Lecture 2: placements and internships

Today's lecture was on placements and internships. Students who have placements at university tend to be the ones that survive in the industry as it gives them a better understanding of what is required and the opportunity to experience the area they want to pursue. In order to find a placement at university it is helpful to look at where past students have gone as they are likely to take people on again.

Internships can be a great chance to gain experience in a certain area or field after university and learn new skills within a work environment. Ideally internships should be paid at minimum wage but there is a tendency in the arts to expect the artist to do the work for free. When applying for an internship I should reflect upon my key skills and achievements in order to promote myself for the position.

• Achievments and selling points: researching, organisational skills, competitions and published work, software skills and written work
• Experience: teamwork, collaboration, platform groups
• Communication skills: presentations, writing
• Planning: balancing work, judging learning, deadlines
• Working under pressure
• Practical technical skills: book binding, collage, printing, presses

Wyvern Bindery London

Possible employers for placements and internships:

• Print Club London
• London Print Studio
• Wyvern Bindery
• Harper Collins

This lecture has made me consider an internship to be a good opportunity for me after university as it would allow me to learn on the job. The downside is finding a paid internship as I want to move to London and won't be able to afford an unpaid position unless it was part-time. I hadn't really considered a publishing internship but I am interested in pursuing publishing as an avenue for my illustration so it could be fantastic opportunity to learn more about how the market works from the publishers point of view.

Dutch Uncle website

I have done some research into internships and found that Dutch Uncle and YCN run positions. Fashion jobs has a wide range of opportunities in the fashion sector and occasionally illustrator positions are available. Inspiring interns is a great website that lists a wide range of internships and there is an option to upload your CV so they can look through their database for any suitable roles. I have applied to Inspiring interns and I intend to work on my application for Dutch Uncle in the future.

Alumni talk: Adam Avery

It was a to my great excitement that today we had a talk from previous NUA student and freelance illustrator, Adam Avery, and to meet the face behind the Suffolk Punch posters that have been on the walls on the uni for the duration of my time here. 

Adam was a real inspiration as his story since university hasn't been an easy one and yet now he is on the path to being a successful freelance illustrator. Leading up to his graduation Adam did an internship at Nobrow and used his degree show and participation in the D&AD New Blood exhibition to network and speak to people about his work. Self-promotional books he produced for his final major project proved to be a useful tool to hand out to people interested in his work.

In the summer after his graduation he was signed with East Wing agency and stayed with them for 3 years, of which throughout he received no commissions and paid around £2000 to the agency in fees. Adam describes this as down to his naivety as he believed that an agency was guaranteed to bring him jobs and wasn't aware that he would need to pay promotional and administration fees despite a lack of commission income. This proves that it is essential to understand any opportunity that arises and be aware of what will happen if reality hits and things don't go according to plan.

Outside of East Wing agency Adam didn't receive any interest on his work for a year which he says was a potentially soul destroying experience of which he battled by focusing on developing his personal irk, online presence and generating interest. This is when he used the contacts he had from his earlier to networking to gain awareness of his work and seek out opportunities for the future. He explains to key is being persistent, polite and asking nicely so that people want to respond and see your work. Adam describes online presence as being key in todays market as it is beginning to overtake the need for a physical portfolio.

After speaking to Wrap magazine at the New Blood exhibition they contacted him a few years after and he created 4 wrapping paper designs for their website. Leading on from this Adam has had several more commissions from clients including The Guardian and has developed his style for commercial illustration, digitalising his process to work quicker and more effectively. 

Adam's key pieces of advice are as follows:

• Be clear on the avenue you want to pursue- is it commercial? craft?
• Work hard on self-promotion to gather interest and create mail outs- people appreciate the time and effort of handmade material
• Make sure to know how to do what might be asked of you- lost out on an extra £200 from a job as couldn't make a GIF that would have taken less than 20 minutes
• Always work on personal work and developing your subject matter- personal work might come in useful later for commissioned work
• Keep textures banks etc that you can call upon in quick turnaround commissions

I have found this talk motivating and the key motive I am taking away is work hard and don't give up no matter how bleak and rough it seems! It has also inspired me to create more self promotional material- first website and online presence, then mail outs such as postcards, business cards and stickers.

Alumni talk: Tilly Symonds and Topolski residency

Tilly Symonds is a recent graduate of the university and came in to speak to us today about her experiences and progression after graduating and the thoughts behind her work.

I found Tilly to be a particularly inspiring talker as her illustrative style and work is very unconventional; her work is based around music, sound and moving image, exploring a wide range of materials and processes. Her work took this turn in 3rd year and she ran with it which gives me confidence that at a time when my work is rapidly changing and progressing, it is not to late to find my true style and continue to explore working processes.

As Tilly only began working on moving image in February 2013 she felt it was a wise choice to go on to the Royal College of Art in September to study a Masters in moving image in order to gain experience working with other filmmakers and expand her skills.

                 

Visual Music from Tilly Symonds on Vimeo.

The projects she is working on at the RCA sound very different to those that we cover as illustrators  at NUA such as acoustic imagery, where they work with personally discovered sounds rather than already recorded music in order to create truly original and interesting imagery. Tilly says the RCA is about collaboration and bouncing ideas off each other rather than about grades and solo-practice; they aim to challenge what exists and to create their own jobs. The course seems to be quite fine art based as they focus on the ideas behind the work rather than the final outcome: 'thinking about practice in a wider context.'

'Moon', Tilly Symonds

This has encouraged me to think about the future of my own practice and whether I want to continue in education or not. I want to continue to learn and develop but I think that is something I need to do outside of an educational institution; I want to learn through experience, commissions and live briefs. Making this choice based on where I want to go, rather than the financial choice that it has been previously, has made me feel a lot more confident about my future and I feel excited to prepare myself for the working world rather than for a Masters.

'City', Feliks Topolski

The same applies for the Toplski residency. Two ex-NUA students who are part of a residency came to talk to us about their experience, learning and future after the residency. The Topolski residency is run by the family of Feliks Topolski, an Polish born painter and illustrator in the 20th century that created autobiographical paintings and colourful portraits. The studio aims to continue Topolski's teachings and refreshing approach through these resident artists. They are taught to have a looser, faster and less precious approach to their work, documenting their surroundings quickly and using unusual materials to loosen their work such as sticks. The experience sounds liberating and refreshing but again I feel that I don't want to continue to be taught theoretically and I want to learn through working as a freelance illustrator in the industry and making my own mistakes. However, this approach to working methodology is something I want to take on board and I plan to conduct a self-initiated project in the same style to loosen up my drawing and work on something fast paced and reportage based.

I am glad to have had the experience to listen to these previous NUA illustration students as it has really made me think about my plans after uni and making the right choices for me

.

Web presence workshop

It's really been pressing on my mind recently that I need to start gaining myself a website presence ready for when I leave uni, and preferably as soon as possible to gain awareness before then. I attended an afternoon workshop today on setting up a website and how layout it out and keep it running.

We used Weebly as our platform for learning today but I think I'm going to make my website with Wix; Weebly is easier to use but I feel that Wix has more professional looking templates and layout options. We discussed saving images for web at 72dpi to keep file sizes small and protect ourselves against the work being stolen; I never realised that some people's websites are slow because they have uploaded the file sizes far too big and I don't want someone to put off looking at my work because it's being too slow. 

Lizzy Stewart portfolio: layout research- simple and bold

I learnt all about SEO (search engine optimisation) and how to make a website more Google friendly and easier to find when people search it. The key is to keep the website simple and relevant with page titles and key words. Google analytics is also a great way to keep track of website visitors and data and it generates a unique code to integrate into a website to boost the SEO. 

The key things to remember in a website are to have easy to navigate categories such as:

• Home page
• About/ artist statement
• Gallery
• Blog
• Contact

It is also a good idea to have links to external online platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and blogs. 

Julia Pott: sub category links- fun, interactive, organised

I really thought that creating a website was going to be a puzzling, frustrating and lengthy process but I really enjoyed today's session and I think I can get my website up and running in 2 weeks. The hard bit is resizing and saving images and thinking carefully about what text to add. I'm quite excited to set myself up- keep an eye on this space!

Group critique- research reports so far

I had a group critique today on the progress of my research report so far, looking over a chosen chapter in order to give us enough time to read as many as possible in the time. I have written my Introduction and chapter 2 so I took that in to be looked over. 

We spent some time going round and reading each others and making notes so that we could feedback to each other. However, I didn't realise I wasn't even thinking about content I just had my grammar head on which was a bit embarrassing! Although it seemed to work out quite well as no one else was marking spelling, grammar etc so I think it added a good dynamic. I was impressed with the reports overall, everyone seems to be researching their topics in depth and most of them cover interesting topics, such as Emma's that looks at the representation of family in children's books.

How to be an illustrator, Darrel Rees: 

an amazing book with all the useful hints and sensible guidance

The general feedback for my report was positive and I had some good constructive feedback:

• Use images to break up text and make the information more accessible and clear
• Possibly try and find someone who has had an experience with a stock agency or question stock agencies directly
• Check everything is quoted and cited correctly
• Check chapter for commas, very long sentences
• Could stock agencies be another chapter? Or balance it out with the other part of chapter
• Bring in case studies more to illustrate points

My report seems to be well strutted with a good balanced argument and informative points, so I think the next stage for now is to finish off my chapter 2 to make it more balanced and to start on my chapter 3. I'm quite excited to start my chapter 3 as it's about the relationship between an agent and illustrator; what kind of relationship can form and what leads to the most successful partnership. I have done quite a lot of research on this and got some good quotations as well as learnt a lot myself. This research report might be a pain but I've definitely learnt a lot that will help me in future.

Platform session 2: Pick and Mix

Today's session was a follow on from last Friday's professional development session. We continued with our plans for the pop-up shop and divided into smaller groups so we could focus and refine our ideas. These groups were:

• Research: finding venue, appropriate product pricing
• Promotion: posters, gaining public interest and awareness of event, branding
• Online presence: website, online shop, social media
• Construction: setting up venue, displaying products
• Collection: gathering products for shop, moving things to the venue

I am now part of the construction group with 3 other people as I am interested in being part of how the shop will look and how customers will interact with the space to take it that step from a gallery space into a shop. We have agreed as a whole group that the shop should be called 'Pick and Mix' so we decided to focus on that for displaying the work. We worked with the promotion and website group to make sure we all agreed on how the shop should look and feel as branding and promotion need to depict how the shop will look when people will arrive. We decided to go with the idea of a classic sweet shop but updating it to feel more contemporary and interactive rather than chintzy, using pinstripe decoration, the idea of pick and mix bags to buy artwork and a printing workshop for people to join in with their products.

Bengt

100 percent polyester

In terms of what we might sell we were thinking flat artwork such as postcards and A4 prints, stickers and anything else that people are happy to make and to have pick and mix bags such as lucky dip, 3 and 5 item bags. A lot of us went to Pick Me Up 2013 where they had an interactive stall where people could use the stamps to print their own face they could take home with them, so we thought that if we all made 2 letter stamps we could have an alphabet of stamps, that people could then use to print their name or slogans on products such as sketchbooks, bags and cards. 

RCA Secrets exhibition

In terms of set up and presentation we have looked at other pop-up shows and exhibitions such as the RCA secrets exhibition as we liked the way they displayed their flat postcard art a bit like a bookshop or library and it reminded me of the way pick and mix sweet shops are neatly lined up and divided into sweet boxes on shelves. 

Our task to develop and prepare for next week is that the research team are working on finding a location and the promotion team is working on the shop branding and posters. I am really enjoying working with a team and I never thought that we would be working on such an exciting project in the lead up to our final major show; it's a great opportunity to gain some experience before our degree show and to raise some funds for it through selling our work. I am also looking forward to being involved in the other projects that other groups organise, such as the gallery and exhibition event as I really want to get my work out there and noticed as much as possible before I graduate.

Joel Penkman interview

I am making a last push to try and gather some remaining interviews for my research report, mainly focusing on the illustrators of Handsome Frank to get their view point on having an agent after interviewing Handsome Frank as I think it can make a nice compare and contrast study case. Handsome Frank also has a great selection of professional illustrators in all different areas of the field so it is a good way to get a full view of the areas of illustration that an agent can be useful for.

Blancmange, Joel Penkman

Today I spoke to Joel Penkman, a painter and graphic designer with Handsome Frank. Joel creates mouth-wateringly realistic paintings of British sweets, pudding and traditional delicacies that first caught my eye on an online blog. It has been really interesting to hear his point of view on his career with an agent, especially as his style is fairly niche and unconventional. One of the most significant things that I learnt from Joel is that having an agent allows him to tell the rest of the world he's available to do commercial illustration when he might not be considered for such a role otherwise:

"I think my art borders illustration so I actually don't get that much illustration work. My painting style is not as versatile or adaptable as other illustrators. It is useful to have an agent in that it lets people know I will paint commercial illustration if asked."

Lyle's golden syrup, Joel Penkman

Joel also mentioned that having an agent allows his work to be promoted to the right people in the right way. He doesn't focus his self-promotion on online platforms as much as other illustrators and Handsome Frank's online presence promotes his work that way for him.

"They make an effort to promote their illustrators online, social media, in person and by getting involved in events. Handsome Frank directs their promotion towards the right people. I don't direct my promotion and rely on the internet, postings on blogs etc. This is still really helpful and people do get in contact with me from this."

Rocket lollies, Joel Penkman

Joel's communication with me has been really helpful and I look forward to bringing it into my essay to highlight how an agent can support more unconventional illustrators. It has been an honour to talk to such a talented individual and the research must continue!

The 's' word

Today I had a lecture on the controversial issue on whether illustrators need a style and what it means to have one. In common terms if someone discusses style is suggests there is no substance to the work and that it's all about the visual language used. There is a lot of pressure on illustrators today and new graduates to have a certain 'style' that will make them recognisable and commercial but is style more important than substance?

The discussion began with a case study of Steven Steinberg, an American illustrator and cartoonist of Jewish-Romanian heritage, most well known for his work in the New Yorker. His work was an exploration of social and political systems and visual language. He had a background in architecture and so knew a lot about building and decorative types and used his strong visual memory to call upon these ideas in his artwork. His piece 'Techniques at a Party' uses his dry sense of humour to mock artistic use of technique and style with all the different famous artistic styles meeting at a party. At the same time he may be using a mish-mash of styles but his persona;l penmanship is still evident, giving himself a sense of 'style'. He described himself as a 'writer who draws' and was called 'a world-class noticer'; is this the role of an illustrator, to see, notice and reinterpret the world around us or is it just about drawing in a certain way that sets you apart from other people?

'Techniques at a Party' (1953), Saul Steinberg

This got me thinking about what style means to me and whether it is important to have one as an illustrator. I would personally be rather known for my concepts and ideas that make me recognisable as an illustrator rather than just making work that looks nice. Peter touched upon the idea that style will inevitably affect the clients that an illustrator attracts but that may also be because of your conceptual style that gives you a certain look and not necessarily just the techniques that are used. This reminds me of a conversation I recently had with Matthew Richardson on the purpose of illustration agents and our discussion into the difference of being hired for a style or for your concepts:

'It’s a very different agent that’s selling their work on the styles and techniques and the images than the artists themselves... (I am commissioned) for my ideas and who I am as an artist rather than ‘he does flowers in a nice way or he’s really good at transport or architecture’. On that end it’s the subjects and the way it’s done and it doesn't really matter who’s done it and on this end it’s more finding clients that you may carry on working with.'

I agree that I want to be invested in for my ideas and who I am as an artist rather than purely on the aesthetic appeal of my work. However, it would be foolish to say that the techniques and skill in an illustrators work aren't still important, it's more that one doesn't, or shouldn't, have more of a role over the other.

'Contemporary tailoring on Saville Row', Matthew Richardson

I came across an article online by Nate Williams titled 'Does a professional illustrator need a “style”?' which touches on some interesting points surrounding the subject, such as does having a style meaning never progressing and growing? He claims it's about a consistency in your work that makes you appear reliable as  'art directors usually don't want to play "style roulette"'. He explains that clients are usually looking for three main elements when hiring an artist:

• Feeling (subconscious) - visual aesthetic, a tone, a mood
• Thought (conscious)-  a creative way to visualize a concept, idea, subject matter
• Subject Matter - an expert in a specific subject matter (ie: famous people, medical illustration, etc)

This suggests to me that a visual style is important to a certain extent but it should be backed up my evident thought an subject within the work. Nate Williams also conducted some polls on Illustration Mundo and I was surprised by some of the results.

Polls conducted by Nate Williams on Illustration Mundo

It seems that a lot of illustrators feel as though they need a unique style but feel restricted by their illustrative style and that style is fleeting and changes quickly. Therefore I think it is important to focus on building on your ideas and concepts as an artist as if you focus on style it will go out of fashion and you will have to rebuild yourself; focus on ideas and skills and choose the visual language that best matches that. 

Project proposal critique and group discussion

Today I had my first group critique of the term and I probably found it the most useful one I've ever had. I had two tutors, Sue and Peter, and quite a large group which I think helped as there was quite a lot of written feedback from my peers and verbal feedback bouncing between the tutors. As usual the session started with us looking at each persons work individually and it was clear that most people including myself were only just beginning to dip their toes into their projects. I found it really useful to read other people's project proposals and to see how they had divided and planned their time and focus; I found myself worrying about people that only had one project as it didn't seem enough to fill the time so I'm glad I have set myself 3 different projects. I also noticed that some people were really focusing on one subject area such as book covers, across all their projects and that made me feel a bit trapped and restricted for them so I think for myself personally I have been wise to give myself room to breathe and experiment with my context, especially as I am not entirely sure what are of freelancing I want to focus on. This was also picked up on by Sue in my feedback as she that by looking at fashion illustration and narrative, and possibly merging the two I could come out with a really strong portfolio if done well; if that's not motivation I don't know what is!

I have a lot of written feedback this time so I find it helpful to condense that into bullet points:

• Generally there was interest in my fairy-tale project and people seemed keen to learn more about them: "I want to know the lesser known fairy tales now! Do you have them?"
• The competitions I have chosen people felt would allow me enough freedom to develop my process and working practice which is what I aiming for and that I understand my audiences.
• How will I balance my time between the two competitions: "How will they affect each other?"
• Watch BBC4 'What Artists Do All Day' as a research point for my D&AD brief.
• Look at other online portfolios and the competition winner portfolios to help me to develop my website and self-promotion. Someone also suggested looking at the AOI online portfolios for inspiration.
• Improve my drawing through life drawing, ask people to model for portraits etc.
• Think about the theme for my drawing project- will it be the female form/ fashion; what will I draw from?

'What Do Artists Do All Day?", BBC4

The subject of my theme for the Hermione Hammond Award was something I was struggling with but after some discussion I feel like I have a lot more direction now. I am really interested in fashion illustration so it was suggested I look at collaborating with fashion students, Anna Winters and Vogue documentary, backstage at fashion week and designers who create work with a narrative behind it such as Vivienne Westwood. I am particularly interested in the glamour and narrative to fashion illustration so I really like the idea of looking into that side of it and possibly looking at certain designers and backstage so that is something I need to research.

Vivienne Westwood, Interview magazine

For my fairy tale project Peter suggested some different avenues to explore such as Das Unheimliche, "the opposite of what is familiar" in German storytelling, Japanese and Korean folktales and Italo Calvino's Italian folktales. There was discussion of linking this with my Hermione Hammond narrative fashion illustration which could result in some really interesting and strong visual finals. I definitely like the idea of this and will try and develop form the competition to my personal project in this way. In this sense I also think that my Hermione Hammond Award and fairy tale project will be linked but not necessarily my D&AD project other than in my development of style and process. Peter wrote that I could "Find the synonymity and exchange between D&AD and Hermione Hammond Award; one process could feed both briefs  a studio process that is then documented/ mediated" which I think is a really appealing idea. I really want to develop my skills and process so it is a refreshing change to link projects through that than the usual content or context.

I think that life drawing will also be a really useful way to improve my drawing skills so I will look into that at university, and I think that drawing people when out and about and drawing my friends and housemates will get me in the flow of drawing faces and making it less scary and precious to me. 

The next step is to take all of this on board and roll with it...

UEA collaboration briefing

Today we had an unexpected briefing about a new project in collaboration with the first year creative writing students at UEA. At first I was quite apprehensive and confused about the whole thing but on reflection I'm really excited- I've always wanted the opportunity to illustrative some new text with the input of the author and it should be an invaluable experience. The only thing I'm apprehensive about is timing as I'm worried I won't have the time to put in alongside my current project and I struggle a lot with confidence in my skill so I don't want to share something I'm not happy with. 

Writer and Illustrator collaboration

I like the idea that we won't meet until the collaboration is finished as it feels like we will be meeting like pen pals and it also makes it easier to be honest with a partner over email and without knowing them which is key to a successful collaboration. I have collaborated before with photographers and illustrators but this will be the first time with someone not at our university. I think it's really good idea to gain bonds with courses at UEA as we can provide each other with a good insight into collaborating in the industry and what it is like to work with people from other fields. Both universities also have different facilities and affiliates meaning combined we could create something really great; Glyn said that the creative writing course has funding from The Guardian which is exciting if they view the work as I would love to have any kind of opportunity with The Guardian. 

Text and image successfully working together

The next stage is to wait to find out who my collaborator is and to receive their text- all I know is that it will be a character profile that they have written for their course which is great as I love working on character design the most.

Platform session 1

Leading up to graduation we are doing a series of workshops that will lead to 4 events that push us to think about how our work can be viewed or experienced by the public which will essentially help me to develop for my graduation show. I'm really looking forward to these workshops as they break down the process leading up to my show and are a good opportunity to collaborate with other illustrators. These 4 events are divided into theatre, school, gallery and shop and I instantly found myself drawn to the last two as I want to focus on how to present my work with the aim of it selling or being commissioned and I find the performance side of illustration, such as in schools or theatres, doesn't appeal to me personally. 

39.39, pop up shop at Bluebird

For today's session I joined the shop group and we had a total of 15 people in the end. Through our discussion we felt that we divided into 3 sub-groups that come bring the shop together as a whole; selling flat work, running interactive workshops/ sessions in the shop, shop and brand promotion. I don't feel confident running a workshop and my process wouldn't be suitable for the printing other members of my group want to run so I was happy to sell flat work and contribute to the setting up of the shop. We want it to be a mixture of gallery and shop; a chance to promote and view our work but with the intent of also selling work. It should be an interactive space that draws people in and we want to present our work in a way that takes it that step further from a gallery with stands and possibly hanging work from the ceiling. 

Sadly I had to leave before the different event groups presented their ideas as I was feeling too ill and no one could understand what I was saying to due to my stuffy nose! However I am really looking forward to the next session and it seems a great to way to get some more experience and work with some new people.

Lecture 1: Personal and professional development

Today I had a lecture on looking towards my career as a freelance illustrator and thinking about what steps I can take to develop myself and my work in that direction. I was really glad to have a talk on this and the ones to come as I'm really aware of how little time I have until I graduate and where I want to be when I do but I need some help and advice to get there. 

The lecture began by talking over what a freelance illustrator actually does, 'creating artwork that can generate income itself or through publication'. I have been wondering exactly where freelance illustration can used and it was helpful to me to have those areas outlined to make sure I don't miss an avenue or opportunity when thinking about my pursuits. All kinds of companies and organisations use illustration and the illustrators style will influence the type of client that uses their work:

• Publishers: books, web, newspapers, magazines etc.
• Advertisers
• Merchandisers: cards, paper, product, packaging etc.

There is also a need to be able to work quickly and flexibly which is something I personally need to improve on so I am aiming to set myself short tasks and briefs throughout my time leading up to graduation. This is summed up by NUA alumni 2002, Adam Howling: "whereas you might have 2 weeks for a project at uni some jobs have to be turned around in a day or even a couple of hours."

'Waitrose ice cream', Adam Howling

The lecture also discussed planning and scheduling which I already mentioned is a weakness as mine as I struggle to manage my time effectively and so was extremely useful. The key advice was to work with urgency and simulate tight deadlines to be able to become more flexible and to adapt my ways of working to fit to those short timescales. What I found struck a note with me was the concept of making work all the day as even though it may not have an initial purpose or context this work can come in useful to be developed or called upon in times to tight deadline or appropriate subjects in future. The comment 'Each piece of work doesn't need to be a masterpiece' is something I really need to absorb as my need for perfection is actually becoming more of a hindrance than a help as I think I would become a lot more confident and develop and learn quicker if I could put that aside. I think that giving myself small, fast-paced personal briefs will help with that as there won't be time for perfection when working quickly.

The need for websites, blogging and selling work was a common topic so I am glad I am pushing myself to make a website as part of my D&AD brief and I have added regular blogging on my personal blog to my weekly time plan alongside uni work. The emphasis of the whole lecture was to constantly build, develop and promote ourselves and this reminded me of a quote from Christina Empedocles I came across as part of my research that I plan to conduct myself by it's philosophy:

“The people who are in it for the long haul have found a way to take every opportunity seriously, and to build on those opportunities, while not waiting around to be ‘discovered’. I think it’s about adopting a certain attitude, something along the lines of ‘I’m going to give it everything I can’ while having the faith in yourself that it will eventually lead somewhere.”

'Untitled (deer)', Christina Empedocle

Something that I hadn't really considered is internships and placements but after the lecture I intend to look into them as they seem a good opportunity to gain some experience and knowledge in the industry and to possibly open doors for the future. I did do some work experience at a publishers a few years ago but it unfortunately got cut short as I had to focus on my A-level exams the week after but I really enjoyed the time I did spend there and it could be useful to repeat the experience in full. Residencies are another route I was unaware of but I think it could be a great option for after university if I find something in or near London as I am planning on being based there. 

The next key steps for me at the moment are to set up my website and to work on my creative CV. I also need to sign myself up to some regular bloggers and podcasts that can help broaden my research and generally keep me in the loop about the recent trends and happenings in the artistic industry. I might set myself a slot aside each week to just go through all the magazines and journals in the library and keep a file of anything inspiring I see.

The start of the end

Today was the first day back after the Christmas break and the beginning of the final part of my degree (scary!). It began with a briefing on BA8 which is all about 'Resolution, Consolidation, Innovation' and bridging the gap between education and our future careers and 'consolidating' my personal and professional development. To be honest I've been pretty scared of this moment for the entirety of my degree but now I'm here I'm ready to get on with it and I'm quite excited to move towards being a freelance illustrator. This is the time for me to develop confidence and create opportunities for myself and the range of workshops and lectures that we have to come is quite exciting especially visits to illustration studios in London. 

The key now is to spend today refining my ideas for BA8 to come up with a final project proposal and plan. I had my tutorial this afternoon to discuss my possible projects and Sue seemed confident in me focusing on the Hermione Hammond Award and D&AD 'Make Your Mark' competitions until March and then to move onto a more free personal project on fairy tales incorporating character and book design. 

She recommended focusing on the authentic and truthful aspect of the 'Make Your Mark' brief when presenting myself an a person and illustrator and to possible think about it literally with mark making and my mark on the world and she liked my quality of line and mark making skills. I agree that this project could be about my process which could be interesting to explore and I could learn a lot about myself and the way I work. 

My main failure is my time management and I need to keep an eye on that so I have made a week-by-week time plan of what projects I am focusing on with weekly goals and individual tasks to achieve which should help me to keep focused. My house has also decided to hold weekly group critiques to help us to all reflect  on and present our work and encourage us to understand our work better to explain it to others. I also need to balance my time between my practical work and my research report which is something that is a concern at the moment. I've decided to make some headway this week with getting my projects underway to have some research and initial ideas under my belt for the critique on Monday and then be able to focus on my writing without feeling left behind or guilty.