Tuesday, 5 April 2011
JACK TEAGLE NOTES AND REASEARCH:
Jack Teagle Lecture Notes and Research
• He is a freelance illustrator, producing mixed crafts including comics, tshirts, band art, posters, stationery, paper and canvas acrylic pieces.
• He mainly worked with stencils an graffiti at University but was not set on a specific career path.
• He made his gap in the market by starting to sell small self published books and creations.
• He then worked with old toys, creating new comical characters.
• Began to create comics, mixing fantasy and mundane life - e.g.
• He kept good links and contacts with other illustrators and tutors.
• He then began working on medical style illustrations as his commissions subsided.
• When he began getting editorial work he realised his traditional painted pieces were much too time consuming so transferred to using digital methods to meet deadlines.
• No Brow asked him to join their company.
• He then gained an agent, YCN, securing his first commission to create an A2 poster.
• ADVICE...
• Don't phone/ stalk art directors or use zip files to email your images. Links to blogs, websites and mailing postcards are more effective.
• Copyrights - keep rights and use only contracts.
• Display your productivity online.
Answers to the 3 questions...
1. What are your biggest inspirations? - Sci-fi, comics, monsters, japenese art, old vintage colours, bold strange creatures, badly drawn comics and rip offs of bat man etc, Luchador wrestling toys, Gary Baseman, Ryan Heshka.
2. What do you think is the most effective way of getting you work 'out there'? - Blogging and staying in contact with other illustrators. Constantly apply for competitions.
3. How quickly did you start getting work after you graduated? - Had to work hard and was on the dole for about a year but its now paying off.
• He is a freelance illustrator, producing mixed crafts including comics, tshirts, band art, posters, stationery, paper and canvas acrylic pieces.
• He mainly worked with stencils an graffiti at University but was not set on a specific career path.
• He made his gap in the market by starting to sell small self published books and creations.
• He then worked with old toys, creating new comical characters.
• Began to create comics, mixing fantasy and mundane life - e.g.
• He kept good links and contacts with other illustrators and tutors.
• He then began working on medical style illustrations as his commissions subsided.
• When he began getting editorial work he realised his traditional painted pieces were much too time consuming so transferred to using digital methods to meet deadlines.
• No Brow asked him to join their company.
• He then gained an agent, YCN, securing his first commission to create an A2 poster.
• ADVICE...
• Don't phone/ stalk art directors or use zip files to email your images. Links to blogs, websites and mailing postcards are more effective.
• Copyrights - keep rights and use only contracts.
• Display your productivity online.
Answers to the 3 questions...
1. What are your biggest inspirations? - Sci-fi, comics, monsters, japenese art, old vintage colours, bold strange creatures, badly drawn comics and rip offs of bat man etc, Luchador wrestling toys, Gary Baseman, Ryan Heshka.
2. What do you think is the most effective way of getting you work 'out there'? - Blogging and staying in contact with other illustrators. Constantly apply for competitions.
3. How quickly did you start getting work after you graduated? - Had to work hard and was on the dole for about a year but its now paying off.
SELF PROMOTION RESEARCH:
Self Promotion Strategies (online)
The first website I looked at to observe the best self promotion is by an artist named Phillip Bannister who is predominantly a watercolour painter with a reasonably large client list. His personal website is autobiographical rather than being created or even written by himself which can either be viewed as a more professional, or a less personal approach to a portfolio website. His site is very easy to navigate as all titles are clear and separated, and features most of the necessary self promotion sections but as I brows the sections I cant help but feel like the information given is somewhat limited. For example, it would be good to have more background information on Phillip himself, and on particular projects and commissions. Also, the website does not excite me graphically, it is not overly aesthetically pleasing to me, but I can understand that the target market of clients that Phillip's work is aimed at would be more appreciative of this style of website. A more toned down, sophisticated aesthetic does in fact work well in respect of the clients listed on the site.
By listing his very well known list of clients, he immediately gains respect as a designer and this acts almost like a good reference when applying for a new job. Looking at the amount of work he has posted on his site also improves his reputation as a productive designer, and there is a wide range of styles of images children's illustration, to more classic styles, giving the prospective client good insight into the range of works that Phillip produces. The overall style of his website is more of a classic aesthetic and this does work for his target clients. However, to reach a wider audience and build a more extensive client list, I feel he would need to update and modernise his site more. More use of eye catching and interactive graphics, links to other networking sites, and a feeling of his personality coming through information about him would result in more attention and widen his possibilities to commission.
The second artist portfolio website I looked at is by an artist named Kelly Smith who is an Australia Based artist who mainly works on fashion illustrations in pencils and similar mediums. Her website is very different to the last I researched as it has a lot more modern networking links and features. The home website actually consists of just one page, with links to folio, blog, biography, shop, and contact. At first glance this seems very organised an easy to navigate, however, each link opens a separate section with a different programme, making it in fact harder to navigate. For example, to access portfolio, the link opens up to a flickr thread, the biography to a adobe file, the shop to a separate website, and the blog also consists of all these separate links. I personally think that her collection of links offers enough information but makes it much harder to navigate. The main website page however, is very attractive and does feature a client specific 'commercial enquiries’ link which is a feature not seen in the previous website that indicates that the artist does have a specific aim to secure more clients.
Kelly's Client list is a good one, and her work is showcased very well throughout the various websites, but her website could definitely be more easily navigated by creating more internal links rather than leading the potential clients away from the site. It has a good aesthetic and more could be made of it if a theme was carried through a more extensive website.
The third website I researched is definitely the best in terms of the artist advertising herself to clients and allowing them to explore her, her artwork, and style. This website is by an artist named Joanna Henly, who goes under the designer name 'Miss Led'. To begin, her website is fantastic to navigate, with an impressive list of clients, press, blog, contact, shop and biography on the left hand side of the site, which all link to a scrolling pan of images corresponding with each client and section in chronological order, making it incredibly easy to find what you are looking for within the site. There are no external links like the previous website, and there is no waste of space. We get to see the artist's work, her at work, interviews, editorial pieces and are able to contact with ease. She also includes the logo and states that she is a member of AOI which gives her a lot more instant credibility as a designer. Her achievements as a designer are presented through her editorial pieces and interviews and boast her individuality as a designer. With her most recent blog post being updated on the website regularly, this gives the client insight that she is constantly designing and refreshing her work and inspiration, continuing her journey through design and gaining experience in the commercial world as well as in her personal time.
As a potential client, the website has everything needed to discover her as an artist, exploration of her style, past work, current work, expression of her personality through interview, various networking links to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr if more information or research is needed, but in my opinion there is enough matter on the one page website to showcase her skill.
The first website I looked at to observe the best self promotion is by an artist named Phillip Bannister who is predominantly a watercolour painter with a reasonably large client list. His personal website is autobiographical rather than being created or even written by himself which can either be viewed as a more professional, or a less personal approach to a portfolio website. His site is very easy to navigate as all titles are clear and separated, and features most of the necessary self promotion sections but as I brows the sections I cant help but feel like the information given is somewhat limited. For example, it would be good to have more background information on Phillip himself, and on particular projects and commissions. Also, the website does not excite me graphically, it is not overly aesthetically pleasing to me, but I can understand that the target market of clients that Phillip's work is aimed at would be more appreciative of this style of website. A more toned down, sophisticated aesthetic does in fact work well in respect of the clients listed on the site.
By listing his very well known list of clients, he immediately gains respect as a designer and this acts almost like a good reference when applying for a new job. Looking at the amount of work he has posted on his site also improves his reputation as a productive designer, and there is a wide range of styles of images children's illustration, to more classic styles, giving the prospective client good insight into the range of works that Phillip produces. The overall style of his website is more of a classic aesthetic and this does work for his target clients. However, to reach a wider audience and build a more extensive client list, I feel he would need to update and modernise his site more. More use of eye catching and interactive graphics, links to other networking sites, and a feeling of his personality coming through information about him would result in more attention and widen his possibilities to commission.
The second artist portfolio website I looked at is by an artist named Kelly Smith who is an Australia Based artist who mainly works on fashion illustrations in pencils and similar mediums. Her website is very different to the last I researched as it has a lot more modern networking links and features. The home website actually consists of just one page, with links to folio, blog, biography, shop, and contact. At first glance this seems very organised an easy to navigate, however, each link opens a separate section with a different programme, making it in fact harder to navigate. For example, to access portfolio, the link opens up to a flickr thread, the biography to a adobe file, the shop to a separate website, and the blog also consists of all these separate links. I personally think that her collection of links offers enough information but makes it much harder to navigate. The main website page however, is very attractive and does feature a client specific 'commercial enquiries’ link which is a feature not seen in the previous website that indicates that the artist does have a specific aim to secure more clients.
Kelly's Client list is a good one, and her work is showcased very well throughout the various websites, but her website could definitely be more easily navigated by creating more internal links rather than leading the potential clients away from the site. It has a good aesthetic and more could be made of it if a theme was carried through a more extensive website.
The third website I researched is definitely the best in terms of the artist advertising herself to clients and allowing them to explore her, her artwork, and style. This website is by an artist named Joanna Henly, who goes under the designer name 'Miss Led'. To begin, her website is fantastic to navigate, with an impressive list of clients, press, blog, contact, shop and biography on the left hand side of the site, which all link to a scrolling pan of images corresponding with each client and section in chronological order, making it incredibly easy to find what you are looking for within the site. There are no external links like the previous website, and there is no waste of space. We get to see the artist's work, her at work, interviews, editorial pieces and are able to contact with ease. She also includes the logo and states that she is a member of AOI which gives her a lot more instant credibility as a designer. Her achievements as a designer are presented through her editorial pieces and interviews and boast her individuality as a designer. With her most recent blog post being updated on the website regularly, this gives the client insight that she is constantly designing and refreshing her work and inspiration, continuing her journey through design and gaining experience in the commercial world as well as in her personal time.
As a potential client, the website has everything needed to discover her as an artist, exploration of her style, past work, current work, expression of her personality through interview, various networking links to Facebook, Twitter and Flickr if more information or research is needed, but in my opinion there is enough matter on the one page website to showcase her skill.
WHY I HAVE CHOSEN ILLUSTRATION AS A COURSE:
Art for me in general has always been a passion and more of an instinctive reaction to having nothing to do, an outlet for being creative. From a small age I have always doodled, painted, and had an interest in crafts and other arts. As I approached my GSCE’s I was aware that the time was coming where I would have to chose my programmes of study, but art has always been my first choice throughout school, college and the beginning of my journey through university. I very much enjoy just sitting down with a pencil and pad, drawing from imagination and drawing what I see. To be able to have a job where my artwork, my style and personality is showcased and sought after would be a dream come true and me choosing Illustration as a course is the first step to making this happen for myself. One of the main reasons that I chose to study Illustration rather than going straight into free-lance design is that I know that I am able to draw, but for purposes like being able to appeal to a larger commercial market and client group, I wanted to expand my art based knowledge and skills, allowing me more freedom to create according to different briefs and preparing me for possible controversial and different commissions that I may be set in the future. Also I knew that this course would include material and information helping me to learn how to apply my skills and knowledge to an occupational aimed portfolio, online and physically. I was aware that I needed these kind of skills to break into the free-lance design world and I feel that my capabilities as an artist are acceptable, but I needed an extra insight to the pathways I need to follow to be able to achieve and secure a job role as a
After beginning my course I have confirmed to myself that this is the correct pathway for me within art, but also confirmed that the occupation side of what I am currently learning is something that will definitely benefit me when I finish my degree and begin to look for a permanent occupation. For me, I understand that I need this sort of information to mature in my journey as a designer and this is exactly what I feel is occurring since I started my course.
After beginning my course I have confirmed to myself that this is the correct pathway for me within art, but also confirmed that the occupation side of what I am currently learning is something that will definitely benefit me when I finish my degree and begin to look for a permanent occupation. For me, I understand that I need this sort of information to mature in my journey as a designer and this is exactly what I feel is occurring since I started my course.
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