Choices, choices...

After much deliberation this is my final list of 6 potential projects i could undertake for AD33...

1. Picturebook. I would use the guidelines from the Macmillan Children's Book Prize to create a complete rough mock up and several completed double page spreads for a picturebook (I already have a story ready to use). 

• Theme: A twist on the story of the Ugly Duckling
• Genre: Commercial Illustration 
• Context: Children's Book Publishing
• Audience: Young Children (2-5 years) 
• Relevance and Purpose: I want to have experience working within the 32 page format of children's books and mr career aspirations lie within illustrating for a childhood audience so this seems like a natural choice for a final major project. 

2. Illustrations for Anorak magazine. This project would include a cover illustration and several internal illustrations/pages of activities for children. 

• Theme: (would need to research past themes of Anorak mags, perhaps come up with a new one so i am not influenced by what has already been produced) 
• Genre: Commercial/Specialist (? A bit of both maybe?) 
• Context: Editorial illustration
• Audience: Children aged 6+
• Relevance and Purpose: Again i want to continue to illustratoe for a young audience and editorial illustration is a slightly different platform to play around with. I also think my style of illustration could fit in well with what the publication offers at the moment. 

3. Pylon Press. I would use this competition brief as a basis to create a zine of characters, with an underlying topic, which i could then use as self promotion material and potential stock to sell. 

• Theme: Endangered animals and their habitats (or global warming and its effects on wildlife)
• Genre: Specialist 
• Context: Zine 
• Audience: Anyone really with an interest in the subject matter or illustrative style. Perhaps potential clients if i were to use it as self promo material
• Relevance and Purpose: To have something published which can be used in the summer show and sent as self promotional material to potential clients (New Designers?!) Also this ha the potential to produce lots of images which could be portfolio ready. 

4. Paper Rose Competition. This would be a chance to do some more character design, maybe even some more 3D models as a basis for a greetings card concept. 

• Theme: Greetings cards range based on one or more characters
• Genre: Commercial illustration
• Context: Greetings Cards
• Audience: children? My work seems to naturally suit a younger audience so i would create cards for children
• Relevance and Purpose: To gain a better understanding of the industry, to apply my characters to different products and create work that is suited to a young audience but is not a picturebook!

5. Make and Sell Project. This project would essentially be like the independent practices module in year 2. I would create a range of products, such as 3D models, badges, prints and postcards. 

• Theme: Character design
• Genre: Specialist 
• Context: illustrated products
• Audience: Anyone!
• Relevance and Purpose: To create illustrated products of high quality which could be reproduced, sold and also used as self promotional material to give to potential clients. 

6. Resin models with prints. This is exactly what it says on the tin! I would intend to create a small range of resin characters, maybe half a dozen, and create some really nice quality prints of the characters to go with them. 

• Theme: Character Design
• Genre: Specialist 
• Context: illustrated products, 3D models 
• Audience: Anyone really. My characters do tend to lean towards a younger audience but i hope that the quality of the work and the 3D collectable aspect would attract an older audience too. 
• Relevance and Purpose: Prints and photos of models could become good self promotional material as well as stock to sell. I also really want a part of my final major project to be 3D, i feel my work is at its strongest when i apply my designs to products or different surfaces.  *

*Maybe not resin....if the characters i create are one off's and i dont make too many it would be more feasible to leave them as sculpey models purely for photographing etc than for re-selling. Resin is an expensive and extensive process. 

Illustrator Research: Elena Odriozola

• I have chosen to research the illustrative practice of Elena Odriozola, mainly because i really like her illustration style, but i also admire how she applies this in a 3D way, employing model making and paper cutting techniques. 
• I would describe her style as simple but elegant. Her linework is almost soft in a way and it sits well with the textures she uses as well as the warm tones in her colour palette. 
  
  • Looking at her portfolio and client list i would say that Elena operates within the children's book publishing genre. 
  • Her target audience is children but as with many children's books today, a wider audience is being reached due to the sophistication and skill of the illustrations. 
  • Some of her best clients include: Macmillan Children's Books, Peachtree Publishers and Grimm Press. 
  • If i could work on any of her projects it would be the 3D models. They are lovely to look at and i would love to see her creative process when making them. 
  • From what i can see, most of Elena's self promotion comes from having her work in galleries and various exhibitions as well as having her name in print on various children's books. 
  • Elena Odriozola belongs to Pencil Ilustradores which is a spanish agency for illustrators. 
  • She works on commissions, one of her more notable works being illustrations for Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. 
  • Elena is very successful in the publishing industry, especially with children's books, and from what i can find she does not need to supplement her practice with other avenues of income. 
  • This research has not really informed my plans for my statement of intent in a sense that i already know i want to create something 3D, and something illustrated with more integrity. Although, my research has enabled me to see some of the best examples of 2D characters being translated onto other illustrated platforms. 
    

Illustrator Research: Laura Carlin

• I have selected Laura Carlin to research due mainly to seeing her illustrations in Ted Hughes' The Iron Man. When I first saw it in Waterstones i absolutely fell in love with it. Her images bring the story to life and i was really intrigued by the various paper engineering techniques she uses and how interactive she had made this book. 
• I would describe her style as being quite soft and expressive. Laura uses layered textures alongside bold shapes to create playful and energetic illustrations. 
  

• I would say that, predominantly, Laura Carlin operates within the publishing industry, creating children's books, illustrating novels, advertising and also editorial illustrations. 
• Her target audience for most of her work seems to be children but her commercial work reaches across most age groups. 
• Some (and i mean some as there are loads!) of Laura's best clients include: the New York Times, Phaidon, Folio Society, Walker Books, Scholastic and British Airways. 
• Looking at her portfolio i would most liked to have worked on her painted plates! I have never really thought about applying my illustrations to crockery and domestic items but her hand painted plates are really nice!
• Laura promotes her work mainly through her acency's website and i suppose that the best way to promote yourself is to do commercial work and receive the recognition for it which she does. 
• Laura belongs to Heart Agency which is a London based collective agency that maintains a selective and focused archive of artists.
• She works on a range of commercial briefs, including work for The New York Times, The Guardian, The New Yorker and some advertising material for British Airways. 
  
  • In terms of self initiated work, this is mainly the children's books that Laura has illustrated. 
  • Although Laura probably doesn't need to supplement her practice with other work, she practices ceramics in her spare time (mainly for fun) and she also holds an advisory role for the development of the House of Illustration, working alongside Quentin Blake (!) She also travels to different universities teaching. 
  • Researching Laura Carlin's illustrative practice has encouraged me to think about my projects, in particular my picturebook, and how i can make it different. I think i will keep the 32 page format as i want the experience of working to that format but i will look into ways of making it more than just a picturebook. Her application of illustrative designs onto different 3D surfaces has also made me think about how i can set my work apart from others simply by choosing something alternative to print it on.