The Time Machine

Ive always had a interest in science fiction/fantasy novels. 'The Time Machine' a book written by author H.G WELLS is a book I've always wanted to read. The idea of exploring the unknown and traveling to the future has always fascinated me. From classic films like Back to the Future - time travel, is such an interesting concept.

The book itself is a great read and holds up so well considering it was written over 100 years ago. The book  is an imaginative viewpoint of what society and the world has become in the future. The idea of society almost breaking down and the human race coming to a point where it almost devolves into something less. The main character, known as the time traveller, arrives in a world where small child like adults live in run down buildings of a bygone era. He thinks humans have evolved through technology, where the human mind has become less important in a peaceful world.

However he finds two forms of life the Eloi and the Morlocks. The Morlocks - blackened and only seem to live underground. I love the atmosphere created and the character development of the Morlocks and how they are portrayed as almost monsters. Towards the end he realizes that the childlike adults ( Eloi) are actually cattle and food for the Morlocks. He then travels further through time to a world of giant creatures and a dying planet.

When I read this book, I can easily imagine the world he is in and the characters that are there. I can imagine bright star filled worlds and books like this make me wonder about our own future. This is a great book and I would highly recommend it.

The Future

After a break from all things illustration, university and work. I can proudly say that I've just finished my degree and I have achieved a First class honors in illustration. After lots of hard work I finally feel like I've achieved something. Below is a picture of my degree show which took place in Stockport College. I received many kind compliments about my work and lots of interest, with the illustrations I thought best showcased me as an artist. I need to keep progressing and getting better at drawing. So I will be posting at least once a week from now on, on what I'm doing, my drawings, my ideas and my interests. I'm looking forward to this next chapter in my life. 

Chris Madden advice

Previous Stockport college student and illustrator Chris Madden seemed like a really good person to ask for advice from. I want to follow a similar path to his own and my work is similar in its style - the use of visual metaphors. He gave some really great advice on my work. Thanks Chris :)  - His website http://www.maddenillustration.co.uk

Advice

I have had a proper look through your website and have a few pointers for you. Obviously, this is just my opinion and you should definitely listen to your own instincts, too.

Overall, your work looks really strong - it’s clear that you are very skilled with a pencil, a lot of illustrators these days rely too much on ‘style' to carry them, without having a good understanding of the basics (I am one of them) so that’s a really good strength to have.

With regards to your portfolio, I think a few minor tweaks here and there will make it look really great. 

In my opinion, your strongest work is the 'NHS Waiting Times’ and ‘Soldiers Stories’ images. They display a really good range of skills, the ability to portray a visual idea, and are bold and colourful - all qualities that art directors look for in an illustrator’s work. 

In the B&W images (snow leopard/being homeless) I would be inclined to add an element of colour - maybe even just a flat grey if you want to keep them monochrome - so there is a definite contrast between the background and focal points. The elements are really well drawn but all merge together and become difficult to see, some nice contrasting colours would really help. 

A few pointers on your website - I know you will be working on your site constantly, so you may be in the process of implementing my suggestions already.

I think your site would benefit from a little bit of context. Having a short description of what each image relates to can really help ADs visualise your thought process and how you may fit into their publication. It only really needs to be a sentence or synopsis of the article/book/essay you illustrated. Also, naming the publication is a good idea as it shows that you’ve been trusted to work for somebody else before, so an AD will feel more comfortable trusting your with their assignments.

Other than that, I think you’re on the right track. You’ve obviously found a way of making images that works for you. I can definitely see you doing well with Editorial clients with this kind of work.

If you have anymore questions, just ask and i’ll try to get back to you as quickly as possible.

Good Luck with it all - looking forward to seeing your degree show!

A Tug of War

This is the final image I have produced for this unit of work. It was one of my original ideas for this project. Based on NHS waiting times the idea behind it is a tug of war between doctors and politicians/business types in the struggle of the NHS. The politicians wanting one thing and the doctors the other, all the while the life of the NHS represented by the red life line being pulled in the middle.

This piece works metaphorically for me and really represents what the story is about.

Client List

The most difficult part of being an illustrator in my opinion is knowing where your work fits in. After a few years of improving my drawing and finding a consistent style I have found that my work and own enjoyment is in current affairs and social issues, so editorial work is where I want to work in the future.

Using the AOI client list, I have come up with a list of potential clients that I can work with and that I feel suit my own style of work.

• The Independent 
• Daily telegraph
• Money observer 
• Financal Times - Weekend - Im really interested in this client as they use highly conceptualized work and I can see my work fitting in there. I have sent out samples of my work to them.  

• Creative Review 
• Radio Times 
• The Big Issue 
• New Internationalist 
• Sunday Times 
• The Spectator 
• Financal Times business - Highly Conceptualised. I really like the style of their illustrations so I will be sending samples of my work to them
• The Guardian - Im interested in this client as they often take on new illustrators and I can see my work fitting in there. I have sent samples of my work to them. 

I know I'm aiming high from the list above, but from the AOI list these clients are the most suited to my style of work. I will keep researching and looking for other clients of a similar nature. 

I didn't want to just limit myself to just editorial as I have to be adaptable and able to work in a number of fields, so I am looking into publishers as well. 

NHS waiting Times

Rather then showing all my initial ideas separately, I thought it would be a better idea to show you  both the initial and finished illustration. Then you can see the process I go through and how my idea develops. 

This initial idea is based on the news articles about NHS waiting times and the effect government cut's are having. I tried to think of symbols or visual metaphors related to time and waiting. So I wanted some kind of clock or alarm clock that I could manipulate into a building, that people would then be queuing up to. I wanted to keep the image simple and reflect the nature of the story. I started out with a few rough sketches and played around with the composition and type of clock I wanted. 

I realize its not the best picture. 

This is the final image. You can see the process I've taken from my initial sketches. I am so happy with the final outcome. I think I've refined my style of work to include the detail in the figure, but use simple almost graphic imagery to complement that. I decided to add a chimney and a door to make it look more like a building rather than a clock and went with quite neutral colours that I thought work well. 

Abstract Front Cover

I wanted something for a front cover, but like the previous project I didn't want to use the an image I had already done, so I decided to try and create something abstract and different from the other images I had created. I enjoyed making this as I could really be creative with composition and use of colour. I think this has been a success.

A Soliders Story - flashlight

This story is quite a hard hitting serious one, so I wanted to reflect that In the imagery. I didn't want it to be too detailed and just show the core idea I was trying to get across. My initial idea was centered on the idea of the flashes of light. Solider's often after war struggle with light as it often reminds soldiers of a war zone and the bright flashes of light that they have to deal with. I thought of using a flash light as a metaphor for that and focusing the composition on the soldier on the floor. The hand again is such a powerful image to use so I wanted to use that. I was thinking about composition especially with this one. 

This is the final Image. I tried to incorporate a pastel texture into the image and a shadow on the person so it didn't look as if he was floating. Im happy with the colour scheme, however I may change that in the future. 

Contacting Art Directors/Artists

As part of my university course one of the tasks set out to us, is to contact art professionals. So art directors of editorial newspapers would be an example. After creating a client list with my preferred choices, I sent out a number of emails, briefly stating who I was and why I thought my work could be a good fit for their company. I attached a pdf containing a few of my images and a link to my website. I found this process incredibly frustrating, as I found that a lot of the art directors I was emailing weren't responding to me and often not opening their emails. Its disheartening and annoying, but I wasn't prepared to give up. 

So I emailed more art directors and sent samples of my work, deciding in the process that rather than narrowing where my work could fit in, I looked at publishers as well as editorial companies. I think my style of work is aimed more at adult style books, so I only contacted that kind of client. 

Luckily Ive had a reply !!. From an independent press publisher called 'Atlantic Press'. Its a publisher primarily run by illustrators. The main theme of their books is 'Authorial Illustration'. So its all about creating graphic literature, with the illustrations created around the artists words. Its all about letting the illustrator be the driving force behind whats in the book and the type of work they want. 

I hadn't really thought about this type of illustration before in terms of my own work, but the type of freedom and style of illustrations really interested me and this is definitely something I want to look into. 

http://atlanticpressbooks.com

The work is different from what I do, but I can see my work fitting into this kind of genre. These beautiful illustrations are by Elizabeth Blue and Charmian Hussey. 

I emailed the company and luckily someone who helps run Atlantic Press called Stephen Braund, replied back to me. He was really nice down to earth guy who also very kindly sent me a free copy of the book above with a nice note wishing me good luck for the future. In a phone conversation with him, I asked him what he thought of my work as I wanted his invaluable advice about my work. He said 'you have great potential and I can see the direction your work is going in' He compared my work and way of working to 1984 book illustrator Alex Williamson. 

He then recommend this authorial type of illustration and that my work could be a good fit for that style. It is nerve-wracking talking to someone like that, but it really helped and encouraged me to know the positives people see in my work. 

I didn't really know who Alex Williamson is, but I can see why he compared my work to his. especially his use of hands, which I often use within my work. I love the book 1984 swell. 

My own book !!

As part of my dissertation I had to design and illustrate my own book. My dissertation was based on 'visual dynamics', so aspects of picture making like line, shape and texture. I experimented with space and composition and I wanted a professional clean look, with hints of mark making and texture throughout to reflect my essay.

I am so happy and proud of what I have produced !!.

Artist Advice - Rohan Eason

I contacted illustrator Rohan Eason to see if he could give me any advice on my portfolio and wesbsite. Ive done an interview with him on the Q & A Blog section on here. Thank you Rohan :) 

Rohan 

Hi Jordan, 

Your website is looking great, a lot of strong images, with Nice use of block colour and line. 

You've said your style is editorial, 

I would be careful about using this word to describe your work, and also for you when creating your work. 

Editorial is the lowest paid area of illustration, and while it is a good staple if you can get a consistent monthly or weekly magazine, it will limit the scope of your work. 

Being a commercial illustrator is about having a distinct style which a client can see working with their project, no matter what area that project lies, so I would suggest beginning to explore other areas of interest for inspiration. 

You have a nice pen style, and I'm sure you could work in other types of publication and media outlets. 

I would also suggest adding some work with faces, specially for editorial, but in all areas of illustration, the base skills of rendering the expressions of a human face are really important. It's a good tool for connecting with your client, if the figures are always turned away, or hidden, that's how your work may seem. I think that's the main criticism I would have, I want to put a face to your work, 

Hope that helps, 

Best

Rohan

Me 

Some great advice from Rohan in my opinion. Its good to know a professional likes your work. There is some really good constructive criticism here as well. In particular about not putting all your eggs into one basket, in my regard, not just doing editorial, but all forms of illustration - book, advertising .... I need to work on doing a few illustrations in books and other areas and not label my work as editorial. I completely agree with him in terms of drawing faces, its not something Ive intentionally done, but I can now see my work does lack facial expression, so I will work at that side of work and incorporate faces. 

About Me - family history

I know my blog is more about my illustrations and my artwork, but I wanted to add a bit of personal information about myself. My family have been researching into my family history and we have found some really interesting things. 

Firstly I already knew this, but my name and my family have so many connections with Ireland, particularly southern Ireland. I have other connections with Wales as well where my granddad is from. 

My second name Rainey is an irish name and in Gaelic it is Ó Raighne. 

I have lots of connections in my family with world war two, with lots of my family acting as soldiers at that time, which I'm proud to say. The most interesting learning point was my dads side of the family. We discovered my that my Grandma's parents were both from Russia to our surprise and they were both jewish. They fled from Russia in world war one. It was so fascinating to learn about. Im proud of my now English, Irish and Russian ancestry. 

Occupy (Book)

I realize my work and what Ive centered my illustrations on isn't necessarily this book is about, however this book is about protest and politics, so I thought it could influence the way I thought and potentially allow a political undertone to my work. So I went about reading it.


Occupy - Noam Chomsky 
Occupy is a political movement that focuses on social and economic inequality. With the aim of getting wealth more spread out and distributed to ordinary people.



This book is not written by Noam Chomsky per se, but is rather a compilation of transcripts from interviews he has done and speeches he has given relating to the Occupy Movement. There is a lot of insight and information in this book about the occupy movement. Sympathizing with their cause. This was a really interesting book and it gave me lots of ideas about symbolism and political forms of artwork. There is a theme of the against us and if I had to illustrate a book like this it would be about getting that imagery to reflect that. 

Creative writing and sport

This was a really fun and exciting story about creative writing and sport in schools and trying to combine the two together. I had lots of ideas about this one, as visually I could see how I could combine the two sports and writing together. 

I initially had the idea of someone throwing a javelin in the form of a pencil. I wanted the pencil to stand out as if it were almost coming off the page, so I thought about drawing it as realistic as possible to make it stand out more.

This is the finished outcome. I really like the pencil and the 3d effect of it I have managed to create, however Im not personally convinced with certain aspects of the drawing such as at the white space background. I think it may need working on and a more coherent colour scheme adding to it. 

A soldiers story

I wanted to create a piece of work that captured the isolation and almost dreamlike situation soldiers find themselves in. The idea of running away from your past and the doors to your past always surrounding you. The biggest positive of this image is the colour scheme in my opinion. I have been a bit more adventurous in the colours - I have been using lately and wanted to create a desert like feel, so I think the golden yellow colour works well. The forms on the page such as the guns take on a form of their own and almost look tree like.

Hopes and Fears

I think one thing I've realized over the past three years, is how much my work has changed and how different I now approach work. I used to be so focused on getting my drawings to look exactly like what I was drawing from. I started out as more of a fine artist and never really considered myself as an illustrator. Now my work has been compared to graphic design work. I'll always have drawing as my core principle though.

One of the main concepts I have found is the conceptual and editorial route, where my drawings are more inspired by politics and current affairs. I have a keen interest in stories like that and think my style of work is more catered to that type of adult drawing.

One part of being an illustration student, I haven't enjoyed is being able to just enjoy drawing or take time on a picture. The pressure of university is hard and sometimes I feel like I'm doing everything other than drawing or creating art, just to try and get a grade. For example I love to paint in water colour's and oils, I haven't been able to do that at all in the past year because it takes to much time to do and I don't have that time. I will be doing more painting in my spare time when I leave. I love being an illustration student, I just feel sometimes I don't know my own style yet and I think my drawing skills come first.

My main fear with the future, is something that I'm starting to realize now especially as I'm trying to contact art directors. Im worried about getting an actual chance to be a professional illustrator. I need that break and that chance to be able to create work for a newspaper or a book, but there are so many people applying for work. Ive found art directors rarely ever contact you back, especially if your not a well known artist. So the idea of the unknown is a worry, as I want to be able to have a steady income.
Art is very unpredictable money wise, so my aim is to get a part time job, hopefully related to art so that I can continue doing something I want to do. Another fear I have is losing contact with people from my university class, its great to know someone in a similar situation to your own, that can be there to provide help and advice with work, so hopefully I can keep in contact with some of them.

Im proud of my work and I have put my all into this course. I didn't put enough effort into one of my briefs in the first year and ever since then Ive been so determined to do the best I can and for people to be impressed by my work. My dream is to become a professional illustrator and I am fully determined for that to come true. My hope is to get a fair chance at being an editorial illustrator.

NHS Waiting Times - Watchmaker

For the NHS waiting times story, I again wanted to try and create something around the theme of time and tried to create symbols/imagery based on that. My initial ideas were based on a watchmaker and the doctor trying to fix it. Ive tried to think of interesting compositions with the viewpoint almost looking down on the doctor from above. 

This is the finished drawing. This was the most frustrating drawing I have had to do so far. It was so difficult to get the right shape on the face and make it look like a person, rather than a bunch of random objects. 

John Holocroft illustrator/research

Above are two illustrations by artist John Holcroft. I really like the clever use of visual methaphor and the use of almost simple things such as a hand holding a cigarette begin turned into a clever and clear message. It maybe digital slightly, but I think the way he has thought about the images and come up with the ideas is very interesting.

Political/editorial Artwork

Charlie Hebdo Artwork

I think political artwork with a message behind it, is so powerful and can reflect the story and idea of any story. The illustrations created after the Charlie Hebdo attacks were particularly powerful and reflected the idea of the power of the pencil.

The metaphorical language used is really inspirational, so I want something similar in my own work.

PTSD A soliders story

In order to produce imagery for serious stories like PTSD I need to be able to get a better understand of what it actually is. I can't illustrate something like this and not know what its really about as there wouldn't be a clear link between my drawing and the story.

The video above is of a soldier after returning from war. For a lot of soldiers its a link back to past war traumas and the effect war has had on them. Everyday struggle to feeling alone and lost. It really is horrible to think people who served my country are going through this.

NHS Cut's Research

This is a huge issue in Britain right now. The NHS is facing a large amount of government cut's to 'balance out the budget'. Its having dramatic consequences on things like waiting times for patients and quality of service dropping. Doctors and patients are out protesting and trying to get a fairer deal and a deal which means the NHS doesn't drop in quality or service.

The Idea of protest and a struggle between the politicians and the people is the idea that I get from this story. Its almost a tug of war between the two sides, with both of them claiming to be right. I dont just want to draw doctors and nurses, I need a metaphorical link between the two, such as hospital equipment being used in my drawings.

Future Self

My next project is very important as it will in all likelihood be the work that I will primarily use in my portfolio. I know I want to go down the editorial route and I know my illustrations have to mean something- conceptual. From looking at my past work as whole the criticism I have is that its not varied enough. For instance I have lots of images on being homeless or government cuts, I need to create more images about different stories and issues happening.

One other aspect I would like to change is that I want a few more positive images. I don't want to always be doing negative or serious issues and I want to show my versatility in being able to create images for lighter stories.

These are the areas/ articles I have decided to look at. These are just my initial thoughts.

Creative Writing and Sport 

Ive found an article in the guardian newspaper about creative writing and the benefits of using sport and writing to exercise your brain swell as your body. Basing writing tasks on how for example the students could make the sport more enjoyable and how sportsmen use writing within sports to for instance record times and journals. I think this is a really interesting article that I can really develop ideas for. I was initially thinking of incorporating sports like running with some kind of writing related image. So a pencil for a javelin ?

A Soliders Story 

This story is all about soldiers and the effect war has on them and their family. It talks about how soldiers are never far from their past and how war has had not only a physical affect but also a mental one. The initial idea I have from this is running from your past and the idea of a door to the past always being there wherever you go .

NHS Waiting Times 

This is a huge story England right now. The NHS is being cut by the government and effects are being felt. From staff cuts to patient waiting times increasing drastically. This story is so relevant to today and if I want to be an editorial illustrator I think this is the types of story I will have to cover. My early ideas are something to do with pulling and the idea of a tug of war between politicians and doctors.

Business Cards

As an illustrator business cards are very important and they serve 3 main purposes

• They act as reminders of who you are 
• They provide contact details 
• They act as a mini portfolio 

I could create my own logo, but I'm just not like that I can't just create one image that's meant to summarize my entire style and work. So instead I have decided to pick out elements from my drawings that could work well on a business card. I want to show a serious side as editorial is often like that, so I don't really want to use my children's book images for example. I want it to look professional, simple and most importantly clearly show my contact details. I want everything from my website, portfolio and business cards to be consistent in quality. 

The one above is my test card !! I really like the image of the man I've drawn as a single image, so I'm thinking this could be my main business card image. The back I'm not quite on yet, it may need some adjustments, as I'm not sure wether to include the mark making at the top of card yet. The edges of the cards will be rounded as the rectangle look doesn't suit in my opinion.

Fig Taylor - Portfolio Viewing

I was fortunate enough to have the chance to meet Fig Taylor from the AOI ( association of illustrators) who talked about potential career paths for us and what its like in industry and aspects I would have to deal with. I was pleased to hear about editorial illustration and how many different routes I could follow, for example newspapers, books....

After her informative talk, she was able to look through everyones portfolio, which is what she does at the AOI. At the minute Im not 100% happy with my portfolio it needs updating and reflect the style of work I do now, so I showed her my finished newspaper from the last unit. It quite a surreal experience having someone so connection to the industry, never seen my work before and she was almost evaluating it. It was a pleasant surprise to hear from her " you know who you want to be and you know where your work is headed'. She was referring to editorial saying my work would look good in newspapers and reflecting articles.

One of the most interesting points though was that she said my work was conceptual, which no one has ever said to me before.

'Conceptual art, sometimes simply called Conceptualism, is art in which the concept or idea involved in the work take precedence over traditional aesthetic and material concerns'

Artwork by - David Bonanzzi

Ive never really thought of my work in that way, but I am starting to use ideas more as the starting point and using imagery to reflect ideas. I think I knew my work was conceptual, I just hadn't heard that phrase used before within illustration. 

Panel meeting with, Chris Madden, Barney Ibbotson and Emma Reynolds

This was a really interesting uni discussion we had. We had 3 professional Illustrators come in and do a Q & A session, answering questions from the class. One of the main worries of any student is what happens after uni and the stresses of trying to get full time work within illustration. This talk helped to calm my nerves and worries  because it really is a daunting prospect being out in the world by yourself.

It was fun and informal. With each of them talking about some of the experiences they have had from dodgy briefs to how they got started. Chris Madden in particular was of interest to me as he was at Stockport College and he does editorial work - exactly what I want to do. Its great to know people from similar backgrounds to myself are getting work and becoming successful.

Other areas of interest were how friendly and down to earth they were and they advised us to be the same. Your more likely to get work from clients if your good to work with and get on with. This led to the idea of socializing more and trying to make connections with illustrators and people who know the industry more. Its going to be tough, but I am really motivated to be able to say 'Im a professional illustrator'.

My Website !!!

Visit My Website here ! - http://www.jordanrainey.com

One of the main requirements of any artist nowadays is to have an online portfolio. A digital way to promote and show potential clients your work. From my own perspective I wanted my website to look clean, modern and professional. I know from doing ICT classes in the past, websites have to be easy to navigate and easy to use, so that was really important to the look and feel of mine. 

Originally my teachers suggested using Wordpress - a free blog website hosted by Wordpress. I tried my best to use it, but it is so frustrating to try and get the look you want. It looked way to much like a blog and just didn't look like a professional website to me. I switched to using 'Square Space'. It was so much easier to use and create the website I wanted. Other people I know built their websites, but with Square Space you could do exactly the same process but so much easier. 

Im really happy with how my  website looks and personally think it really shows off my work and makes the work the main focus of attention. 

The Human form/Gestural drawing

A huge part of my illustrations and my way of conveying emotions is through the use of the human form. I have used artist Alphonso Dunn how specializes in drawing and in particular the human form, to try and learn and use similar techniques. Letting the pen flow and the shape of the figure come alive on the paper is very hard to do, so I have been practicing a lot, trying to capture the form first then adding the detail. This artist has really helped me in that regard.

New Project/ New Ideas

Im currently in the process of trying to think of what I can do for my Final Brief. I think from the last project I have an idea of where I want my work to be and who I am as an illustrator. That would be based around editorial/ magazine related articles. I think my work fits around it and I like to challenge myself with serious or difficult subjects. 

After such a long project, I feel like I need a different perspective on how to work and what I want my next project to look like. I want new ideas and new ways of working, to really exploit the editorial genre more. 

I decided to have a look around the Whitworth art gallery in Manchester and found some really interesting pieces of work that opened my mind up to what I can do and how I can work. Here are some of the pieces that interested me the most !