Start-Up Wednesday: Self-Employment

This was a useful workshop for me, because I'd much rather employ myself and be my own boss, than work for anyone. That even includes clients, but if I want to have my own shop or even just write graphic novels, I'll need to know how to manage my own finances and time.

Marketing is very important - HOW do I market myself? Instagram.

Need multiple sources of income, especially at the start - commissions (doing what I like doing - portraits/characters), book advances (are they actually a thing?), daytime work (Wilko or other).

TAXES!!! Keep a record of costs/expenses and expenditures etc - incomings and outgoings.

Don't undercharge - VALUE your own work. Have pride in my abilities and talent - my service and product.

Be NICE!! Who > what - make sure people want to work with me

Start-Up Wednesday: Marketing & PR

SEE PHYSICAL BOOKLET FOR NOTES

I've started thinking seriously about my plans for the future - I don't want to be a professional illustrator but I DO want to write comics and graphic novels, and own a shop/gallery/event space similar to Colours May Vary where I can showcase mine and others' work.

In the workbook we got from Anna Franks, I've written notes and reflections about my practice and my ambitions. 

Career Track Tuesday: Presentation Skills

Having the opportunity to actually present to a group of people I didn't really know actually increased my confidence presenting. In the end, I'm talking about something I love doing, and about myself - a topic I know a lot about!

The 5 main things to think about when presenting:

1. Speed
2. Volume
3. Pitch
4. Emphasis
5. PAUSE!

Don't rush. CONFIDENCE.

Hanbury Hall 26.01.18

Notes from symposium:

Blink Art & Big Active

• Agencies make it more possible for illustrators and other creatives to collaborate? With photographers, animators etc.
• Artists 'live in a vacuum' - agencies can add context and credibility to your practice.
• Blogs can be important if it's your thing - keep clients updated on your practice
• INDIVIDUALITY is important - don't look at what other people are doing/don't compare yourself to others
• Ask clients: "What is it about my work you really like?"

The Dots

• Creatives are 'no-collar' jobs - creative skills, job-hopping, project by project basis
• Machines can't replicate creativity! Our skills are valuable
• Diversity
• Portfolio tips: quality > quantity, tailor it to specific clients, START STRONG, include personality, show passion and enthusiasm, concepts not just final pieces

Anthropologie

• VISUAL MERCHANDISER - curating a shop space to make it inviting for consumers

Ricky Richards

• Pronto Projects - responding quickly to events like national disasters - work becomes iconic and goes down in history!
• Influence of Inputs - generic input = generic output
• Look for interesting/obscure source material
• Preposterous PR - unique responses that make you stand out, like Mr. Bingo!

• Self-directed projects are the MOST important. Show passion and individuality.
• Don't put things in your portfolio you don't want to do again.
• Animation is a great skill to have with rise of internet. 
• IDEAS > style

It's Nice That & Nobrow

• People that aren't suited to commercial publishing
• PERSONALITY!
• Brave enough to do your own thing
• ELCAF - run by Nobrow
• Treat Instagram like an online portfolio
• BUT it doesn't need to be serious
• BE HUMAN - people like helping graduates, they've been there
• DO MY OWN THING

Business Cards

At a zine fair I did last year, I used these stickers as my business cards. I want to continue using them for Hanbury because they're fun and personal like my practice. I can draw something individual on each one and the hand written type adds more personality! Plus I can stick them on people!

Mission Statement

As a creative practitioner, I want to be seen as a funny storyteller with a talent for creating interesting and relatable characters, whether this be through single illustrations or larger narratives like comics and graphic novels. I want my style and tone of voice to be instantly recognisable.

Evaluation

End of Module Student Evaluation

BA (Hons) Illustration

Module Code: OUIL502 PPP

Name:

Student ID:

Please identify where the evidence for each of the learning outcomes is within your submission and how well you feel you have met the learning outcomes. Please also grade yourself in relation to the learning outcomes using terms: poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent (Note - This is so that the team have an understanding of how well you feel you have done. It is not an indication of the actual grade you may receive.)

Learning Outcome	Evidenced where? Blog, Visual Journal, Roughs, Final Illustrations, Storyboards, Development Sheets etc.  (No more than 75 words)	Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent
5A3: Demonstrate an informed understanding of professional context of their practice within the creative industries and cultural environment. (Knowledge & Understanding - Research and Critical Awareness)	Blog, presentation	Good
5B2: Identify and analyse the challenges and opportunities offered by future developments within individually appropriate areas of creative practice. (Cognitive Skills - Problem Analysis, Problem Solving)	Blog, creative report, presentation	Satisfactory
5C2: Develop a body of work in response to a defined brief that effectively demonstrates professional working practices in research, planning and communications. (Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Conceptual Development)	Creative report, Life’s A Pitch, presentation	Satisfactory
5D2:Employ a range of appropriate professional communication methods to record and present their own creative practice, concerns and ambitions. (Key Transferable Skills, Organisation, Communication and Evaluation)	Creative report, blog	Good

Summative Evaluation (See Evaluation Guidance on next page for more information)

You are required to write a 750 word Summative Evaluation of this module.

Please type up your Summative Evaluation in the box below. Make a PDF of the document and post the PDF as your final post on your OUIL503 blog. Also, please cut and paste the text from this box into the final page(s) of your OUIL502 Project Report.

It’s been quite a tough year for me – I’ve struggled with depression for a lot of my adolescent and adult life, my grandma died recently and I’ve had a lot of friend drama. So that’s definitely affected my year at uni. However, I enjoyed continuing my exploration into the creative industries and considering new areas, such as opening my own shop one day, that I hadn’t previously considered. Looking at practitioners and asking them questions gave me a lot of new insight that I took on board for my own practice. I could have definitely managed my time better and blogged more, and more frequently. I set goals for myself to do better at this than last year but because of my personal problems I’ve failed a bit. I am still enjoying the course, but I’m not even sure I want to be an illustrator anymore. I identified that I don’t want to be part of a collective, but my experience with the Responsive collaboration brief taught me that I do like to work in teams for certain projects. I just don’t want to define my work by a collective. I still aspire to create comics and/or graphic novels, and have continued to research the process and artists who create work in these fields. I still want to be creative and make work that showcases my talent and passion for character, humour and narrative. Next year, I want to manage my time better and blog more frequently, as well as make more industry contacts and maybe start work on some personal projects.