Fahrenheit 451

It has been a long time since I last posted on here. I think now is the right time to try and start posting again. I have always been a avid book reader and my aim is to write down my thoughts and respond to each book on my blog. 

"There was a silly damn bird called a phoenix before Christ, every few hundred years he build a pyre and burnt himself up, he sprang out of the ashes, he got himself born all over, and it looks like we're doing the same thing, over and over, but we've got one damn thing the phoenix never had. We know the damn silly things we've done for a thousand years and as long as we know that and always have it around where we can see it someday we'll stop making the goddamn funeral pyres and jumping in the middle of them. 

Fahrenheit 451 is a book I have been meaning to read for a while. I have finally done so and I must say it was an extremely enjoyable book. A dystopian novel written by american author Ray Bradbury, the book is centered on the main character Guy Montag. His job as a fireman is to destroy books - the discord of all unhappiness in society. 

This story is one of a future with no thought and no questioning, i.e. why do we do things, what is that or whats the story behind that. Society in general becoming bland and emotionless with people unable to think for themselves. Everything 100 miles an hour and instantly explained on a television. Books and anything intellectual have become the source of all evil and the story itself focuses on the idea of book burning in suppressing dissenting ideas. With that the history of the past gone and people unable to question things and unable to learn from past mistakes. 

This book is very symbolic in my opinion of where society could be heading and the author has some very interesting ideas about the way we live. The quote above is a perfect description for me. We forget and make the same mistakes, rather then learn from them. Books and ideas are the counterweight to that. Books in particular hold such strong power i.e. history of the past, lessons of the past and imagination - the ability to use your mind to transport yourself to another fictional world. People aren't meant to be glued to the tv like zombies, but living real lives and not forgetting about real things - family, relationships..

This world created by Ray Bradbury, is a world lacking in colour and emotion, until the main character opens his eyes and opens his mind to the world around him.“Stuff your eyes with wonder, he said, live as if you'd drop dead in ten seconds. See the world. It's more fantastic than any dream made or paid for in factories.” 

This book is a fantastic read and I would urge anyone to read it. It certainly challenged the way I think.

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.