Corvus

Okay, so as you know from my previous post  , I am currently working on a children's book. Today we had guide mark feedback tutorials with our tutors.  I was the first to go and was a little bit scared since I had to change quite a lot already and am not sure if I can manage the whole book with Easter holidays starting today. I only have three weeks after to finish the whole project. So we agreed on a few things that I need to change and improve on to raise my grade a little bit: -improve on the main character and it's facial expressions; -experiment with the background on few pages; -go back to one space in between your text; -start planning end pages and the back and front covers; -think of where you can print your book. Sounds like a good plan, eh? In the afternoon then I set to create a few versions of the end pages and cover images. Will see how the next few weeks go by.

I am currently working on a children's book developed from an old Polish folk legend about a Golden Duck.  The short story follows a young poor shoemaker into finding a Golden Duck, who can make anyone rich, under certain condition, that they follow their rules.  In the end the legend talks about money not being the only important thing in the world, and that it won't bring anyone happiness unless you have someone to share it with.  The process of the book is still going, as although I have started in January, I went through a phase where I didn't enjoy my working method and decided to change it into a more mixed media of collage, watercolours and digital manipulation. I faced a brick wall when during a tutorial with my tutors I have been told that I need to change my font, because it just didn't fit the work.  So during the last week I had to create my own font and try to see how this one works with my work. The work is going quite s...

PORTFOLIO REVIEW Images used are the property of Kesja Dabrowska 2016-17.  Please do not use, share, copy or download without explicit permission of the owner. Last week we held portfolio reviews with Level 6 (Year 3) of Illustration. The aim was to help us in formalizing our portfolios for the next year and the future, when we will be handing in (hopefully) our portfolios to our possible clients.  I think what actually helped was what they showed us in their own portfolios rather than what feedback they gave us, as I am more of a visual learner. Advice: - If you don't like that piece of work then don't put it in your portfolio; - Specify your portfolio for the various style you may have; - Keep one portfolio for your landscape works and another for your portrait works; - Don't leave white pages, use the double spread available to you; - Rough work is allowed in your portfolio; - Invest into a more professional look of your...

Discussion Forum - THE FUTURE OF ILLUSTRATION  Today's discussion forum was lead by Jo and Sasha, who talked about the future and the existence of illustration.  If illustration is to be BIG (again) then it must be culturally RELEVANT, beyond magazines and newspapers. J and S started with an open question- What did it (illustration) used to mean? - Medical illustration; - Wildlife illustration; - Posters; - Stamps; - Book covers. Back in the day, before we went digital, around the post World War II, to be able to become a successful illustrator, you had to be able to draw, to actually draw in a technical way; i.e: anatomy. (image  source ) The discussion then shifted into how the illustration is being made in a less traditional way and that illustrators are moving with the age of technology.  We are the witnesses to a huge shift from the use of pencils, paints etc. to the utilisation of digital media and software i.e: Adobe Photoshop,...

Discussion Forum - Gender in Illustration  (Illustration by Miguel Montaner ) Today's discussion forum was led by Emma and Beth. They started of by talking about how illustrators make autonomous decisions about their work based on their own experiences, thus the stereotypes are kept in a circle of art industry.  The next topic that E and B discussed was an illustration by Stephanie Wunderlich for a German magazine. The project was to create an illustration to an article about the chore of cooking around the time of Christmas. (Illustration by Stephanie Wunderlich ) The first illustration that Wunderlich has send to the magazine was of a woman cooking while the rest of the family was decorating the Christmas tree, however the editor of the magazine has stated that it represents a stereotypical image of the task and would prefer if it was a man who cooked (image on the right).   It seemed as a good illustration, therefore it was ac...

Discussion Forum - How to sell your work? Ashley and Nayim Few weeks before the half-term, we held a discussion forum lead by two of our peers, Ashley and Nayim.   The topic of the forum was 'How to sell your work?'.  It is a topic that many beginning illustrators are afraid to approach, mainly because they don't know where to start off.  -A and N started with the Advantages and Disadvantages of working together in a collective/studio. (image - https://hereandnowblog.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/open-for-business/  ) Advantages:  + sharing costs and equipment; + promoting each other; + sharing the workload; + help and support each other; + inspiring and motivating each other. Disadvantages: + shared cost and equipment - how do you split the costs?; + splitting the profits - can you split it equally?; + disagreements - can you solve differences and arguments?; + different personalities - can they work togeth...

Marianna Sztyma was born in Poland, she is a graduate of Academy of Fine Arts in Poznan, Poland. She created a number of editorial illustrations for magazines such as: Twoj Styl; Press; Newsweek; Wysokie Obcasy; Zwierciadla; Elle; Wprost; as well as many illustrations for children's books. Sztyma  utilises mixed media, particularly collage, painting, crayons, as well as digital manipulations.  I think that her paintings are more about herself and expressing her whole being, while her illustrations are more of a primary way of working. Her works are surreal and playful, with a palette of bright and balanced colours. I have chosen one work of hers that I wish I'd done. It is an illustration for a children's book- Mr. Pantalon's Umbrella This is the illustration (below) What I enjoy in this illustration is the composition of the spread, as well as the use of the mixed media.  The use of primary colours for the main characte...

Recently I have contacted an illustrator Ben Jones, in order to find out more about art practitioners and their profession.  Jones was born outside Manchester, England. He has studied at Stockport College and is being represented by the Heart Agency since 2014.  Ben utilises printmaking and collage to create his imagery, which are then manipulated digitally. He starts usually starts with a screen or lino printing, he then collages on top of these with textures and found imagery.   His works seem to always reflect on the history and politics of the world, seemingly comparing the history to the present realities.  Ben Jones has a regular commission to illustrate the covers of The Lancet medical journal, as well as he regularly works for the New York Times. His other clients include The New Yorker, The Guardian, The World Today, The Economist and the New Statesman.  Jones has also produced many book covers, working for the French publis...