final major project update2

This is the book cover that I am pleased with compared to the last one. I have balanced it with different tones of white and I have hand wrote my type which I think makes it look more like a children's book.

I have got rid of the odd 3d objects and kept the background paper, so that the main focus can be on the charter Ben. I think that it's important to keep the focus on him in this book, as it is about a boy who struggles, so there is a message in it that I want to make sure the readers understand.

 The back cover (for now) is kept simple, however I feel something needs to be added or even taken away… I will redo it to a better finish for the deadline.

final major work update

After taking pictures of my work, I had edited them on the computer to finish them off. However they didn't exactly print out how I wanted them too. It's really frustrating how sometimes, images can look a little different on screen to how they look on paper. On screen I made my characters look brighter so that they don't look to dark when they print out, but that made them look a little orange on paper.  

 In theses images I had originally mixed paper and 3d objects, rather than have everything in paper I thought it would look better with a few odd things in 3d too. Like the bed which the mum is in and the desk behind the teacher and the kids school desk, it was also just to add a bit more colour. But I realised that I should only make an object 3d if there is a significance to that object, or if Ben (the 3d character is holding something) so therefore everything else should be made paper as it would only confuse readers as to why some objects are 3d and other's aren't.

This also is my first attempt at creating the front cover of the story, but this I felt could do with a lot more work done to it. For example...adding a better fitting title, and brightening up my characters but this time so they don't look orange on paper. (hopefully)

New buisness cards

I have made new buisness cards, one reason being that I needed to put my website on, my number changed and I wanted to show more of my work so I have different images instead of having just one. I think that it's a nice way of showing more of your work if you have an exhibition on, and it will also tell me what type of work people may like, if one paticular card has been taken the most....so that could be interesting to see. On the last card I made my name quite small, so I made it stand out as well as my number, as it is the detail you want people to see as clearly as possible.

Final Major project work

These are my characters and some scenes that I have been working on,

I have tried to keep it to having only a few different settings so that I don't have a break down trying to make lots of different settings as well as characters.

There is a lot to do, I just hope that I haven't gave myself too much to do and run out of time putting the book together as that is my aim to have the book printed. I have now wrote the whole of my story as I needed to get a move on a decide what will happen and so I can just continue to make. At the moment this book will contain at least 25 pages as the story takes up 3 a4 pages (not including front/back cover) so there will be a lot of images to make. Which I have started on and now will need to edit them.

Ben's house

 

Ben's living room

  

My website

I have finally made my website, which I am not quite finished with yet, it as I am going to work on and change a few images and lay the page out better. I want my images to be small so that they have the option to click on it to see it in full. I think this way is a more effective way to get your work seen as they can see all the work you have done on the one page and if one catches their eye they just have to click on it.

this is the link to my website...
http://cargocollective.com/CatMcCillustrator

Final major project

I have chose to write and illustrate a story for my final major project (again) as I want to make something a little different and have a message for children, just like the other project I did which was about a girl called Penny, but this time..I want to create something that helps children understand something. The Penny project was about a little girl who is very spoilt and for her consequence she turns into a life sized doll! Then as I continued with the project I changed the idea to the girl that struggles with her appearance, as that is a big issue for a lot of children (and adults) out there. However I didn't manage to make a whole book and so I was a little unsure as to do it for my major project.
But there is something about illustrating and telling a story that I love doing so much...I love getting caught up in the making of it (I think it is the excitement of making up something that I am in charge of, where anything I want can happen or not happen and if I someone reads it and enjoys it or takes a little something from it than that is a bonus!

After brain storming some ideas for a story...that can help a child to understand something (that is my aim of the story). I decided to make it about a boy age 12 named Ben who is a young carer, and looks after his mum who suffers from a diabetes (and on some days it becomes so bad she is not able to walk). Ben has no one else to turn to, and even though he likes to help out his mum, he does struggle to make the best of his life.
On the days that his mum wasn't well enough to move around she teaches Ben how to sew, as it meant they could spend time together and it was a good skill to have...as I develop the story more, the skill comes in handy for a school project.

The style in which I am going to do it in is 3d (again) except not everything will be in 3d. The only thing that will be in 3d is the character Ben and everything he touches (like in Paddington Bear animations) I absolutely adore the paddington animations and as 3d paddington really stood out and worked really well with the 2d people in its 3d surrounding. I thought that this would work well for my story so that the focus will be on the main character throughout out.

portfolio feedback visits-

I found this trip to London very worth while, as I have now got some very useful feedback from the agencies we went to see.

Illustration Ltd was one of the agencies we went to see and they gave me some great feedback - they mentioned my 3d work looks like I really enjoyed doing it and they said I must carry on doing if it's what I enjoy doing the most. They mentioned the plasticine images and said that they had never seen anything like that before, so to carry on doing that too.

We also visited a collective called day job, who are a group of 10 illustrators based in Peckhan, South London. They were really great to talk to and they were very helpful in giving us lots of advice for when we graduate. The main one being to keep ourselves busy in creating our own projects if we haven't got much work on.
I had also shown them my portfolio and they too mentioned my plasticine images, which they said they really liked and that I should do more of. I was very suprised that they commented on a image that I thought wasn't the best pieces of my work, but they really liked it. So it just goes to show we really are our own worse critiques.
To check out day job, you can visit their website -http://day-job.org/

I also got some feedback from Fig Taylor, who is the author of a book called How to create a portfolio and get hired. She is also a lecturer and a portfolio consultant. It was great to get feedback form someone who has a lot of experience working in this field and knowing what a good portfolio is from a bad one. She too, mentioned my plasticine images and said she would like to see more in that style. Also that, if I want to create children's stories than I should show more character's and some short narratives. This is something I will need to get around to doing when I graduate.

Hopes, fears and opportunities (x2)

My fears are still the same as they were the last time I wrote this.
I have the confidence and the determination of getting work done in college...but will I have it when I leave when I have to do EVERYTHING on my own. It is a very lonely job, and it can become quite daunting for people like myself who have only been used to other people taking control and telling me what I need to do etc... and that is the part I am going to have to get used to. I need to get used to the idea that it is me in charge of me, and if I want to get work I have to go out and get it myself..because .it won't come to me! I also have to get used to the idea of motivating me all the time, updating me on what is new and popular all the time, keeping myself busy all the time and time keeping and making sure I meet deadlines!!!! I do fear that when I get my first job as an illustrator, that I won't hand it in ontime...not because of laziness, but because I work mainly in 3d and it can take a little longer than a drawing so, if I make a mistake with it than I won't have a lot of time to redo it. I hope that I do get an opportunity of working on a breif in 3d however, as that is what I am most passionate about.

We went on a London trip recently to visit some agencies and it was a really good experience to be able to get a taste of what I will be doing when I graduate. I felt like I'd have the confidence to be able to do it on my own because I had such a good time but not just that...because I really know that I want to do it. And I think that that definitely helps, because for obvious reasons what would be the point if I wasn't sure and secondly I know that if I really want to do this, then I know I wouldn't/won't give up and that's an exciting feeling!
I have a little job lined up for me in the prop house when I leave and after that I will enter as many competitions as I can and work on illustrating and writing some children's short stories, as I would like to push myself to get something published...I won't stop. I will also keep updating my portfolio, trying to find a perfect style for me, as even though I love what I am doing now, I feel there is always aaaalways room for improvement and I may touch up on some other images in it that I think could look better too. I am in more ways excited to be leaving than sad, because I feel I'm now ready for an adventure of a life time.

Inge Lavrijsen

http://ingelavrijsen.be

Inge Lavrijsen has a very unique style, you can instantly tell that it is him when you see one of his paper scene images. He uses cut paper people and drops them into a digital background or he makes the set. Doing it digitally allows you change the background and change colours etc which is something for me to think about when I do my sets as I may need to change them and I could lose time if I have to make the set form scratch.

Elly Mackay

http://www.ellymackay.com

Im genuinely lost for words when I look at her work every time…they are stunning. She adds the right amount of lighting which makes the images really come to life.  

illustrator and designer Helen Musselwhite

Illustrator Helen Musselwhite
http://www.helenmusselwhite.co.uk

This is an illustrator who I have found to be very inspirational for me, the layering of her images are beautifully elegantly brought together and the use of different materials and colours work really well together. this is something I need to think about for my images.

Portfolio feedbackx2

Scene Doc which is the prop house I am currently doing my work placement with, was a great place for me to bring my portfolio to, because the manager is a prop maker and the assistant is also a creative 3d maker, so it was great to have feedback from people who also make.
They said that they really liked the style of my work and they would actually like to see more plasticine work which was interesting to hear because I thought they weren't the strongest pieces of work in my portfolio. I have to say I was a bit nervous on showing them my work because I actually think of myself as a working progress and I have never looked at my work and thought it is amazing and I'd like to continue in this way...Iv'e always looked at my work and not so much see it as a disappointment but just that I could progress with it and make it better. But the feedback was insightful and has made me realise that everyone will always have different things they will prefer then other pieces of work and vice-versa.

I also sent a pdf portfolio to senior designer Martin Sweeney, who kindley emailed me his feedback on it.

I've had a look at Cat's work and it's fair to say she can definitely

illustrate and it looks like she's got a couple of different styles to draw

on (pardon the pun!). Certainly the plasticine characters she's created

work and there's a likeness to Aardman Animations, which is no bad 

thing. I'd like to see Cat now push the plasticine style of her illustrations

by creating/drawing room sets and locations on the computer and then

dropping the characters in afterwards, to see where that takes her.

Keep up the good work.

Marvin Sweeney

Senior Freelance Designer

It is definitely something I will explore in doing with my plasticine illustrations, it would be nice to do more of it an find different ways of using it and combining it with other techniques. I would like to combine 3d work with 2d collage and illustrations and it is what I am thinking about doing in my final major project.

What does illustration mean?

"As our visual language evolves, the playing field is levelling. Graphic designers, sculptors, painters, creative developers, and even musicians amorphously meander across different parts of our creative industries. As a consequence, I often wonder what the term 'Illustration' now means. Maybe as a medium it might need to do more than vocationalise aesthetics and cultivate a border palate of profundity for its own survival."
Written by-Michael Salu
Artist Director of Granta Magazine
2012 Varoom

Could and should illustrators do more to push the boundaries of the discipline?

I think if there were no pushing of boundaries in anything, there would be no development and change in the world.

Illustration has been around for a long, long time and has been changing and developing as it goes, it is and has been the key to our understanding of the world and everything in it. And it is what links us to our history, which has enabled us to continue to change and improve the quality of our lives, to full-fill our every needs.

Through illustration Children learn about themselves, from what they fear, to what they aspire to be and how they fit into the world. And when we leave education, get a job and find a routine in life, it gets forgotten that its just as important to continue to learn new things everyday. But with technology enhancing all the time and becoming more and more popular, it gives everyone a chance to share what they do and what they know etc. And what technology has done is open up new doors and paths for illustrators and designers, photographers, artists, filmmakers etc to collaborate with one another and share their ideas to intrigue, delight, and inspire, in lots of new ways.

How do you see your own work broadening in terms of scope (content) and media and how could this be best supported at college?

I am currently involved in making my own little gif for my self directed project as with technology becoming more popular, I think it only makes sense to try and learn how to make my work digital/digitalised. As well as create illustrations with paint, pen and pencils, I do use photoshop to combine work and to also give it a professional finish. I also like to use my photography, which I usually use when I have made 3d work. Getting the best possible picture of anything that you make I think is important to do, because it shows not only the skill you have in making but a skill in being able to photograph work to high standard. But whether it is just be a photograph of your work and put on the computer or a moving image etc, doing that will open up more doors in the long run. I think it's important to make yourself as versatile as possible, and collage really drum that into us, and give advice for when we leave. I just want to give myself the best possible chance of getting somewhere in the industry, because I don't know what it is I could end up doing.

Is Salu's suggestions of a name change for illustration necessary or mere semantics?

Quite a hard question to answer really because Illustration for me, isn't just a sketch or a cartoon, its a piece of music, a dance, an action, a film...it's something that opens up our minds and brings us closer to something.
So it's hard to pin point exactly what it is that I do because I make 3d work aswell as photoraph and animate. But if I was to call myself for instance a creative maker rather than saying I'm an illustrator, I still don't think people would understand what it is I do and why. I think what ever I say, whether it be an illustartor/creative maker/animator etc, will all probably need to be explained further anyway just so people get a better understanding. Aslong as you have a website which shows what you do, they will be able to see and understand for themselves.
 

Self Directed project

So I have changed my characters image to a more sinister look to tie in with the moral consequence story. However, as I changed the look, I thought about changing the context of what the story of the girl could be about or rather what the girl is portraying.
Some girls from a young age, look in the mirror and don't like what they see back, which I think is deeply sad for children/teenagers to think that way about themselves. No one should have to worry about their image, especially kids, when life then should just be about having fun and hanging out with friends. All kids need to know, is that in life beauty comes from deep within, by being a genuine, kind, loving person. So I have made my little gif and will post it on here soon. But I have just popped on some images of the girl, just to show you what she now looks like.

Website research

I am going to be making my own website next year, so I have been looking at a few illustrators websites to get some ideas to help me.
So I have been looking at Jill Calder's, which I think is really well put together. You immediately get a glimpse of her style on the opening page, it's very easy on the eye with no distractions of things moving and flashing etc. There are no complications, it's very simple and straight forward and when you pass the opening page it is easy to navigate your way around the website with no problem.
http://www.jillcalder.com

I looked at Sam Wilson's website, which again is really simple and to easy to navigate your way around. This one however opens up straight away to her portfolio work, with no opening page before hand and that is what I really like about this website. It's definitely something I would consider doing for my own website. This is because if someone was interested in seeing more work, it's convenient for them to be able to have it already there for them to flick through. It's also useful if someone accidentally came across your website, because they may be interested in what they see.
http://www.samwilsonillustration.com

David Shrigley's website is easy to navigate your way around too and he also gives a taster of his work on his opening page. I think this is quite clear to see that the best way of promoting yourself to people is by keeping it simple and have it in a style that represents your work and style etc. On Davids website compared to the other two, he doesn't immediately show his work when you click to see his drawings, you instead see a list of the titles of his artwork, which I realised is done purposely, because the title of the artwork is what adds to the humour or comment of what he is portraying.

http://www.davidshrigley.com/index.html

My business card

My business arrived today...very pleased. However these are just a temp, because I want on't to use my final major project to represent my work. And I have a better idea now of how I should write my information on the back, because what I have now is too small. I need to make the important bits bigger.

 

Jan Svankmajer

Imagination is subversive, because it puts the possible against the real. Thats why you should always use your wildest imagination. Imagination is the biggest gift humanity received. Imagination makes people human, not work. - Jan Svankmajer

Self Directed Project

This project is a continuation on from the last project, the moral consequence story. What I have decided to do is make some of the scenes that I made for the story move-they are called gifs (a short moving image) However, instead of using the girl and the doll that I made originally for the story, I decided to make them again. One reason being- I didn't particularly like the outcome of the girl I made (she looked more like an old woman then a little girl), and secondly the girl and the doll which she turns into look very different so it was hard for people to see (or realise) that the girl was the doll. So I have been busy remaking my character and the doll which she turns into so that they look more similar looking and I have been looking at some other 3d artists for inspiration and ideas for making my own scene and gif-

A little gif by Marta Dlugolecka and James Lancett for Movember-
http://martadlugolecka.blogspot.co.uk/

Miss Clara
Amazing, Amazing, Amazing!!!!!!!!!!!! Miss Clara is an artist / fairy tale children's book illustrator who makes small and very detailed paper maquettes, which she photographs in a scene and completes digitally. There wonderful and so beautifully made and put together, you really must check out her blog and have a look at what else she has done.
 http://lescarnetsdemissclara.blogspot.co.uk/

Lauren Child
I also looked at the very well known and loved illustrator Lauren Child, who has cut out 2d characters and photographed them in a 3D set that she makes fro her scenes. They are really brought to life by the use of lighting she uses in the scenes, as well as the choice of angle there taken from which is something I need to think about for when I make my scene. You need to have a look at more of her amazing work on her website - http://www.milkmonitor.com/

My Guru

As a third year, we get put into small groups and are given a guru for the year who give us advice and feedback on our portfolio's along the way. I didn't get the chance to meet my guru the evening she came to university, but I did get in contact with her via email.
My guru, Sam, is a recent graduate who works for a TV Company as an art department assistant. This job roll involves finding props suitable for the scenes they are filming, or if she can't get or find the prop she's after, she make's a mock prop of it, and it could be anything. When she does get a brief to make a prop, she will only have a limited amount of time to do it in, so there is a lot of pressure but she enjoys it because it's what she loves doing....making things! I had never even considered this as a job option but it has got me thinking that it is something I would love to do in the future.


Luckily for me and the peers who I am grouped with, (who also have a love for making) Sam was able to get us in touch with a company called- film dust, which is a prop house I'm currently working with at the moment. This is great for me to be involved in because I am now amongst people who have experience in the industry. The manager at film dust, use to work on film sets as a prop maker for 16 years, but with having to run the place and deal with customers, he doesn't get a chance to make as much anymore, but he said if an opportunity does come along to make a prop, he would happily give the project to me and my peers. This would be a great experience and a wonderful addition to my portfolio if something did come along.

   

Illustrator Ian Whadcock

Illustrator Ian Whadcock came in to give us a talk about his experience in the industry, which was very interesting. He has been in the industry for a very long time, and so he had a lot of advice and wise words to share.

He said he finds everything interesting, which stuck with me and that was influenced by an exhibition he went to which had that for a title. So he began to keep lots of different sketchbooks full of all sorts from, doodles, to bits of scrap paper that are textured, patterned, coloured, to mark makings and photographs he had taken himself etc and from having done that, it inspired new work. And he then went onto to say that its good to break habits and get out of your comfort zone, which I agree with because as he also said, its better to be as versatile as possible. As technology develops, we need to keep up with it to.
http://www.ianwhadcock.com/

This has to be my favourite piece of his, which he said was inspired by photographs he had taken on a walk through the Peak district. Along with photographs, he has also combined it with digital and pencil drawings. His clever compositions, limited colour palate and attention to detail bring this piece together beautifully.
I would like to get back in touch with working in this way again, as I have been for the most part making my work 3d, so it will be refreshing to get out the pencils again.