Collaboration Request

Yesterday I received a message from Rowan from Graphic Design who I worked with on responsive last year, and she wants to collaborate with me again which was really nice to hear!

I was excited to read that she wants to make a children's book that raises awareness of mental health issues and emotional wellbeing; a topic that I am really interested about.

This will be a great opportunity, as mental health is such a difficult subject area to approach I will feel a lot more confident working alongside someone else. I did try and adopt a similar brief last year in 505, but I think it was too much of a jump for me to take individually hence why it felt so overwhelming.

Rowan sent me the brief that she had written out and asked if there was anything I wanted to alter specifically, but I think we need to meet up and discuss more in depth about the content and narrative of the book before we get started on any practical work.

FIRST DAY BACK

I'm still finding hard to believe that I'm in my third and final year, but I am actually feeling very positive and excited about what this year has to bring! One of the mistakes that I made last year was that I started with a negative and under confident attitude which really effected my work, but as it's my last year I am going to dive in at the deep end and really make the most of everything that I can get involved with. LETS DO THIS!

Mega Crit

There was so much amazing work on display across all of the years this afternoon, I know that sounds cliche but it's so refreshing and interesting to see the level of visual diversity among the course, especially with from the fresh perspective of the new level 4 students.

It was so hard to narrow down a favourite sketchbook but I was really impressed with this beautiful travel journey where the person had spent their summer in Italy (sadly I couldn't find a name on the sketchbook!) The detail in the buildings is amazing, as well as the use of the grey marker for shading specific areas. I wish I had taken a few more photos of this persons work instead of just the one, now!

 

Meet and Greet

There are so many of us now in total, about 100! It was great getting to know some of the second years a bit better, as well as meeting the first years. I really hope that they feel like they can approach us in level six, as I kind of found that a bit difficult last year as I felt like it was an 'us and them' sort of divide.

The main pieces of advice I gave were based upon things I wish I had been braver with in the past two years:

• Talk to people, they are interesting!
• Say yes to every opportunity, don't be afraid of trying new things
• Don't prioritise blogging over practical work
• ENJOY IT

Thinking About Briefs

Over the summer I've been thinking about some of the briefs and competitions that I'm thinking of taking up this year; a few that I am really keen on and others to avoid. These will be pretty big decisions as the outcomes will produce a huge chunk of my portfolio to take with me when I am looking for work after graduation, so I need to keep in mind WHO I want to work for and how my visuals can show a connection.

I wrote down a list of my interests within illustration, and in general to get some ideas going of self lead briefs (which I definitely need to think more about):

• Book cover design
• Educational illustration
• Pattern and home decor
• Influences on behaviour and learning
• Positive health and mind
• History of medicine/modern medicine
• Humour, funny puns
• Nature/bushcraft (things I learnt in my summer job)
• Leading and assisting creative workshops
• Food! Cooking, recipes etc
• Dancing

This isn't my formal submission statement, but here's what I'm thinking so far:

Penguin Design Award 2017

Penguin last year was one of my favourite briefs, if not my favourite! I really enjoyed the process of reading the books and translating the main themes and motifs into an aesthetic cover, which is a skill that I am keen to develop. The titles haven't been released yet, so I will probably make a final decision on whether or not I partake in the competition or not, but it is extremely likely!

Illustration For Learning

I spoke to Gareth Wadkin over the summer whilst doing ambassador work and he mentioned a potential opportunity to participate in teaching a workshop for primary school teachers who want to integrate the arts, and in particular illustration into their every day lesson plans. This would be a perfect opportunity for me to develop my teaching skills, as well as gaining an insight into how the primary curriculum is structured.

The Folio Society Book Illustration Competition 2017

Another book brief. In hindsight I wish I would have had a go at the War Horse brief last year, so I had a look at the brief for this year. The book is Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, which kind of threw me off a little. The reason for this is that I've never read any works of Austen before, let alone any 18th Century literature. It's not to say that I am disregarding it due to its age, but not being the most confident (or quick) readers, I think I would find it difficult to sink my teeth into, or understand well for that matter. 

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I think that for now I will keep having a think about potential briefs until we get briefed properly on the 30th, then I will have a clearer understanding of what is required and what sort of briefs I want to do.