Hopes, Fears and Opportunities (pt 2)

Hopes, Fear and Opportunities (pt 2)

Reflecting on my Hopes, Fears and Opportunities (pt 1) blog post, posted last semester, I still seemed to be concentrating on my end result; hoping more than anything for a first class honours. I wrote about how ‘a first class honours degree doesn’t mean anything if I don’t have fun’, and in part that is true, if I can’t say that I’ve had fun, has all the work really been worth the effort? However, even now, although I am forcing myself to stop thinking about the final hurdle (the mark) it seems in doing so I’m making it all the worse, I suppose in my defence and my justification for doing so is that it’s how I can assess my own progress, if my mark is improving at each stage then I know I am getting better or at the least staying consistent. Alongside this I need, a matter of requirement, a minimum of a 2:1 to secure a place at my first choice institution to further study towards a primary PGCE in September. All this worrying about the final mark will inevitably add to the already immense pressure which could in turn undo all the hard work and effort I’ve thrown at it thus far. In all then, it is both a hope and a fear rolled into one; I hope for a minimum of a 2:1 and I fear that by not achieving this I will not be selected for a PGCE primary course to start in September.

I wrote previously of not being ‘able to forgive myself for not working my hardest or to my fullest potential’. The hours I am putting in at the moment and the total, all-consuming exhaustion I feel, has truly put my mind at ease on this point at least if nothing else. I have fulfilled my opportunity of working hard and making the most of the resources available at university whilst I still have them to make the use of. Gary’s word of choice was to be ‘relentless’, I think that can well describe how I feel currently, I have tried my best at everything I have undertaken, my stamina knows no bounds! Fearing the workload was a good thing on reflection, being nonchalant about it was never going to work, I like to see myself as a practical and realistic person. By fearing the workload, I expected it, meaning that in a round about way I was able to cope much better than I would or could have done otherwise. Yes, the deadlines did all come around too quickly, but which ones don’t? I guess that’s the idea of deadlines… Quitting my job was the best thing I could have done to improve my chances of success, I’ve had much more time to dedicate, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to get the all important hours in.

I have partly fulfilled my hope of illustrating a children’s book, improved it by 200% in fact as I’ve made two. How it will impact on a child’s learning will be more difficult to assess as it’s not been published and probably never will be. This hope has changed slightly too, originally hoping to impact on a child’s learning through illustration; I have now made the move to impact on a child’s learning from more of a 1-2-1, hands on approach through becoming a primary school teacher. I still fear that I won’t live up to be own expectations, but I’m pretty sure that’s a common trait in most folk, I won’t beat myself up too much about it.

At the beginning of last semester (beginning of year three), I filled out a sheet based on my hopes, fears, opportunities and aims. My original hopes were to produce more work as last year I produced very little and as a result I didn’t have much portfolio pieces as I’d have liked. I wanted to secure a first class honours degree, a PGCE place as Sheffield Hallam University and to win the Uganda competition brief.

Judging by my portfolio currently, I have definitely succeeded in producing more work and more to the point of a much better standard and quality than previously. I now have at least ten very strong pieces which I am totally confident in and proud of. The next few hopes and aims weren’t as easy to master. I understand now that I am not a first class standard student and instead and quite happy to settle for a 2:1, indeed if I were to achieve anything less than this I would be thoroughly and 100% disappointed. I was declined a PGCE place at Sheffield Hallam University, though I have put in an application presently to The University of Warwick to study a PGCE in Early Years. Plus, I didn’t win the Uganda brief competition. However, to counter the negative results of my original hopes and aims, I did manage to secure a portfolio visit with Sarah Habershon at the Guardian and have managed to get my work under the noses of seven professionals this semester, way more than I had ever expected. This resolves my wanting to be able to showcase my work to as many professional people in the industry as possible. This out of all my hopes, fears and opportunities was the one I didn’t think would bear any fruit. However, I have stood my ground and continued to follow up emails and phone calls. After graduation, I hope that I can continue to seek out creative professionals in order to gain as much exposure for my work as possible and hopefully land that first commission!

My aims were to build on my presentation skills and to have an outstanding portfolio under my belt. I have managed to bring my portfolio up to the standard of which I aimed for. Presentation wise, I have only managed to experience presenting my work to the creatives at portfolio appointments, however on reflection I feel that this is probably the best way of encouraging my presentation skills as it is essentially what will be required of me in the next few months.

On my progress, I think I have finally mastered that all important ‘style’ issue. I can now look at my ‘cohesive’ portfolio and say that it’s mine. I know that it’s mine obviously because I’ve produced the work, but the ‘look’ and the overall image has me written all over it. This is one of my biggest achievements this year and is one of the aspects that I am most pleased with. Colour isn’t such an issue anymore; I can be more subtle than I was at the beginning of the year with those bold, brash, clashing palettes from the Uganda project. I don’t flit from one technique to the next, I have a firm, solid way of working. I use different techniques and media for my rough workings out such as watercolour and pencil sketches, but the final outcomes are all cohesive collages, from magazine paper with hints of stitch. I have experimented with other techniques to show how my images could be applied to other surfaces such a screen printing them onto fabrics to make into baby-gro’s and cushions. I have utilised skills I have been taught within the semester such as hand book binding my rough workings out into small books which look much more unique and aesthetically pleasing when being flipped through than a dirty old sketchbook.

My plan on graduating is to continue my search for a primary PGCE place if I still haven’t secured one by then. There will be the clearing process to navigate during June and July too if my search still doesn’t come to fruition. In between graduating in July and starting university again in September though I have volunteered my talents to the Just So Festival where I will have the opportunity to collaborate with other creative’s in a great atmosphere. If I don’t succeed at this then I will apply for non-teaching assistant positions for a year and hopefully reapply next year though I am hoping against all hope that it doesn’t come to that, but everyone needs a Plan B! Another consideration if this doesn’t work out the way I hope is the idea of renting some shared studio space with university friends, where jobs on the side would be merely to pay our way through the first couple of years until we could get ourselves truly established, with the main focus being on an illustrative career. My biggest worry about going down this particular route is not being employed. When TWD accountants came in to show us the process of declaring ourselves self-employed to HMRC that alone further reinforced my gut feeling that I would rather have a job where I know I will get a wage every month. Granted, being self-employed must have its benefits and I can see why people would be attracted to this option, they just don’t outweigh the guaranteed salary for me personally. Therefore, my priority is to secure that all important PGCE place to study for a further year and become a primary school teacher with an art specialism. If the feeling takes me, I can always continue illustrating around that.

And still here I am, little Chloe, still learning with under a month to go until the final deadline. I don’t feel ready to tackle the big wide world of illustration, I still feel much too young, naïve and inexperienced, though I know with this attitude I never will be. I would rather be protected in the college bubble for the remainder of my life, that way the negativity I receive from professionals won’t seem so hard to bear (though in fairness the majority, no all of the feedback I’ve received so far has been positive, I just don’t like the idea of negativity, I fear it). Then again I understand that now is the time to have faith and confidence in my abilities, and for Pete’s sake, grow some!

Illustration Part Podcast Debate

Illustration Party Podcast

Highlight two interesting points that interest you or relate to your practise

Said Podcast is narrated by two comic/cartoon artists, Joshua Cross and Kevin Kemble. Comic strips and cartoon drawing is something which I have no experience of and if truth be told, hold very little interest in, finding two points from this fifty-four minute podcast then could be difficult and rather *yawn* exciting, obviously. And yet, still I manage the impossible…

The two American guys (Corss and Kemble) are down to earth if not a bit too ‘hip’ with their choice of phrases and ridiculous sci-fi themed, Black Eyed Peas, Will.I.Am inspired soundtrack, they’re just about listenable though their drawl may irritate me a tad, the vote’s still out. The first point I’m highlighting from their chat (it’s not really an interview but it comes across as one) is “by making mistakes you end up coming at a better solution”. Not entirely sure which cartoonist came out with this one but you can find out more about them and the podcast at http://www.illustrationparty.com/. Back to the point, this does fit in just neatly with my work, working method and practise. Throughout my three year degree course, and if you’ve been keeping up with my blog you’ll have heard me speak about it profusely, I have flitted from one style to the next without doing any in-depth exploration of what I could potentially have achieved given any one method some real time, consideration and commitment. During this final semester however I have at last applied myself 100% to my collaging technique, defining and redefining the style and quality of output. Finally, I have sweated it out over one single particular technique and whittle it down so that it describes me as an artist and what I stand for. I totally agree with this point the guys make as I have learned from first hand experience that by making my mistakes along the way I have come out at a much better place, plus what’s to gain by being perfect? I endured a three year undergrad course to do just that – make mistakes and learn from them so that I have a decent chance of survival in the real world once I graduate in July 2012. Of course there have been times in my personal work where mistakes haven’t paid off, take for example the Grimm’s project I started out on at the beginning of this semester but which eventually got scrapped for lack a of resolve, but on the whole this statement works. I scrapped my Grimm’s project – it was a mistake to even start it, but by scrapping it and making that initial mistake I have come to the resolve of producing some wonderful illustrations for my ‘into the garden’ and ‘under the water’ children’s identification books. In short, I’ve come up trumps by making that initial mistake and working twice as hard since to try and put it all right. It might be a case of stating the obvious or maybe sometimes these things need saying out loud for people to be able to resonate with them and fit things into place for themselves. Plus, if I were to end up at my perfect solution straight away, where would the fun be? I wouldn’t have the chance to experiment and play with my style or develop and nurture it when I fall on frustrating times.

The guys go on to say how being an illustrator or indeed a cartoonist is a “lonely existence” with the greatest company being in your tools; pens, pencils etc. For me, loneliness within the institution of illustration is not a given but a choice, illustrators don’t have to be lonely or feel the isolation that so many of them preach about. What happened to keeping in touch with university peers? How about taking art directors to lunch to discuss potential commissions? (an idea taken from a previous podcast…highly informative). There are so many opportunities for creative’s to get involved in and immerse themselves in and feed their creativity by collaborating with other creative minds but they choose not to participate in such events. Personally, I have lined up participation in the Spellbound festival at the end of May, Mr Thomas’ Chop House auction in July and the Just So Festival in August and I’m still in full-time education! There are so many activities to be involved in but if that really isn’t your bag then there’s always the option of renting studio space to share with other creative, like-minded people whereby there would be a constant flow of support, encouragement and company. Today it feels as though people have to moan at every possible opportunity rather than taking the bull by the horns and doing something about it. Here’s another point for you guys to talk about in future podcasts, the notion of ‘putting up or shutting up!’

Seriously though there are definite solutions to that ‘lonely’ feeling that illustrators harp on about. Sure photographers engage with their clients on a daily basis, their work is in a face-to-face environment and designers work out of a design agency (usually) but illustrators are left to fester in spare bedrooms and attic dens, I get that or at least I see where they are coming from. But the solution is simple, if this way of working isn’t working for you then find a method that does. Go and rent some studio space, collaborate with other creative people or club together to rent out a shared studio space. As a result these options all offer a support network which illustrators lack otherwise and a chance to cut costs by distributing them equally. If you research premises in-depth you should be able to find somewhere which would give you 24 hour access too so working late or early isn’t an excuse to continue your torture and in turn continue torturing me with your whining. If studio space is something you simply cannot afford then contact your local council who will generally be happy to come to an arrangement whereby derelict buildings will be offered at no cost just to have them occupied and thus less likely to be vandalised or used for squatting. Cross and Kemble however choose to talk about how social networking can relieve the loneliness that illustrators experience by keeping a network of creative’s on facebook and twitter. Sorry to say this guys but social networking sites are hardly an excuse for the real thing. Social networking is often the root of the loneliness that these illustrators and cartoonists are facing because they are reportedly ‘socialising’ and ‘networking’ through a virtual method, ie it isn’t real, it’s all online through typing words on a keyboard and not speaking them. What happened to getting dressed in a morning and going to meet these people for real? Discuss gallery invites over coffee?

What really needs to happen is people need to start and talk to others using their voices rather than their keypads, call the art director rather than sending him/her an email. Sure they can’t talk to everybody, so offer something unique, a chance at lunch, a coffee date or even a meet in the park. You benefit because you’re seeing a real person and thus are relieving your loneliness and they are benefitting because they get out of the office and possibly a free coffee. For a bunch of people that reckon to be so advanced, it seems to me we are going backwards where real communication is no longer a necessity. Pah. Maybe I’m a hypocrite? This is all said by me, sat here typing this post…

Hanoch Piven Research

Hanoch Piven

Recently, I had a portfolio visit with the Guardian in London. Sarah Habershon’s advice was that my portfolio was too broad, trying to reach too many audiences without focusing on one particular area of illustration. I think exploring different briefs and avenues, particularly whilst still at university where we are encouraged to experiment and manipulate should be a welcomed attribute from an employer’s perspective. Truth is, I enjoy illustrating for a child audience particularly, there’s more of an element of play to experience with a child audience in mind. Only I don’t want to limit my work prospects as that will also limit my earning potential and as a fresh graduate I need all the experience I can manage. It was then interesting to learn of Hanoch Piven, an Israeli mixed media artist who works for a child audience as well as creating works for editorials and thus an adult audience.

During my research on Piven I realised that child-friendly type illustrations such as mine could be adapted for an older audience too. Piven himself does this by adding visual twists such as the iconic matches he used for Saddam Hussein’s moustache circa 1990 when the world was getting ready for the Gulf War after Saddam and Iraq’s conquering of Kuwait, ‘the matches seemed a perfect metaphor for that imminent war/fire coming’. So there are visual elements that an older audience find amusing or witty, yet a child audience can still recognise the famous portrait and relate to the technique. As Piven put, metaphor works for an adult audience because they can understand the message implied. Similarly I use collage and mixed media to create my subjects though ephemeron doesn’t really feature as my work is all two-dimensional.

Additionally, it’s interesting to learn that he had two portfolios when he graduated, one for illustration and one for graphic design. If Sarah thought that my one portfolio was too varied in content and ‘broad’ then I would hate to see her reaction to the freshly graduated Piven way back when! For me, having work that appeals to different markets is an advantage, I see it as showing my flexibility and ability to mould myself to different situations, tasks and challenges. For me, limiting my portfolio and being selective about briefs I undertake limits my earning potential which at the end of the day is one of the major reasons I’m in the business. Therefore although having two portfolios might be slightly excessive, I admire his determination and commitment to accessing work.

In an interview, Piven was asked ‘You travel all over the world for workshops, and they are not just for artists, but with children, with seniors, with patients in hospitals…can you talk about how these workshops became part of your life as an artist, and what you can give to the participants, and what you get out of them?’. These workshops further connect him with both adult and child audiences, visiting schools and kindergartens, hospitals and museums, reinforcing his ability and suitability for editorials as well as children’s book illustration; he seems to seamlessly flit from one to the other. The majority of his editorial work also has a political slant featuring Saddam Hussein and Tony Blair to name a few. These editorials give him an outlet to vent his political views as well as being able to produce aesthetically pleasing illustrations for the child market.

If I could adapt my illustrations in a way as to add metaphor, wit and humour in a similar way to Piven it would give me more flexibility when it comes to employability and commissioning. If by entering the editorial market alongside child illustration offers this extra experience, it is certainly an arena I would be interested in exploring.

Times reflection

The Times reflection

The talk which Jon Hill presented us with on 14/03, has on hindsight given me food for thought. He talked about the application which the Times has for the iPad and iPhone, where users have to pay a subscription fee to be able to read their online content, similar to purchasing the printed newspaper, only online. This is an idea Rupert Murdoch had and in a sense it does make logical business sense, why charge to purchase a printed newspaper version when you could in theory read the exact same content for free online if they did not charge the subscription fee?

It made me start thinking though, I mean no other news outlet with a web presence charges for such a service, for example the BBC or Google or the Daily Mail amongst others, so how do they manage to still get daily hits? Is it that the Times is such an integral part of the British heritage that people simply cannot do without their daily fix? In a presentation that the company made to Murdoch to secure the next years funding they showed data proving that charging for their online version still has more hits per day than the Independent had for their printed copy and last year (2010) their application was more popular than Angry Birds. So on reflection does it matter that they charge a subscription fee when they are quite clearly one of the leading suppliers in the market, both online and in the printed form? In such dismal economic times though will these figures drop as the population begins to realise that they can read their news for free on other sites?

Also, it made me think that newspapers really are a dying trend. I know from first hand experience that my father only purchases a newspaper when he is on holiday and actually has the quality time to sit down with a cup of tea and digest the news he has paid for properly, thus making more financial sense to him than purchasing it everyday and not having the time to sit and read it thoroughly. Though my grandfather purchases a newspaper daily and religiously (with the exception of Sundays, because they charge too much for mere supplements and advertisements, buts that’s going on another tangent entirely). If they are a dying trend, then are they going to become more expensive as less people part take in the purchasing of British heritage? After all a newspaper such as the Times is indeed just that, part of the British make-up. If they become more expensive then they will become an exclusive institution. Of course the likes of the Times is marketed at the middle classes and above already but the exclusivity that it poses could potential only widen the gap between the social classes. Additionally, if it becomes so expensive for the manufacturer to produce then the only way of it being a sustainable source would be to make it a weekly or even monthly publication instead of daily as we see it at the moment. Agreed, we do see the news on television and hear of it on the radio, so I hear you say where is the need for the printed word? Well institutions such as the Times have specialists in subject areas to break the information down for us into more manageable chunks with the added bonus of lawyers and doctors on hand for authoritative information and of course they can utilise data to make sense of scenarios through diagrams and graphics.

Finally, if newspapers, alongside other printed forms such as books are going online to try and keep up with the pace of an ever evolving technological world, then surely I must need to have a basic knowledge of how all this works if I am to survive in producing art work that will fit these needs too. This is the bit that scares me most as I have no experience or knowledge of coding or how computers work past the basic Microsoft and adobe packages. Will I need to start some courses or purchase some teach-yourself guides? Even the tour of the Times and Guardian office in London didn’t manage to shine any light on these particular issues, having had the time they are ones which I would have raised, what exactly are the expectations of future illustrators etc. from newspaper and other editorial outlets? I hope and pray that when I eventually enter the professional world after graduation I can whatever these expectations may be!

Charley Harper and Lucienne Day - research

Engaging with Charley Harper research

Recently I have been directed back to the work of Charley Harper. It is fitting really that this connection has resurfaced as my work also references natural subjects in quite a graphical, stylized method. I try to concentrate on breaking down the subject into key shapes and not focus too much on the fussy details, as long as you can tell that my prawn for example is indeed a prawn, then for me (and Charley too it seems) no further information is necessary. My technique then is a matter of distilling the subject and simplifying it to its most recognizable form. Unlike Harper though who then goes on to contextualize his simple subjects in complex surroundings, I try to keep the context simple too. Currently, I am experimenting with my marks to see which media will best fit with my simple collages. I think that fine line pencil drawings are aesthetically pleasing against the collages as they do not introduce too much detail as to take the eye away from the main subject yet they still give some structure and hint at a

context for the subject. Next on my list of experiments will be ink marks made with natural tools such as twigs or leaves. I’m not sure yet whether these will be intricate enough an outcome as the black marks could look dominant and aggressive with the dense colour against such timid magazine cuttings.

Looking at Harper’s backgrounds, he also utilises intricate line. Where he uses a colourful background however, I tend to keep mine white as I work with white space well and will probably keep this feature in my final major project work. This lack of colour again emphasises the main subject which is a colour collage and subdues the structure. Harper uses symmetry in the majority of his works too and I have noticed that in my own work the stronger of my subjects hold symmetrical qualities. Keeping everything symmetrical however can become a little bit predictable and so introducing some asymmetry keeps things varied and aesthetically pleasing when turning the pages too.

Engaging with Lucienne Day

Although Lucienne Day is a textile designer there is much knowledge and insight to be gained from her work. Again I have been directed to Lucienne by my tutor who suggested that her work would aid my research, looking at her use of organic shapes and bright patterns she certainly appeals to my tastes. Again, similar to Harper, she uses fine intricate lines to suggest her natural subjects, lines which I am aiming to produce for my structures to hold my collaged subjects. Indeed, at the moment my lines probably aren’t as articulated as they could be, but experimentation is the only resolve to this problem, which I will be pursuing over the Easter break. It is good to have some bench mark to aim for by referencing artists such as Harper and Day.

Colour wise, Day tends to stick with more natural hues to imitate the subjects she is representing, by running these parallels everything is interconnected and visually the audience understands this. Again, my backgrounds will be stark white which contrasts with Day’s natural colours of green and brown, however I don’t want any additional unnecessary distractions which could potentially diminish the main subject. As I am not a textile designer myself, and with my knowledge of Day’s area being limiting I don’t really have much more to add to her technique other than it clearly works as her prints are still widely recognised in a contemporary arena.

Creative Review 29/03

Creative Review for Thursday 29/03/12

Escape from Illustration Island Podcast, episode 72

Interview with Charles Hively, creative director of 3x3 publication

http://escapefromillustrationisland.com/2011/02/22/efii-podcast-episode-72-charles-hively-of-3x3/

Creative Review magazine article by Lawrence Zeegen

Where is the Content?

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2012/february/where-is-the-content

This podcast interview with Charles Hively focuses on his thoughts on self-promotion, competitions and the virtues of running an effective creative business. I have picked out relevant quotes from Hively that I think resonate well with my current practice and have expanded on them with my own thoughts.

‘I can draw faces and trees very well’, I focus on natural elements a lot, I think it is mainly their symmetrical quality that makes them work so well with my technique. However, it is funny how he should put trees and faces in the same sentence as they are the complete opposites. Faces, although natural in that they are not man-made but just are, are nothing like trees in that they grow from the ground and could potentially last hundreds if not thousands of years. I cannot draw faces for the life of me, I struggle a lot with anything related to the human anatomy. It too is symmetrical in theory but because it has a set personality and set of characteristics it cannot be replicated in different way like a tree can.

‘You can’t work from back to back to back’, this I my favourite quote. I can relate to this point well as I don’t produce my best work when my battery is running on low, it is essential to have a break in between projects and divide your time up proportionally so that you still get some down time too. Compared to my recent visit to the Times newspaper this has become particularly prevalent to me as the offices there are relentless, the job is never finished because there is always something else to follow it up immediately.

‘You can’t afford to starve, just draw how they want you to draw’, I stand divided on this one. I agree that it is all about money at the end of the day, being an illustrator is a career to be able to make money and survive. If somebody is commissioning you for a job take it and be grateful that they are the ones going to be putting food in your mouth this week. At the same time you cannot afford to be a push-over. Remember to do things for your own passion too whether that be personal projects or send over a few roughs to the commissioning body and explain why your idea is better but you have to be able to back it up properly. If you start to take less money than is needed for a job you also risk collapsing you business as commissioners will start to take their business to other people if you don’t accept their low offer.

It was interesting to see how Chively makes comparisons of illustrators to photographers. When he is in the office he will receive 10 mail shots from different photographers per day to just 1 illustrator getting in touch. Illustrators need to be able to promote themselves more and this has been pushed particularly in this final year at our university with the introduction of the PDP module setting us up with this expectation that work will not come looking for me, rather I have to go and look for it. You need to keep on promoting yourself too and not stop once a bit of work starts to come in, you should be sending out mailings at least once per month in some respect. It people don’t promote themselves illustration won’t progress past where it is at currently so self-promotion is an investment that an illustrator must make. When sending mailings make sure you send an image that solves a visual problem – photography looks pretty much the same these days and because of this it is becoming ever more difficult to establish the photographer like in previous years. Every illustration however is totally unique. Hand written or singular one off pieces get more attention from an art director because they want to save and cherish that piece, make it highly personal.

Out of 200 illustrators surveyed only 1 sent a promotional piece and that was a Christmas card. To be effective and consistent you need to be sending 3 mailings, Christmas cards is too advertisey and corporate there is the feeling that not much thought has gone into it. Photographers have invited him to lunch but by contrast no illustrators ever have, be more approachable.

Photographers are much more business minded than illustrators, a lot of the time they’ve had to invest in expensive equipment and so they need to make that return to make a success of their investment. Artists need to be more business minded in order to be more successful like their photographer counterparts. The bulk of illustration websites are not easy enough to navigate around and it needs to be new stuff and concise NOT your entire lifes work. There is no need for more than 15 images for thumbnails and ‘bullshit’ about sections are not required art directors don’t care, if they are looking to commission you it will be on the merit of your work, and your work only. Contact details need to be clearer than the majority of them are, most miss out important information such as a contact telephone number which is vital for the commission body. The images are the hero – don’t let anything get in the way of these, Chively looks at you the same as he would a plumber.

Chively says that he always looks for the weakest piece of work, because if he is happy with that then he knows that this is the least he will get, it sets a benchmark for him. Of course he would always like to get your best work, but should he get some of the weaker stuff if it passes his benchmark then he has some kind of safeguard by vetting that part of your portfolio too.

The online environment will be difficult for illustrators and art directors to navigate. This problem is caused mainly due to the longevity of the images online, do they eventually come down or does the commissioner need exclusive rights etc? Also, illustrators are used to charging a set fee for a spot illustration, a half page or full page etc in a newspaper for example, so how now do illustrators charge for online work?

The Creative Review article ‘Where is the content?’ by Lawrence Zeegen basically slates the world of illustration for being exclusive, ‘it’s time for the profession to stop pleasing itself and engage with the world outside’. For me this statement is comparable to more exclusive and upper class institutions such as classical music and opera. These institutions require money to be able to attend and training etc to be involved, yet anybody can pick up a paintbrush as many children do, it is not an exclusive institution, rather the opposite, anybody can get involved it’s just a case of whether they want to or not. Exclusivity is where other people and classes cannot engage with the institution, a paintbrush and paint is not expensive equipment. It takes a certain skill and lessons to learn how to play an instrument, painting and art is in all of us.

He also refers to the Pick me Up event happening in London, on the Strand currently showcasing new art talent and how nobody else other than graphic artists and illustrators go to visit such events. True, graphic artists and illustrators do go to these events to integrate further in their practice but professional bodies looking to commission artists attend to see the fresh face of art. ‘The allure of the digital row over, the discipline has seemingly retreated into an analogue world of craft-drive aesthetics’, if indeed Lawrence had been to Pick me Up he would have witnessed first hand that digital illustration is in fact very much in full swing with artists such as Andy Smith still working this way. ‘So where does illustration go next? How does the discipline move forward?’, the Charles Hively interview with Illustration Island sums this up pretty well; people need to stop criticising illustration and embrace them more and to help the stark situation illustrators need to take more responsibility and promote themselves and their cause in a positive fashion. Staying quiet and conforming to the reclusive hide-away preconception that people have does not help this impression of art being an exclusive institution, they are not seen to integrate with the rest of society, self-promotion will certainly help, take note peers!

Portfolio Visit 10 - Jon Hill

Times Tour

Friday 23^rd March, 2:00pm

With Jon Hill

On Friday me, Philippa and Becca went to the Times offices close to Tower Hill tube station for the guided tour of News International owned by Rupert Murdoch. The same guy, Jon Hill, who came into college and gave the Time talk last week kindly, gave up an hour of his precious time to guide us round. The offices surprisingly were less busy and chaotic than I expected. With the weather being so nice everyone had taken an early lunch before the real rush started from 4pm till the deadline around 10pm. As the tour was only at 2:00pm that will probably explain the lack of persons actually in the office, they would still be waiting for the news reports and latest information to come in.

It was interesting to see that the designers don’t have as much space to work in as I originally expected. They have a pc or a mac granted, but in terms of desk space they only have a normal desk not the huge table I have to work on at home and in the studio. I suppose thinking it through properly, a designer will work for the most part on the computer anyway and will not keep doing things manually and scanning them in like I do. There was an in-house artist practising who had his own desk and office space, he did the political cartoons for the newspaper and had won the best prize for best political cartoons for something like the last consecutive five years. The in-house illustrator however was away from her desk – just typical of my luck that on the one day I am in London and in the Times newspapers building she’s not there. There seemed to be much peace and tranquillity for the in-house cartoonist sat in his own office without the constant buzz from the television, he worked manually by painting his work and then scanning it in. I liked to see this as I often have the perception that not many artists work manually anymore, especially in an institution such as the Times who have such an expanse of technical know-how and software. Though relating to my earlier point about lack of desk space, the in-house artist had a much bigger area to work on probably due to his manual practising.

I was also surprised to see how many different desks there were; one for finance, one for property, one for foreign affairs etc etc. Not only were there an expanse of different desks but there were also three editors offices and on-site lawyers, health and money experts to offer specific assistance and guidelines for particular issues which could lead to court proceedings if not articulated correctly.

Last week Jon said to wave our portfolios at him towards the end of the tour and he or one of his colleagues would find some time to have a look through them and offer some feedback. Unfortunately, Jon and his team were extremely busy the day we went and so I felt rude asking for yet more of his time to look at my portfolio, it just didn’t seem right at the time. I know that it is best to strike whilst the iron is still hot but I think a quick email sometime with my PDF portfolio attached would be much better and more convenient for him. Overall, it was a bit disappointing to think that we didn’t manage to get our work in front of the professionals at the Times, but the tour of the building was insightful alone so not all was lost except a bit of time which wouldn’t have been spent better anywhere else anyway.