CONTENTS .About Me.. .Inspiration. .Method. .Pre-Major Project. .Final Major Project. .Online Presence. .Portfolio. .Promotion. .C.V.. .Career Plan..
. About Me . Rosan Magar is an Illustrator who studied Graphic Design at college, and is completing a BA Illustration at Arts University of Bournemouth. Born in Hong Kong, He has lived both Nepal and UK. He is a digital illustrator with and upbeat, quirky, fun and vibrant theme of adventure and utopia. He is inspired by “Minimal Realism� which he tries to apply within his practice. His love for the mixture of organic and geometric is evident in all of his illustrations. He developed his illustration style; a mix between clear-line drawing and a vibrant colour palette, stylized by careful attention to detail.
My choice of coming on to Bournemouth to do my degree on Illustration has definitely been one of my best decisions I have made in my life. It has helped me realise how to achieve the best interest in my passion. Although I’ve come from a graphic design background, Illustration has helped me discover how wide you can spread through this course whether you’re doing digital illustration, fine painting or making wooden models. “What is Illustration?” Was the question stuck in my head but thanks to all the lecturers, I have moved on with a new question, which slightly answers my previous question… “What can illustration be?” The diverse range of illustrators that come in with completely different styles, personas, visuals, perceptions, techniques have helped me to feed the answers to my questions.
. Inspiration . Owen Davey is an exceptionally versatile illustrator as he’s designed for games, editorial and children’s books. His style has inspired me and his success has motivated me throughout my third year at university. I admire his work because it is both visually appealing and contemporary. I take inspiration from him but the illustrations I produce are unique to me as I infuse it with my own elements. He has major clients like Facebook, Google, Sony, Flying Eye Books and many more t. He is represented by the Folio Illustration Agency, which is one of the big agencies that also represent other famous artists.
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. D&AD . Dandad Festival ; Going to Danadad has fuelled my creative juices thanks to all the amazing advice, lectures and inspiring stories from famous creative professionals in the industry such as Sir Paul Smiths, Mark Van Der Heljden, Chris Bovill, John Allison, Vicky Pearse,Caroline Thompson, Shiho Fukuhara, people from Anorak and It’s Nice That and many more.
“Fake it till you make it” After university I’ll be looking at examples from other illustrators and see what they are doing right that people love and apply that trend onto my illustration style/ identity; to increase the chances of getting noticed by potential clients. “I have not told of half I saw” – Marco Polo this quote made me realize that if I want to learn more about myself and develop my skills as an illustrator. In the future I aim to do more personal projects that will help to unearth my roots and true identity. Below are some important tips I learnt from the professionals at the D&AD Festival. I will be applying the advice into my practice next year whether I’m working for an agency or doing my masters. -Make people think and react -Make mistakes and learn from them -Don’t be afraid to talk about your work -Everything is an opportunity -Make it personal -Success is distraction -Always be naïve -What can you offer the world? -Do your homework on everything
. Method . I have tried working on many different mediums before but I think I have now found a way of working that helps me produce more work effectively. I like sketching, doodling and writing notes continuously in the same sketchbook because I feel it’s beneficial for the outcome of my work. When starting a project what I find most productive is to begin developing ideas in sketchbook and then transfer the best ideas to the computer and develop further on Adobe Illustrator. I try to find the right balance between my geometric shapes and organic shapes and I believe finding that right balance between those two shapes gives me my desired style. When it comes to colouring I think it kind of puts me on advantage because I create my shapes with colours on Adobe Illustrator and after I’m finished with the illustration, I then have my colour palette ready. I sometimes like using all the colours available but mainly i try using limited colour palette that makes me feel good. I purely create illustrations and colour it for my own satisfaction. I have realised that planning is key this year which has encouraged me to plan out more of my final sketches before i start rendering them on Illustrator.
. Pre-Major Project . For my Pre-Major Project I created a picture book inspired by the J.ballard’s “Crystal Forest”. This PreMajor was great as it enabled me to explore my style as a illustrator and helped me develop my own personal style. As well as helping increase my confidence in my illustrating abilities. I was influenced by Charley Harper’s style which he calls “Minimal Realism”. His style uses minimal characteristics and encorporates every day images into his work ; creating a distinictve yet recognisable illustrations.
.Final Major Project. The reason why I have picked my final major project is that it reflects on something that I want to be doing in the future. It was also a great way to apply my illustration style from my Pre-Major project on to my final one. For my final project I entered the D&AD New Blood Competition. I chose the brief with nationwide. They wanted a creative way to re-engage with the younger audience. I though this brief would be a good way to help me achieve the type of work I would like to be doing in the future (corporate editorial designs) Unfortunately I did not win but I got to experience D&AD festival which exhibited all the quality work that had been produced for D&AD. I will definitely learn and grow from this experience and get myself ready for next year by practising more editorial illustrations before the next competition.
.Online Presence. Mark Van Der Heijden said to “see every social platform as an opportunity for promotion for yourself as an artist.� For example he said there were many adverts in the agency that are using snap chat as a quick platform for advertising and why shouldn’t you be any different. Website I have used my website as a promotional way to redirect my audience onto my other social platforms like Instagram and Behance. Which makes my online presence stronger increasing the chances of getting noticed by potential clients and employers. www.rosanmagar.com
Instagram Instagram is my current favourite media because it is a great place to network and share work and find great inspiration. https://www.instagram.com/ rosanmagar/ Behance Behance really makes me feel like I am among the same platform as other professional illustrators. I use Behnace to neatly upload my work on a portfolio format. It lets me upload my pictures and manage my current projects. www.behance.net/rosanmagar Pinterest I use Pinterest to store away all my motivation and inspiration for future reference and motivation. Whenever I am stuck on a project I browse through my previous pinned work to set me back on track again. https://uk.pinterest.com/rosanmagar/final-majorproject-l6/
. Portfolio . Having a portfolio is a great way to showcase work to your clients so that they can see if your style peaks their interest. I also attended a very valuable portfolio surgery organized by the Association of Illustrators D&AD festival. They gave advice on how to present your work effectively, pricing your work, taking charge of your work and not letting the client devalue your work when it comes to copyrighting. In the surgery they also mentioned that the clients like work that has been put into context as it’s easier for them to view. All the different agents from the Association of Illustrators portfolio surgery strongly advised on referring to a book which was ‘The Illustrators guide to law and practice,’ by Simon Stern. One of my favourite quotes from the D&AD festival was from Chris Bivill and John Allison; “Success is distraction”. I can relate to it as I was trapped in the bubble of hoping to win the pencil award that I got distracted from my other projects. I have realized that you have got to cherish the success that you have and leave it behind, in order to look for something new, in order to grow as an individual. All the lectures in the festival made me more determined to work hard and helped educate me on the skills I need to improve on. I have recently started on another personal project, which I can carry on doing after I hand in my final project. This project is going to be on a book format, which I will make before I leave university and can use as a part of my portfolio. Self evaluation from the portfolio surgery AOI Looking at the overall critique from the portfolio surgery I was apart of, I feel that my illustrations are going towards my desired direction for my future. I have learnt my weaknesses and how to overcome them in order to successfully execute the brief.
.Artist CV.
.Promotion. Promotion Pack is a great way of advertising your work to a potential client or an agency. For my promotion pack I have made some bundle of postcards, mini concertina copy of my final work which I think is a great way to produce more and share my ideas. promotion can get a bit expensive if you have a lot of people in your list to send your promotion materials to. I planned to save my self some money and did some DIY project with Badge making kit and postcards. However I did order the business cards which i wanted good quality to hand out to.
..COMPETITION.. Competitions are a great way of exposing your self to the public to showcase and share your work with other potential future clients and employees. Entering competitions has taught me that it’s a great way to break out my comfort zone and design new things. It’s also a great way to add potential new work for your portfolio to keep polishing it off.
some of my work recently got featured in the Bumf Magazine and had the chance to design the front cover for them. Last year I entered the car wrap competition created by the Mercedes Smart Car, where I won a car with my design printed on it. I got to keep it for a month which was great because I got to photograph it and put the images online. It was a great opportunity and valuable piece to add to my portfolio. This is the first design competition that I have won and has made me realised my greater potential as a illustrator.
Another competition that I won was the Terrarium tote bag competition set by my course BA ILLUSTRATION, where 2000 of the bags are getting printed to represent the course.
.Career Plan. As my BA Illustration course comes to an end I am excited for the future. I would like to end apart of an agency working on different briefs where I would like to refine and further develop my illustration skills. I am looking forward to tackling comissioned briefs. I like to balance out my illustrations by doing something else besides drawing and working on the computer. This year I have started doing other DIY projects like making leather wallets, forming a collective/group called OSP (Orange Sorbet Party) and making zines. I have discovered that I am more comfortable in a group setting. If I have any questions/advice my group would be the first people I ask without any hesitation. “Artistic playground, a place to share ideas, seek creative support, and work on projects together.” and that’s exactly I see OSP. We will be planning a monthly event or doing something creative to promote ourselves in order to attract some future potential clients. Working together as a collective helps boost our confidence for life after graduation as having connections in this industry is integral. It’s great that we have a well-balanced team of animators and illustrators, which enables us to learn from each other and improve. My ideal job would be working for one of the big illustration agencies such as Folio illustration agency and CIA (central illustration agency). Although I am aware of the big agencies that I would profit from. I have realized that it is not something that will happen overnight and I am willing to wait and work hard till I achieve my goal. I would like to slowly build my way up to big agencies when my visual style gets stronger and consistent and have well known client experience work in the bag. I have been looking at other different agencies like Lemonade Agency, Agency Rush. I will be sending out my prototypes of my final major project to other agencies as a part of my promotion mail outs. To keep the momentum going I want to find an internship/jobs in relation to the design agencies where I can receive professional feedback and immerse myself in a creative environment to keep the work flow going.
MA Illustration I have recently decided to apply to do a Masters in illustration; I plan to use my time in MA illustration in Arts University Bournemouth to improve on my attention to detail and skill set. I would also like to research more in depth the job market in this sector. I have investigated the costs involved with doing a Masters. The course price is £6,500 and because I am completing my under graduate degree at AUB, I may be entitled to receive a discount in regards to the tuition fee. When the applications open in late June I will be applying for support from Student Finance, if accepted I can receive up to £10,000 financial aid over the two years. Any extra support I may receive, i.e. bursary, I will combine with savings to cover my costs of living and rent which should be £4,320 for a year. I am highly focused and as I continue in education I want keep my self motivated and on the top, trying to perfect my ability. I will be doing self-initiated briefs. I will also be attending creative exhibitions and events like Pick me up, House of Illustration, D&AD festival yearly to keep me up to date in the industry, driven and focused on my career path. COMMISSION Process I am aware in the future I will be negotiating my fees with clients. I may use information from the book “The Illustrator’s Guide to Law and business practice” by Simon Stern. It’s an amazing book that talks about an Illustrator’s rights, helps with the whole pricing criteria. It has example prices of what you should ideally charge a client. However, I also think pricing is subjective. You should charge people on your skill level and time you put in for the illustration and the size of their business. I have heard stories from free lancing illustrators who have lost potential clients because of advice they have recieved from the Association of Illustrators. So I will be keeping in mind to price my work fairly in the future. On the next page is the template of acceptance of commission form I will use for free lance work to make sure it’s been handled in a professional context.
ACCEPTANCE OF COMMISSION To: (Name of company & address) I am pleased to accept your commission for artwork as follows: Title/Subject: Commissioned By: Event Dates: Roughs: by end of Finished Artwork: Fee: £ Expenses: £ Total: £ TERMS OF COPYRIGHT LICENCE TO BE GRANTED Customer: Use: Area covered by Licence: United Kingdom Duration: Indefinite Exclusive/Non-Exclusive: Exclusive Credits- YES A credit for non-editorial work is required if this box is checked (see Clause 23 overleaf) Special Terms (if any): Any uses outside of the terms and conditions require the illustratorʼs written permission. The illustrator retains the right to be credited whenever the artworks are used for any use. The Standard Terms and Conditions for this commission and for the later licencing of any rights are shown on the back of this page. Please review them together with the above and let me know immediately if you have any objection or queries. Otherwise it will be understood that you have accepted them. THIS COMMISSION IS SUBJECT TO ALL TERMS AND CONDITIONS ON PAGES 2,3 AND 4. Signature of Illustrator:
Date:
Signature of Client:
Date:
TERMS & CONDITIONS Ownership of Copyright/Copyright Licence
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.References. 1-5 Davey, O., 2016. Google Calendar. Illustration. Available from: http://www.owendavey.com/Google-Goals [Accessed 2 May 2016]. Humphreys, O. (2012). How to start a collective. [online] available from: http://www.ideastap.com/IdeasMag/all-articles/how-to-start-collective [accessed 30 April 2016] Stern, S. (2008). The Illustrators Guide to Law and Business Practice. United Kingdom: The association of Illustrators