Here's the next lot. I'm getting into a rhythm of doodling after the first cuppa of the morning. Its been an intense but fun week so this was a bit of light relief really.
Sneak peak of next Foodie project
We get a local vegetable box delivery every week. Its seasonal so we don't always know what to expect. Sometimes theres a real glut and I'm at a loss what to do with the over abundance of a particular veg. This gave me an idea for a recipe thats a little time consuming bit totally worth it as the kids devour the end result within seconds ...which is a win/win situation since they don't realise they've actually eaten vegetables.
I will reveal all in the coming weeks. The sketches were drawn on the kitchen floor with the kids doing there own versions of carrots and beetroot with my brush pens. And a quick play around in PS just now.
Hallmark 5 word phrase competition
For a bit of a challenge I penciled in the Hallmark 5 words phrase competition for early August. I did totally forget it would clash with GTS. However it turned out of be a bit of light relief as I was able to tune out when overthinking terrariums. I used some of the pen and ink sketches from Nautical/ ships in bottles themed art from Bootcamp.
Since I have been hand lettering doodles this month I was able to put something together fairly quickly. If time had allowed I would have taken it into PS for extra texture but alas not this time. Even so I was pleased with what I achieved composition wise when faced with a tight deadline ( for me that is)
30 days of hand lettering - week 2
Here are my next set of 'thoughts for the day' which I feel reflect the sort of week I was having. Just trying to keep moving in the right direction and telling myself that I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing at this very time.
Yangon Map - They Draw & Travel
I had been aching to illustrate a map of Yangon in Myanmar for years. Although when I lived there it was called Rangoon in Burma. It was very much a 'jewel in the crown' of British colonial rule in Asia, and boosted one of the best facilities of any modern city before WW2. I wanted to capture some of the daily life as well as the highlights of this beautiful city.
Submitted to They Draw and Travel
Sadly its Yangon's has declined due to years of neglect and utter misrule from the military backed government. I very much hope for for a return to its former glory days in the near future.
Cocktails - They Draw & Cook
This was an idea I had with one of my MATS mates Harriet Mellor. I create a series of illustrations relating to the country of origin of each cocktail. It was noted in my 'ideas book' along with dozens and dozens of ideas ( some really good some are just odd) I still have a slight nervousness of putting my work out there but then thought back to They Draw and Cook. They have a huge following and are very supportive of illustrators as Nate and Salli are in the industry themselves.
I had recently bought some new PS brushes and was very keep to try them out. I'm getting the hang of using masks and my layers are a lot neater. This was so much fun for me - I did enjoy Pimms rather a lot.
30 Days of Hand Lettering - week 1
Last month I set myself the challenge of creating a hand lettering doodle a day for the month of August. The kids would be on school hols and all routines would be out the window. It would keep me creative and I hoped it would help me loosen up a bit. I didn't have any phrases in mind and just worked with how I was feeling that day. Below are what happened in the first 8 days.
My first ever SPOONFLOWER entries
I have been hearing about the Spoonflower weekly competitions for a few years but never attempted to enter as I felt technical repeats were rather beyond me. But many of my fellow MATS mates gave the encouragement to enter. I thought well it'll be a good experience out of my comfort zone and will add to my portfolio - win/win right? Once I decided to take the plunge it turned out the next competition was for Fishing Lures - I had to look that word up!! As always I started with pen & ink sketches of any associated with fishing - that was going to be my take on this subject.
I was able to add scanned in textures and add a slight knocked back linework of rope knots to add to the textural feel. Again another set of colours were used from the Design Seeds site and put through Kular to match the exact colours. I was so ver pleased I managed to get a simple half step repeat to work- phew.
Here are some sketches from the Herb Garden competition that I entered a few weeks later.
Olive Branch - Chunky olive tapenade packaging
I work with Bright Green Brands now and again who specialise in packaging design, mainly of food products. They had been approached by a small start up company who imported olive based products from small farms in Greece. I had just started using texture in my art and they were very keen to see this new style on the olive jars.
It was a case of illustrating each item separately - olives, rosemary, peppers, feta cheese etc and the designer would put them together in the layout that best suited the product. I have to say it was a very long drawn out process and a steep learning curve.
However I am very pleased with the results and can't wait to actually get my hands on some of these yummy products. Also it will sit very nicely in my portfolio in my quest to gain food & drink editorial illustration commissions in the near future. The photographs of the jars really do them justice too.
You are ENOUGH...
Towards the end of MATS B a few members posted on the Facebook group posted saying sometimes they felt rather bogged down by their own expectations of themselves. It is something that all of us creatives do suffer from to a certain degree - feeling that we are not talented enough, or creative enough or don't do enough. The outpouring from many of us was so great I found myself putting this image together in half an hour. I was so moved & just to support those who were feeling the strain at this stage in their lives.
My FIRST ever iMovie video
Just after MATS part B finished there was a message from Beth asking for videos of the Make Art That Sells experience. The winner would receive a hour long one to one portfolio review with Lilla rogers herself. I decided I had to give it a whirl with iMovie rather than babbling into the Mac in-built camera which I did last year.
We had been warned that the music was actually the most difficult part so I chose this first. When I heard Yann Tiersen's 'La Valse d'Amelie' Orchestra version I knew it would be perfect for what I had in mind. I wanted to use the art I'd produced in MATS B and combine it with a little story about what the BEST part of the course was.
I was pleased as punch with the way it turned out as I'm a newbie to iMovie and it was so much fun putting the images together. I also had such wonderful feedback and next time I'm going to try some animation.
MATS Bootcamp Editorial 'Meditation' illustration
As ever Lilla had us guessing all month about what the mini assignment would be. And as ever there was a method in her madness. Lilla asked us to draw vintage dolls with a ethnic slant. There is certainly a vintage vibe running through many of her briefs but I decided to run with it.
These are based on Lilla's own doll collection ....
.....which very much reminded me of Burmese puppet dolls I played with as a child.
Then I went off at a tangent and started doodling vintage Barbie - there were sooo many to chose from. I loved looking at the different hair styles and fashions, especially the Jackie O look.
Barbies had attitude...
Then I hit a utter roadblock when the assignment came through. It was for editorial illustration based on a meditation text about making excuses for not meditating. If you have read earlier posts you'll know that editorial is something I gave up on after the birth of my first child. I was feeling the fear and was stuck stuck stuck. I am now very mindful of only putting out art that I want to attract back ( & be paid for)
The first sunny day for a long time I did actually sit under a tree and watched the world go by for an hour. Several dog walkers came up to ask if I was ill??? But the word that came up over and over was 'allow'. I decided to add this to my piece. I deliberately decided not to use the 'normal' meditation pose but incorporate the 'time' aspect - the time dedicated to meditating.
Make Art That Sells round up
I'm writing this 3 weeks after handing in my final assignment. I wanted to say a few personal words about Lilla Rogers amazing course.
DEADLINES - we were told over and over again that a 6 day time scale is not realistic turnaround time for creating art. Yet I realised self imposed deadlines work best for me, especially if there is a weekend getaway. However I feel I need to work on the family/ work/ me balance as I'm pretty knackered after MATS B
SKILLS- its good to grow and learn from my fellow classmates. There was always someone in the FB group who knew the best or easiest way for mock ups or certain tools in PS etc.
PALETTE - this was a biggy for me. Since MATS A I felt my colour choices had been a bit off the mark. It wasn't until Scrapbooking week that I understood what a important framework it provides. Thanks Wendy Brightbill -your pep talk really helped
DRAWING - I was at a loss with the mini's back in October. I had little understanding of how they got you from A to B. But this time round i totally understood why Lilla kept saying '...use the art created in your minis' I was now using my trusty Pentel brush pen just for black line work and drawings that could be easily translated into AI and further. One happy girly.
TEXTURES - I have a background in printmaking. I have always loved texture. However for most of my illustration career I did not include textures or mess until now. I have finally found a way of making shapes in AI and then adding texture to my hearts content in PS. It adds such a wonderful dimension to my work & I'm pleased I could use it.
THE FUTURE Lilla said in her final post to make a plan of action for one particular market. So I'm going for broke with editorial. I'm ONLY going to make art for the type of work I want to attract. Watch this space.
MATS part B Week 5- Party Paper
I just couldn't believe I had almost finished my MATS course. I was starting to feel pretty sad but kind excited too as I have so so many plans for where i want to go from here.
Again party paper is something I have little experience with but took up the challenge with much joy. The mini was to explore Bavarian or Ukrainian folk art. So much to choose from, eggs, textiles, costumes, lace , the reference could go on and on.
During my research I realised that May Day was coming up. When I was about 8 or 9 I took part in a May Day country dancing competition with schools around the Standon area. I remember it fondly as my parents and grandparents braved the rain to sit on hay bales to watch me dance. I had found my joy - I was going to use this as my central theme.
Later on in the week Lilla posted on our Facebook group to say with party paper its important not to repeat elements. Making pattern or exploring pattern doesn't come naturally to me at the moment but for some reason this weeks theme did not leave me in a cold sweat. I came to think of it as decoration around the plate or napkin. AND a first for me I created a ditsy pattern for the paper cup. Also I managed to put together the mock ups with the help of other members from the FB group who were so generous with their time.
MATS part B Week 4 - Editorial
So we arrived at just over the half way mark. There was an inkling that it would be maps, although some of us rather dreaded it. The mini this week was to create hand lettering using the name of your home town. Thankfully I live in a small semi rural town with s short name Ware- yes it really is called that. I wanted to convey how OLD my lil town is from its Roman, Saxon, Medieval and Tudor roots.
When the brief came through the first thing I did was go out and take some snaps around town. For such a small town it has a lot of old buildings. In part from the days when Ware was a main stop off point for a change of coach and horses going north to Cambridge or further along the old Roman road Ermine Street to York.
There was so much I wanted to include as I really do love history ( I have an A-level in C15th -C16th European history). But there was still the River Lea which is also another important part of the growth of this town. These days it doesn't carry cargo or malt but is used for more leisure activities and I have spent many a day walking along it trying to get my babies to sleep!
Realistically I bit off more than I could chew - something Lilla had cautioned against. I finally uploaded my Ware map with seconds to spare for the deadline - I do not wish to relive that last minute. Overall I was really pleased with the outcome, I feel it gives a good impression of the highlights of Ware ( rather that the industrial sized pharmaceutical plant that employes half the town)
MATS part B Week 3 - Scrapbooking
I didn't realise so much time had passed since my last post and I've only come round to writing about the next week of the MATS whirlwind.
I have only a vague understanding of scrapbooking, its not really that big here in the UK. I felt I did a lot of research into this market as I was rather lost in this market. I understand that its really recording special events or occasions in a pretty way so that it can be kept for future reference. To begin with we are asked to draw vintage ink pots, and other related items. Thankfully there is actually a website choc full of these little antique items.
There were some technical issues which meant the assignment was posted very late in the day, which meant I had literally 30 hours to complete that weeks assignment before Easter break. I worked my butt off, first starting with THE colour palette -inspired by my FB friends. I chose one from Design Seeds - I love this website and started a Pinterest board just for colour chips for future projects. Its certainly the way forward to me - palette as I was discovering is key.
Luckily I was able to pull everything together as I had played some more with the mini waiting for the delayed assignment. Also a major player in scrapbooking is sentimental words - however in my case I leaned towards inspirational words. Then it was a matter of jigsaw-ing the different icons together. Phew I uploaded in super fast time and was able to enjoy my Easter weekend .
...beneath my taste level...
I am continually astounded by how much I am growing as the second part of MATS progresses. I already feel so much more confident about my abilities and capability to come up with half decent ideas. Sometimes it feels like wheels were set in motion and cannot be slowed down.
Earlier this month I signed up for the Right Brainers Business video summit as Lilla Rogers and another wonderful MATS artist , Nicole Piar would be featured on one of the days. I only had a vague idea of Jennifer Lee's work with The Right Brain Business Plan - a creative visual map for success or turning your dream into a profitable business. On the second day of the summit I eagerly listened to Jennifer's video with Lilla, then replayed it again so I could make notes. There were so many gems as expected....only doing commercial work could take you away from your core...feed the beast ...keep looking collecting/ learning/ stay passionate were some.
However it was Lilla's definition of selling out that kept going round and round in my head for days..."doing something beneath your taste level for money" That was me for a few years - I sold out. Its the first time I've written that statement down as it caused me great anguish. I have no excuses it was what I chose to do of my own free will.
A friend of a friend asked for a few black and white illustrations for a exam paper so I did it as a favour. They came back and asked if I could illustrate for the whole exam paper, and then later several sets of exam papers. I need to put this in context - my husband at the time was trying to set up his own business and I was newly pregnant. FEAR flashed before my eyes so I took the work, despite knowing I was capable of more than this. Stupid hours were involved, and soon I was turning down editorial work just to keep up with the relentless pace.
There is an awful lot of guilt associated with this particular period as I seemed to be 'fighting' on many fronts ( also see blog post 'Overcoming a mental block') I worked stupid hours, didn't sleep much as I was in a fight or flight mode - it wasn't a pretty.
Almost a year after my son was born I chucked in the towel pretty much as. Selling out had really messed with my head, I felt so embarrassed I resorted to that and a bit of a failure. Maybe thats why there huge gap between then and just thinking about taking MATS. Lilla has shown me that there are many ways to make meaningful art.
So I'm now open to letting go of this guilt as I find myself in a safe, nurturing and supportive environment, with creatives who really understand some of the processes we all go through from time to time. Writing this has been like exorcising my demons which is certainly a good thing from where I'm standing
Lessons I learnt as a in-house greetings card designer
I breathed out with utter relief, then danced round the room ( which I'm apt to do in times of high emotions) as a mini celebration that Lilla chose my holiday greetings card design in her assessment. I had given greetings cards a wide berth for a number of years and its only now that I'm able to identify & understand my motives for this. The so called lessons I learnt from several years in the industry have been weighing me down like excess baggage for a long time.
I was supremely naive & fresh out of uni when I started as a in-house designer for Tigerprint ( before Hallmark), and didn't fully understand the role of account handlers, marketing or production staff. Initially my role was to support for the more experienced designers, mock up products, and make tea. Quite quickly I was able to carve out a niche as icon cutter extraordinaire with fine scalpel handling skills - this was before Macs ruled the roost.
LESSON 1 Artists are not worthy of celebrating success with.
It transpired that one of the toy/ jigsaw products that I had a small part in had won a major industry competition. There was a celebration in one half of the open plan office but none of the designers involved in illustrating the product were invited to sip champaign. That rather pained me.
LESSON 2 Your creative worth is measured in output.
Some time later the art director who was very vocal with her views, would openly discuss each designers 'productivity' with the other directors. What it boiled down to was how many cards could you produce in the 7 hour allotted budget. ( Incidentally this was the same art director who slated my character attempt in New Skills with Skillshare post March 10th)
LESSON 3 Major clients are more important than the welfare of designers.
The big name clients were becoming more exacting in what the wanted, how and when. Often it was a case of imitating what was already out there, leaving little room for creativity or exploration. It was a pretty miserable studio towards the end, and I left just as my maternity leave set in.
It been over 10 years since these events took place yet it has taken me this long to fully realise the effects of working in a sometimes belittling environment had on me. Just the act of writing it down has lessened the impact and put it all into perspective. Don't get me wrong the other designers I worked with are still some of my best friends and we had some rip roaring times. The best part is looking back and knowing I never want to produce art under those conditions. 'People buy your joy' Lilla will say at every opportunity - I say would never have had the opportunity or confidence to produce my gingerbread house card 10 years ago.
Baby Apparel WEEK 2 Make Art That Sells
From the slight wobble I had in month 1 of Bootcamp when we were asked to design bolt fabric I decided to go easy on myself and ignore the word 'pattern'. Lilla has stated over and over again that a technical repeat is not necessary these days. With that in mind I just enjoyed the mini for this week. We were asked to draw anything associated with pirates. There was a very lengthy debate about the skull and crossbones motif, whether it was appropriate.
Another aha moment between part A and B is my realisation that the linework or playing around during the mini can and should be incorporated into the finished art. OK that sounds pretty obvious but back in October it was clear as mud to me since I didn't know what the heck was going on. This would make working on the actual assignment so much easier than my experience had been last year! I also could resist paying with some butterfly fish as they are my favourites, despite not being kitted out with eyepatches.
I was very pleased with what i was able to achieve this week and had so much fun with experimenting with character. I was able to learn from Lilla's review that perhaps I had too many secondary colours and not enough neutrals - thats been my downfall in the past. And also creating a super cute character is very much a art form that requires a bit more practice on my part. I'm thinking perhaps the mouths maybe less weird with a suggestive line. Finally I'd like to rework my co-ordinates to give better 'value' so to speak where I bring in unused icons.
Paper Week - MATS part B
So with anticipation, excitement and a little bit of nervousness, part B of Make Art That Sells finally came round. I felt more prepared mentally and physically this time round, as I knew what to expect, so stocked my freezer accordingly.
Monday's mini was to draw gingerbread houses. Keeping in mind what makes these houses so distinctive - starting with candy or gum drops dotted around or totally covering the roof in some cases. I always enjoy this first day and got friendly with Pinterest. There was so much to explore and I became fascinated with some of the folksy type icing thats found on gingerbread houses and cookies that are sometimes used as decorations.
There were huge hints before the assignment brief that I would be based on a winter holiday theme. I already knew wanted to create a winter landscape, but hesitated to begin with because the house would not be the main attraction. Since doing several Skillshare courses I've gained much confidence with exploring character work - and I felt this would be a great opportunity to apply what I've learnt. What happened afterwards was a sheer labour of love. My PS file just grew and grew as I added clipping masks upon layers, upon layers, of textures. My greatest hurdle was making all the different elements pop by making sure there was enough contrast.
I was so very pleased with the end results. Also in week one of MATS A I was a dreadful mess and felt overwhelmed with the weight of expectation I placed on myself. This time I was a lot easier on myself and understood the power of a deadline and timekeeping. See I'm still learning - learning is good.