Major Project 11

GIF tests

Major project 10

rest of the character sheets

Professional practice 6

starting to build my potential client database, made a nice Excel document to make everything a bit easier, god it's been years since I last had to use Excel, like not since I was in secondary school. good old internet, you wonderful source of tutorials.

a few sources of potential clients for the database:

AOI CLIENT DIRECTORIES - http://www.theaoi.com/shop/staging/index.php/theshop/products/client-directories
alas you need to be a member to buy the collection for cheap (which im not buying until the last possible minute) but £54.00 discounted is pretty reasonable.

I know we have a couple of company databases in the Uni library and possibly some client ones, so i'm going to have to drop in and use up the remainder of my print credit.

literally any company with a Creative Director or an Art Director will need an illustrator at some point or another so those are the guys to find send the promotional material to. they can be found within any company that has Copywriters on staff.

local magazines and newspapers

enterprise centers and yellow pages (if they still exist?)

past clients (may want repeat business)

another nice little resorce for general Professional practice stuff

https://advertise.directoryofillustration.com/marketing-program-for-illustrators/#online 

whilst we are on the subject of promotional material, let's talk about the specific things I could to get made to promote myself.

• business card (we've covered that already)
• Artist CV
• promotional mailer
• customized letter effects (envelopes and what not) 
• Postcards / Broadsheets
• self published book
• novelty items (who doesn't love a freebie) 
• newsletter template 

update*

Future Plan:

So what’s next for yours truly?

First lets review, I have my business cards and  on order, the money for the AOI is saved, ive been ive got a good looking portfolio all ready to be eyed by prospective clients, . all in all I am ready to take my first tentative steps into the world of freelance illustration.

There are of course other considerations, like how I am going to support myself whilst I build up a client base, therefore the next thing I need to do is get a part time job, something in the arts industry would be good, but anything with a paycheck will be welcome, ive decided to base myself in my home town of sidmouth for a while as I get truly set up but then it is on to the big wide world.

My diary so far has nothing until September when im off to Japan for a few months on my artist pilgrimage. Its somewhere Ive always wanted to go and this may be my last chance before I get embedded somewhere.

Whilst I was making my artist CV I did notice that I am somewhat lacking in experience, apart from the odd commission and a few jobs in art industries I haven’t really got much I can brag about, ergo I will be first taking any job I can get my hands on so that I can build an impressive résumé and work my way up.

The ideal for me is a steady job, lots of commissions to do, and projects that interest me. Unfortunately Im a realist, I know that I still have room to improve and that the likelihood of me slipping into one comfy commission after another is very slim. My name is out there now and soon it will be time to make my big debut into the dog eat dog world that is professional artistry. Knowing this I plan to go in with an impact, exactly how im going to do this is still being worked out but its coming, you only get one first impression and I plan to make a big one. That and some good old fashioned elbow grease. I have a list of upcoming exhibitions where I can get some good networking done, followed by a few potential venues for myself.

I am part of a coalition of artists from around my local town and we are planning to do our first gallery show early next year.

Although the best laid plans of mice and men often do go awry, I am the most prepared possible to face the challenges that lay ahead. I will be keeping this blog up to date right up until I graduate, but I will be posting my new domain name as soon as it looks good enough to publish.

Major project 9

Finished the first character sheet today, loving these new inks, very nice crisp colours, don't have to be too careful about staying in the lines as they will all be digitally cut out anyway. 

Major project 8

a little more about the technical aspects of the animation.
there are 3 distinctive styles taking place in my sequence, the first is the book itself, the motion of the pages as they turn, this will have to be done last due to the need of the first and last frames of the other animations to be manipulated in photoshop.
the second is the flash animation of the creatures in motion, and the third and final is the medieval style scenes.

there are so many ways I could animate the pages turning, a few effects in FX and after effects amongst others, rotoscoping film, using 3d models, but for the traditional look i want for the animation I will be using the good old fashioned frame by frame approach. i've chosen this way because I belive it gives me full control over every micro-detail of the animation, and although time consuming it is again, in my opinion, the most fitting way to get the feel I want from the final product.
that isnt to say I havent looked at the other ways of doing things, in fact some if the resources have been very helpful in planning out the frames.
a few noteworthy resources:

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTOEM8bKx_Y
• http://www.photoshop-plus.co.uk/learn-how-to-create-an-open-book-in-photoshop/
• http://archive.oreilly.com/pub/a/javascript/archive/flashhacks.html
• http://www.indezine.com/products/powerpoint/cool/openbook.html

as to the animal flash motions, the greatest resource ive found is the gigantic reservoir of videos of them on youtube and streaming sites (david attenborough has played no small part in providing them). but also I found this wonderful database of animation tutorials, including many animals movements broken down and explained, this was of particular help for the Leviathan. pinterest boards are also great for getting a multitude of images of animals to study.

• http://www.cloverdesain.com/art-design/how-to-draw-animals-dolphins-whales-and-porpoises/

another good gif of animal motion was this one:

for the medieval styled animated section I have been looking at old Diorama theaters like this one

this is because i'll be doing essentially the same process but in after effects and how their puppets are rigged. i've also been looking at retro computer games like mario and sonic because they use a technique called parallax scrolling to give the illusion of depth with the motion, this will be most useful with the animation of the sea in two of the pages.

for an animation about mythical creatures, ive sure learnt a hell of a lot about how real world animals move. reminds me of that saying about how everything in fantasy has its basis in reality. 

Major project 7

Finally got my new Winsor and Newton Inks so I can get to work on the traditional animated parts :)

finished the ornate lettering for each page, took a surprisingly long time, using a dip pen and detailed paint brushes and having to wait for them to dry

some people would say im crazy doing this in the traditional form and using the time costly techniques that they used on actual manuscripts. but hey, im all about authenticity and I want the finished animation to look like a genuine medieval beastary, with my own artistic flare thrown in.

doing this for the rest of the animations going to be a major source of aggravation and very time costly with the additional research and actual making, but you gotta do what you gotta do.  

really starting to wish I didnt have that stumble at the beginning of the project that wasted so much time. still good practice for tight deadlines.

bonus test drawing using my older ink:

professional practice 5

had a workshop on biographies and what/how to write them, here's what I came up with

''Well recognised in the field of Illustration, Lawrence Matthews grew up in the small town of Sidmouth in England. This was where he first discovered his passion and aptitude for drawing. Educated at the Exeter college of Art and Design, then later graduating from the Arts University Bournemouth, he showed a great amount of skill in illustration, later choosing to make a career out of his passion as a professional illustrator.

Personally identifying as a “Super Geek”. His love of pop culture, Japanese illustrations and Anime, works of science fiction and fantasy have obviously influenced his work. 

The themes of his practice has helps him deal with personal experiences with past illness both mental and physical. these experiences have lead to his mantra of learning as much as he can. he has a great love of learning new skills and techniques and has always said that there is so much to learn and we get so little time to learn it. This varied approach in the way he creates and utilizes this diverse way of making, which is then refined depending of the brief.

Proficient in Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Flash, Toon Boom, and all manner of traditional mediums, he has always credited caffeine as his greatest resource due to his nocturnal nature and somewhat vampire like feelings in regards to the sun.

His personal work gravitates towards character design and story boarding for his current self initiated project of picture book making, experimenting with graphic novel and manga styles.

His work personifies the juxtaposition between comedy and tragedy with his favorite subjects being dystopian in nature.

Most recently he has developed an interest in model making and casting, exploring how 3D can be used to present marketable illustration and design."

Also a first person statement:

""""

bonus drawing: