Could and should Illustrators do more to push the boundaries of the discipline?

“As our visual language evolves, the playing field is levelling. Graphic designers, sculptors, painters, creative developers, and even musicians amorphously meander across different parts of our creative industries. As a consequence, I often wonder what the term ‘illustration’ now means. Maybe as a medium it might need to do more than vocationalise aesthetics and cultivate a border palate of profundity for its own survival’. – Michael Salu Artistic Director of Granta Magazine 2012 Varoom. 

As a new practitioner of Illustration I have come to understand that there are benefits to crossing the boundaries of different disciplines. The briefs that I have encountered so far have asked the artist to produce something a little more unusual and innovative in terms of design. The client wants something  that visually reflects their brief, that will stand out and that portrays the content easily to their viewer. The medium is usually chosen to help impart this and application is used to reflect the content. I believe this is why illustrators are hired to produce this varied work across the spectrum of disciplines. The need and ability for Illustrators to cross boundaries is a necessity for all artists to evolve with the ever -changing technology and the vast amount of competition amongst artists. However many recognised illustrators have used this eclectic mix of practices to their  own advantage.

Artist/illustrators like Sara Fanelli and Oliver Jeffers both have a defined style that has made them stand out amongst other Illustrators. They have both produced a personal typography that helps the recognition of their work and both have authored and illustrated books both for themselves and other writers. Oliver has produced an animated version of his book Lost and Found and made moving images for T.V commercials just as Sara fanelli has produced posters, Ad campaigns and packaging in her  professional career.   

In recent years the harshness of Graphic Design has become soften by the handrawn line, the input of homemade imagery and a focus on mixed mediums.  These practices mixed together have established a broader area for all designers to experiment with. This new mix of discipline can now be introduced to different working opportunities. For myself personally, I incorporate Photography, craft and surface design in many areas of my design method. As an illustrator it is important that my job illuminates the information in a visual way that is relevant and compliments the narrative given. I find it is an exciting way of creating art and one I will never tire of. My education in Illustration has seen the encouragement of crossed pathways and  has become invaluable in terms of future work and opportunities. I feel confident using most mediums and the incorporation of digital software to help enhance and balance the production of my work is as important. My work experiences so far have requested that I have knowledge in many creative areas. I endeavour to full fill this.

Craft Club

I have been holding weekly sessions of a craft club at my children's primary school. I opted to teach the juniors this time as they are at an age where they can follow the briefs I have set and follow the instructions.

We have designed hand sewn stockings, christmas cards, giant swedish designs snowflakes using a paper cut technique and string and glue wrapped baubles. The sewing was by far the most satisfying as it is a lost skill in many children's craft and art experiences. I wanted over the five weeks of hourly sessions to help them produce something quickly, cheaply and accessible and for them to feel confident enough to go home and continue with the crafts themselves. Planning Spring sessions next!

Folio Designs

Just coming to the end of my first semester in Illustration and so far I have loved it. There has been many times over the weeks that I thought the briefs may be impossible for me to achieve any results but I seem to be catching up. I am not quite there yet in terms of how I would like my work to look but the progress  made technically, digitally and confidently has been fulfilling. Here are a couple of underdeveloped pieces i have been working on.

Portfolio Visit Three-Glorious Creative

For my third Portfolio visit I had a meeting with Tom Shaughnessy, Design Director for Glorious Creative LTD. The company is a Graphics company and has been established since 2002. This was an interesting meeting with Tom and I valued his opinion on my illustration- based portfolio.  He is a practicing Graphic designer an area I have only studied from afar and illustration is a new practice it was a good test of my work so far. When viewing my work he thought I had a lot of varied approaches and suggested that it may good practice to enlarge my images to an A3 format so they give more details. He also advised that laying out all my designs of the floor to see what is visually strong in order to detect my strengths. My recent designs for our Folio brief was an area of interest to him and I was surprised that the designs I hadn’t submitted were the ones he was most interested in. He made some suggestions to a couple of images he liked and said if they could be altered in a small way he would be interested in a large print of it himself.  This feedback was really pleasing to hear, as I believed my work to be directed towards surface and craft designers. We spoke about the industry as a whole and he explained that it was important that I have a narrative to my work. This I have come to realise this is a necessary equilibrium needed when planning my designs. We also discussed different approaches to design and he advised that all designers should balance a method of application, content and editing skills.  He commented that I had a good use of colour and that my images contained some good composition work. I have asked Tom to review my work again early next year as I feel his advice is something I will try to improve on.gloriouscreative.co.uk