Identity and Creative Voice

The research task given at the end of this lecture was to look at myself and the way my work represents me as an Illustrator. I feel that as an artist I have always tried to incorporate new styles and methods alongside new projects. 

In terms of Illustration as a viable career for myself I feel that I have a lot to offer to a variety of different vocatinal routes i could go down after this degree. I only joined the second year Illustration course at CCAD afetr completing my first year in Textiles and Surface design. I made the decision to move course afetr I realised that I did not want to just focus on the areas that this course offered me. I learnt many new things that I still employ in my work now and I also feel this sometimes gives my work an edge with briefs. 

In terms of the progression of my work over the years I have decided to look at the work for my final hand in at collage for my foundation year and at my latest hand in for the course I am currently studying.
In terms of use of colour and imagery, I am happy to say that I truly believe I have grown in both of these areas. Obviously it looks like a collection, a year of textiles makes you look at things in a collective way for some reason, the illustrative techniques were just simply ink and white or blue paper and a photocopier and scissors and glue. Pretty non complex in comparison to how I create my work these days. 

This is the children's sketchbook and bag I created for the last hand in, undoubtedly there still remains an element of textiles in my work, but I feel as though the concepts and research behind my work now is much more thought out and is up to date with current issues. 

The imagery is rarely repeated twice and the colours are much more evolved. I now know that working outside your comfort zone is healthy and helps new and exciting methods come to light to be utilised in future projects. 

I feel as though my style is easily changeable which makes briefs easier to manage somewhat, after declaring last year that I only like working in black and white I have managed to come unstuck of that artistic rut. Although every now and then I enjoy creating strange creatures of my imagination with my fine liners I understand that limiting myself will only be harmful to any career paths I choose in the future. I will finish this post with a photo of a recent oddity...

  

Ladybird Publishing

In this weeks lecture we were introduced to the world of the Ladybird publishing company.
Their first published work was done in 1914 after setting the company up with a trademark. The two people who made up the printing company name of  Wills and Hepworth of Loughborough, was an ex bookshop owner Henry Wills and his business partner William Hepworth , during the first world war. The companies mission was to produce good, wholesome books for children to read and enjoy.
It was only really after the war that Ladybird books took a great step forward, according to their website the format of all books published for quite some time was a 56 page format made from one sheet of paper measured at 40inches to 30 inches. This standardised format made production easy and fast, the books were sold at twelve and a half pence in todays money and flew off the shelves. It was also a fool proof method of production in the post war years.

The company knew that School/Educational books sold well, so they began to travel down this route of delivery. Although the books were educational, they were also pleasing the eye, due to the fact of the companies increased interaction with various illustrators of the time. 

They got various specialists from their separate fields to write the books, these decisions by Ladybird made learning fun. 

Since the beginning, this company's literary works have been published in over sixty languages and still creates beautiful pieces of work that are bought by millions today. 

http://www.ladybird.co.uk/about-us/company-history/

Modern Symbolism and Colour

For thousands of year archaic patterns and shapes have been used as symbols for the world around us, The sun, the moon and other such symbols that represent important factors of everyday life. People have been illustrating the events of their days since the beginning of human civilisation. And these pictures are still used today to teach our children in their formative years, one of the most popular careers in modern day and classical Illustration is creating visual narrative for picture books. 

The jobs of these illustrators is to provide a clear and succinct way of showing children, the main aspects of civilisation: the sun is hot, the dog goes woof ect...) 

The modern age of this style is what I wish to focus on for this post and one of the people I have elected to look into is Professor Martin Salisbury, of Cambridge School of art. Here he teaches Illustration and started the first Master's degree course for illustration children's book in the UK. 

   He has worked as an Illustrator since his own graduation in the 70's and in recent times has chosen to focus directly on Children's Books. His own books as of late are fun ways of deciphering the market of these books and a guide for budding artists. 

It is extremely important for children to have these books in their formative years as it aids brain growth through play and visual information and being creative. 

The books tend to be simple with bright colour palettes as children seem to be more susceptible to these tones. Although the symbols and meanings of ancient times are still present in the books, in the past couple of centuries there has been an added amount of narrative through visual communication. The books that sell are ones that are fun and exciting, when I was young it was books such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, ones that ignited the imagination. 

One example of modern day children's book illustration is from Claudia Bolt and her book, Stargazers, Skyscrapers and Extraordinary Sausages. It tells a story of a young girl and her dog, she wants to take over the world and he wants sausages. The story is fun and exciting but what I really love is Bolt's eclectic mix of styles and how it comes together in terms of being stimulating for children. 

As you can see from the image above, the pages are completely filled with splashes of colour and interesting shapes to observe. In terms of her process, she initially begins with lino cuts and screenprinting alongside Indian ink and basic lines. She then puts it into Photoshop and creates a kind of collage effect, it's really textural and exciting, and through the use of very little narrative word she has a perfect book of wonders for a child to look through. 

Although the symbols and shapes and ways of conveying them may have changed, This age old process of relaying symbols and colours visually to teach is still ongoing in the modern age. 

http://www.booktrust.org.uk/books/view/30865 

  

The Digital Native and how we need to address it.

For this post, I will be looking into how the education system may not be preparing students for their voyage into the big World. After looking at various topics and after being given examples through the powerpoint for this post I have elected to look at Ken Robinson and mainly his talks on how the Education system is favouring more academic subjects over creative ones.
I feel this is extremely applicable to the subject illustration, simply because the economy at the moment is really favouring this art form, it is in some ways going through yet another renaissance whereby a whole new set of styles are coming through.
From watching Robinson's Ted Talks video on this subject of creativity and schools it is clear that, even from personal experiences, Schools do tend to favour the academic subjects over the artistic ones, Robinson talks about a Hierarchy in the school system that has become apparent even in this day and age, where the arts make up quite a large percentage in the economy.
Robinson argues that "creativity is as important as literacy".
It is fact that the more play a child take part in during their formative years helps with their development into later years, helps with social experiences and such. During their first encounter with school, at primary level, they are expected to play and create, be curious about the world around them and ask about it. As soon as Secondary school comes about, Robinson states, they are put into sets based on academic skill which brings these subjects to the forefront of their academic life.
In terms of the modern age and our obsession with new technology, it is a fear that it will take over and soon everything will be done on a screen, no play will take place. It is important that the school system accommodates this new tech power and intertwines it with play and creativity.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en    

Illustration as Object

Illustration as object has only really come about in the past century, alongside the rise of the Illustrator as a career and Illustration as art form. 

From tote bags to jigsaw puzzles, illustration is available to put on any object or product you desire. 

For this post I will be concentration on the rise of the illustrated badge, button or pin as object within this subject. 

Initially the badge started off as more of a means for the graphical arts with political slogans or funny statements adorning the small space of the object. These products have been around since the turn of the last century and came with the invention of Celluloid, the first reasonably priced 'buttons' were produced in 1896 by Whitehead and Hoag. In the first year of production more than a million badges were made, they included badges of football players, actresses and actors and were free with packets of cigarettes. 

These small canvasses really took off in the 1950's with companies using them to "promote holiday camps, comics, social clubs and products". 

https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/4433299606286439/

The 1960's utilised the badge for political slogans, and were an indicator of what party you supported, badges were used alongside armbands and patches. They were also used as a signal of what type of things you were interested in, mostly musical preferences and bands began to make these objects to promote themselves. 

In the 1970's badges were worn by punks and this is how they really took off as a fashion item rather than a statement. Badges are easily produced and are limitless in their appeal to artists, and in more modern times to illustrators almost exclusively.  

One Illustrators that features in the book Badge, Button, Pin by Gavin Lucas, his contemporary illustrative style works really well with this from of presentation. These series of badges was apparently a celebration of British wildlife, the simple line of the illustration is really appealing and works really well on a small space, The colours are muted and the series of images comes to life when placed onto a usable object.

LUCAS G, Badge Button Pin, P13 

Grayson Perry...

   My new hero. 

After watching all three of these videos in one night, I have found a new appreciation for Grayson Perry. He was offered the opportunity to exhibit in the national portrait gallery, as an artist even Perry was daunted by the prospect of making works for this British art institution. His works of colour and vibrancy are poles apart from the classical portraits of the artists that line the galleries. 

He not only included the British public, famous and not, as the models for his portraits but he also created a sense of identity and personality to go with each. 

The piece for me that gave the most meaning and impact was the hijab he created for one of the young girls he interviewed for the show. She had converted to Islam after a tumultuous adolescence and had begun to aim for a better life for her and her child. 

It not only appealed to me in the visual sense but also the history behind the tapestry/ hijab. Britain's textiles industry is one to be proud of and this is also reflected in this piece, it creates a social and historical meaning of british identity alongside the personal imagery created. 

Channel 4

http://www.npg.org.uk/shop/shop-list.php?cat=GraysonPerryWhoAreYou&inx=1&showProductDetails=7528

Youth culture and targeting the market

The Beatles
For this post that is meant for album covers I have chosen to slightly veer off and write it about an EP, Yellow Submarine (orginally on the opposite side to Elenor Rigby) that was an explosion of colour when it first arrived in 1966, the height of the Hippy era. The easily remembered lyrics and whimsical instrumental seemed perfect for the children's song that it was originally meant for, but after the success of the song sung by the lovable Ringo Starr attracted attention from their fans they just went with it.

There was team of artists/illustrators and animators that were put on the Yellow Submarine marketing, the art director being Jack Stokes. He had oroginallt met the Beatles in 1965 when he was commissioned for the animated series 'The Beatles', when he was later chosen in 1969 to create the 'Yellow Submarine Film' that accompanied the song. Not only is the above image one of the most recognisable of the Beatles collective career but it was also ground breaking in terms of the sheer amount of marketing that surrounded it. The catchy song would appeal to most in that decade anyway for the whimsical and easy listening quality and the psychedelic artwork that accompanied it. 

http://www.beatlesbible.com/gallery/releases/yellow_submarine/

http://www.yellowsubmarineart.com/ys_info/jackstokes_info.html