The Demise of Year Two

Second year is DONE.  Had to redo various bits and bobs, finish the packaging brief and get through a mountain of organising and scanning and printing and cutting and measuring and spray mounting and general fretting over presentation.  But I think it's over, and now I just wait and see.

Feel rrrrrelieved, will now concentrate on summer work :)

The above is my Maximise Memory completed editorial work, meant to fit into a Guardian article. Below is the End World Poverty one.

Other bits are new, but those are my favourites.

Not much to report. I'm 20 now D: and am about to spend Bank Holiday with the family. Drawing and listening to a lot of typically soft, lazy music and being as happy and sleepy as the cat, who is sleeping over there *points*

Off to continue being stereotypical art student. May go get coffee to add to the effect. What else would I rather do?

Design Packaging Brief, Quaker Oats

Last illustration degree brief of the year!  Soooo close to the end. Deadline day is the 4th of May, which is next Friday, which is also my 20th birthday :D I'll wake up in the morning, haul ass to the studio and hand everything in. And then will spend all weekend being un-busy and calm as a calm thing. But that day is not yet this day. Still spending days at Studio Liddell, and by night I attempt to be social, do housework (yeah really -.-) and keep uni work up to date. Everything in between is trains.  So many trains o.O

For this project, we had to go to a supermarket, find a product for £1 and redesign it.  I firstly chose Maxwell House brand instant coffee, but found it so boring I switched to Quaker Oats oatmeal pots, which actually was really fun XD

All I did was redesign the little oil painted Quaker Oats man, and try and make the pot look like his head :3

The idea was that it looks like people are eating instant oatmeal out of his hat ^^ but 'cause the pot is so deep, and porridge looks a bit like liquified brain anyway (yummyyyyy), it's more like eating oatmeal out of his skull B-) awh yeah

Also thanks to David for his ingenious poses on webcam XD

I thought this afternoon I'd make several colour palettes, or even a variety of faces, for different flavours, but I've got no further with that. Spent the remainder of my Wednesday night watching tv with Jon (watching Jon watch South Park is deffs the funniest I've seen all day! So much giggling) and drinking soy milk from the carton. Up and at em for 7am, joyyyyy more trains.

All in all though, things are good. Still a bit tired, and nervous about extreme portfolio organization week (and last weekend of being teenager ever) but am very much alive and well XD

DD2000: Design Practice - Contemporary Exhibitions 2

Earlier this year when we attended the Manchester Art Gallery, me and Rosie had a look at several other exhibitions aside from the jewellery exhibit I have already reviewed for DD2000.  Today is now the very last day of DD2000 work! I gave my PechaKucha presentation this morning (shiverrrr,relieved that's done!) and am now at home, slowly getting down 300 final words for this review and making chicken risotto.  Here goes...I put any mistakes down to my lack of sleep -.-

The exhibition was called In Translation: Women, Migration and Business. As dull as that sounds on paper, it was a gorgeous exhibit.  There were these huge lithographic prints, given to Manchester Art Gallery in the 30's but not revealed till the 90's.  This was because people didn't like the way the British Empire was portrayed.  It was propaganda for migration in the Empire, of such stunning and colourful design that it effectively disguised what was actually 'ruthless colonial domination'.

Women were made to look as if they easily adapted to the change in their lifestyle, with the new trade and British Exports from the West Indies and other foreign countries.  It was great as an illustrator to see powerful examples of design.  These essentially created an illusion of peace to present to the public and other countries, that we look back on with hindsight and find contrary to the truth we know now. With fair trade and gender equality being such important issues our society, I thought this was a very exciting and relevant exhibition, well suited to such a culturally popular venue in Manchester.

The exhibition featured a huge panorama that went full circle in a ring in the centre of the main room. It was very interesting in that it contrasted totally with the other art in the room. It showed a life drawing class at the Lowry, with various women drawing a model.  And at the end, there was a questionnaire asking everyone who visited to write down ‘what does it mean to be British?’.  It was an good question, having just been faced with the propaganda about trade that the Britain we know today is based on.  I really liked the cultural issues in the past that this exhibit looked at, and although it was uncomfortable viewing in a way, the beautiful posters were worth the visit.
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Counting Sheep: Two

Fiiiiinally this children's book is done!  The whole book now has colour, writing, and a fucktonne of purple sheep :3

Since mid March, I've returned to Studio Liddell!  Although this means juggling university course work in Preston with a 9-5 job in Manchester, alls going okay at the moment :) at least, I've managed to finish this project in time. And I'm verrrrry glad to have been asked to be junior illustrator at Studio Liddell again :)

Have completed most of these pages in the living room at home (watching The Office with the cat), on (uncrowded) trains, in the studio surviving on crisps and Fanta with Rosie and Jess, in 'Morrison Studios'/The Cradle of Pleasure watching Ryan make music with tea and movies, or aboard the Millenium Falcon - our student home - with the housies and 30 Rock.  I would like to thank Buffy, Ryan, Jon, Rosie, Dave, Sarah, Mum, chatty train lady and all others who have entertained me as I worked.  This book is for you XD

Not about to upload all the finals - there are 12 double pages, so 24 pages not including front and back cover, end pages or title pages.  So thats 32 pages, and a looooot of crayon and biro -.-

These are my favourite pages.

That last one is my favourite ^^

DD2000 Design Practice: Wayne Hemingway's Talk

Here's the second and final review of design practice talks I've attended this year.  I went to a few to find one I wanted to review, and I'm so glad I waited till I'd been to the Hemingway talk because it was sooo good.  Wayne Hemingway was an inspiring and interesting speaker.  He's had so much experience in design, and came across as what I can only describe as 'the genuine article'. Yeahhhh I'll keep the gushing to a minimum.

His talk began with his quirky story about how he got into the design industry. He and his girlfriend - now wife - Gerardine met and moved to Camden Town in London in their teens.  One day when they were especially stuck for rent money, they had little choice other than to sell their clothes - mostly second hand and self-made - at a stall, back before Camden Market was a tourist hotspot.  Through Gerardine's designs and Hemingway's initiative (liked his stories, such as scrounging and then mending for sale hundreds of flawed Dr Marten boots from the factory) they were soon a fixture at Camden.  Then a scout from Macy's in New York commissioned their designs, and the rest as they say is history. Hemingway's retelling of their story was told with such humorous anecdotes and interesting titbits about 70's marketing and fashion that we literally forgot this was a lecture.

His talk also contained a lot of good advice, a key bit I remember was basically to get off our asses and go the extra mile.  Although neither he nor Gerardine went to college or had a background in fashion or art and design, they kept an eye out for opportunity and took any that came their way, and it paid off.  Another memorable question he asked of us was 'what do you stand for?'.  Hemingway told us about when he and Gerardine were first starting up their fashion line Red or Dead, and they were advised to think about that question by a prominent designer.  As he put it, it changed their way of thinking.  Why you do what you do is key to being a designer.  He advised us all to be sure about what we stand for, and to follow through with our message in our work.  It's certainly something that's stuck with me since.

Hemingway's talk was ultimately appealing the design students to help out with the Preston Guild Festival this summer, as Hemingway designs are organising much of it, and his own Vintage Festival.  He showed us some videos and gave us a lot of information about who to speak to about being involved and encouraged us to attend.  To find out more about the Vintage Festival, click here.

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DD2000 Design Practice: Ben Tallon's Talk

Our university was visited by illustrator Ben Tallon for a lecture earlier this year.  It was a really good, informal talk about the breaks and pitfalls we might experience as illustration graduates.  Tallon had graduated from our course several years ago, and was in a great position to advise us about our futures should we become freelance illustrators.

The part of his talk about how he took time to find his own style after uni was very interesting to me.  He spoke about how other illustrators influence his work, and how just trying to imitate their style never works.  I would say a target for our class is working towards an original, signature style, so I was really glad to hear him address that from personal experience.  His advice was to persevere experimenting with digital and traditional media, even while working after being a student.  It wasn’t until after he got his degree that he became comfortable using Photoshop in his current style. 

It was also interesting to hear more about the transition from graduate to professional illustrator, which he also spoke about by describing his own life after uni.  He came across as funny and honest about what we can expect, such as working independently in your own studio, supporting yourself with a part-time job as well as illustration work, and building a client base.  The story about how, as he put it, ‘invited himself over’ to an art director’s house when he was struggling for work, and how it paid off, was funny, memorable and a good indication of the effort a self-employed person would have to put into self-promotion. 

I think Tallon’s talk settled my mind about life after graduation, because even though the future is as murky as ever, his straight-forward attitude to working life just made me feel more positive.  His advice was sound and he was in a perfect position to advise us about our futures which made his experiences really relevant to us.

So thank you for speaking to us Ben Tallon :)

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Counting Sheep: One

I spose this is like a preview to my children's book XD

Our current project is to write and illustrate a children's book, aimed at 3-7 age.  My story - so far untitled - is about an insomniac boy who counts sheep, literally, in the field outside his house, and begins to hallucinate sheep in his tiredness. 

These are going to be the end pages, when they're inked and coloured (and hopefully made to look more fluffy ><).  That being the patterned inner-cover pages. Rosie and me have been in the living room, cocooned in animal print blankets (zebra for me, leopard for Rosie) watching X-Men films, then listening to music (and Dave gaming at the table) and drawing for hours.  Feel all productive and happy...I will miss my housemates so much after university.

Of course there's still a way to go yet. So since my camera is out of battery and the scanners are a trek away at the library, here are just a few low-quality webcam shots of the rough work. Could that sound any more half-assed?  Mehhhh, too comfy, moar superheroes now.

Oh, and if you have an idea for a book name, please tell me because I have zero inspiration for a title so far.