Hopes, Fears and Opportunities

Before I even started the illustration degree, I knew exactly what I would be getting myself into after I graduate, because as will all know, the creative industry is VERY competitive, and it may even take years to get going properly. But its a risk I was willing to let myself take, because if I didn't, I know I would regret it for the rest of my life. You have to work hard at everything you want in life, nothing ever comes easy....I just want to give myself a chance to get out there and be creative.
The drive and enthusiasm that I have has carried me through into my last year but its what I'm afraid of losing when I leave. Over the years, you get comfortable being surrounded by peers and tutors always helping at every step along the way and not having that when I'll be in the big wide world is something I obviously won't be familiar with, so I often wonder how I'll cope on my own, when I feel like I haven't done a good job or have a creative block. Will I have the same drive and enthusiasm then, as I do now, but it's something I'll only have the answer to when I am on my own.
 Failing is something I do worry about... (even though I know failing is a must)...because I haven't experienced failing in the industry yet, I don't know how that would effect me. Failing in university is a fail because you didn't do the work, failing in the industry is because no one likes your work. If I was told once in the industry that my work isn't what there looking for, then thats fine, but if I'm told more than once and by different people that my work isn't good enough, that will definitely open up a lot of questions. However, I don't think I would ever let myself quit, I would need to work on how to improve.
And I think if you can pick yourself up from a hard fall like that, it's proof to yourself that you want it, and I think its very important to have that kind of attitude and open mindedness on a creative career path.
I hope to continue with this determination, which will hopefully open up some opportunities along the way.
Im currently working in a prop house, where people from TV companies and film companies etc are always coming in, and I sometimes get the pleasure of talking to them when I get a chance to help them look for what they need. This is a great way of making contacts and asking questions that could really help me in my future.

Paddigton Bear

Ideas for making my own characters set for my moral consequence story...

The Paddigton Bear set is beautifully well made.

I wish this show was still aired on TV!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMZPEUR9As

Summer Project research

Inspiration for making my summer project moral consequence story- It is a short film about a little girl who graffiti's ...and suffers the consequence. It's brill and very well made!

- Written and Directed by: Rodrigo Blaas

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irbFBgI0jhM

Mackinnon & Saunders studio visit

I got the chance to visit the Mackinnon & Saunders studio over the summer (which was absolutely amazing) but having seen all their work, it really became a major influence on my summer project -The moral consequence story! 

All of these pictures are from the Mackinnon & Saunders website.

Take a look and see what else they have done... http://www.mackinnonandsaunders.com/home/

Farmer Bunce from Fantastic Mr Fox

Boy and Mother-The Sand Man

A truly creepy story, which I needed to get inspiration for for making mine...I don't think I could of have handled watching this as a child...Very scary! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjgHbRrnjhU

The Periwig Maker-By Steffen Schaffler

The Corpse Bride-By Tim Burton

Very cute mini 3D scenes

I saw these on holiday in Greece over the summer and had to buy them.....Im not sure who exactly made it, but whoever they are, they are very talented indeed! I love them, I jut wish I could have bought them all! There like little mini 3d snippets of a story unraveling in my head.

Scene Doc

I am currently doing some work experience with a company called Scene Doc, which is a prop house that holds alot of everything and anything, for Tv soaps, film companies, Theatre shows etc, to hire out what they need for their show. They have all kinds of thins from furniture to toys to books to flags to pots and pans, carpets, paintings, lighting, medical props, science props, cauldrons (and much much much more), all from different era's.
Its AMAZING being surrounded by it all, because it helps you get a better sense of what living was like (may have been like) in olden times. As a lot of what they have dates back a very long time ago.- It's crazy to think that when I look around, each and every item will have been in the hands of so many other people before us, and each with their own little story too.
My job is to clean and organsie the props in a way that may entice clients to buy, or visualise what they want better, because sometimes they come in and they don't quite know themselves what there after, and it's also not helped by how much stuff there is to look at and take in. It can be quite overwhelming by the amount of stuff there is, and then they don't no where to begin to start looking. So organising the props to make it easier on the eye really does help them quite a lot.
There are a range of different clients that come in, all wanting different things, for what every project they are involved in... Downton Abbey came in on a day I was there and they were looking for some silverware, so I helped clean and polish them up (as they had hundreds of years worth of dirt on them!!) ready for them to take.

Summer Project

For the summer project, the brief was to either illustrate a story or write and illustrate our own story which had to be based on one of the four themes we were given to choose from. They were- Scary stories, The Outsiders, The Natural World and Non Place.

I chose to write a story because I wanted a bit more of a challenge on my hands then just to illustrate one. And I gravitated towards doing the scary story which had to be based on moral consequences.
I thought I'd be good at coming up with ideas for this one, because I have a younger sister that I feel needs to be taught a few lessons ...she is the youngest and the youngest are often said to be the most spoilt. This depends on what and how people judge what being spoilt is and obviously siblings younger and older will always have a comment on one another on how fair things are and should be. However my sister truly is spoilt and she knows it. So what do you do to shake them of their greedy ways...and this is where my imagination opened up.

I had a few ideas for a moral consequence, some were quite gruesome, but the one I wanted to draw up straight away was the idea of the spoilt girl being told she has been given three chances to change her ways or she'll start to turn into a real life size doll...with sewn on knitted eyes, mitten doll hands and feet and cotton straw like hair. And on every birthday she gets to see a glimpse of herself in the mirror of what she'd look like as the girl she once was.
I am aiming this book at children ages 5-12 as I thought the age for learning valuable lessons are at that age....and I don't think this book is too scary (it's maybe a little depressing) but its scary enough for young children and hopefully learn from it to be appreciative of the things they have, the things they would like to have and things they receive. It doesn't cost anything to say thank you!

Here are some of my sketches...
My character is called Penny in the story.

She trashes her toys and makes up that they had broke on her so that she has an excuse for getting new toys.

I also decided to make the charter 3D and photograph still scenes....

And by the end of the day she becomes a doll.. and on every birthday, she gets a glimpse of herself in the mirror as the girl she once was.