Website development

February 5th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

I have had a website for quite some time now, having played with HTML, PHP and CSS for as long as I can remember having a computer. However, for the first time in a while, my website actually reflects me and my work and will hopefully lead to illustration work (which it already has, so grateful!). Whilst I am by no means a web-wizard, I think my solid understanding of coding has helped me immensely. My website will never be finished, by any means, as I will constantly be evolving and hopefully my website will evolve with me. I currently use a wordpress theme that allows me to update quickly and efficiently, and also allows me to keep things tidy. I would like to develop a custom theme for myself, but I haven’t got the time at the moment, so I plan on using what themes I can find that suit me and allow for some adaptability.

I like simple, non-fussy layouts, where everything is at easy reach and straightforward. I have to keep in mind, a simple page is likely the most attractive to a prospective client as everything is “there”, no trolling through links to find my work. The average viewer will decide whether or not a website is worth their time in the 1st ten seconds, so something to capture their attention and keep it is a must.

I like my current layout, though I do plan on making it more personalised over time. eg. Changing the menu text at the top to customised images and playing around with the project image sizes and shapes a bit more. However, I do like the fact that everything I need is on the front page, my contact details, testimonials and press, everything I want to share about myself just a click away. I would also like to personalise the logo more and replace the type with something hand drawn, as I quite enjoy drawing type and would like this to be reflected more through out my website. There are a few other little bits that I’ll be changing over the next few weeks, as I update with more projects and discover what needs doing by going with the flow as such.

www.megan-thomas.com

Final Major Project research

February 5th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

For my final major project, I’ve decided (under the influence of Laura Gilbert) to digitalise my catalogue of research. Atleast, some of it. Mainly I’ll be posting visual inspiration rather than references (which will remain tangible in a sketchbook). It’s been a while since I’ve looked at other artists for inspiration, as I get quite overwhelmed with the copious amounts of work/artists out there. However, as I’m taking a new path in how I’ll be working, I thought it would be nice to remind myself of similar things that I’m striving for.

Some of the artists featured were found randomly through un-related google searches, and others sourced from other blogs. I think all have a similarity, beyond the way they work and I hope that my upcoming work will match the strengths and talents of these artists.

The tumblr: http://meganfmpi.tumblr.com.

Julie Haslam Lecture

February 4th, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

On the same day I had my meeting with Lucy at LIFTI, I was made aware of a visiting Surface Design lecture my friend Emma Thorpe. We both decided to go as we both have varying interests in textiles and surface applications.

We were a little bit late, as we only heard about the lecture as it was starting, and were introduced to Julie Haslam. She’s a textiles lecturer at MMU, as well, she runs her own business selling her designs that have been digitally printed (something I’ve been looking into myself for a series of silk scarves).

After her lecture, we were able to ask her questions. As illustrators, both Emma and I were a bit wary of asking anything, but in the end, I’m glad I did. My first question, asked in front of the other students was “As an illustrator, I’m interested in creating a series of scarves for which I’ve considered digital printing. Do you have an advice for someone approaching textiles from this angle?”, to which she replied that nothing should stop me if it’s what I want to do and gave me examples of a few artists she knows who’ve done the same, crossing the two pathways and quite successfully. She also mentioned a couple of businesses whom look for graduates to work with.

After the lecture, I waited until everyone else had left to ask one more question. Though I have a lot of interest in creating textiles myself, I also have an interest in fashion illustration. She had mentioned a fashion illustrator she had worked with in her presentation, so I thought I’d ask for some advice regarding that. I asked how I should approach working with textile designers and she told me just to do it. Email, write, call magazines or designers that I think my work would suit and just do it. I told her I worry, as an illustrator and as a student, about contacting people. She told me not to worry and just do it. If my work was strong enough and relevant I shouldn’t be afraid. She said I might get ‘no’ 99 out 100 times, but it only takes the one person to say yes to start the ball rolling. I then asked her if she would take a quick look at my fashion illustrations (as I had my portfolio handy from my earlier portfolio visit) and she kindly obliged. She said my work was distinct and definitely strong enough for me to contact magazines/etc about working with them. So, I think I shall do.

It was good to get the opinion of someone who works in fashion and textiles, as my tutors don’t specialise in the area and can only give me so much feedback. I’m glad I went to her lecture, for it was both interesting and helpful as well as great to talk to someone in another design related industry about my work.

Portfolio visit: Lost in the Forest / Thoughful

February 4th, 2012 § 1 comment § permalink

I had originally been booked into see Stuart at LITFI, though he was unable to make our meeting. However, his colleague, Lucy stepped into his place.

It was an excellent and very positive portfolio viewing, like the others, which is nice. It’s lovely to get a much needed little confidence boost. I’m still struggling to find a happy place when it comes to my work and I still bring myself down so much. I see others, who I know I’m better/more skilled than, who have so much more confidence than myself. And that’s why they get work. So, if I want to carry on getting work, or an agent in the future, I need to step it up and feel proud of myself for what I can do, rather than be so hard on myself. Though easier said than done.

Anyway, so Lucy and I spent a good long while chatting about my work and she made me think about how I can apply it to more than just paper. I’ve been thinking about this for a while myself, but Lucy, as a graphic designer, sees beyond just pretty pictures. She gave me some ideas to think about, ones that had never crossed my mind, and it excites me to think about where I can take my work in the future. I’ve always been afraid of pushing it, for the fear that no one else will like/understand where I’m coming from, which holds me back in so many ways. I know I have some great ideas, it’s having the confidence to say “this is what I’m doing, whether you like it or not”. It was good to be pushed into thinking about it more and actually conversing with someone outside of my head (I talk to myself a lot). I’m going to start recording my ideas in a book, because knowing my goldfish memory, it’ll all be gone by tomorrow if I don’t.

She liked my entire portfolio and couldn’t decide on a favourite piece, but she said she loved my fashion illustration and could see it working in many ways. Just another confirmation it’s what I should be doing, because it’s what I love and what I’m good at. I enjoy all types of illustration, but fashion just comes so naturally to me.

Lucy has told me she wants my final end of year show to be the biggest and best and told me to keep in touch. I hope I don’t let her down.

Animation – beginning

January 22nd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

A quick jump back to September and my personal project from term one… Well, it hasn’t happened yet. I was all over the place in term one and quickly it got out of hand. So, having been blessed with a second chance (and a Dr’s note), I am finally settling down to work on this project. Again, like my final major, I don’t want to share the theme quite yet, but I am quite excited to say it will involve animation. Outside of a bit of stop-motion animation that I did in first year (you can see the atrocity here, I’ve not done anything like this before, so have enlisted the help of a friend from the Moving Image course,  Kirsty Newman to help. Also, as it turns out, this term we’ll be with the Moving Image instructor one morning a week to pick his brain, so that should come in handy as well.

I am looking forward to this little project, as though it’s something I’ve not considered much in the past, the idea has definitely grown on me and I can already see the finished product in my head.

Change of heart

January 22nd, 2012 § 0 comments § permalink

A while back, before Christmas (actually, a long while back…), I had a chat with my tutor Ian and went over my portfolio. I had, at that point, already had a few portfolio visits so was late to the game having Ian look at the layout. Luckily, he liked the general order of things, also agreeing with me (and others) that my fashion illustration is best kept in it’s own section, as it’s strong as deserves it’s own space.

Pleasingly, he also agreed that I should concentrate on my hand drawn illustrations, as he feels my strengths shine through and would set me apart, as he says not many other illustrators have those hand rendering skills. I, in the past, have relied heavily on digital work as it’s so much quicker for a procrastinator like me, however, I have decided to change this and take longer to consider my projects outcomes.

My newest project is my final major project for university. I have decided to break the project down into three smaller projects, as I feel sixteen weeks would have been too long for me to focus on one project, impatient as I am. During my talk with Ian, we touched on this and he told me to look at my interests/themes before deciding on a  possible client for the outcome. I’m quite strong at fulfilling clients needs, but often have difficulty writing my own briefs, so I think was essential to help me get “creative” again. He also told me that as I work in a decorative way, but often lack more depth in my pieces (I admit, I do look at pretty before content – naughty me), to find artists who work in a similar way but within context. I have found this quite difficult, as many decorative illustrators seem to be in a similar boat to myself and just “make pretty”. I would like to change that about my own work, giving it more meaning and depth, which would then broaden my scope for future work and clients. If anyone out there can recommend artists as mentioned about to me, I would be very grateful.

Whilst I have not decided on themes for all three projects (am taking it in my stride), I have done so for my current work. I’m not going to divulge my ideas here quite yet though, but will as they come together. I may even share little tidbits out of context and see if you can figure it out on your own.

Portfolio Visit: Craig Oldham @ Music

December 15th, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

Last week I had a second portfolio visit with Craig Oldham of Music, a Manchester-based design agency.

I had met Craig previously, as myself, Dom and Paul are in the midst of working on a collaboration with Music itself and, of course, Craig had previously visited the college as a guest lecturer, for which I designed the poster.

When I arrived, I was greeted by Craig and we moved into the “fish tank” to begin our meeting. He was very busy and told me he’d have limited time to see me, but I think we spoke for about 30 minutes, which is not too bad. I had spent about an hour with Helen at Taylor O’Brien, which I thought a generous amount of time. As time was short, we got right into it and I passed my portfolio over to him.

I started by explaining each piece as he came across it, stating which I enjoyed the most and not. Surprisingly, my piece for Macmillan that I did last year was his favourite, yet it’s one of my least favourites. He also felt my editorial and 8×8 were my weakest pieces, which again, is funny, as they seem to be others favourites (though not of mine). He said my portfolio was the most eclectic he’d ever seen, but he felt that worked in my favour as it shows, much like Helen said, that I would be easy to work with as I can stretch myself to the clients needs. He also told me not to let anyone to convince me to change my varying ways of working as he feels it will lead me to success. He liked how strong my technical skills were, particularly in the hand-rendered work (cicada and fashion illustration) and that it was nice to see such strong skills across both traditional and digital work.

Overall, it was quite a successful visit and I left feeling reassured about the diversity in my portfolio. It also confirms that I have the skill and would like to spend more time working in traditional methods after spending so long focusing on digital.

Lord Whitney

November 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink


(Image © Lord Whitney)

This past monday morning at university, we had the opportunity to see the Illustrative duo Lord Whitney in their finest lecture form. Unfortunately, before I knew of this event I had booked a portfolio viewing (as you can read about below) so had to give it a miss. However, they were kind enough to spend their afternoon with us, discussing our work and woes with us individually. Whilst it was very informal, it was nice to speak to the girls about their experiences of getting into the illustration industry. They identify as 3D illustrators, which is a world away from my work, but underneath it all, we all have the same hopes and fears of where we want to be. It was refreshing how honest they were about the years since graduation, how money was tight, they were sidelining as waitresses, that opportunities didn’t just fall into their lap. So many illustrators, when asked, seem to say they were “lucky and got a job straight away and now they’re happy and have loads of money”. I don’t think this is true for the majority, and some must be telling porkies! We discussed where I was at this stage and how I was handling the work, which was also nice, as it seems to be a given that we all find third year stress free and happy-times by other creatives.

We also had a look through my book, which I obviously had on hand as I had just returned from Taylor O’Brien and my portfolio viewing there. They were glad to see I had such a strong portfolio at this stage in the game and had developed my work nicely and professionally. It’s nice to hear such positive feedback once again – I just hope the art directors still feel this way when it comes time to hire me.

At the end of the day, we were also set a short brief by the pair, to do as quickly or developed as we saw fit. We were asked to simply illustrate a compound noun, either of our choice or from the list they supplied. I had a quick go at it last night and quite enjoyed it. I chose “doghouse” as my word, made a quick sketch and painted it in evern quicker with watercolour. Total time, about 20 minutes.:

I would like to take it further, as I quite enjoyed it, but I’m not sure I’ll have time. It was a different way of working for me, as I added humour into the piece, which is something I usually avoid doing within my work as it makes me roll my eyes. But it was fun to be a bit cheeky (dogs smelling other dogs bums).

Illustrations Digital Future

November 23rd, 2011 § 0 comments § permalink

As an illustrator, the argument between traditional and digital illustration pops up. I take no sides, I admit I enjoy both and use them both to my advantage (I like to think). However, others argue the creative industry has become too digital and the work is becoming flat and souless.

This has sparked a revival in the cottage industry with craft and the hand-made. You only have to look at the front page of etsy and folksy to see the number of people hopping on to that bandwagon, or pop into any artsy shop and you’ll see a room full of hand-sewn characters and painted brickabrack. That said, there is an argument in defense of digital, that at the time, any new print process (lithograph, silk screening, etc) revolutionises how illustrators work. Digital can just be seen as the new process. However, it’s still a relatively young method of working, in the grand scheme of things and is still developing and growing. It takes skill to command digital tools, just as it does with the more traditional tools and they can both be used to the detriment or beneficial to the artist, depending on their level of skills.

Despite the many people who argue against digital, indeed defying modern technology, they use the technology they’re so against to sell their wares. You cannot belong to etsy without a computer, after all. Many people turn to etsy as, though there are shops who sell handmade, depending where you live, there is a distinct lack of such options. One shop can only sell so many artists work before they have to begin to turn some away. So where do these artists go? Online, in hopes that they’ll find their market there. Most of these people will sell a few pieces here and there, but not many will make a living, which causes me to ask the question, how long can it carry on?

Many also predict the death of the book due to the kindle/iPad/etc moving in on the territory, which I do not agree with. There will always be a need for certain books in print, atleast, including the artbooks so many illustrators desire to be involved with. However, whilst at the Manchester Illustration Symposium back in early november, a point was made that people want to utilise all of their senses. The invention of the print press ended the need for vocalisation of stories and tales, as they could now be shared instead with the masses through the power of word, thus the world became primarily a visual culture. Now, however, people feel a desire to optimise all of their senses, especially as technology allows it. An example was given of moving illustrative posters in the London Underground. They included imagery, sound and motion. This makes one wonder what the role of the illustrator will be, in a world of discipline versus roles that illustrators can take on. Are we just illustrators, creators of still images or do we need to adapt? Of course, as with any artist from any time, we will have to change and learn as technology and demand dictates.

However you work, if you are unable to adapt and learn new skills, I think your time in the creative industry would be very limited, unless you’re one of the lucky few who become known for their work outside of the industry, by the common person.

Taylor O’Brien portfolio visit

November 22nd, 2011 § 1 comment § permalink

On monday I had my first portfolio review visit, as we’ve been asked to do by our tutors. The idea behind the visits are to get us out meeting people in the industry, talking about our work and of course, getting feedback on our portfolios.

My visit was with the art director Helen at Taylor O’Brien, a Manchester and Dublin-based design agency. As it was my first outside of the university environment, I wasn’t sure entirely what to expect but I am pleased to say it went very well. I arrived a bit early, due to the usual underestimation of our train services, but I was welcomed straight in by Helen herself. I was meant to see Lee, the head designer, but he was called away on a shoot in London over the weekend. Helen herself was very friendly and made me feel at ease.

We sat down and she asked me a few questions about myself before settling into my book. We went over my book page by page, and at each project she asked me about each brief. She told me I had a beautiful book and was looking forward to seeing more of my work in the future, also that it was presented professionally. She also liked how diverse my work was. Though she could see each piece was obviously created by me, they were all different and taylored to the feel of each brief rather than me just regurgitating the same thing/style over and over. As a designer, this is what she looked for in illustrators as it shows I’m able to envision different outcomes and am adaptable with my skills. She didn’t give me an critical feedback of my work as such, which I hope means my work is at a good place. She also avised me to look into selling limited edition prints of my poster work, as well as working as an illustrator. When asked what I wanted to do after graduation, I told her whilst I wanted to focus primarily on fashion illustration, I don’t want to limit myself and as long as I enjoy illustration, I’ll try any project.

At the end of our fifty-minute meeting, I handed over a little promotional packet including a mini printout of some of my work (each piece is approimately sized at A7), a business card and a little sticker I made with my logo on, all packaged in a little cellophane bag. She said I was the first student she’d seen so far that had a business card, which surprised me.

Overall, my first visit was very positive, which was lovely. As it is my tutors jobs, they are much more critical and apt to point out the negative things rather than the positive, so it was nice to have such good feedback from someone outside the college environment and currently in the industry. Sometimes I need that little boost, as I’m sure we all do, to make it feel like it’s worthwhile to carry on doing what we do.

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