Corvus

Alain Gree  The French illustrator and author   Alain Grée  was born on July, 21st 1936 in Eaubonne near Paris.  He is the author of three detective novels (“La Chouette” editions) and produced children’s broadcasts on the French national television for two years.  He studied in Paris at the “Ecole des Arts Appliqués” (atelier d’Art Graphique) and at the “Beaux Arts de Paris”.  Gree has published over 300 books for several editors (Casterman, Hachette, etc.), most in the 1960s and 1970s. His books were translated around the world into 25 different languages.  He also worked as an illustrator for “Pomme d’Api” and “Journal de Babar” magazines. Later he created 10 books as initiation works to ship navigation for Gallimard editions. He was also a journalist for the “Voiles et Voiliers” (sailing ships) magazine for 20 years and is currently working as a graphic designer and editor of advertising publications. Alain Grée recently remas...

This week I am back to working in the uni studio. Great help, since I do not have the software I need at home. I have focused on bringing together my pieces of collage and building up the spreads. Here are some sneak up images: I have added a different audience piece to a theater collage than I have initially planned on but it looked a little bit too basic. I've also asked around for some feedback on my work and there are some little changes and tweaks that I will need to do next week. Mostly it is to do with shadow and re-positioning few parts of the images. There are only two more weeks until the final deadline and so much work to do.  We have held portfolio reviews today, where I've received a little bit of advice to rearrange and take out some of the works from my portfolio as they didn't show my abilities and the quality of my works. Eh. Sometimes it feels like too much stress, but in the end the effort is definitely worth it.

The  past week and a half have been a great time off. I was finally able to distress myself and enjoy reading again. :)  I don't usually use my half term breaks to rest, as there is always something to do, but I think I needed it so much, particularly since my last break in February, there was a lot of work to do in a short amount of time. While I find working under pressure a necessity and a motivational atmosphere, it is also nervewracking. Everyone needs some time off.  I have spent the last week on catching up with my reading lists and watching some of the series that I have been missing out on.  However, during this week I have decided to get back into my work mode and use my time off in an efficient way to get ahead, especially with the next three weeks being the last ones of my second year, therefore I need to get ahead and make sure that I am ready to finish the project as I want to. Here are some sneak peaks into what I have been working on. I find ...

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,...