outside in different places, seeing new things,

discovering places I’ve never seen before, and

meeting interesting people, with interesting

stories. This is, I think, what drives my practice

and research. This I feel has come through more

and more in my work and in the final year of my

degree has opened up the possibility to explore

imaginary environments and the possibilities of

them.

In terms of my creative inspiration from the art-ists and illustrators around me, it stems very much from my interest in drawing and mark-making. From strong gestural strong line work from someone like Marion Duchars to intricately detailed drawings such as Greg Easons work. This year I have really enjoyed trying out different areas of my practice from quick five-minute drawings, to intricate paintings. This has not only opened up my practice creatively, but also helped me to explore different areas of art and illus-tration. One of the illustrator/animator that has re-ally inspired my work this year is Thoka Maer. She is an artist that crosses the line between animation and illustration and retains all the integrity of her work. Having had guest lectures from inspiring illustrators such Will Sweeney, I have been increasingly inter-ested in exploring my more intricate work. Laura Carlin’s visit was also brilliant. She is an artist whom I have taken a lot of inspiration from in the past, her confidence in mark-making and her embracement of different mediums that suit her work have made her someone that really inspired the way I think about making work. Through looking at these various illus-trators I have been able to see how they have found what they are good at and what works for them.

Outside of the illustration world I have been re-searching in depth ecology. Although the work I have been producing doesn’t carry a heavy environmental message, I really have enjoyed learning about how environmentally sustainable housing works. It is something that I want to explore further in my work once I have graduated as it has sparked a keen inter-est in exploring these enviroments.

The importance of having an online pre-

sent for an Illustrator is far more impor-

tant today. Living in a world were nearly

all of us have access to a computer and

the internet means that not only does the

field of illustration become more com-

petitive and fast paced but also there is

the need to present yourself in a positive

light to anyone who may come across you

online.

When creating the various avenues of

online promotion such as websites and

blog I had to consider what an outsider’s

perspective would be of my work and

myself. For an employer it is important

that I come across as professional, reli-

able and communicate my process and

way of working quickly and effectively. As

many of us use the Internet, email and

social networking to communicate, it was

important for me to show my personality

and skill set as an illustrator with continu-

ity and professionalism as you never know

who might be looking!

Through appropriating twitter, facebook,

blogging and have a website that all use a

similar layout and carry my artistic voice

people that encounter my work will un-

derstand where it has come from and why

I have made it.

CompetitionsOhh Deer T-shirt Design

Ohh Deer Cushion DesignTalenthouse Vinyl Cover DesignPop Up Dorset Gallery Selection

Zizi Plate Design

ExhibitionsCafe Bosconova Exhibition

Moontree GalleryPop Up Dorset Exhibition

Be Keen on GreenNaked Open Space Exhibition

In terms of working as an Illustra-tor in the big wide art world I have ambitions of what kind of illustrator I’d like to be. Recently I have just finished a commission for Forest Forge Theatre Com-pany. The opportunity arose to work with a Artistic Director on a play called The Boy at the Edge of the Room.

The commission involved me not only illustrating but also animat-ing a young boys sketches. The play centres around a young autistic boy and his experiences as he grows up. His main way of communicating these ideas is through a sketchbook, which he carries around with him. My role was to bring to life his sketch-books through moving image.

This particular area of illustration and animation has since sparked my interest into exploring newer areas of my practice. The idea of bringing sketches to life through simple animation tools has meant that I am now keen to continue to explore this area of practice not only personally but hopefully

professionally.

In the past few years illustrators have had to become more flexible and versatile in relation to the artistic world and work. As fewer commissions are awarded in fields such as editorial the demand on the illustrator to have a var-ied skill set is important. The idea of self-initiated projects is something I’m really keen to look into and its something that I feel could be really rewarding! In terms of promotion of myself attending net-working events, sending out postcasrds/ promotional products, attending specific events will all help not only get myself out there but build my confidence in talking to new people. Whilst on my degree I have had the opportunity to build my confidence in these situations such as collaborating with others, hav-ing critiques where you talk about your work and attending networking events such as Meetdraw.Meetdraw is an example of the types of events that I will be attending in the up-coming years. The opportunity to speak and swap business with other likemind-ed people whether they are experienced or not opens up the opportunity for possible commissions and collaborations in the future.

Over the past three years I have moved my practice on a lot. This year having been granted the oppor-tunity to work with Forest Forge I feel my work has opened up to more possibilities and I am wanting more and more to explore different ar-eas of visual art. This has shown me that, through working on commissions and dif-ferent projects, new and exciting work and ideas can come from it to inspire my own practice.In terms of my work, I still feel there are many things I can improve on and particular areas, for example narrative, that I would like to challenge myself with. Through a com-bination of gaining experience through professional work, understanding my practice more and promoting my art well, I feel I can move forward and dis-cover many new and exciting things about Illustration.