As an artist, my main interest lies in the potential of illustration as a means of visual storytelling. While I have experimented with various types of illustration during my study at AUB, I find myself returning time and again to narrative. I use my work as a way to explore narrative and the ways illustration can be used to convey it, combining the roles of illustrator and storyteller. I am drawn to fantasy and science fiction stories and this is a huge influence on my practice. I like to involve fantastical themes in my work and often choose fantasy or science fiction narratives to work from. I combine these stories with imagery taken from the world around me, mixing the mundane with the fantastical to add a sense of realism and verisimillitude to my work. This document will provide some insight into my practice as an illustrator and how my work relates to the world of contemporary illustration. I will explore my working process, my recent projects, and my use of the internet and social media to bring my work to a wider audience. I will then go on to talk about where I find inspiration, the artists I am influenced by, and finally conclude by touching on my plans for developing my practice after graduation.
For me, the process of creating work begins with collecting inspiration. I like to work from life, drawing and photographing locations and objects in order to give myself a starting point. Often elements from these early images will directly inspire later work. This is important to me both because it allows me to start drawing as early as possible and because I feel my work is strongest when it draws on reality for inspiration – the real world is endlessly varied and this process will often give me ideas I would never have thought of on my own.
Collecting inspiration also involves researching my topic thoroughly. I read books and websites relating to the subject I am illustrating in order to get a clearer idea of how to tackle it. The reading I do will depend on the topic I am illustrating – if I am working from a specific text, I will analyse that text and look for others’ analyses if possible in order to get another perspective, for example, or if my illustration relates to a particular social issue or historical topic I will research that topic. This helps me to gain a better understanding of my topic and enriches the end result.
Having done my research and collected inspiration, I move on to creating the images themselves. I begin by turning my ideas into thumbnails. These thumbnails are usually one or two inches squared and very roughly rendered, but so long as I can still tell what is happening in each one they serve their purpose. When drawing thumbnails I focus on the general composition and where the main areas of light and shadow should be. I draw as many as possible for each idea, trying out different ways of illustrating it. I do not usually spend much time on each thumbnail as the focus here is on seeing whether or not the general composition is effective, and not on rendering details correctly. If I need to, I will draw some larger, more detailed thumbnails in order to show things more clearly, but only after I have drawn the initial small thumbnails.
I create larger illustrations based on the thumbnails. My exact working method here depends on my project and the medium I feel suits it best, but recently I have been drawn to working on a medium to large scale (A3 is the most comfortable for me) with traditional media – mostly graphite and coloured pencils, but also watercolour paints. Sometimes, particularly if the project is still in its early stages, I will think of these illustrations as roughs, but usually I try to make them as complete as possible. However, I will often redo my illustrations if I am not happy with the results, so I usually end up making several attempts before I settle on a final image. I like to make more images than necessary so that I can select the ones that work best as my final outcomes.
For the final unit of my degree, I decided to create a series of illustrations based on the Arthurian legend Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I chose this story for various reasons. Firstly, I have been interested in Arthurian legends since childhood, but had never based an illustration project on them, so this
was something I was interested in exploring. Secondly, while Arthurian legends as a whole are sprawling, complex and often contradictory, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a self-contained tale that can be understood even if the reader is unfamiliar with the rest of the legend, making it ideal
for adaptation. Thirdly, I was familiar enough with the basic structure of the story to have a rough idea of how to adapt it even before analysing the text in-depth.
I supported my work on this project by reading about Arthurian legends (focusing, of course, on Sir Gawain and the Green Knight itself, but also looking into the legends in general, for context), medieval life and costume. The latter two subjects were particularly interesting as they were not something I had looked at in depth before this project, so there was a lot to learn. I was interested to see how much fashions, in particular, changed throughout the medieval period – there was a lot more change than the pop culture idea of the period would suggest. My research created an interesting dilemma for me. If King Arthur had been real, he would have lived several hundred years before the stories we know about him were written, but those stories – Sir Gawain and the Green Knight among them – were written as though they took place at the time their authors were writing them. Faced with a choice between historical accuracy and keeping the stories as they were written, I made the second choice, and decided to play up that element of anachronism by taking visual inspiration from different parts of the medieval period.
Logo design copyright Lydia Hannah Thomas. Used with permission.
I have been involved in organising Dot-To-Dot, an exhibition of third year illustrators’ work due to take place in London in July 2013. London is a key location for the arts in the UK, so it is very exciting to have a chance to show my work there as the exhibition will allow all of our work to reach a much wider audience than would be possible outside of London. Being involved in the organisation of the exhibition has been a very educational experience for me. My classmates and I have had to organise everything ourselves, so the learning curve has been rather steep, but it has been interesting to see what actually
goes into putting on an exhibition like this. My role in the group has been to help with fundraising, which I have done by helping to put together 90s-themed club nights at the Winchester in Bournemouth (with profits going towards our show), making cards to sell on campus, and donating work to our silent auction in April. I have also taken part in discussions about the organisational details of the show and the publicity – which space to rent, what the show should be called, which logo design to use, and so on – and helped the group to reach a decision on these matters.
During the past year I have worked to improve my online presence by setting up a website and a blog. My website, which can be found at http://www. christiewalshillustration. com, serves as an online portfolio displaying my best work. I built my website using Wordpress’s content management system and have tried to make it as professional and user-friendly as possible in order to display my work in the best way possible. The other major part of my online presence is my Tumblr blog, http:// christiewalshillustration.tumblr.com. I use this as a sort of visual diary, a place to post sketches, quick pieces and explanations of my working process that would not fit with my portfolio. This is a much more informal way of interacting with my audience, but I think it is valuable because it allows me to document the development of my practice as it happens – a sort of “behind the scenes” look at the way I work. I make a point of posting to this blog on a regular basis, even if what I post is only a sketch or a work in progress, both because keeping my blog active is a good way to get people interested in reading it and because it shows that I am producing work on a regular basis. Additionally, Tumblr’s reblog system – where users can easily repost things they find interesting on their own blogs, with a link to the source – helps my work to gain wider exposure: if a user reblogs my work, anyone viewing their blog will see it and may then choose to reblog it themselves, allowing my work to be seen by people who would not otherwise
have found my blog. Social networking now makes up a large part of online activity, and it is important to my online presence that I know how best to use this to my advantage. I maintain a Pinterest page, found at http://pinterest.com/ christiekwalsh. This gives me a space to collect images that inspire me - a sort of online mood board - and to organise them as I see fit. Keeping this board public allows interested people to see what is currently influencing my work, as well as (like Tumblr) being a platform for networking. I am also active on Twitter under the username ckwalsh. I find Twitter to be a useful platform for keeping in touch with other artists and finding out what they are doing, as well as giving brief updates on my work and ideas and promoting my blog. I enjoy reading other artists’ tweets as it makes me feel more connected to what is going on in the world of contemporary illustration. This helps me to feed my own practice, keeping my work fresh and relevant. Finally, I have set up a facebook page, found at http://www.facebook.com/ ChristieWalshIllustration, to further promote my work. I post a selection of my best work here, as well as regular updates about what I am working on. As with other forms of online presence, this allows me to share my work with a wide audience.
A lot of my inspiration comes from looking at buildings and architecture. I enjoy drawing buildings, particularly from observation, and I try to incorporate this into projects wherever possible. I believe that it is drawing the structure of the building that appeals to me – the straight lines and precise angles of the building must be rendered accurately or the drawing will not make sense, and I enjoy the challenge – though I also enjoy drawing the details around windows and doors.
Drawing from observation is a very important part of my practice. I like to go to different locations and draw what I find there, particularly if it is somewhere I have never been before, though if it is an outdoor location the weather sometimes makes this a challenge. I find this useful for various reasons. First and most simply, working from life helps me improve my drawing skills on a technical level, particularly perspective and the ability to render objects accurately, so it is incredibly helpful for me to do this regularly. The second reason runs a little deeper: while I am drawn to narratives that include elements of speculative fiction or fantasy, I nevertheless want my work to seem believable. Therefore I try to combine the more fantastical elements with details taken from real life, in order to better ground my images in reality. Sketching things from observation is a good way for me to record such details, so that I may later incorporate them into my illustrations.
Goodreads.com. 2013. Reflections Quotes by Diana Wynne Jones. [online] http://www. goodreads.com/work/quotes/18317954-reflections-on-the-magic-of-writing. Accessed 12th May 2013.
I am interested in narrative and the storytelling potential of illustration, and so I prefer to base my work around narratives where possible. Throughout my degree, I have focused on learning more about narrative structure in order to be able to tell stories through my illustrations more effectively. I am particularly interested in the potential of comics and graphic novels as a narrative form, and much of my research has been focused on this, culminating in an 8000 word extended investigative study. Doing this has helped to enrich my knowledge of both comics as a form and storytelling in general, and I look forward to putting the things I have learned into practice in the near future.
One artist who has strongly influenced my work during the past year is Posy Simmonds. Her graphic novel Tamara Drewe was one of the works I analysed in my investigative study, and the way she manages to capture an amazing amount of detail in what is quite a sketchy art style has been a major inspiration to me, as has her use of limited colour palettes. I admire the way she keeps her work loose and full of energy and doesn’t over-detail things, but still includes the right details to make the object she draws feel tangible – this is something I would like to work on incorporating into my own artwork, as I know I can sometimes fall into the trap of overworking an image and trying to cram in too many details.
Art: Simmonds, P. Tamara Drewe. London: Jonathan Cape. p. 23. (Above.) McCloud, S. (1993). Understanding Comics. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Cover. (Right.)
Another artist whose influence is important to my work is Scott McCloud. McCloud’s theories on the structure of comics, which he sets out in his books Understanding Comics, Reinventing Comics, and Making Comics, have greatly affected the way I think about narrative and the way I handle storytelling in my own work. Some of the ideas McCloud writes about - such as the observation that in order to understand a sequence of images, the reader must mentally fill in the gaps between them and “construct a continuous, unified reality” (McCloud, 1994, 67) - apply to all forms of narrative illustration, or at least all forms that involve sequence (book covers, for example, relate to narrative but are not usually sequential) and keeping these ideas in mind enriches my practice.
As I am nearing the end of my study at AUB, I have been thinking about how I wa graduation, of course, is the Dot-To-Dot exhibition in London. I will spend the time the work I want to exhibit (this will likely be pieces from my Sir Gawain and the Gre will enable me to make contacts in the illustration world that will lead to future com hope that someone will be interested.
In addition, I am looking into other ways of presenting and selling my work. I recent am hoping I will be able to sell them at some point in the future, or use them as pro as keychains, bookmarks and stickers. I would sell these online, and perhaps in per to look into further during the summer.
I also intend to pursue other self-initiated projects, both as a way to develop my skill to continue working with narrative and putting the techniques I have learned into p my investigative study to my own work. I would like to work on a graphic novel at never had the time to complete – and I hope that the skills and theories I have learn
ant to develop my practice in the future. The first major event I have planned after e between handing in the final unit of my course and the show’s opening preparing een Knight project) so that I can present it as well as possible. Hopefully, this show mmissions. I will also be contacting art directors and sending out my portfolio in the
tly had some postcards of my work printed, and am very pleased with the results - I omotional mail-outs, and am considering making other forms of merchandise such rson if I had the opportunity to set up a stall somewhere - this is something I intend
ls and to explore other ideas that I have not yet had a chance to explore. I would like practice. I want to explore comics further and apply the theories I researched during some point in the future – this is something I have always wanted to do, but have ned will enable me to work towards this goal.
Bibliography
• McCloud, S. (1994). Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc • McCloud, S. (2000) Reinventing Comics. New York: HarperCollins • McCloud, S. (2006). Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels. New York: HarperCollins • Simmonds, P. (2007) Tamara Drewe. London: Jonathan Cape.