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Mariana interview

Today I interviewed an illustrator called Mariana Malhao who was recently featured on Its nice that. I really like her work and was interested to find out about not only her first steps after graduation, but her creative process. She Kindly responded and gave some some really good answers and tips.

The main thing that worries me at this point is how I'm going to stick with a group of creatives even after uni is over, I will have to move back home until I have enough money to move out again but I'm just hoping I am able to stay productive throughout this period.


Hi Mariana

Here are the questions 

- what university did you graduate at? And what were your first steps in terms of trying to look for work, and make illustration/ design your full time job?

Fine Arts School in Porto. Well, in the end of school we always have to chose between a personal project and an internship. I always thought I wanted to do the project but here in porto there's a group called Oficina Arara, they do silkscreen and I always liked their thing. So I decided to propose to do an internship there and they said yes. It was a quite relaxed thing there. It was quite nice that they took theirs interns to Barcelona with them to participate in the Gutter Fest. They go to a lot of independent art festivals, and It was one of my first attempts to have contact with the real world after school. I got more interested in them, at first I was participating in some and afterward I started to organize one with my friend Dylan Silva which is called Sábado-Feira. I Think that was a good start to get motivated, know more people and get them to know me. Also updating the portfolio was a good idea (and business card eheh). Things just started to appear... Well in that internship I also knew a person who worked in a publisher, and once he called me asking if I wanted to illustrate a book, and make some tests first. I was quite lucky.. but I think the whole process lead to that. 

- Any advice for a young creative who's just about to graduate and wants to enter the world of illustration?

Soooomeeee, so, after finishing university I still had a group of friends from there with who I would go around and do stuff. And we were in the same position.. no work. We started to go to those fairs and prepared our material in each others houses. The best thing we did was finding an atelier, its very nice to share a space with friends/creative people. You have contact everyday and get motivated by each other to keep working or doing some collaborations. So... keep doing your work even if you don't have any outside proposals and presenting it to the world can be nice.. those hashtags maybe help sometimes (I'm quite basic with them). Updating your portfolio. Having a business card (it can be a relaxed thing, sometimes we just make a big deal out of it). Hm... participating in fairs, going to those events. Have fun doing your work and be yourself :) Maybe there are more ways, but as an optimistic person I believe that it should happen naturally (but still with work).

- Your work is really nice! How did you develop this style? Has it been through lots of trial and error or have you always made work this way?

Thank you! I think there might have been some trials and error, but it started to appear more when I did some painting because I was using ink for a work and there was spare ink /left over ink and I just painted something fast not to waste it. And I liked that, the result and the process. I Stared to enjoy painting with ink in thin uncommitted way. And color, I really like color mixing. I just started to get comfortable doing this and enjoying the results and settled down to this style maybe eheh (If this was confusing let me know)

- I noticed your work was featured on it's nice that, how did you get in contact them? Or did they notice your work and contact you?
I was all dirty waiting to have bath and start the day (at 11am...) in my robe, quite lazy and received an e-mail from Daphne from It's Nice That saying she liked my work and wanted to have it featured on the website. I was very happy and surprised because she found me on instagram and I never used their hashtag :o so I guess I was quite lucky!

Cheers I appreciate it! 

I hope I could help! And that you don't die with my basic English. Thank you very much! :)

Joe

Some of Marianas work - 

Creative cv

Here is my design for the creative cv. I chose to include the dogs because it shows off some of my practical skills and even if someone can't be bothered to read it they will definitely see the drawing and it might encourage them to have a look at my portfolio

Logo/ More Business card Design ideas

with my logo I wanted to achieve something charming, memorable and recognisable whilst being as simple as possible. Originally I was going to use the other chicken image as my logo because i do quite like it but then I realised logos will probably work best being monochrome so it is easly printable into multiple surfaces and colours.

I wanted it to look hand drawn and slightly humorous, I took the same idea by using a chicken but this version is just much more simple. I drew a few outlines on chickens in china marker, then chose my favourite and added my initials into the middle. I chose the chicken because I spent so long drawing so many of them and I feel like thats what people on the course might know me for drawing this year. Also because I find them funny and the outline is perfect for putting initials inside.

This is a second version with my full name on, again sticking to the handmade look, which reflects my practice. I will use both of these logos and decide which one depending on the format. Sometimes the full name will be necessary but other times just the chicken will be needed.

Considering I have changed my logo this meant it would be wise to update the business card design. 

I have kept it fun and playful, hopefully it looks like something people would want to keep and not throw away. It is simple and includes the logo and all my information on the back yet looks lighthearted and reflects my work and personality  

Instagram

One of the ways I have been putting my work out there is through regular posts on instagram. This can be anything from sketchbook work to finished pieces, i also try and include small bits of my everyday life and travels such as exhibitions and buying prints etc. I do this because I believe it is important to add a bit of character into to the feed so that any potential employers or commissioners can see that you have a sense of humour and are easy to communicate and get along with.

I often get comments from other artists who like my work which sometimes gives me a much needed confidence boost. I also message other artists when ever I see something I really like, often its about what media they have used and the answer usually surprises me so its a great platform for getting tips and tricks from fellow illustrators

Commission for the summer

Following some work which I completed last year for the owner of Tuesdays skate shop in Bolton, Which was to come up with the designs for a skateboard deck and t shirt print. I recently contacted him again to see how well he was getting on and to let him know I am open to do more work if he ever wanted. The boards and t-shirts have all sold out now which I was surprised to hear, (50 of each were printed). I was paid £100 and was my first ever paid job but I feel like I undersold myself as the drawings took absolutely ages

He has requested the same work again but with different designs, one is another image of his cat and the second design is a drawing of a large well known bridge in Bolton which runs next to the skatepark. Unfortunately the work I did last year was highly representational and more on the fine art side of things which is the complete opposite to what I want to be focusing on after uni. I asked is maybe this time he would consider letting me take a more illustrative  approach and he has agreed which im really pleased about. This is what I will consider my first ever actual illustration job, the designs last year were basically just copying pictures.

I told him I will go and see him in the shop when I return home after uni to discuss the illustrations with him.

I was hesitant to contact him at first as he hasn't messaged me since he paid me, but I'm over the moon that I did now. This has given me the confidence to want to message more people actually asking for work, even if people say no then they can always pass your name on which is still very beneficial in terms of trying to get noticed.

Sally Deng Interview

Ive been in contact with up and coming illustrator Sally Deng. I first saw her work on instagram and I was a huge fan instantly. I was keen to find out how she looks for and receives commissions. Also about what media she uses to create her images. I wanted to keep the questions short but to the point because I didn't want to risk not getting a reply or seem like I was mithering.
Im glad that I contacted her now and I now realise that it is probably crucial for me to stick with creative people after university.
Also I now know that her illustrations are made with acrylic which I would never have guessed. Im definitely going to try this for myself

Thanks for responding I appreciate it! 
Here they are -
What university did you go to? 
What were your first steps after graduating and how did you make illustration your full time job?
In terms of the creative process, do you use a layer of watercolour under your crayon or just all crayon? (especially the waves and surfers)

I went to Art Center College if Design. After graduating, I ended up traveling to different places for different reasons but I saw that as chance to hand out promos to any art directors that would see me. And I use neither watercolors nor crayons. They’re all acrylic paint and color pencil and there’s no specific order of what is layered on first. Hope that helps!

Thankyou, do you have any advice for a young creative who's just about to graduate and wants to enter the world of illustration?
That's what I meant in the U.K. We call coloured pencils crayons, I think the combination works really well all the colour palettes are great.
Thanks again really appreciate it!

I’m sure you’ve heard this before but surround yourself with creative people and people you admire. When I first started, meeting art directors and handing them postcards really helped. Or just snail mail them if they’re too busy to meet. Also, explore and have fun doing other things than illustration. The more knowledge/experience you have in other fields, the better your art would be.

Some of Sallys work - 

Business card design

 For my business card my aim was to create something simple, yet something that stands out and would intrigue somebody who picked it up to want to see more of my work.

It needed to communicate the way in which I draw and the skills I have, whilst representing the playful and lighthearted nature of my work.

I think the most suitable image I had is this chicken below, despite its simplicity its actually one of my favourite drawings I have produced this year. I have been on a mission to make my characters look more naive and expressive and I think this particular chicken captured that tradition perfectly. It makes me chuckle when I look at it because of the weird position its stood in and the blank expression on its face.

To accompany the chicken I took the same coloured pencils which I drew it with and wrote my name in a fairly naive and wonky way. Again to try and show the nature of my work (or at least how I want to work to be)

This was the final design, I combined the chicken and name and made them interact by having the chicken stood on top of the 'B', then surrounding the chickens I scanned in some scribbles and lines in the same colours to fill out the background and add movement to the piece. I Find the combination of the more refined shading of the chicken and the quick nature of the surrounding marks works quite well. It will also make the card more eye catching and interesting to look at.

Making my Website

I finally got round to building my website. I wanted to keep it simple and concise with all my images laid out on the front page and a contact form on the second page. I have not put an explanation for what each image is about because they were only either self initiated briefs or competitions. But it will still give people a taste of what my work is like. I realise it is a fairly basic site at the minute, I hope to expand on it as my portfolio grows. I managed to buy the domain name joebakerillustration.com but have not yet figured out how to get it to the top of google, this is something I will look into soon

Potential up coming commission

After contacting the nursery owner and getting my work reviewed, she rang me back a few days later explaining she has a friend who is in the early stages of creating a phonics system to help young children learn to read and she will be needing the help of an illustrator. I did something similar to this in college where I made up my own picture alphabet and really enjoyed it. She really liked my Carmelite prize work and would want it drawn in a similar way to that.  I was really happy with this news, seems like things could start slowly coming together if I do a good job at this, as she may know publishers/ Childerns book authors if she is making these teaching aids herself. I now have her contact details and am awaiting an email from her.

Website inspiration

Here are a few of my favourite websites to visit when trying to be inspired to draw. they are all very simple and don't have loads of writing on. This is how I want my website to look when I make it, I realise I wont have this number or quality of images to put on there but no doubt that will change over time.

I really like the home page on Laura Carlins website, its just one big image with lots of little doodles on, maybe this could be something to consider with mine

The Nous Vous website is also really nice. It almost has a sketchbook about it with the rough shapes on the front and black banner to the side, looking bit like the spine of a book

Nursary owner reviewed my work

After completing the Carmelite prize I decided that I wanted some feedback outside of college, so I contacted a woman who owns a nursery near my house (I also contacted her when I was researching anthropomorphism in children's books  for CoP)

She really liked the images and thought they would look fantastic in a real children's book, I realise that she isn't trained in a creative field and therefor probably wouldn't be able to tell if something was off e.g composition/ colour pallet. But she owns tonnes of these books and reads them to children everyday so I would would still class her opinion as a very valid one. She knows other nursery owners and people who make educational visual teaching aids for children and said she will send my images round for me. Hopefully this will get my name out bit more, I can get some further feedback and maybe a chance of some work

Competition Briefs

Over the past few months I have been entering a few competition briefs. Mainly to try and get recognised and hopefully get a 1st 2nd or 3rd spot, that would be amazing. I have recently submitted my final pieces for the Carmelite prize 2018 which is the last competition I will be entering whist at university. The deadline was quite stressful as I left it very last minute but however I was pleased with the outcome and am looking forward to seeing the results.

I also entered the penguin design awards adult fiction competition which was to design cover for George Orwell animal farm. The prizes for both these competitions are brilliant, £1000 and a months placement at either penguin or the publishers that are linked with Carmelite. What an opportunity that would be, fingers crossed.

Matt saunders Handsome frank interview

I recently messaged illustrator Matt Saunders, who is represented by Handsome Frank agency. I am a fan of his work and was really pleased that he got back to me. I was keen to fins out what his first steps after graduating were and how he went about getting signed by handsome frank. He has given me some really good advice, it seems very daunting the fact that he sounded so motivated to get his work out there and find commissions. I just don't know if my heart is in it at the minute but only time will tell. I think I just need some time with out the pressure of uni and deadlines on my mind to start enjoying being creative again.
It has made me realise that sometimes you just need a lucky break, as he got with handsome frank. This has given me a bit of optimism for the future. Also a good bit of advice which he gave was that you have to learn to be a free lancer before you join an agency. This makes sense as I believe it is essential to learn the business side of things as well as the practical side


(UPDATE) - Matt recently emailed me saying he would advise building up a product range to create passive income. And to not beat myself up too much when facing rejection. He also asked whether he could use my questions (and answers) to show other students because I think they would be of good use, which is great as I know the biggest fear for a lot of student illustrators is future prospects and being successful

Here is what I asked him-

Hi joe 

- what university did you graduate at? And what were your first steps in terms of trying to look for work, and make illustration your full time job?

I graduated from Leeds art college , I actually studied visual communication and specialised into moving image and animation.  I always had an interest in illustration but never thought it would be my main career when leaving uni. 

I was applying for jobs in production and post production houses and I landed a job in Leeds working on motion graphics for tv adverts (stuff like dfs  😢 ) while I was at this job on a night I was creating my own illustrations and just putting my work out there . applying for exhibitions , small magazines , more local things . After 7 months of this and constantly working after my  9-6 job , I had a body of work. 

I was let go of the job I was currently at ( this was during the peak of the recession) . While I was at uni I had created a network of people online who I would keep in touch with. One of them was a guy who did motion graphics in San Francisco he invited me over  , so after I lost my job I went over there and did a placement for summer at juxtapoz /upper playgrounds. 

After this I came back to the uk with no job and a couple of freelance gigs . I moved back to my parents for  6 months and it was really hard as I was trying My best to get enough client work to move on as moving back home isn’t fun . I would flip between doing motion graphics and illustration and after a while I had a small pool of steady ish work. 

This enabled me independence and I went out on my own got a flat and worked out of the spare room  ( still pretty much broke all the time) so I had to be incredibly careful with my money and where I put my focus  . My early 20s were basically sacrificed so I could have more freedom in the future . 

After a couple of years of this I got a studio in Leeds and work was getting even better  I was still doing a little bit of  motion graphics and animation work as well. 

After four years work was getting better and better I moved to London  , where the pressure to make more money mounted up. Which forced me to work smarter and better . Which resulted in better work and bigger clients I don’t think I would  have got those big clients without doing the major groundwork I had to do at the start. Weirdly when I moved to London I completely stopped doing motion graphics /animation I haven’t done any since I’ve moved here and it’s all been illustration with some art direction. 

(That’s a very boiled down version of the last 8 years . It’s been a rollercoaster 🎢) 

 How did you get recognised by handsome frank? And do you think it is better to be represented by an agency or go freelance?

Honestly with this one I think got very lucky , handsome frank where just starting out when I applied and I think if I approached them now with the work I did back then I would not have got signed. I guess my work was different enough to get signed . But signing with them over the long run has been great. I have had to really push my work into better places and it’s not just about your work looking pretty , you need to be able to come up with great concepts which can be for someone’s commercial benifits . 

I’ll be very honest getting signed is incredibly difficult and I personally think students think if they get a student the world is there oyster. You really need to focus on your craft and building up a body of work and learning how to be a freelancer before you get an agent .

Also even if you get an agent you are not guaranteed a steady income , I still get quite allot of my own work and I’m always planning  for the future and where I want to take my business . 

Any advice for a young creative who's just about to graduate and wants to enter the world of illustration?

Just keep your head down , don’t get sucked into social media . Look way beyond it and you will produce work that stands out. 

 rejection is also a major part of freelancing and how you deal with it will massively shape your career . 

Be patient with clients , if you are commercial illustrator you are being hired . This is work and you must collaborate , the work is bigger than ego. So don’t complain about clients online push back if you feel strongly against what they are saying . But state why you feel this way and back it up but at the end of the day it’s  for them so they have the final say. Eventually over time people will trust your wisdom but you have to earn it . 

Also if you have a skill set like photoshop/after effects/ premier pro etc . Don’t be too proud to use these when you start out and if you want to be freelance you kind of have to do whatever it takes to build up an income . You can do basic graphic design , art working, motion company’s etc . Don’t just think illustration , you can learn so much from people outside of your field . 

Also my experiance is my own path there really isn’t any kind of secret formula or map . Everyone goes on there own adventure. So whilst someone’s viewpoint is interesting don’t take it as gospel. 

Ok that’s a mega waffle email! I hope this was of some use . 

Good luck 

Matt 

Some of Matts work- 

David Hockey Bradford Exhibition

Today I visited Salts mill in Bradford to see the work of David Hockney who is my favourite artist, he has been a huge source of inspiration for me since I heard about him in first year. The gallery is great and shows a variety of his work from early drawings to huge landscape painting, which are mind blowing when seen in real life. Ive been putting off coming for ages but I'm glad that I came now its not often when something actually makes me look forward to getting home and working.