Replies which came to late

I have had a lot of problems getting feedback on my portfolio, recently I've been getting replies from the practitioners I decided to contact but they have come to late.

Miss Wah took a quick look and said she loved the use of colour in my work and how the subject matter is a mix of cute and dark.

Lyn Bannister got back to me but made no real indication that she wanted to meet me at all.

Leo from Identity Printing Manchester got back to me towards the end of last week so it didn't leave me enough time to arrange anything. But I will be going to visit him regardless because I could really use his feedback.

Visiting Practitioners: Group portfolio feedback

On 20/04/2016 I went to Cake and Doodle and asked if any of the illustrators there could take a look at my portfolio and give me a bit of feedback. Most of my feedback came from Luis Gainzarain who is a Graphic Designer and comic artist from spain and Marta Gonzalez 

Luque who is a freelance photographer who also dabbles in illustration and animation.

Feedback from Luis Gainzarain

You should think a bit on the Why? What? and Where?

Why do you do the work you do? Is it self expressive? Does it have a message? Are you pursuing a stylistic ideal?

What are you going to do to convey what your work is about? What form will best convey what your work is about? What audience do you need to market your work to? (Who will appreciate what it is about).

Where can your artwork go? Where is your audience going to be? Where will your work be seen by the right people?

There isn't a right or wrong answer to these questions you just need to know what your answers are so you can take a step in the right direction.

Reflecting on the feedback

For why I create my work I would say it is primarily self expressive but I would also say I was pursuing a stylistic ideal but I have gotten to a place where I am happy with my style but I still like to play with different mediums it keeps my work fresh and exciting. 

Not all my work has a message behind it and I've come to terms with that. I think in the illustration world right now creating decorative work is frowned upon and seen as fluff in a way. But maybe I just want to create bright and cheerful work sometimes that doesn't particularly have a hard hitting message behind it, I don't think it is wrong to do. There is a Japanese principle called "ma" and I think ma can explain why I do my work the way I do. Ma is the space inbetween the action, if you want to see ma in practice Studio Ghibli is a great example. So my work which is mostly for decoration is my ma as you will, it is the break I need from my hard hitting work. In terms of studio ghibli ma comes after important parts of the story to help the information sink in and to transition to the next plot point. Ma comes in the form of mundane details for example a girl has a hard day at school lots of bizarre things happen. The ma could be she goes home and runs a bath and just goes about her normal routine before she is thrown into the next set of ordeals.

 But I do also create work that does have meaning to it, I mostly focus on mental health and opening up that conversation and making the whole subject less taboo. That work is often very introspective and it takes a lot of energy to translate it into an image.

The what for me it to make prints, to make stories and t-shirts, I basically want to make the topic of mental health as accessible as possible. The more people are exposed to it the easier it becomes to talk about it. And I want to approach my decorative work in the same way, if someone wants to wear my designs doesn't want to wear a t-shirt about mental health instead they want something a bit lighter in tone I can also supply my customers that option. My main audience is 13-25 I think the younger end of my audience will like my work for it's style and the older end will appreciate the message behind some of my pieces.

I think in terms of where I could sell or display my work I think there is quite a few pathways I can explore. Comic conventions are where I have had the most success up till now and I think with me producing t-shirt they are going to continue to be one of the best places to sell. I've had varying levels of success when it comes to selling my work locally, children and teenagers are my main buyers when I sell locally. I have recently started to see a raise in street artists taking an interest in my work and I feel like paste up's might be a good way to reach that audience. I think selling my work online could work if I concentrate on actively advertising, as of now I have had no success with it but I think that is all down to me not giving my etsy and redbubble enough exposure.

Marta Gonzalez

Sometimes you need to experiment with platforms and what you are creating, the best thing you could do is just try things to see what is a viable option or not. And I would recommend just getting a regular job first because it helps you develop as a person and helps you gain confidence.

(when I mentioned Fig Taylor and her feedback regarding my work) Even professionals can give bad advice sometimes, just because one person tells you something won't work for you doesn't mean they are right. I don't see why you couldn't do editorial illustration for more alternative magazines. Don't let one person tell you what you can or can't do.

What might be unpopular now might be popular next week or next month, trends change so don't base your decision on where you want to go with your work on what is popular right now. What is selling now might fade out of fashion in a few months, what has faded out of fashion a few mouths or years ago might have a resurgence. If it is selling even if it's not selling much keep doing it, if it isn't selling at all that's when you need to consider shaking things up a bit. Just keep doing what you love doing and keep developing it.

Reflecting on the feedback

I think Marta really helped me realise that just because my style isn't popular with art directors at the moment it doesn't mean it never will, and maybe it's not worth worrying about how popular or unpopular my style is. Sometimes you just need to go with the flow.

Other thoughts

When I mentioned Fig Taylor I quickly found the people who did know of or have encountered her have a rather low opinion of her. One woman said when she was a student Fig Taylor gave her feedback and she said it was useless to her and ended up being completely off. She said Fig had been out of the industry for too long and didn't really have much of a grasp on what is currently popular. and to take what she had to say about my work and what direction I should take it with a pinch of salt She also said Fig was the one approaching universities to do these feedback sessions not the otherway round which it's a very good sign. 

Client: Lyn Bannister

Lyn Bannister is a local art director and artist heavily involved in our annual art trail, this year she has managed to secure a piece of Banksy's Dismaland for the festival and art trail. Since she is close by I thought it's worth a shot and if I do get a response from her I will have at very least made myself known to her.

Hi Lyn,

I'm an illustration student living in New Mills. As part of my course I have been asked to contact art directors and gallery owners to get some feedback on my portfolio. Please let me know if you can help me with this. 

Thanks in advance
Sophie

19/04/2016
Lyn got back to me she said she could possibly take a look at my portfolio as long as it doesn't require her to write an essay which I reassured her that wasn't the case. So hopefully I'll be able to arrange to meet with Lyn in the next few days.

Contacting artists: Miss Wah

Miss Wah is a manga inspired street artists which I have been a loyal follower of for years and I've seen her grow from being a small artist on youtube to a successful street artist. She has a website where she sells her prints and stickers. It's been very inspiring to see a female street artist gain such an audience.

The email is quite casual since I have actually spoken to her before and she has previously given me advice on how to get into street art legally. So I thought I would contact her again since she was very helpful last time.

Hi,
as part of my course I have been asked to contact artists in a position I aspire to be in to give me a bit of feedback on my portfolio. I have a small PDF portfolio I can show you that isn't very long and won't take much time to look at. I would really appreciate it if you would take a look. I think your work is amazing I have been a follower of yours for years (from before you started doing street art) seeing you grow as an artist has been really inspiring to me, so your feedback would be really appreciated. 

Thanks in advance
Sophie

20/04/2016
Miss Wah got back to me unfortunately she is quite busy at the moment so her feedback would be after the blog deadline. I will still send my pdf portfolio to her anyways because I am very interested in what she would think of my work.

Contacting Artists: DestinyBlue

DestinyBlue is an artist I often see at the conventions I attend and occasionally sell my work at. I absolutely love her artwork and would love to be where she is in a few years time. Unfortunately she is quite hard to contact since her facebook messages are closed so I had to leave a wall post instead hoping she'll give me a business email.

Hi Destiny,

I'm a big fan of your work I'm a proud owner of one of your prints and hope to buy more in the future. At university we have been asked to contact artists who are where we aspire to be in 2-3 years time. The aim is to get some feedback on our portfolio's. If you have a business email I could send you my PDF portfolio it's only 6 pieces long so it wouldn't take up much time, so if you could spare a few minutes I would be very grateful.

Thanks in advance

Sophie (RaelDanger) 

I will update this post if and when I get a response. 

Client: Art Director Tyler Resty

This client was a bit of a serendipity thing so you won't find him on my lists of potential clients. I post a lot of my artwork on instagram and a user called Tyler Resty would keep popping up and liking my artwork so I checked his profile and it says he is an art director from New York. So I thought why not contact him? He's already expressing an interest in my artwork of his own accord so I might as well give him a try. My email to him is a lot more laid back since I think it fits the situation a bit more than going in with a very formal email.

Hi Tyler,

this is RaelDanger from instagram. My real name is Sophie Stratton and I'm an illustration student from the UK. I noticed you have been liking my artwork and as it happens I have been asked by my university to contact art directors which may be interested in my work to get some feedback on my portfolio. I have a PDF portfolio I can send you it only has 6 pieces of artwork in it so it won't take up much of your time. I would really appreciate it if you could take a look, some of it will probably look familiar to you.  Since you have been expressing an interest in my artwork anyway I thought it couldn't hurt to ask.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sophie Stratton (raeldanger)

I will update this post if/when I get a response. 

Contacting Clients: What I have learned

Contacting clients even over email has been one of the most nerve wracking things I have had to do on this course. It's one of those things the more I have done it the easier it has become, and looking back to the first client I personally contacted (because my Dad did contact someone he has connections with on my behalf) the email I sent could have been better.

 I could have sold myself more and been more confident in my work, I could have maybe benefited by being a bit more laid back and not being so straight to the point. I have taken time to look at all of the galleries directors, aims and artwork on display and in their archives, and I have learned how to reflect that in my emails.

It has also been a lesson in rejection, currently I have had no responses but I haven't let that demotivate me if anything it has made me try harder and develop a thicker skin. I stand by my choices on who I have tried to make contact with. I don't doubt that my work would at very least be interesting to them if they would have given me a chance. But I will have to get used to the fact not everyone will give me a chance and if they do my artwork won't be of interest to everyone. It is nothing personal it is just how it is.

The problem I have found in regards to contacting the right people is that what I do is very niche and there's a limit to how many professionals I can find which may be interested in that niche. That is the nature of the beast sadly when you develop a style like mine. Call me stubborn but I'm not going to change my style just so I can have an easier time, my artistic integrity personally is the most important thing to me when it comes to creating work.

It might turn out that I get no responses whatsoever and I don't get the feedback I need. But it hasn't been in vain I have learned a lot about what I should expect and be prepared for when I leave. It may not be the lesson that was intended when this task was set but at least it is something.

Client: Hang-Up Gallery Director Ben Cotten

The hang up gallery prides itself on helping young artists, and with big names like Banksy on their roster of artists who wouldn't want these guys to look at your work. In this email I'm trying to hard sell my work a bit more while still remaining professional and polite.

Dear Ben Cotten,

I'm Sophie a BA Illustration student in my final year at MMU. As part of our course we have been asked to seek out industry professionals which may be interested in our work. I have attached a PDF portfolio to this email it contains 6 pieces of my best pieces work. If you could spare a moment to look at it and give me some feedback it would be much appreciated.

You have an amazing selection of artists such as Takashi Murakami, Invader, Dsceet, Herakut and of course Banksy. And by looking through your roster of artists I feel like my work may interest you, it's in the same vein but at the same time something a little different. Just to make clear I'm not looking to display my work only for you to have a look and see what you think.

I eagerly await your response.
Sophie Stratton (RaelDanger)


I will update this post if/when I get a response.

Client: Sam Thorne Director of Nottingham Contemporary

This one is pushing the boat out a bit, Sam Thorne is a very experienced as both a critic and gallery director. To be quite honest if he replies I am going to be scared of his response.  

Dear Sam Thorne,

I am Sophie a BA illustration student studying at MMU. I am currently at the end of my final year of my degree, as part of our course we have been asked to contact gallery directors and other industry professionals to give us some feedback on our portfolios. I can send my portfolio via email and it contains 6 pieces of work so it won't take up much of your time. I wanted to contact you because of the varying styles of artwork you display at Nottingham Contemporary and how the gallery is doing a fantastic job of inspiring young up and coming artists.

Kind regards
Sophie Stratton

Will update once I have received a reply.

Client: Richard Goodall Gallery

I had to contact Richard Goodall through the galleries website, this is what I sent.


Dear Richard Goodall

I'm a student studying Illustration at MMU. I am in my final year and as part of my course I have been asked to find gallery owners to give me some feedback on my portfolio.

I have visited your gallery before and I love the collections you have and feel that my work is in a similar vain, so I knew that I had to contact you.

It won't take much of your time I could either bring my portfolio to you or attach a pdf portfolio containing 6 pieces to an email if you would prefer.

Best Regards
Sophie Stratton


I will update this post with any correspondence I receive.

Discussion Forums

I am going to be talking about the forums which struck a cord with me.

Copyright and plagiarism

Because of me wanting to sell my work at conventions I have often wondered where fan art falls within copyright. At anime conventions the sale of fan art is common place in fact there is more fan art than original creations. And that's what the con goers expect. In the discussion forum we were told you have to make seven changes to a piece of intellectual property for it to be exempt from copyright. But how many changes does the artists style constitute as? If they are using the character in a previously unseen setting/composition is that enough changes? The seven changes is very vague.

Glitch

Glitch fascinated me because if my interest in gaming and I think glitch art is rather fascinating. Do I think it is a fad? Most probably, I think if too much glitch art is made it will turn into a trend.

Meaning

This was my discussion forum and it made me evaluate my own work. Does my work have a message? Sometimes and I think that is fine I don't think creating art you enjoy that doesn't particularly mean anything is a sign of "selling out". I don't really believe in the concept of selling out. I don't think all your work should be purely decorative unless you are a textile designer or something similar.

Moving illustration

Moving illustration really made me think about the future of illustration. I don't think still print based illustration will ever really die because there is something special about owing a tangible piece of artwork rather than a digital download. But I think moving illustration has it's place mostly on online publications, apps and weddesign. I do think we will be seeing a lot more moving illustration in the future.

Ethical Issues

I think that it is very important to consider ethical issues when creating artwork. It is very easy for people to read into a piece and interprete it in an offensive way. We have to remember we can't tell every single person who looks at our work what it is and isn't about.

PDP Interview #3 with Jenni Illustrations

Interview with Jenni Illustrations

Jenni is an artist from Australia, I aspire to be as successful as she is. She sell's her work on clothes, posters, playing cards, stickers and the list goes on. I chose to interview her because she is very much inspired by the same things I am and despite the common interests our styles are very different.

Q1. I can see a definite anime/manga influence in your artwork is there anything else that inspires how you work? I think seeing other artist with the same style influence me. Anything cute and colourful/bright. Living and having kawaii things also influence me and my work.

Q2. What advice would you give someone who wants to sell their work at conventions/events? Having motivation and passion for your work is something you need. Loving your work and making other people love your work is another. Also knowing what people really like is something to think about. eg, whats your target audience? what will they be attracted to

Q3. If you could experiment with any medium you want what medium would you choose? I like pen work and watercolour. I always draw digitally but there's times I just want to get away from the computer and free myself with some traditional mediums. 

Q4. Do you prefer having lots of little projects on the go or one big project? I like either really. sometimes mostly my little projects is really related to my big project. eg: my original character in diff drawings(small project) while big projects is like having them on clothes, products, animation.

Q5. Do you ever have problems with motivation, if so how do you keep yourself motivated? I do a lot of the time. (I'm sure no one can tell) haha. I get a lot of inspiration from looking at things. everyday life around me, music I listen to ( every day, all day till night I listen to music) keeps me sane lol Having you guys ( my followers and friends) who enjoys my drawings keeps me motivated. who cares about my work. who wants to share my work/talk about me all over the world is one thing I really appreciate keeps me going =]

Find more of her work here

facebook.com/Jenni.Illustrations

1,2,3

This post is about three of the best pieces of advice I have been given since starting the course some of these will not be a piece of advice per say more of a turn in the right direction.

1. The zine making workshop

In the zine workshop I learned that working on pages which already had some preexisting texture or image on really help one overcome blank page anxiety or new sketchbook anxiety. I am someone who can get very hung up on their work and want every page to be perfect while in the zine the perfection is that it isn't perfect it has misspells, it has sketches done on lined paper, receipts, napkins, photocopies from things that inspired you through out. for me I think it is the perfect way to document and brainstorm (and kick a sketchbook buying addiction). There is something wonderful about making it yourself, selecting the papers and the binding. It's like having a little nugget of personality. Personally next year I want to do away with having sketchbooks and just bind my own zine style sketchbooks I think it really helped me with my process when it came to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

2. Be a flaneur

There are so many things you miss when you have your mind set on a destination, enjoy just taking everything in and being purposefully lost. I made another post called Ode to Manchester which really explains in depth what happened when I was being a flaneur in Manchester during my Tales of The City project. I class Manchester as my hometown over Salford and I was surprised by how much of Manchester I have never seen before despite spending a lot of time there over the years. What really grabbed me was how much of Manchester juxtaposes, I saw posh bars next to dingy alleyways and crumbling walls of old factories. Austerity and prosperity dwelling right next door to one another, I felt like if the bars could speak they would be gloating.

3. Don't be afraid to take on more than you can chew (sometimes)

I have a habit of doing very ambitious projects, I feel like a cat with nine lives just managing to pull through every time. The good thing about having ambitious projects is it keeps you engaged because you have to stay engaged or the project will crumble, it forces you to make use of all the time you have. It's stressful but seeing the final outcomes is a great feeling.

PDP Interview #1 with Jellie Bee

I first discovered Jellie Bee via her YouTube channel after buying some of her artwork I had the pleasure of meeting her at Japan Day 2014 in Manchester. Since Jellie Bee is influenced by very similar things to me I thought she would be interesting to interview.

See the picture on her Facebook page

1. You're work looks anime/cartoon influenced; did standing out from the crowd ever cross your mind when you were developing your style?

Actually, when developing my work, I actually wanted to have my work look more like everyone elses, particularly successful artists. However, people started to compliment me on the fact my work was really recognisable to them and that's when I realised being myself was easier and better all along.

One of Jellie Bee's digital paintings, she often does these on a single layer.

See the picture on her Facebook page

2.When did you start selling your artwork and how long did it take you to build a steady amount of people who buy your work?

I started selling my artwork on stickers from around early 2010 and it picked up quite quickly. I started my own online store in 2011 but it took until 2013 for it to become a lot more steady. Convention selling has kept the interest in my online store going strong.

 3.What is the most interesting medium and/or canvas you have ever worked on?

My absolute favourite canvas is the sketchbooks that I customise. There's a real sense of achievement when I've finished one, because it's original art, but also a useable product. I find it interesting every time, as they always come out more special than I expected.

One of Jellie Bee's custom sketchbooks she sells on storenvy, she sells some pre-made and is often commissioned to do custom designs. 

See the picture on her Facebook page

4. What are your favourite artists? Have they influenced your style?

Massively so. My favourite artists are Lois van Baale (Loish); Marc Brunet (bluefley/Cube Brush); Mary Blair and Victoria Ying.
Each one has inspired me in different ways: Loish represents the skill levels I've always wanted to reach; Marc Brunet's techniques have always pushed me, his tutorials improve me in a way no-one else's ever have. Both of these artists pushed me to try single-layer painting, colour experimentation and portraiture and even though my painting skills are lightyears away, they've helped form who I am today with my digital art.
Mary Blair and Victoria Ying represent the illustrative side to my work, the side I find more relaxing and easier, but also the side I tend to criticise more.

See the picture on her Facebook page

 5. Do you feel your style is still developing?
Oh, always. I had a funny conversation with someone in a livestream recently, who said they felt comfortable with their digital style after only two weeks of experimentation. I said that it's taken me 9 years to become comfortable with my approach and to have more pride in my work. I started in Dec 2005 and it wasn't until Dec 2014 that I really felt connected. It will always develop, because I'm always torn between sticking to one style - painting, or illustrative?
Not only that, but I also like to practice with sumi-e and ukiyo-e style art a lot, so there's a third style I like to do. It's so confusing sometimes, but I'm happy right now with the progress I'm making. I'm just excited to see how I improve over the course of my life!

See the picture on her Facebook page

Want to check out Jellie Bee for yourself?

Here are some of the places you can find her.

Art Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/MorganAmeliaBromage

Business Facebook Page

www.facebook.com/JellieBeeNews

Storenvy

www.storenvy.com/stores/120039-jellie-bee

Is Moving Image/Illustration the Way Foreword?

I feel moving image/illustration is something as illustrators we will need to adapt to. BUT I feel there will alway be a place for traditional illustration like there will always be people who would like to buy a hardcover special edition of a book.

Moving illustration is best for online use like apps, articles, websites, promos act. But even if traditional illustration does dwindle it will be brought back into fashion because of nostalgia. Thinking more about this reminds me of my essay on Peter Lyle and how he says that traditional illustration is becoming a luxury, and that it is being sort after by people with money to spend.