Brainbox Studios

Recently we had a lecture introducing us to the company Brainbox Studios, run by Emma Tweddle and Vik Watson. Emma graduated from Cleveland College of Art and Design after studying Graphic Design three years ago. After her time here she had decided that she did not wish to continue studying, and so created her own company with her friend Vik, which they named Brainbox Studios.

Brainbox studios is a business aimed to help other companies become more known through things like designing logos for them and assisting them to build up their own independent websites, whether or not they are beginning from scratch or trying to gain a wider audience.

Each knew little about business when they began. They put plans into action by meeting up with government schemes and enterprise schemes which taught them the basics on business. 

They began work by collaborating with Scarlet Moon Hair, and a local deli. These, including Rocky and Witness Skate and Surf were all companies they worked on branding for, designing their logos and websites for them. 

Emma and Vik make a point of keeping up to date with things like modern technology, as another thing they specialise in is designing apps for companies, and helping them get started on social media sites. 

They also work on promotional materials such as poster design for advertisements, badges and stickers. Both of them are strongly driven creatively, producing very inventive, creative and imaginative designs. They pride themselves in thinking outside of the box for new ideas and ways of promotion. 

Example of their work for Scarlet Moon,
found on the Brainbox Studios site

Q&A with Emma: 

Q: What made you decide upon opting for freelance? 

A: I wanted to be my own boss and be in control of my work. I also didn't want to move down south, I wanted to promote the North and do positive things here. 

Q: How could you afford it? 

A: I had no funding or money and it was a nightmare. I was actually on the dole for 3/4 months in the beginning. I used my Mac to make websites and try to get out there. I advise you to try to take it slow though, there is no pressure. Take baby steps. Otherwise you may end up in trouble financially.

Q: What is the worst part of it, the least enjoyable? 

A: I find the business side to be the worst part. We look very young and so do not always get taken seriously. People judge us on that, but we are driven, and want to prove people wrong. 

Brainbox Studios plan to keep focussed and on top, and inform us that they sometimes find being themselves and being professional to be quite difficult. 

They are also currently thinking of employing apprentices, however they work from home right now and are feeling reluctant to move out and find their own office, but with their workload growing they know that this will soon be necessary. Their workload means that at a minimum they are working for about 30 hours a week, but feel it is important to balance this around leisure time. 

They both design and advise other companies on how to work. A way of working for them is by organising a plan for the week and writing them out on huge whiteboards that are kept within their office. 

Their first ever client was a friend who gave them a chance at designing a flier, this was important for them as it gave them a foot in the door. Emma informed us that once your ability has been recognised, you have been given a chance. 

She also told us that keeping up a discussions and therefore a connection with your client is important, as this helps to build up a relationship and trust. This is key, because it means that they are likely to return to your business in the future. 

Some extra advice that she gave us within this lecture was to use contracts in your business, and to remember to add terms and conditions each time, this is highly important and will ensure that you wont be 'ripped off' in the industry. 

Although Brainbox studios are mostly focussed on the graphic design side of things, I have found the experience of learning about them and the independent business ideas very interesting because it was something I had never before considered. Even though right now I don't particularly think it is something that I would be interested in doing upon leaving university, I do believe it to be something I should keep in mind. 

Business Cards

In another recent professional studies session, we were asked again to join small groups and discuss together business cards. We had previously to this been asked to bring in our own examples of business cards that we could collect from peoples shops etc. We were also gives a small selection from our tutor. In our teams, we were asked to discuss which we felt were the strongest and weakest business cards.

Although I do not have any images of the cards to illustrate my feedback on this session, I did find that it was useful as in the past I had never really considered or put much thought into the idea of business cards. I now have a greater understanding as to what makes a higher standard card and what a lower one. For example, the majority of the cards we were given to look at were the size of a credit card or smaller, meaning they could fit comfortably within your pocket or purse and you, as a customer, would be more likely to keep hold of it. One that we were given however was much larger than this and possibly twice the size, which we discussed was a negative feature about it.
Important things to include on business cards is a simple variety of contact details. It is good to supply customers with an email, telephone number and social media details, however it is important not to overload. A particular card we looked at supplied various options for email addresses, which we decided was not a positive thing as it becomes unclear to potential customers how to contact them with enquiries, due to not knowing which email they should use.
Colour is important on cards, as well as text and font, including sizes. Also layouts, should be considered, and whether or not you want to supply an example of your work on the card or not. It should be considered how much information you wish to supply within your card, one of ours we had gathered depicted two independent businesses, one of each on either side of the card which was quite interesting.
Overall they should remain professional, and find the balance between simplistic and overly detailed. The card is a very important thing as it can very much determine how many customers a business may end up with etc.

I can now appreciate what does and what does not make a successful business card, and will be able to address this in the future when receiving them and maybe even when designing my own.

Artist talk: Dan Mumford and Drew Millward

On the 25th of February we were given the opportunity to meet two highly successful illustrators of today, Dan Mumford and Drew Millward.

Dan Mumford 

Dan Mumford is a freelance illustrator and has been since 2007. His illustration style was described as 'alternative', which is best suited for music which is where he started off and is still working now. Dan has a huge interest in comic books and comic book art which derived from childhood, particularly Marvel, DC and 2000 AD (especially, because they are based within the UK). He has a strong fascination with both comics and movies, these are his main inspiration. 

Big, unusual movies such as Alien, Blade Runner and The Fly he found highly inspiring because it gave him the idea and realisation that anything is possible within film. 

He also has always had a deep love of music, being influenced by Punk, Metal and Hardcore mostly, and he finds music to be very important to him.  

Dan Mumford studied in Brighton University between the years of 2004-2007. Here he found he was able to experiment greatly and was given many good opportunities within his study. During this time he was approached by a band whom he knew a member of, to work on their latest album cover with them. 

The band, Gallows, asked Dan to work on their album 'Orchestra of Wolves'. He did so, designing the wolves illustrations for the cover shown below: 

Dans artwork for the album Orchestra of Wolves
by Gallows, found here

The illustration originally did not have text on it at all for the cover, as it was important that it was all about the artwork and aesthetic for the band.

The musicians were soon after discovered by Warner Brothers, and Dan was then recurrently approached to work on the designs for the bands album covers, which was a brilliant thing for him. Designing the first cover for Orchestra of Wolves had a huge impact on the artist and his work. 

After designing for Gallows, the artist was then greatly inspired to continue working for bands and brands within the music industry, wanting to collaborate with as many artists as possible. Recently, printing and designing artwork for merchandise and t-shirts has became more and more popular, because CD's themselves are not as popular as customers choose to download music more often today. 

Working for artists within the music industry provided Dan with amazing opportunities, such as working alongside his favorite musicians. It also helped him to develop his own unique style, and the style which was more aimed at horror type art. 

Dan Mumford was also given the opportunity to work on a spread for the band A Day to Remember, which for him opened his eyes a little bit, as he realised how much of a responsibility he had. This was due to so many young people being so strongly impacted by both the music and the artwork he was producing for the band. Many young people began contacting him with the hope to discover what the meaning behind his creations were. 

His artwork for A Day To Remember, found here

Growing vastly in popularity, people even began getting his work tattooed onto their bodies, which he claimed he found frightening but humbling - that people admired his work so strongly that they would want permanent pieces of his art on their bodies for the rest of their lives. 

Dan decided to change his art style after he realised it was becoming so interchangeable and how many people were taking such a great amount of inspiration from it. Breaking away from his old style and separating himself helped him to begin enjoying creating art once more. He began creating black and white pieces with the only intention of creating beautiful art, and finding pleasure in not being weighed down by clients and working just for himself. 

He was approached later by notice boards who requested he created designs for 3D items such as motorbike helmets. This opportunity for him was a fun one, whilst also giving him the chance to see his own work in new ways and forms, bringing with it new possibilities. 

Dan was also approached to create movie posters for films such as The Fly, Friday the 13th and Wickerman, being a British classic. For this movie (Wickerman),  he made a screen print which was greatly successful and used as a cinema poster and DVD cover. 

His work for Wickerman, used as movie poster
and DVD cover. Image found here

Dan was given more and more opportunities to work for more and more people, movies and bands. He created his first gallery piece in an exhibition. He had never before this seen the point in gallery work because of the money side of things, but he proceeded with it as a charity event. This experience also opened up many new opportunities for him. 

When discussing working for another artist of any kind, he advised us to try hard to enjoy whatever it is we're working on because when your hearts not in it, it becomes such a difficult task. Because of this, it is a good idea to create artwork for yourself alongside the work you're doing for others. Working for others though is a great opportunity above all as it is incredibly helpful for getting to know your personal strengths and weaknesses. 

Dan Mumfords website: http://www.dan-mumford.com/ 

Drew Millward 

The second artist we were introduced to this day was Drew Millward. 

Drew discussed with us also how passions from his youth inspired his art work. Particularly the children's book 'Where The Wild Things Are'. This was his favourite book through childhood and although he did not realise it in the beginning, it had a huge impact and was of a great influence to his own creations. 

Where The Wild Things Are, book cover found here

He was also greatly inspired by the work of Peter Firmin, who created childrens TV shows such as Bagpuss and The Clangers. The filmwork for these shows he found to be hugely influential towards his practice, as he found the handmade DIY aesthetic to be 'enchanting'. Another childrens tv show he mentioned was Jamie and the magic torch, but overall he found many television shows and other things originating from this era, the 80s, very inspiring, purely based on how imaginative they were. 

Image captured episode of Bagpuss, a show which strongly
influenced Drews artwork. Found here

Other things that influenced Drew Millwards work included things such as scary books from his childhood, music and his favorite bands. 

Drew lived in Manchester originally, but moved to Leeds. Here his interest in punk music began which began to inspire his art style. 

He studied a degree in Fine Art whilst living in Leeds, which he now sees as a mistake, feeling as though the three years he spent there were quite a waste of his time, but they did provide him with a wide range of opportunities and studying this course is where he began to develop his passion for gig posters. He discovered the artist Frank Kozik here, who quickly became an inspiration to his poster designs. 

Example of Frank Kozik's poster work,
found here

His passion for poster design grew and grew, and he began getting approached by people who wanted posters being produced. Drawing for posters was new to him, as when he was studying in university he was taught not to draw, so he had to independently build up these skills. Like Dan, Drew was lucky enough to be in touch with band members. New gigs occurring meant that his musical friends were able to ask him to design posters for their gigs and bands. 

Also similarly to Dan Mumford, Drew began to grow tired of his own work, and also began creating work for himself. He found greater success through taking risks. This gave him confidence to keep experimenting with his work and with his new found style. 

Drew designed the Leeds International Beer Festival poster, as well as the Hartlepool Festival of Illustration poster, both shown below: 

Drews design for Leeds, which I found here

Drews design for Hartlepool, which I found here

Drew is currently enjoying experimenting with his work, and had a solo show in Leeds on March 20th. 

Both artists advised us to work with people that we actually want to work with, and informed us that if we are at any point interested in working for a particular artist or company, it is always best to contact them independently. It is also a good idea when doing this to link them to your work, so they can immediately see what you have to show. 

We were also told that we could be contacted at any time by any company to produce work for them if they have seen what we are capable of and admired our work. 

I found meeting these artists very inspiring, because not only did it introduce me to new artists whose work I admire, I was able to get some advice and points to remember for both now and my future as an illustrator, and it has also once again inspired me, because both of these artists were once at the point that I am at now, unsure of where they are headed exactly. It has taught me to keep going with my practice because opportunities can arise at the most unlikely times. 

Group work

In another recent professional studies lecture, we were asked to join into small groups and discuss together the areas of illustration we would perhaps like to work in some day. My group consisted of myself, Lauren, Lucy, Sophie, Carly and Louise.

We each discussed the various options available to us for working careers within the field, and what kinds of steps we plan to take in order to start making progress towards one we are interested in. For example when discussing Publishing with Lucy after she noted that this was an area she was interested in working, she informed us that she would like to come into contact with publishers and perhaps research the pay that she could potentially earn as a book publisher.

Sophie was more interested in exhibiting, and planned to do some primary research on this subject by perhaps visiting more exhibitions and finding some inspiration this way.
Myself and Carly discussed the idea of working for agencies some day. This could include printing for greetings cards. However having an interest in childrens book illustrations could lead to publishing.

These were just some of the things we had discussed during our group session, but overall this was a very beneficial experience to me as it gave me an opportunity to clearly sum up the pros and cons of each possible role within the industry. I think that in the future I would like to continue discussing such things with my peers, as it is definitely helpful. We were able to advise each other on things such as what steps we could take right now in order to reach our goals, and also guide each other into finding which area of the field we would like to work in by discussing eachothers style of working and way of working.

What is happening in the region?

Creative region 

As a follow up from our last lecture on 'What is happening now?' we also researched into what is happening within our creative region. Our creative region, ranging from North Yorkshire to Northumbria is vastly diverse, meaning that there is constant changes and uniqueness deriving from the creative produce. 

We were asked to independently uncover what is happening now within our region, and research into one of the following areas to find out more: 

• Hartlepool
• Newcastle
• Middlesborough
• Stockton
• Darlington

I decided to focus my research on Newcastle, for it is a huge city in the North East that represents and embraces its cultural side. Also, it is home to many great art galleries and museums, some of which I have had the pleasure of visiting. 

One of these galleries is The Biscuit Factory, an independent gallery who feature in their exhibits a huge variety of artists, pieces and produce. I visited this gallery last year, and it stayed with me because it kept me very interested the whole time I was there. I was able to wander around for a good length of time viewing the local artists work, all of which was beautiful and stayed with me after leaving. Two artists that are currently featuring in the Biscuit Factory are Gaynor Ostinelli and Paul Priest, who work collaboratively to create beautiful ceramic animals. I discovered their work here and find it beautiful to look at. 

A piece of theirs entitled 'Arctic Hare 3'

The biscuit factory exhibit many different kinds of artists who feature in paintings, prints, sculpture, furniture, photography, ceramics, glass, jewelry and textiles. The artists work is incredibly professional and beautiful, and their current spring exhibition is their first this year, displaying work from new artists such as Basia Roszak, Jill Barthorpe, Jo Taylor and Lizzie Rowe.

Portraiture piece by Jill Barthorpe entitled
'Philippe' using Oil on Canvas
(24" x 20") 

Another huge Newcastle based gallery is the Baltic Centre who focus on contemporary art.  I have visited this gallery a number of times now, the last time visiting an exhibit by artist Daniel Buren, who is considered to be the greatest living artist in France right now. It was a privilege to view his work and it is a massive thing that the Baltic provide the opportunity to visit global artists such as Buren and it is outstanding that they hold both national and international showings within our region.  

My personal favourite part of the exhibit 

We were also asked to research award winning companies found in our chosen area of the North East. I chose to look at Dirty Hands, who describe themselves as "A creative design studio based in Newcastle England, born from a desire to create unique, vibrant imagery". I have visited this studio also in the past, and when researching more about them on their website, have been able to learn much more about them. This included the great variety of work they provide as well as their sales and other happenings within their studio. Their studio includes a bar, and as a company they withhold their own magazine, clothing range, interior work, and branding logos. 

I looked at their work created for the Zapatista Burrito Bar in Newcastle, finding that when this bar opened, they decorated the interior design for the layout of the shop, illustrating beautiful designs on the 5 large walls within, creating a vibrant new look to the company and suiting the theme of the restaurant. Since this, they have also been assisting Zapatista with promotional work. 

Examples of the work they painted
on the internal exterior,

Example 2 close up detail

I really admire the way they designed the walls for this project, finding great interest in their style. It is a brilliant way for them to expand their popularity through designing interiors of other companies as well as their own. 

Upon researching the various illustrators that are popular within Newcastle, I decided to look into childrens illustrators first where I discovered Lucy Farfort, a freelance illustrator specialising in the childrens market. She finds a great enjoyment in illustrating animals mostly, often using her favourite colours within her work: turquoise and shades of purple. Lucy also does commission work including picture books and work within magazines, poster work, t-shirt designs and graphic work on particular websites. She also sells her own greetings cards and prints, and is always keen to collaborate and hear about new project ideas. 

Lucy has a stunning online portfolio, I particularly love the innocence of her work which I think is partially gained from her delicate colour palette and gentle consideration when illustrating her characters and scenarios. 

Monkey Sundae Illustration

Details on Tea with Moon illustration

When researching available studio spaces within this city, I discovered 36 Lime Street which offers affordable studio spaces which are available to rent for artists.


I began trying to research art festivals that might be available to visit within the creative area of Newcastle. I discovered that last year between the 28th and 31st of August, the Newcastle Arts Festival was held, however unfortunately no upcoming events are to be held this year. It would be a good idea however for myself to look into this regularly as this could be very interesting for me.

Looking into what Newcastle has to offer in terms of art has enabled me to further realise the potential of the North East, especially when considering the creative industries. It has proved to me that it is not actually necessary to move to another area of the UK such as London in order to thrive creatively, because the North East holds just as much opportunities however is just not rewarded with quite as much praise.

I plan to keep up to date with the current happenings within my region as well as across the UK and around the world to assist me with my studies and help me to envision new ideas and keep my inspiration and influences at a constant whilst studying and beyond studying. 

What is happening now?

Recently we have been learning about how very important it is to keep up to date with the ever changing world of art. Today, the creative industries within the UK are more relevant than they ever were, Britain has quickly became a leading nation within the art world, which is of great importance to me as this is where I am likely to be based in the near and distant future. It is also greatly important to the economy, and internationally we sell manage to export massive amounts of our work. Having £1 in every £10 of our exports deriving from the art trades, the UK is the second biggest design sector in the world. The creative industries within our country are worth £36 billion, employing 1.5 million yearly.

Recently, Forbes Magazine listed London, the capital of Britain to be the most influential city across the world. The article, to be read here, states that to calculate which country they chose to be the most influential, they had to consider particular factors. Some of which being the amount of investment attracted directly from foreign countries, the number of businesses they control and the financial services provided alongside media and technology power. This proves that as a country Britain is strong with these factors encourages the point that the UK is impressively strong within the creative industries today.

 It is crucial that I keep up to date with things like the current trends and new ideas evolving within the creative field, so that I can grow and evolve my work around this. During our lecture, we were asked to answer the following questions to expand our knowledge upon the current happenings throughout the art world. We discussed most of the answers during, however I would like to answer some of the following here too:

1. What is this seasons colour? 
2. Who is the top selling contemporary artist? 
3. Who won best animation at this years oscars? 
4. Who won the sundance film festival? 
5. Who is the leading light in contemporary interiors?
6. Who is causing waves in the music industry? 
7. What are the trends in food fashion? 
8. What is more influential street style or high fashion?

What is this seasons colour? 

Looking at this site for reference, and through visiting high street clothes shops also, I have discovered that neutral/pastel colours are currently in fashion, softer shades and paler tones are most popular right now. 

Who is the top selling contemporary artist? 

This site lists the 30 top selling artists in London, the first one mentioned being Charles Willmott. whose artwork is quite inspired by stage performances. 

Example of Charles Willmotts art found here
Entitled: Royal Ballet Student 2, 2010

Who won best animation at this years oscars? 

When looking at the official website for the oscars, I discovered that the greatest animated feature film was awarded to Disney's Big Hero 6, directed by Don Hall and Chris Williams and produced by Roy Conli. 

Big Hero 6 Poster, found here

Who won the sundance film festival this year? 

Through researching, I found a list of the 2015 award winners here. 

Who is the leading light in contemporary interiors? 

Upon researching this I immediately discovered that the Interior Deluxe company are the leading contemporary interiors for lighting. I found the following information on their site to prove this point: 

"Interior Deluxe is the leading provider for contemporary lighting in the High End field. We offer an extensive selection of more than 10.000 modern light fixtures from top designers, and modern lighting brands that have the ability to transform any home into an enticing atmosphere."

What are the trends in food fashion? 

I had never before known of 'food fashion' until our lecture, and upon researching it further I found this site that addressed the biggest food trends for 2015. Amongst them, the following were listed: 

• Foods that are bitter in taste 
• Quinoa
• Cauliflower 
• Fattening foods such as cultured butter made by small dairies, fully fart cheeses and creamy yoghurt.
• Regional ethnic foods, replacing Indian with Gujerati and Chinese with Shandon.

What is more influential street style or high fashion?

Looking at this site which provided information for which high fashion street brands would be making an appearance this year, and what kinds of street styles they will be introducing throughout the course of the year. 

The importance of me keeping up to date with things such as the above researched topics is great, because it is crucial for me as a young aspiring artist to how an extensive knowledge on things that are currently in trend and popular so that I can keep my target audience appealed. It also assists in inspiring my artistic ideas, which is key. Something I personally take a lot of interest in is book covers, as reading is a huge interest of mine so when visiting book stores or supermarkets, I spend a great time studying the covers of all kinds of books, including childrens ones as this is something I would possibly like to do in the future. Another thing I am interested in is greetings card designs, I find that by looking at these regularly in top stores such as Clintons introduces me to new artists, new ideas as well as keeping me up to date with what is most fashionable right now in terms of colour, design, pattern and mediums. Having awareness of these things enables me to improve and bring further structure to my way of working, and I find keeping up to date with my interests very helpful towards my studies. I now intend to keep up to date with things I may not have considered in the past such as the things I researched earlier, as I now realise the importance of keeping up to date with subjects like that. 

Information on the current trends and happenings is also always available in things like magazines, newspapers, YouTube, Bookshops, Blogs, the Cinema, and even the environment. Personally I find all of these very helpful, as they keep me in touch with what is happening outside of the studio and even far across the world. The environment has influences such as exhibits both locally, nationally and internationally that even if you cannot physically attend can research online or within the news and magazines.  

The environment withholds many other opportunities as well as exhibitions including Network, Form collectives and other events. It is also possible to form our own events in the future which although sounds daunting right now to me is very much possible and is something I would consider doing, maybe even collaborating with my peers or others. 

I now know how hugely important keeping in the know is with 'what is happening now', and intend to keep up to date a great deal more in my future work. Although it is not absolutely vital that I do so, I believe it will help me a great deal with my studies. 

The truth is out there

Recently with our professional studies we were asked to focus on what our futures might be like as illustrators. This referred to what kind of potential careers were available to us and what doors our degree may open for us. We must consider what kinds of skills we have and will develop and which particular areas these may enable us to study in and progress with, to build up our identities as designers. When we leave, we will have achieved an Honors degree, and should have a very extensive and impressive portfolio.
To enlighten us on the various competition we are faced with within the field, we were shown past students work during our lecture, as well as some of the possible institutions that we could go on to study postgraduate courses, as it is all entirely up to us. Some of these included:

• London College of Communication
• Camberwell 
• Falmouth University
• Brighton University

We also discussed the transferrable skills we may gain from achieving our degree. These skills involved things such as the ability to work collaboratively within a team due to teamwork projects whilst studying, creative thinking skills and analytical and organisational skills because of our contextual studies. We talked about how these things would be beneficial in possible careers and within possible post-graduate courses that we could apply for after studying here. We were then asked to research which courses and careers  are available to us when leaving that we would actually like to go on to do. 

I began by searching for which kinds of postgraduate courses are available within the field of art. When looking at the options available in the University for the Creative Arts, I discovered a wide amount of possible courses and some that I would be interested in studying, such as: 

• Fine Art
• Ceramics
• Further studying of illustration
• Metal work
• Textiles 
• Crafts

When researching each course further, I was able to fully understand the possibilities lying within each and what kinds of opportunities each had for me. Each course appeared to be much more in depth learning of the particular topic. 

I then researched what options were more closely available to me after looking out our courses own webpage on the CCAD site. 

Options listed on our site that will be available to me after graduating were the following: 

• Freelance illustrator or studio illustrator
• Book illustrator, including children’s books
• Fashion illustrator
• Greetings card illustrator / designer
• Illustration for magazines, editorials and advertising
• Illustration for products, eg. homeware, fashion, accessories, stationery
• Working in publishing
• Printmaker
• Styling
• Project management and community arts
• Postgraduate study, eg. MA Illustration
• Postgraduate teaching qualifications
• Teaching and lecturing

Out of the above options, possible areas of progression that I am currently interested in include becoming a book illustrator/children's book illustrator, a freelance illustrator, a greetings card illustrator, illustrator for products, printmaking, publishing and postgraduate studies. 

Right now I am unsure as to which career in particular I would like to progress on to, and I am generally quite keen on the idea of progressing through further studying. Various opportunities offer a Masters degree in Illustration, some I found I liked the look of included: 

• UAL
• Falmouth university
• Kingston
• Hertfordshire
• University of the creative arts
• Edinburgh

If it was possible, I would perhaps like to go on to further study a MA in Fine Art, depending on how my studies go throughout my time on Illustration. This is because I know I have a deep passion for this subject and would always like to keep this option available to me. I also have a personal interest in the idea of one day perhaps becoming an art therapist, so would keep my options available towards the time. In the past I have researched which courses I might have to study in order to achieve this, and understand that the institutions that a training course is available at are quite limited, but I would still like to keep it in mind. The British Association of Art Therapists site holds a lot of information on this subject, as well as what kinds of training and qualifications I may need if this was the kind of route I would like to take when graduating. 

Copyright

Copyright logo

In this lecture we learned about how highly important copyright is within the industry, and how it would benefit us all individually throughout our careers. We were introduced to the intellectual copyright law, which holds intellectual property rights, helping us to protect our work from other people who may want to use it without permission. This can be held over anything physically created, and it is very important to remember that things like ideas cannot be copyrighted, only physical things. The act of a copyright is formed from lawyers or the owners rights for the intellectual property to not be touched, altered or reclaimed.


Copyright is an automatic right, meaning anybody can claim copyright over something of their own to protect it against others. The main types of protections include:

• Patents - idea based things such as inventions
• Trademarks - used for logos usually
• Designs
• Copyrights

If a design is not copyrighted within the industry, it is technically available for anybody to use which could be devastating for the actual artist. Some examples we looked at within our lecture included the case of Mary Katrantzou, a fashion designer who creates work usually for big brands like Topshop, whose fashion designs were stolen and recreated by Primark. This designer creates beautiful and detailed graphic prints for clothing items, however credit was taken by the company Primark who virtually 'ripped off' her designs and sold  their own versions which were of incredibly poor quality in every possible way. The results are shown below:

Found here - example of her design poorly copied
and printed in poor quality onto garment

Another example of an artists work being stolen and used like this was the case of John Tenniel, famous for his illustrations for the classic Alice in Wonderland, whose illustrations were used and placed on pottery for the company Whittards. In this case, because the artist had died, the rules varied. If an artist has been dead for 70 years, anyone can use their work and make a profit from it also. Here are the examples of this work: 

Original illustration of John Tenniels

His work being used on produce

You are able to buy and sell intellectual property, so in many cases larger and more popular companies will sell their work to high street brands. 

After researching the subject further, I discovered using this site that a piece of work must meet 'minimal standards of originality' before it can be officially qualified as copyrighted. 

Also at times, copyright will not forbid all. In some countries, rules vary. 

Factors I found on the same site that may affect the terms in which copyright may alter include:

• the purpose and character of ones use
• the nature of the copyrighted work
• what amount and proportion of the whole work was taken
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

Copyright is important to me within this industry, because although I am currently just a student and will not need to consider using copyright, I will need to be careful when looking at other artists work for inspiration and reference. It is important to research which artists have had their work listed under copyright acts. 

I found some more information on the importance of intellectual property ownership. This is important because I now know that a property can belong to more than just one person. You could illegally steal work from a whole company. I have found researching the importance of copyright very beneficial towards my practice because it is very important I keep this information in mind for now and the future, as for now I need to appreciate other artists wants, and in the future I may need to copyright my own work. 

Exhibitions

In this lecture we were introduced to the idea of exhibitions and the possibilities surrounding exhibiting our work in the future. Exhibiting is an important potential route for us to progress to as illustrators, whereas once before illustrators and designers work were not seen in exhibitions, it is now much more accepted within the industry. Our lecture began with the actual definition of exhibition which is 'the presentation of a body of work or piece'. We then began looking into each area of exhibiting and what kind of options are available to us if we chose to display our work this way.

Different types of exhibitions:

We first looked at permanent galleries, which hold constant displays that are often themed and do not change over passing time. We looked into some galleries which display these kind of exhibitions to their viewers, and ones also that display mostly illustrative work. The following are some examples of these galleries: 

• House of Illustration
• The Illustration Cupboard
• Beach London
• Kemistry (who focus more on graphic design overall)

Artwork by Victor Ambrus from The Illustration Cupboard

Another type of exhibition that we looked at was national exhibitions, these exhibitions are not permanent and are limited to one country, changing quite regularly indeed. Some examples of these that were also introduced to us during this lecture were:

• Serco Prize
• London Illustration Fair
• Illustrative Berlin
• Design Event (which are better in terms of business) 
• London Design Festival

Work by Rose Stallard who works for The Print Club
(found through researching London Illustration Fair)

We also looked at Outdoor Indoor Walls, which are outdoor exhibits of artwork displayed directly onto walls for the whole world to see openly when passing. I find these very interesting to look at, because on immediate glance it looks like graffiti art but in actuality is much more. It is quite a fascinating way to grab the attention of the public. 

We looked at Hoults Yard, which is a Newcastle based work space where artists are welcome to rent exhibit space using the walls of their warehouses and walls surrounding the environment. Unfortunately the artists do not get paid much for doing this, but this is made up for in the great amount of publicity they receive. 

Example of previous work on display 

The general area

Events held on the grounds

More work exhibiting 

We also looked at the Artists Hotel, focussing on the building based in Brighton, however this organisation, The Artist Residence, have more hotels as well as the Brighton one we researched, in both London and Cornwall. 

The Artists Hotel in Brighton is a Hotel where artists are given the project of designing the different rooms of the residents staying there. They design and create each room also, including painting the designs on the wall, meaning with each artists varying styles working on individual rooms that each space within the Hotel is unique and original. 

Details of one room in Brighton

Painting design in room

More details of painting in a space in hotel

Which exhibition opening would I rather go to? 

Personally, I feel as though I would enjoy going to the openings of most of the exhibitions we researched in this session, because each offer variety and I can find inspiration from most of the work on display. I particularly like the idea of visiting one with great range and diversity, such as Pick Me Up, because it is important to me to see as much as I possibly can of what kinds of artwork is popular today. I also however am enthusiastic about looking at exhibitions that are more focussed and themed such as the permanent galleries we researched. I like the idea of possibly viewing an exhibit of The Illustration Cupboard because I have discovered a huge amount of interesting artists that are working for this company and I think it would be very inspirational to see which of these could possibly be displaying their work in this form at this institution. I also think that viewing work like this in a more calming settled environment where the work is not crowded etc is a great way of taking it in and appreciating pieces individually. 

I like to visit local galleries when possible, especially Mima in Middlesbrough, and have visited since we had this lecture on exhibitions. I visited the David Lynch exhibit which I found incredibly inspiring. I adored the artists use of and experimentation with media and how conceptually driven it was, and found great influence from his style and technique as well as the use of colour. I appreciated greatly how this built up atmosphere. I admired also how the work held a lot of simplicity but had such a great depth to it. There was also a short film to watch created by the artist as this is another area he specialises in, and work of his from many years ago until present day which was an interesting factor. I also strongly admired the artists use of text within his studies, his use of space and scale too. 

Example 1 of his work

Example 2

I also visited exhibit of Derek Eland's who created a whole show based on his time at war in Afghanistan. I found this work incredibly inspiring, as it was not really art work on display but very personal and very real encounters of the time at war through the form of diary entries and letters home by the soldiers. There were also large scaled photographs of the soldiers at the time writing their thoughts and feelings at the time. It was very interesting and a very powerful exhibit to visit. I took inspiration from this and the impact it had on me as a viewer. 

Example of one of the diary entries

Writing station in Afghanistan

I also visited the Stephen Mckenna exhibit, of which I took great inspiration from - especially the painting techniques used by the artist in these large scaled pieces. 

Each of the exhibits I visited (those discussed above, and others) were very inspiring to me in terms of my practice and towards my professional studies. I have had a taste of exhibiting my work in the past, and all of this including my research has contributed to the idea of doing this regularly in the future to help benefit my career as an artist in every possible way. Things that would have to be considered when exhibiting are factors such as my target market, my expectations of the event, prices involved, designing the actual show and exhibit, promoting it in every way possible, (things such as designing fliers and posters would be of a great help) and inviting guests for private viewing of the exhibit. All of these are very important are to be considered very closely when exhibiting work. One of the things recommended by our tutor also was hiring a photographer to have professional recollections of the event. 

Francess Moffatt

In this lecture we were introduced to another successful local illustrator named Frances Moffatt, who specialises in fashion.

Frances Moffatt studied BA Hons Fashion Marketing and worked with assistant accessories design at Luella, received a PGCE and studied an MA in future design illustration. She realised she was more interested in fashion illustration in her final year of studying, which I think is quite inspirational as it assures us as students that it is okay not to know what we want to specialise in immediately. 

found here

She created this image 'Sunglasses girl' and included it within her MA portfolio where it was selected by New Talent and given national recognition, which was a huge turning point for her as an illustrator.

She then set her own website up, sending her work to book publishers, greetings card publishers (who were working for Marks and Spencers) and different magazines.

One of the publishers she had contacted was Batsford publishers, "a leading publisher in the areas of fashion, design and illustration, practical art, textile art, heritage and chess." 

They approached her roughly 18 months after she had sent her promotional mail out to them, showing us that we should not lose heart when contacting agencies.

She began to grow more interested in childrens fashion illustration and greetings cards, looking into these areas with more detail. 

Frances created many commission pieces whilst finding her feet in the industry, 35% of which went to the company she worked for for each: The Bright Agency, which is a company specialising in childrens illustration. This was a big stepping stone as it enabled her to become known in this area of the field and develop her confidence working on childrens fashion illustrations. 

She created some childrens sticker books which she claimed was hard work as it involved a lot of time and correcting. Her first published pieces appeared in Go-Girl Magazine (a magazine for young girls). 

Frances Moffatt uses the technique/process of creating her studies using pencil and ink, and then further editing her studies using Photoshop. I quite admire that the artist combines both traditional and nontraditional techniques to create her work, and it gives them quite a tidy and professional look as well as keeping the quirky feeling of them alive. As an artist, she prefers to be working with people rather than at home alone. 

Here is her working progress in order: 

• Picture research
• Pencil sketch
• Draft layout in Photoshop
• Awaiting approval
• Ink in, create layout and tidy up in Photoshop
• Submit work as PDF file

found here

She stated that being a student did mean that she had more time to put into her work. Frances also explained to us that it is hard to get work agreed upon as all agencies want different things, so it can take a lot of time before final images are reached. The process therefore requires patience and determination. 

Another company she was approached by was Paperlink Greetings Cards who create stunning occasion cards, however she disagreed with what they wanted and left them. It was then that she was approached by Batsford, who actually had already a specific project in mind for her. This was a childrens exercise book based on fashion illustration.   

her book

She used the same timely working process as described earlier to create this book, and it was the first project she really enjoyed. She found it a struggle to complete it because of the issue with time and money, but it was a huge success in the end. She had to take accurate measurements for the book and used typography by tracing over font in this product. 

Batsford Interview with Frances Moffatt. Frances exclaims that this company were a pleasure to work with. 

She holds stock lists with companies such as V & A, National Portrait Gallery, Tate, Baltic, Amazon, Waterstones, TK Max and Oliver Bonas. 

Frances Moffatt is currently teaching to earn her money. 

The whole journey she has been on up to now she feels as though has given her freedom in the creative industry. I found this lecture to be very inspiring. I strongly admire the work of this artist and as well as this I have took influence from knowing she did not always know which path to take on her way, but has found great success in the field and loves her job. I found her optimism very influential and have also took on board more ideas for potential careers for myself in the future.