Madame Tutli Putli.

read all about it here about it here...

Clare Owen.

Clare Owen - sad sack

Tell us a little about yourself? How old are you (if you don’t mind) and where are you currently living?
I am 23 and currently living in Plymouth.

Firstly, What are you working on now?
At the moment my main focus is a Zine about literacy and books, alongside an on going project with a cupcake company and a wedding invite. I had mostly been trying to look at faux editorials and stuff for my portfolio but was losing my soul, so have started this zine to cheer me up for a bit.

How did you get your first full commission/brief? What did it involve?
I haven’t really had one yet, not paid anyway. The first (sort of) commission I had was for an online magazine called ‘Small’ which follows independent children’s designers. It’s very grassroots and lovely. I’ve done a few bits and pieces like that, free, but good for your portfolio. I’m just starting a Wedding Invite for a lady who’s getting married in a barn in the states, she’s awesome and she’s paying me! I think that’s my first real full commission actually! I also just won a competition at Tigerprint, who are a division of Hallmark. They make cards solely for M&S and I’m off to Bradford to do a placement there in May.

Tigerprint card design

Do you have a particular style, or does it vary a lot? Do you think it’s Important for an illustrator to have a specific style or be flexible in how they work?
I think I have different facets to my style and am comfortable in several mediums, but overall you can tell it all comes from me. I think it’s important for Illustrators in the UK to have a strong style, mainly because there are so many of us for Art Directors etc to choose from that it’s better to be original and strong in one style than to emulate a few different ones badly. I think the overall aim is for someone to have a job in mind and know that you’re the perfect illustrator for the job.


How important were your formal art studies?
Up until Uni they were crap My GCSE art teacher was constantly pregnant and my collage tutor was a bully. But University was the best thing I’ve ever done for myself as a person and myself as an ‘Illustrator’. It’s great to be in a creative environment and I was so lucky to be with people that were as passionate as I was. I think we all want it so bad, it’s great to be with people that understand you and want to make beards out of paper all day too.

What advice would you wish you had during 1 and 2nd year?
I worried far too much but I suppose that worry made me try hard. I would say that not to worry about the overall outcome of a project and not to complicate things too much. Make as many lovely images as you can, they still need a context and a point but don’t worry too much.

How about for the people due to finish this year?
Umm take yourself seriously, you are an illustrator and you will get work. I’m realizing that a bit now.

little faux editorial

What’s the hardest thing about being an Illustrator?
For me personally, the hardest thing is self doubt. All it takes is a little peruse through some other illustrators flickr accounts and I want to cry. The Internet is great but technology isn’t always a good thing for me, I’m always comparing. Being by yourself for long periods of time is tough. I’m quite insular and a thinker and I struggle with that. Time and money are rubbish too, you initially have to work to live but then when you have time off you are too tired to do anything. I wish I had more time or bernads watch.

Any weird ‘ritual’ type things you need in place to work?
LOTS OF TEA. A warm room. Radio 6. Cat?

print design sold through etsy

What or who inspires you?
So many things. Craft. Tea. Cats. Colours. Music. Books. Patterns. Flowers. Quotes. My friends. New Wave film. France. Mexico. Lace.

personal work 'Frida'

What keeps you motivated?
Just the thought that one day this will be my full time job and I won’t have to work in the crappy mall any more.

What past or present day illustrators do you admire most?
Carson Ellis is my all time favourite. She’s beautiful.
Jamie Shelman’s cats.

One essential website?
Flickr. It’s a great site and a great tool (unless you’re in self-doubt mode.)


Where do you see yourself within the next few years?
Not in Plymouth I hope. I would lovelovelove to have a studio with my friends, a cat, a kettle and a toaster and just enough money to go on some adventures every now and then.

Is there a web address where we can see some of your work?

Flickr.
Blog.
Old rubbish website.

If you were on the Berlin trip a couple of years back then you probably saw this little treat by Jon Klassen and Dan Rodrigues!

BETONY MAY!

Check out the beautiful work of Plymouth graduate, Betony May. Betony uses a mixture of print, ink and photoshop to create colourful and contemporary images full of playful charm.

website

blog

Betony in The New Scientist Magazine

Kseniya Simonova.

beautiful and unique example of narrative x

Louise Hearle

Louise Hearle - Cornish Renaissance beauty!

Tell us a little about yourself? How old are you (if you don’t mind) and where are you currently living?

I am 22 years old and am currently living in Falmouth, Cornwall, which is a great place to live. Its full of great secret little places were you can find inspiration


What are you working on now?

Currently I am working on a design for a EP jacket for the album release of Rachael Dadd. It’s a really interesting project as lots of different artists are involved using different mediums. Its culminating in a big launch in London where lots of people will get to see it, and hopefully buy them. Do you have a particular style, or does it vary a lot? Do you think it’s Important for an illustrator to have a specific style or be flexible in how they work?

I have a couple of styles that I use. I sometimes prefer to use inks, for a more fluid illustrations. Whereas other times I use rubbings as collage and photoshop. I think that its what you most feel comfortable with. Some illustrators have only one specific style. Whereas others have many. Both can be successful it’s the quality of the work that is important.

How important were your formal art studies?

They were very important to me as my work at the start was no where near where I wanted it to be. But with the help of great tutors with lots of experience gradually my work and ideas started to improve. Also you can’t underestimate the importance of fellow students in the same situation as you, running my ideas past like-minded people was a great help to me.

What advice would you wish you had during 1 and 2^nd year?

Not to worry so much, not just about my work but in general as well. No matter what your feelings are about your work there will always be someone who will like it. The hard part is finding them

mixed media, uni work.

How about for the people due to finish this year?

It will be very rare that you will rise to fame just after uni. It will take a lot of work and I’m afraid a few failures but the rewards are fantastic.

What’s the hardest thing about being an Illustrator?

For me it is staying motivated. Once I left the university environment I was quite depressed. Being taken out of such a creative environment was hard. But staying in touch with my class mates and forming a collective solved that problem.

Any weird ‘ritual’ type things you need in place to work?

Nope but peace and quiet helps. And lots of tea.

What or who inspires you?

My imagination inspires me the most, when I look at a landscape I always add on weird extra bits or strange creatures into it.

What keeps you motivated?

I sometimes find it hard to stay motivated. But looking at other illustrators work and even the amazing stuff that your classmates do makes me want to do work.

One of Louise's gorgeous handmade journals.

What past or present day illustrators do you admire most?

I love Henrik Drescher, and Sara Fanelli. Their work is so inspiring because they just do what they feel like they don’t change their styles to fit a project.

One essential website?

I think the most essential website is your own. Putting your work on the web even if its just a blog, is so important these days. Most of the business you do will be carried out over the internet.

One essential book?

99 Fears by Nedko Solakov. It’s full of simple but beautiful illustrations and he has put so much of himself into it. It’s amazing.

Where do you see yourself within the next few years?

Hopefully still producing work, and enjoying myself. And if I make money out of it so much the better.

Images from the book 'seed'

Louise's Blogspot

Jack Teagle.

Jack Teagle - A magpie and Illustration machine...

Tell us a little about yourself? How old are you (if you don’t mind) and where are you currently living?

I'm 23 and I'm living with my parents on the outskirts of Newquay. I have their full support in trying to get off the ground with my illustration, and I couldn't ask for more at the moment. I would love to raise enough money to move out, move somewhere with a little more life and support myself through illustration. I have a little studio set aside .

Anorak magazine cover illustration

Firstly, What are you working on now?

I'm working on a comic I've written and drawn for Nobrow press called 'Job Centre'. It's about a man who has to fight in a dungeon underneath a job centre to continue recieving benefits. I'm also creating a body of work for a solo show at the Nobrow Press studios in London. My 'Fight' project from univeristy picked up interest from a gallery in Portugal and I will be having a solo show in June to display my work as well as some newer pieces made specially for the show.

With commerical work, I've just finished some designs for some children's surfwear, and I'm working on an illustration for the next issue of the YCN magazine 'ideas illustrated'.

How did you get your first full commission/brief? What did it involve?

My first commission was for the trade magazine 'Research World'. The art director got in touch with me after seeing my work online. It was an editorial piece for 'Reading Consumer Minds' and was about how people's minds work in different situations, and how concentrating too hard on getting things done can actually halt progress on work. It was a really enjoyable piece to work on and lead to more work on the magazine in the next issue.

How important were your formal art studies?

Very important. Although I produce a lot of naive looking work, good drawing ability, p

lanning and colour theory are very important to the finished outcome. Everything I learnt has influenced how I work in some way.

A gift to his parents on their anniversary

What advice would you wish you had during 1 and 2nd year?

You are creating images, let them get seen! Start putting your work out NOW! Start making connections. Websites aren't too important in the 1st and 2nd year, but building a strong web prescence and following can do wonders for your work, it practically sends itself over the internet through different blogs and features. A blog is a great starting point, just make sure you can't give people an excuse to not know who you are!


How about for the people due to finish this year?

Try to get a professional website, or a very nice looking blog on the go. When you cold call art directors and e-mail them, they may not want you to send samples to their e-mail address. A website is a good way to show them your work without this problem.

Jack's GDEX 320 project 'Fight!'

What’s the hardest thing about being an Illustrator?

Manic mood swings. I've had to sign on a few times and things are unpredictable. I've only ever had summer jobs, and the area I live in has very few jobs, there is no part time work, so it's very hard to support myself, and I go through low points. However, in these times I solidly work on personal projects and paintings, since I have the time.

You can alienate yourself, and I persecute myself relentlessly and never give myself time off, my brains always ticking away!

Any weird ‘ritual’ type things you need in place to work?

I usually have to drink a hot drink before going into the studio, and the room has to be warm. Over winter my hands have gone numb without having heating on, and I've had to stop a few times to warm them up!

What or who inspires you?

I love Gary Baseman. Not just for style, but because he's done everything, paintings, show, editoral work, advertising, animation, kids books. I've love to get somewhere like that.

Alternative comics inspire me, I love how they don't follow the rules of the mainstream, and some really push boundaries. I'm obsessed with really geeky stuff, I love the look of badly made action figures, old mis-printed comics and pop culture stuff, it has a look about it where it really had a human touch, unlike a lot of computer and masproduced stuff around today.

I know it's very 'fashionable' to be into alchemy, mysticism and the occult, but I love the flat way in which most of the illustrations from those times were very naive and flat, yet so easy to read, I try to produce work in a similar style to what I've seen. Outsider art is also a huge inspiration, it ignores trends, and the artists creating the work don't seem to worry about where their work should fit in, they just create it.

I think werid and avant garde film fuels my sense of humour as well. David Lynch is always going to inspire. Takashi Miike also makes great films. I love John Waters, and midnight movies too.

What keeps you motivated?

I keep telling myself I know I can make things happen. Sometimes I get messages of encouragement, or see my work somewhere, and I know that there is an audience for what I do. I've build myself into a routine now where I feel like something is wrong if I havn't drawn or painted at least once a day!

What past or present day illustrators do you admire most?

Charley Harper, and Richard Scarry, they use amazing colours and they manage to simplify the world in their images without missing anyhting out, I love their highly stylised work. I love Edward Gorey's pen work, I think his mark-making is amazing, and his stories are great, people need to make darker books!

I love the work of Ryan Heshka, his skills are incredible! I love Dave Cooper, Christian Northeast, Reg Mombasa, Gary Panter and Gary Taxali. They demonstrate that you don't have to create safe, boring work to fit into the industry. Just be yourself, enjoy what you're doing, and relax.

One essential website?

probably drawn.ca, it has some great inspiration and advice on there. If you get work on there and you're from the UK, it can sometimes lead to a break in the american market, a lot of art directors read that blog.

One essential book?

I really can't decide, that's a really cruel question! I love those Tashcen books that catalogue vintage illustration, they're a great source of inspiration. I have some amazing science fiction and horror film poster books that I swear by too.

Where do you see yourself within the next few years?

Hopefully realy happy, working full time self-employed. I can't imagine a better job than having something that takes up your whole life that you love to pieces . A few more comics behind me, a few more solo shows, and a lot of editorial work. I'd love to have my hands in all the pies! I'd want to be totally self reliant.

Is there a web address where we can see some of your work?

www.jackteagle.co.uk

'The pope of mope'