ShellsuitZombie

While in London we had a very special evening with ShellsuitZombie, which is a “project run by graduate creatives that encourages interaction between graduating students and the creative industry”. The evening was very light hearted and tongue in cheek and full of alcohol and laughs but they had a serious point that they got across in their presentation about the relationship between the recently graduating students, and the creative industry. To hear their thoughts on this matter and get their advice was really helpful and it was a great opportunity to speak to some down to earth guys about the industry that we will soon be stepping in to.

Check out there website here:

http://www.shellsuitzombie.co.uk/

Andrew Pavitt

Also at the British Library we got a chance to speak to illustrator and tutor Andrew Pavitt who was a very nice bloke and gave us some very useful and relevant advice both on our work and how it was presented, it was great to get another opinion on our work and again a great confidence boost to receive positive comments. Also to hear another persons comment on the industry and what is necessary to succeed was extremely useful and appreciated.

you can see Andrew's great work here

http://www.andrewpavitt.com/e1.html

Gillian Blease

While in London we met up with Gillian Blease who is a prolific illustrator and a very nice lady to boot. We met as a group in the British Library and she talked to us in groups of threes, and went through our portfolio’s one at a time. She gave us some really great advice both on the work and the presentation of our portfolios and it was a great confidence boost also to have such a well-known illustrator say really kind things about your work. Also it was great to hear about her work and to have her talk us through it and explain the ins and outs of the different commissions, and the problems faced and how they were overcome, it was a great insight into the industry.

You can see Gillian's brilliant work here

http://gillianblease.co.uk/illustrations.php

Ben Jones Interview

Recently I posted about illustrator Ben Jones, and even more recently I emailed him with some questions to which he very kindly replied with some great comments and advice. A huge thank you to Ben for taking the time to share his thoughts!

Here are his comments:

What are the main influences to your work at the moment, both personal and commissioned?

My main influences are Mythology and fairy tales it is the main drive in my personal work. When it comes to commissions its very hard to convey your interests and influences as art directors normally have something in mind before hand. I also love Polish illustration which I am sure you have seen many many times! Oh and also print is a very important influence of mine.

How important do you find “networking” with other people in the industry to be?

In a word, very! Its important when getting commissions to build a relationship with art directors and to do a good, professional job. I still talk to a few people that have commissioned me in the past.

How much do you concentrate on self promotion and have you ever gained a commission from an unexpected or untraditional source?

I have been shit with self promotion over the last year or so. It is the most important thing to do baaaaaaaaa!!!! have no more than 100 places you would like to work for and send emails 3 times a year telling them what your up to and a link to a simple website with no more than 30 images. Also it is a good idea to send out cards a few times a year just don't pester people is the main thing. check out this. I did get a unexpected commission from TFL when showing work at an AOI show I would just say get involved with cool things. But don't do commissions for free from big publications its killing the industry.

Do you think there has been a shift back to hand made imagery and print techniques due to the abundance of digital imagery being produced?

Hand made has always been around even when digital was the be all and end all check out Jeff fisher and Paul Davis. I think there has been a change in astetics there are great illustrators using photoshop to create work that looks like its been done by hand like Stuart Kolakovic. for me it is because I get board on photoshop and like to make allot of mess.

How do you find working to strict deadlines using more time-consuming methods such as printmaking?

I never really spend more than a day or 2 on a peace of work so its fine for me. Once you finnish Uni you start to make work quicker and quicker. When I was a Stockport the idea of having a day to do an illustration was shit scary.

Again a massive thank you to Ben for spending his time answering the questions and supplying some great advice, it is VERY much appreciated!

Check out his work here:

http://illustrationbenjones.blogspot.com/

Jake Blanchard Interview

I recently came across an Illustrator named Jake Blanchard when I saw a video regarding his latest exhibition "Hylozoism". I thought Jake's work was grand and was particularly interested as he talks about using lino cut in the video, and also some thoughts on freelancing in general. So, I sent him an email and he very graciously replied! Here are his answers to my qusetions:

What are the main influences to your work, both personal and commisioned?

I guess the most obvious influences on my work are nature, tribal society, mythology etc etc, I grew up in the Peak District so that had a big impact. But I'm also hugely interested in music, particularly experimental stuff, drone, free jazz etc, and Biology and theoretical physics are often on my mind even if that doesn't necessarily show all too often in my work.

How important do you find “networking” with other people in the industry to be?

I think I'm pretty active in terms of keeping in touch with other illustrators, collaborating and commissioning. For me it's a really important part of my life, and I get a real kick out of promoting the work of other illustrators that I love. Thats why I run Tor Press, as a way of working with other illustrators and musicians that I love.

How much do you concentrate on self promotion and have you ever gained a commission from an unexpected or untraditional source?

I used to do a huge amount of self promotion, more than anyone else I know, I have posted out in the region of 2000 hand printed postcards in the past 3 years (although a lot of those were in packs of 3-5). I've been a little less active with mailouts recently although I do plan on doing more soon. It's a great way to get the attention on potential new clients and I have always really enjoyed a bit of post.

I first became aware of you when I saw the video for your current exhibition “Hylozoism”, where you talked about printmaking and lino cut in particular. In a time when so much illustration is produced with the click of a mouse, do you think that hand-made imagery has seen a resurgence in popularity?

Hand made imagery will always be around, even a lot of computer based works begins or directly comes from hand drawn works. All of my work for example. (although most of it goes through a computer at some stage) is hand drawn. I don't think it's a good thing to draw a comparison between the two. The computer is just another tool, I love working in different mediums, screen print, lino, painting, drawing, digital and wood carving, there's always more to learn and new things to try, it keeps it fresh.

I can't thank Jake enough for this brilliant reply, it is very much appreciated!

Check out his amazing work here

http://www.jakeblanchard.co.uk/