Erin’s Career Plan
Artist skills -
Drawing Line work Needle felting Knowledge of photoshop, illustrator, etc Procreate Animation (animal walk cycles, gifs, 2D) Screenprinting knowledge Riso printing Ceramics Editorial experience Sewing and embroidery Crochet Knitting Bookbinding
Personal skills and experience -
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Experience working with people and the public Ability to get along well as part of a team of people (fine tuned by working in retail – drugstore and supermarket) Client work, working to deadlines and taking client feedback on board (Spitfire) Experience working with animals (rabbit and guinea pig boarding service) Experience working with kids, which requires patience and responsibility (babysitting and tutoring)
Skills to improve -
Confidence in my own work, and confidence to put myself out there. Technical and computer skills
Job qualities that suit me -
Working with other people Concept creation Patience.
Areas of interest -
Graphic novel and zine creation Documentation / Drawing from life Making and selling my own work Freelance
Graphic Novel, comic, and zine creation This area of interest is one that comes mainly from my own enjoyment in reading graphic novels and similar genres of artworks. I’ve grown up reading Marvel and Doctor Who comics and always loved the incredibly varied art styles, stories, bright colours, and the movement that is cleverly portrayed from panel to panel. I would love to create my own illustrated short stories or to perhaps work with other artists and writers to create something bigger and more ambitious. I have researched various publication and in-house companies that produce and sell these kinds of graphic novels, and also independent illustrators.
Company Examples SelfMadeHero.com “Our mission at SelfMadeHero is simple: to publish ground-breaking and beautiful work by authors and artists from across the globe, from the quirky and humorous to the political and profound. We are proud to bring readers graphic novels and visual narratives that provoke, entertain, inspire and inform. We pride ourselves on having high editorial and production values and are known for successfully promoting our authors through innovative press and marketing campaigns.” Smaller, ‘Indie’ artists are given the opportunity to share and sell their work through this company. Artist examples –
Family Store UK “We're Family Store, an independent based in Brighton's North Laines. We sell clothing, pins, patches, records, small press, and other illustrated goods and have been since we threw our doors open in February 2016. There's a small team of us beavering away at Family Store. Both front of house at our bricks-and-mortar shop and backstage for you guys online. Alongside sourcing, great new independent goods we also collaborate with local and worldwide illustrators to bring you exciting new things to wear and love.” Artist examples –
Freelance This is an incredibly broad option of work, and the areas I of it I am interested in are concept design for TV shows, games, and films, documentation and drawing from life as a courtroom sketch artist, and various other opportunities to work with clients.
Concept design “Conceptual design is an early phase of the design process, in which the broad outlines of function and form of something are articulated. It includes the design of interactions, experiences, processes, and strategies. It involves an understanding of people's needs - and how to meet them with products, services, and processes. Common artifacts of conceptual design are concept sketches and models.” – Wikipedia To get jobs in this area I would need to add many more conceptual pieces to my portfolio, focusing mainly on fantasy ideas and characters, as that’s the kind of work I would love to contribute to.
Opportunity examples Nintendo – Video Game concept artwork
Documentation and Drawing from life Courtroom sketch artist Cameras are not permitted in most courts and a sketch artist is used to capture key moments from the trial. They usually work freelance and sell their work to media outlets. Skills required are the ability to draw from life and from memory, and work very quickly. Documentation examples
George Butler – Reportage artist
"The skill is to use drawing as an interview technique for an entire situation, I make visual notes in ink as time passes. It isn't all about conflict... the drawings are of more common experiences than those on our front pages, they are of unfolding scenes, of habits, of stories, or of a single character". – George Butler “His drawings have been published by The Times (London), Monocle, New York Times, the Guardian, BBC, CNN, Der Spiegel, ARD television Germany, NPR. His work has been shown in the Imperial War Museum North and the V&A Museum which also holds some of his work in the National Archive.” – George Butler’s website I would love to work as a freelance artist in this way, drawing for magazines and newspapers. I think that illustrated documentation is something that there should be more of, as it can sometimes convey more emotion than a photo can.
Making and Selling my own work independently Alongside my other goals, I think selling my own work via Etsy or my own website is a great starting point. I would love to create things like wool felted pieces, painted wooden pins and accessories, prints, embroidery, ceramics, and other things. This is something I can start to do very soon after graduation, and would be a great step to improve my confidence in my own work. Artist examples – Pam Wishbow (Etsy)
This artist creates really interesting, natural, and witchy items ranging from prints, to tarot cards. I would love to create an online shop with a similar feel, in that I’d like my products to look handmade and natural. ByTheShed (Etsy)
These pieces are made from polymer clay, many of this shop’s items are accessories and decorations made to look like fruit and vegetables, which I think is adorable and definitely something I’d love to try something similar to.
Reflective summary This professional practice unit has been very difficult for me as I am very indecisive and anxious about what opportunities to go for when I finish uni. I started off by listing the very basics – what I know that I’m good at, and what I like to do. Then from here it was easier to join the dots to which jobs would suit me and my skills best. One of my options is to focus on graphic novel, zine, and illustrated story creation, as this is an area that interests me most. I want to aim to read more of other artist’s works as well as create more of my own in the future, so taking the steps to think about how I’m going to get there is really helpful. My other focus on documentation and reportage job opportunities is another area I think my skills are suited to as I love to draw straight from life and tell a story from a moment in time through a drawing. This also links in to the freelance option as these documentary artworks can be sold to magazines and newspapers. My most promising option is to start an online shop and sell my work independently, I think this is something I am most confident in doing first after graduation, and I’m excited to put together a shop and start making my own things.