Evaluation

I don’t feel like PP really came to have much bearing on my practice this year, it didn’t seem to delve that deeply into the specifics of where my practice is likely to sit in the future, although it did help to give me some idea of what I need to start thinking about.

I had never really given much consideration to the full scope of what my financial needs are likely to be, and despite my future living situation being unlikely to correlate to the current one I used for Study Task 5, I still found it to be a useful exercise. At least, in getting me into the habit of thinking about these kinds of things and also beginning to evaluate which parts of my practice are likely to be the most financially viable and how I might have to balance them with more personal work and a part time job.

The group project, Studio Brief 3, was overall an enjoyable experience, although community art projects are not something which I really think are likely to become part of my practice in the future. It’s a really satisfying experience to see the growth of an idea result from discussion between several individuals but once we were over the initial excitement, because we all got on very well and were mainly good friends, a lot of the pressure was let off and we ran out of steam a little bit. We were as little distracted as a result and failed to pay enough detailed attention to some of the more practical sides of the project we were proposing, namely budgeting and the financial side. I think I would have been much more interested to work collaboratively with a graphic designer or an animator (or even a writer or anyone who sits within a different creative discipline) as this would have been more relevant to potential future collaborations I would be interested in embarking upon.

I left the contact report until quite last minute and regret doing that because after seeing how easy it was to strike up communication with other practitioners/ professionals, I realised that I could have contacted a lot of people and probably got much more use out of it. As it stands my email correspondence with Molly Fairhurst was interesting and I definitely got some useful ideas from it but nothing which I think will drastically alter the way I think about my work and future practice.         

Study Task 10

Things To Consider When Presenting

Don't rush.

Be comfortable leaving gaps between saying things so the audience can digest what you've said and so you can prepare for what you're going to say next.

Avoid using 'crutch words' e.g. 'urmmm', 'so...', 'like', 'um' etc.

Power of three. This is probably not going to be a priority of mine as the content of the presentation is more important in this context I think, clarity will be my main focus, not charisma.

Bookending. This will probably help keep my presentation focused.


Presentation strategy/ structure/ script

I will probably work through my year chronologically, to show how my understanding of my practice has gradually begun to solidify over the course of the year, and then sum up what I want to take forward and develop at level 6 at the end.

Slide 1

Hello


Slide 2
At the end of Level 4 I was working in a more abstract way, with a focus on the abstraction of everyday experience through selecting unusual perspectives of the subjects of the images and using incorrect, flat colour. The notion of the strangeness of everyday experience is one which I have realised is becoming integral to my practice and despite this being at the core of the work I was priducing at the end of level 4 in a thematic sense, when I look back at it, aesthetically that doesn't come across. the work's appearance I find to be a little soulless and actually as a whole I feel like it's a tad contrived, as I was forcing the strangeness upon the work's inspiration by choosing the perspectives and changing the colours. 
I managed to find a much more authentic route towards what it is I'm trying to communicate through my work this year, through the COP module, which will be discussed in greater detail later on. 
I had also decided at the end of Level 4, and over summer, that I wanted to revisit drawing as a process, in a more representational, traditional sense because I felt I hadn't done any for a long time and that actually it is one of my strengths as an image maker, and as such should not be neglected. This more abstract/shape based work does not come as naturally to me.       


Slide 3
For the editorial brief, I chose the author Cormac McCarthy because I was familiar with his work but wanted to read more, I also knew that the style of his writing and the themes he tackles would be a great catalyst for revisiting a more traditional, drawing based process due the visceral and heavily descriptive style of writing he employs. 

Slide 4
I really enjoyed working more in this way, probably because it had been so long since I had done it, and despite trying out a slightly more abstract, 'clever-cloggs' type approach in some of my thumbnails, my finals were actually just some of the initial drawings I had made. This was an important step for me because up until this point I had always thought that successful editorial work, more often than not, required the use of visual metaphors and other clever tricks which my work really isn't that suited to, but now I realised that actually, very simple ideas work just as well if they are presented with an appropriate tone of voice. I only wished I had made the images vignettes so they would sit better on a hypothetical page. I also didn't want to become reliant on working from photographs.              


Slide 5
My work for the 'Printed Pictures' brief built on the spontaneous/ drawing based practice the editorial work had helped inspire and I really hit my stride here. I developed a combination of drawn, collaged, and photomontaged processes which helped me avoid just drawing from photographs 


Slides 6-7

- piccies


Slide 8
I was originally intending to make a short book out of the images I had created in response to 'No Country For Old Men' incorporating some quotes from the book, but ended doing a really botched job of putting it together so decided to make five digital prints of my favourite pages as well for the submission, as this was the other option we had. They came out really well, but I hadn't designed with with a view to them being stand alone prints, so they aren't the kind of images that people typically buy to frame and hang on their wall. The fact that they were digital prints also meant that they were much less marketable than hand pulled prints would have been, especially given the ideal price to sell them at based on the cost of printing them. They were not very economically viable. It's no surprise I didn't sell any at the colours may vary exhibition because of these facts.

Slide 9 
Here are some examples of how poorly put together the book was, and the stock it was printed on wasn't pf a very nice quality really, I was able to use better for the prints.

Slide 10
After I had made it I also realised that conceptually it was a bit of an oddball and wouldn't really fit in anywhere. The book 'No Country For Old Men' already exists and I'd created this strange abbreviated version of the story, or even a story which isn't the story of the original, using fragmented parts i had picked and chosen from it in combination with semantics. It felt like a bit of an uncomfortable outcome in it's redundancy, but it made me realise that my work is often much more concerned with narrative than I'm aware of. I had essentially tried to create my own story, or at least inspire an audience to infer their own through this project.   


Slide 11
I really enjoyed making the sting, predominantly because I wrote, played and recorded the music for it. This was actually really important, as it kept me interested in the work through providing a different creative outlet to inspire me, especially as the process of putting the sting together was exceedingly tedious. It was also a very satisfying in a holistic sense to have art inspiring music and vice versa and this is something i'm curious to keep investigating as part of my practice in the future. not explicitly referencing music I'm making in the illustration work I make, but more just making sure I make music at the same time, to see if one informs the other and whether it could help to improve my work in either camp.     


Slide 12
I chose the Hookworms poster for one my live brief projects, mainly because I like the idea of the freedom afforded by that medium, anything can go on a gig poster, but also because I wanted to improve my grasp of type and how it can be incorporated into my work because i don;t really feel confident doing that, as these first attempts showcase quite well. I realised the importance of planning every element of a design into ones ideas, as I was trying to force it into these images in ways that weren't working because I'd just bashed the images out. The two finals I created actually used very different applications of type, one very much set out of the way of the image, and in the other, a more embedded approach. I don't really have a preference for either but I've learnt to consider the application of my work as a whole rather than just thinking that I can always just bend the work into what it's supposed to be. Sometimes one can. but not always.
 
Slide 13-14

- Finals

Slide 15
I thought that seeing as my work so often seems to present itself with a narrative bent, that for another live brief I should choose the 'Penguin Random House Student Design Award', and decided I would try and create a cover for 'Animal Farm.' I took the fact that visual metaphor isn't the best fit for my work from the editorial pieces I had created earlier this year and decided that I would take a similar approach in that I would just work on creating images that I liked after absorbing information about the book and letting it stew a while. And not to use pigs.       

Slide 16-17

- finals


Slide 18
Once the opportunity to marry together my illustration practice with music presented itself again (after the sting) I decided that it would be a no-brainer to take it (although this time I wouldn't be writing the music obviously)  and also just make sure I was entering more live briefs, and not to stop that just because the module requirement for it had ended. Record cover artwork was also something I had never really tried before and fancied having a go at to see if it would ever become a viable part of my practice, I figured it could be as the only requirement really is that whatever you design be square.  


Slide 19

- Print (want to do more, could have done iterations, more developed)


Slide 20

- Finals

Slide 21- 24
Favourites. All very different approaches left me feeling a little more confused about my practice and how I wanted to develop it aesthetically. I felt I had lost my way a bit after having felt so happy with the way I was working up until this point, and feeling that my work was becoming more cohesive, only to now be seperated into more disparate strands again right at the end of the year.  

Slide 25
Messy hands
I found the overall experience of working as part of a group an enjoyable one. It was interesting initially to see how ideas bounce around, and the discussion between individuals brings about the growth of a seed of an idea. Whilst observing and participating in this initial brainstorming process was very satisfying, there were slight problems with the overall experience. Namely, because everyone in the group knew each other pretty well and got along together well, the attitude towards the work was very relaxed. This meant that the development was very slow and we were a little distracted every time we came together to work on the idea. We also tended to overlook the more serious considerations that would have to be made if our idea was going to work (e.g. budgeting/costing/logistics).   
Not my cup of tea.
Interdisciplinary collaboration would be more relevant to my practice.
Didn't feel particularly useful

Slide 26
COP/incongruity. This was where I began to tie back in my main creative concerns from the end of Level 4, but through the lens of the new visual aesthetics I had been developing this year. I realised they had been bubbling away under the surface and subtly influencing the work I was making (particularly my ambiguous sense of the narrative) but just hadn't yet been presented an opportunity to take centre stage.  


Slide 27

- Very brief touch on Heidegger

Slide 28
Truck stop example of incongruity in art, how that relates to Level 4 but closer to what I was trying to achieve with it and how I managed to get closer to that through my practical COP work.

Slide 29-32
COP photos

Slide 33-35
COP drawings

Side 36
Conclusion

Study Task 9

Curriculum Vitae

Personal Details

Name: Alex Brown

Address: 44 Cliff Mount

Phone Number: 07597081103

Email: big_al@btinternet.com

DOB: 31/10/96

National Insurance Number: PB 51 54 98 C

Currently studying BA Hons Illustration at Leeds Arts University

Education and Qualifications

Chesterfield College

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

High Storrs School

A Levels

Art - A

Music - C

English Literature - A

AS Levels

Art - A

Music - C

English Literature - A

Geography - C

GCSEs

Art - A*

Music - A

English Language - A*

English Literature - A

French - B

Geography - B

ICT - Dist

RE - B

Maths - C

Science (Additional) - B

Film Studies – A*

Work Experience

‘ARK Promotions’

Direct Marketing of ‘Hello Fresh’ fresh food delivery service.
2016

I had to travel around Yorkshire pitching the product we were selling (Hello Fresh) in all kinds of demographically varying areas, talking to many different people with varying backgrounds, political views, cultural heritage etc. Whilst this was challenging and quite nerve-racking at first, I actually started to find it very interesting once I had settled in, and I think it has left me with a set of skills which are applicable to a wide range of other employment opportunities, most notably in a customer services faculty.

Red Tape studios

Recording studio experience

Recording/mixing/mastering music

MU Studios

Recording Studio experience

Recording/mixing/mastering music

I and my band were afforded the opportunity to record at a professional standard at ‘MU studios’ and release our music on iTunes and Spotify. It was an incredibly gratifying experience and proves my diligence in pursuing my passions and interests and how I am able to make my hard work pay off, particularly when working as part of a team, a skill which playing in a band helps develop.

‘Uber Agency’

Advertising Agency

One week work experience; I was stationed in the creative/ design department.

Self-initiated in 2016, before starting my BA degree in ‘Illustration’ at Leeds College of Art later that year, which gave me a bit of insight into the sorts of industry opportunities I might have once finishing university.

Numerous Band Related Activities

Performing

Ticket Selling

Self-Promotion/ Promotion of events

We paid for high quality recordings with money we had made from extensive gigging around Sheffield (at venues such as ‘The Leadmill’ and ‘O2 academy’) through which we had acquired numerous useful connections such as promotion companies, thus developing my people skills and raising my level of independence in terms of communicating and negotiating with unfamiliar people in a mature and professional way. I feel that adapting skills and using new information to become a more independent person is, in my opinion, a valuable practice and one in which I feel confident and assured.

'Off The Page' Exhibition - Colours May Vary
Exhibiting artwork

I was actively involved with the curation and construction of the exhibition, including hanging, measuring and cleaning of exhibited artworks. Attention to detail and patience was required throughout the framing and hanging process, as well as packaging my own exhibited work to be transported to the exhibition site.  

  

Study Task 3

Personal SWOT Analysis

Strengths

Drawing

Analogue/ handmade aesthetic

Atmosphere

Expressive

General knowledge

Musicality


Weaknesses

Lazy

Poor time management

Bad with technology

Reluctant to use social media/inability to use social media effectively

Not particularly approachable

Easily Distracted


Opportunities

Print fairs

Resurgence of popularity of analogue mediums

Talking to Practitioners

University facilities readily available at the moment 


Threats

Plagarism

Missing things which could be beneficial

Failing to promote myself as effectively as possible

Losing out to competition

Missing deadlines



Roman Muradov- SWOT and PEST

SWOT

Strengths

Strong and identifiable visual aesthetic (largely based in jazz age aesthetics)

Style translates well across numerous formats/themes (handmade, digital, print, drawn, animation, narrative etc.)

Technical skill and images imbued with character 

Extensive client list/connections

Experience in many fields

Frequent editorial commissions ensures consistent work


Weaknessnes

Lots of competition in the editorial/publishing fields

Personal work (to sell) deals with very niche themes/subjects and is a tad self indulgent, to the point where there is a risk of creating a very exclusive, small market. 


Opportunities

Due to the diverse range of formats he has applied to his work (handmade, digital, print, drawn, animation, narrative etc.) he is a valid candidate for any number of professional opportunities.

I can see his work as being appropriate to subjects catering to all age ranges.

Experience and skill has led to a teaching job (both an online subscription based service- 'Skill Share', and students at the California College of the Arts (illustration 3 and his own course exploring the relationship between drawing and writing)


Threats

He is very established now, so he probably doesn't face many threats that will impact him very heavily, but when he was starting out and up until now there will have been the challenge of sticking out in a market which is very full/saturated. (editorial/ publishing)

As he grows more successful it may become harder to juggle the more in demand jobs such as teaching and high profile commissioned jobs with personal output.  



PEST 

Political 

Doesn't have a strong political focus in his personal output, although his politics will be inherently imbued within it. This may provoke similar thoughts in his audience, people who read/buy his personal work but the chances are they have similar interests/ views to him.

The fact that he gets so much editorial work means a large amount of this will be tied up with politics in some way. 

He may have to base part of his decisions to work with various clients on whether he agrees with their politics v.s. whether its a really good/well payed job and if other clients who are in opposition will see his work for certain clients and decide they don't want him to work with them anymore. (e.g. if he regularly works with a more left wing publication but then takes a job with a more right wing client will the regular work stop?)


Economic

Illustration work can be inconsistent and although he is now very established, he will have had to keep adjusting the value of his work/ prices etc as he developed depending on his level of success at any one time, having to strike a balance between making a living and not putting potential clients off with prices.

people may use in house illustrators/ design teams a lot of the time because it's cheaper. 


Social

Editorial work obviously exhibits a range of social implications as it is so heavily involved with social issues. There is an expectation that an illustrator will demonstrate an active understanding of the information relevant to the work.

There is a risk concerning illustrators that their work will become unfashionable, particularly if they have relied on trends to dictate the aesthetics of their work. Although this seems unlikely to be a major factor for Muradov as he has a very distinctive, unique tone of voice which hasn't ever been based on popular trends. 


Technological

Muradov's work, whilst initially based in analogue practices, is definitely not limited to them and he has managed to keep his practice very up to date with technological advances, finding appropriate ways to incorporate Photoshop and Illustrator (Adobe suites) in a way which doesn't compromise the visual language he has honed up until this point. 






   
  


  

Study Task 6

Haiku

An old sad building
Creative Community
Lasting Impression

Study Task 7

I emailed several people for this task, including Chris Clarke (deputy creative director for 'The  Guardian') with a view to gaining a bit of insight into the world of editorial illustration, Charlotte Ager (illustrator), Laura Carlin (illustrator) and Molly Fairhurst (illustrator). Molly was the only one who got back to me, and I was actually surprised at how quickly she did (I had left it rather late sending emails out so I was a bit worried I had missed my chance.)

I thought the fact that she is a recent graduate meant that she would be a great person to interview because she's only a few steps ahead of where I am as a student, so all her answers would be very relevant and her experiences of the time between graduating and now would be fresh in her mind. 
       

Study Task 2

House Of Illustration

Tertiary Sector
Quaternary Sector

The House of Illustration is the UK's only public gallery dedicated entirely to illustration and graphic art. It is a registered charity, so would fit in the tertiary sector, and provides many services due to a changing and varied exhibition programme as well as hosting relevant talks and events. 

It can certainly be seen to be successful, particularly as it is such a unique enterprise and therefore does not have any serious competition. It also has a lot of famous names attached, for example Joanna Lumley, who is president of the founders club, but namely Quentin Blake, who is one the UK's most well known and loved illustrators. He in fact led the team who set it up and has pledged his archive of over 4000 original drawings and 250 illustrated books to it. This no doubt lends the House Of Illustration a lot of credulity and will likely ensure its continued support.

Its services are primarily educational and recreational, namely exhibitions open to the public, talks by practitioners, short courses and masterclasses, events for children, but also, they could be seen as providing promotional services through the awareness raised concerning practitioners who become involved in its programmes or who are exhibited there.


Parra

       

 

 

Private Sector

Pieter Janssen is a dutch artist and designer whose work stretches across the board from a fine art practice to marketable products. The strengths of 'Parra' as a brand include the worldwide online presence, strong, cohesive aesthetic identity and the fact that he has been able to apply his designs to such a wide range of applications. His work is very marketable. 

His products are not designer, but they are also quite high end and good quality so not exactly cheap either. This is quite a good pocket to fall into, ensuring the works' appeal is fairly widespread and will consistently earn him money. The diversity of his output also helps this.



Yann kebbi

 

 

 

Private Sector

Tertiary Sector

Quaternary Sector

Yann Kebbi is an illustrator whose practice spans from self directed work (drawings, etchings, mono print) to editorial and other commissioned work. His work can definitely be seen to be successful seeing how he is able to produce and sell work which he has created for himself and for the sake of itself, yet also receives commissions for a varied range of applications, namely editorial, from various high profile clients, such as 'The Guardian' and 'The New Yorker'. 


Cafe Royal Books

    

Private Sector 

Quaternary Sector

"Café Royal Books (founded 2005) is an independent publisher based in Southport, England. Originally set up as a way to disseminate art, in multiple, affordably, quickly, and internationally while not relying on 'the gallery'. Café Royal Books publishes artist's books and zines as well as a weekly series of photobook/zines. The photographic publications are part of a long ongoing series, generally working with photographers and their archives, to publish work, which usually falls into 1970–2000 UK documentary / reportage. But not always. Every 100th photographic book, I publish as an edition of 10, a boxed set of those 100 books."

"The books should be affordable, democratic, utilitarian and useful. CRB is just me — every aspect, so I have to like the work to publish it. I won't take money from an artist or photographer, to publish their work. I dislike fuss, decoration and non-functional design. There has to be an element of fun or excitement."

A clear ethos and brand identity should ensure 'Cafe Royal Books' success and a loyal base of followers. It also uses a subscription service which would be very appealing to fans of its output as it offers a discount on what is already a very cheap price (typically £6 for a book/zine). The consistency and frequency at which they publish new material is also very impressive and they appear to be the only ones providing this service in the UK, at least to such a high standard. They are highly regarded in the UK publishing and photography world and have been noted by important figures therein, including Martin Parr.

"A great archive of much forgotten documentary from the 70s and 80s"
Martin Parr