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.