Allan Deas - Interview

This is a guy who I've mentioned before on here. He's got a great website and some great work on there. Go check it out :)

http://web.mac.com/allan.deas/iWeb/allandeas.com/index.html.html

I've also been in touch with him and while back and also very recently to ask him a few questions about his style of working and where he sees his work contextualised. He was a great help and got back to me straight away. Someone who I'd like to possibly maybe incorporate into my design context product. The communication we have had so far is as follows...

Re: Illustration‏
From: Allan Deas (allan.deas@mac.com)
Sent: 21 April 2010 00:23:14
To: Liv Greaves (liv_952@hotmail.com)

Hi Olivia,

Thanks again for your continued interest!
In answer to your questions - I have been working in design for over 10 years doing illustration as well as graphics & apparel/print for the fashion industry.
I do work in vector though vector made from scanned drawings. I would describe my style as bold, block colours retro modern. fun. cheeky.... To be honest that's the question I hate! How would you describe it?

I had a quick look at your blogs... there are many!! looking good... :)

Anyway keep up the good work!

Best

Allan


On 19 Apr 2010, at 16:38, Liv Greaves wrote:

Hi Allan,

Thanks for getting in touch with me earlier last year - Sorry for the lengthy gap in between now and then!! I am still really interested in having a chat with you about your work. I am currently doing a bit of research into vector based graphic illustration. I was wondering how you would describe your style and if I might be able to ask you a bit about vector illustration? How long have you been working as an illustrator? Vector illustration is what I would like to do myself and I am currently looking at where this kind of work can be contextualised. Would you be able to help? This is a link to my blog home page:http://o-greaves0710.blogspot.com/
Would you be able to have a peek and tell me what you think?

Many thanks,
I look forward to hearing back from you soon,

Olivia Greaves.

From: allan.deas@mac.com
To: liv_952@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Illustration
Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 22:53:22 +0100

Hi Liv

Cool - yes feel free to send me some or a link to your website/myspace etc.

I do freelance, though freelancing does require working with other designers/art directors etc. I used to share a studio with other illustrators but now I work on my own from home.

If you have some things you particularly want to know then make a list of questions and I'll try & answer them when I get a chance.
I'm off on holiday tomorrow for a few weeks so will look at it when I come back and hopefully I can help you with your queries.


Cheers

Al

On 26 May 2009, at 22:45, Liv Greaves wrote:

Hi,

Thanks for getting in touch so soon!
Well, I'm currently working on some illustrations of my own and wondered if it would be possible to perhaps send you some and see what you think of them. Do you work with any other illustrators or designers or do you just freelance? I'm really into tshirt graphics myself but didn't know if my own illustrations were strong enough. I'm currently studying graphic design at The College of Art in Leeds and leaning more towards practice in illustration and image making.
It would be great to learn a bit about your way of working and design generation.

Olivia

From: allan.deas@mac.com
To: liv_952@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Illustration
Date: Tue, 26 May 2009 16:17:58 +0100

Hi Olivia

Thanks for your interest in my work. Glad you like it!

I'm based in East London.

What was it you wanted to know? At the moment I'm working on a tshirt graphics project as I do that as well as the illustration but I'm really trying to push for more illustration work as that's the direction I want to go in.

If you were interested in working with me let me know what you had in mind and we can take it from there.

best

Allan

On 26 May 2009, at 16:07, Liv Greaves wrote:

Hi Allan,

I was accidently directed to your website today, searching for a piece of illustration and I must say it was a very pleasant surprise! What a fabulous blog and website you have. Your style of illustration is exactly what I love and I would love it if I could possibly have a chat with you or get in touch about illustration and your work. Where abouts are you based? And what other projects do you work on?

Would be great if you could get in touch.
Many thanks,

Olivia Greaves.

Damien Weighill - Interview

Damien Weighill is another illustrator who I take great inspiration from. I think the way in which he incorporates humour and illustration together to put across even very serious current public controversy and events is fantastic. What initially draws me in, is his use of line and how he uses it to add depth to his work. I'm instantly drawn to black line illustration at the best of times, but there is the added bonus of humour in his work too which really makes me smile. He also has a great website with loads more of his work up on which I advise to check out if you like this style of work...

http://damienweighill.com/

It contains all events and updates of his work along with the work itself, a link to his shop, blog and contact details.

Because I have been so inspired by the work of Damien, I have contacted him to see if he might be able to help with my design context and I would like to possibly feature him within my design context product. This is the communication we have shared so far as part of my research...

Re: Illustration Inquiry‏
From: Damien Weighill (damien@damienweighill.com)
Sent: 20 April 2010 16:03:12
To: Liv Greaves (liv_952@hotmail.com)
I think that's the difference between being a graphic designer and
being an illustrator. When someone comes to me with a project it has
already been decided that my drawings fit the brief. My work is never
going to be appropriate for every situation but I'm unlikely to be
approached for those jobs where it's not suitable.

Lately the majority of my work is editorial for magazines and my
illustration seems to fit comfortably with that kind of job. Being
pretty simple there isn't much problem meeting their tight deadlines
and they tend to like to have some kind of interesting twist on the
articles by an illustrator which is great for me.

Damien

--

http://www.damienweighill.com
(+44) 07920 844 545

On 20 Apr 2010, at 14:56, Liv Greaves wrote:

Hi Damien,

Thanks so much, that was really helpful. Thank you for taking the time to get back to me and check out my blog. Similarly I work predominantly in illustrator and I find the ease of it to be very helpful too. Do you find it difficult to put your work in context or do you find the resolution just works with the idea you have behind the work you are producing? I seem to find that I instantly want to resolve a brief by illustrating but then feel worried that the resolution might not fit appropriately to a context because I get carried away doodling! Do you feel your work has particular areas of context it works stronger in and that you try to work to those, or do you find it easy to contextualize your work everywhere? Where/where would you say your work works best?

Olivia.
From: damien@damienweighill.com
To: liv_952@hotmail.com
Subject: Re: Illustration Inquiry
Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2010 14:37:42 +0100

Hey Olivia,

Thanks for the email.
The question of defining my illustration style is actually a really tough one for me. The part of my work where my interest lies is in the ideas. The style of the work is only secondary and I guess is ruled by what comes most naturally to me and what allows me to get my ideas across in the most efficient way. That's probably where vector illustration fits for me. I find I can colour illustrations with the least hassle in adobe illustrator. The same goes for the ease with which you can make adjustments to size etc. I'm also drawn to vectors just because it gives a pureness of colour in my linework that suits me.
I'm never sure how qualified I am to make judgements on people's work but the What Is Good Promo Pack stands out for me because of the humour and smart thinking behind it. I like the amount of detail you use in that stuff too (the same with 'I won't have my cake..'). The only advice I have is to continue with how you're going, produce as much work as you can and I think you will find that your style will define itself naturally.

I hope some of that is useful to you or at least makes sense.

Damien

--

http://www.damienweighill.com
(+44) 07920 844 545

On 19 Apr 2010, at 17:19, Liv Greaves wrote:

Hi Damien,

I have recently been checking out your website and illustration. Wow. I'm really into the work that you produce and wondered if I might be able to ask you a few questions about it? How would you define your style of illustration? What do you understand vector illustration to be? I'm currently looking into vector based graphic illustration and trying to find out where it can be contextualized for this style of work. I'm trying to define my own style of illustration and looking at the work of those I find really inspirational. Would you mind taking a quick look at my work? This is a link to my blog home page and on there you can find the links to other pages: http://o-greaves0710.blogspot.com/ Any feedback on my style of work would be great and I can't stress how helpful.

Many thanks,
I look forward to hearing back from you at your earliest
convenience.

Olivia Greaves.

NEW YORK

Hello NYC. July is the month. Visit plans are as follows...

- AIGA/NY

164 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10010

Design line: 212 255-4004

Email: info@aigany.org

ABOUT AIGA/NY

'The New York Chapter is one of 57 chapters of AIGA, the professional association for design. There are more than 3,500 members of AIGA/NY and many more members of the community that regularly participate in AIGA/NY programming.'

- American Illustrators Gallery

18 East 77th Street, Suite 1A
New York, NY 10075 USA
Email: art@americanillustrators.com

T: 212-744-5190
F: 212-744-0128

ABOUT AMERICAN ILLUSTRATORS GALLERY

'The American Illustrators Gallery (AIG) is the premier exhibitor, buyer and seller of American illustration art in the world. The American Illustrators Gallery features the foremost illustrators and exhibits only the highest-quality examples of their original artwork. International museums, auction houses, and the most renowned art dealers, refer connoisseurs, collectors, and educators alike to the American Illustrators Gallery.'

- SAGMEISTER

- Guggenheim
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum
1071 Fifth Avenue (at 89th Street)
New York, NY 10128-0173


http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york

- The Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
New York, NY 10019
(212) 708-9400


http://www.moma.org/

My Logo...For now...

It's just going to have to stick as it is. Every time I come back to it I feel differently about it and I know it will always be like this, so I'm going to go with it and get my business cards printed up this week for the end of year show. I just need to decided upon the following now:

- Stock, Matt/Gloss

- Weight, a minimum of 400gsm

- Colour of stock

Logo Blues

I've gone off my logo.
Something needs to change. I've also seen something very similar by someone else and now it's bugging me that they look samey. I'm currently playing around with colour to see if that might help. Not really the best time to go off it as I really need to get them printed up. Especially for the end of year show. this was something else which was sort of embarrassing the other day when i had my portfolio review... I had nothing I could leave the gentlemen with when I left! Not good. Needs to be sorted ASAP.

Portfolio Review

I signed up to a portfolio surgery last week to speak to two visiting professionals from Elmwood in Leeds about my work. Surprisingly it went really well and they loved my illustrations! I do however had a LOT of work to do and amendments to make. Nothing too difficult though so I'm excited to begin. I got so much from it and found it really helpful. I went in thinking I was a graphic designer who specialises in vector illustration, however when I came out I knew that I hadn't been quite right and that my real passion lies as an illustrator. It was a valuable experience. They taught me to be more confident about my work, who I am and what I do. I shouldn't be afraid to make a living out of doing something I love and generally just drawing pictures. There are people out there who do just what I do and make a really good money from it. I just need to put myself out there and put across my work in it's best possible way. In the mean time I just need to keep developing my portfolio pages!

Portfolio Development

I'm currently trying to collate work to put into my portfolio. I'm struggling a bit however due to the fact I'm working in InDesign which I'm not very competent with. I'm also trying my best to keep consistency throughout my layouts by using the same template. Border, logo, brief description etc... So, these are some screen grabs of what I've put together so far.














I hope to get a sign up session with a visiting professional next week to see if they can advise me on how to improve it and make it look as professional as I can. (More FMP pages still to be added.)