Online work

Behance Portfolio
https://www.behance.net/katielouillustration


Blog
http://katielouillustrations.blogspot.co.uk


Society6 Shop
http://society6.com/katielouillustrations


Facebook Page
www.facebook.com/katielouillustrations


Instagram
http://instagram.com/katielouillustrations

Evaluation

Overall I completed my projects to a level I am pleased with, I managed my time well and got everything finished. I feel as though I have broadened my portfolio by taking on new genres of illustration I don't normally do such as packaging. I found the beauty packaging project a challenge as I came across problems I have not solved before so learnt along the way and I think the outcomes are very successful.

I really enjoyed working on the Bear cereal box design as I am most interested in illustrating for children and this outlet was different from the children's book I have done in the past. It was refreshing to work in a new way yet still have the same audience and this genre is something I will be interested in looking into in the future. The most difficult part of the cereal box project was including the text. I found it hard to get the placement right of the text on the back of the box as there was a lot of it and the shapes it had to go in were all different. I first tried handwritten text but once scanned in and printed it became to difficult to read in the small spaces so then I used digital text, this came out much easier to see. The text is something that needs extra work on to make it fit right. Looking back I also would like to play around with the text on the front of the box on the bowl, making it bolder and bigger as I think it would improve it.

The beauty packaging project was a completely new area for me and I wanted to show I can fit in other genres and still keep my own style, I think I did this successfully. I am really pleased with the outcomes as I think they really fit together as a whole. After printing and making the boxes out of card I realised the quality of the images dropped and the text on the back became a bit hard to read as it was fuzzy, this is something that needs to be fixed, the writing needs to be bigger and bolder. I also would like to try printing on different card as I think the quality is not as good as it could be.

The last project was my favourite to do as I had a personal connection to it, the images are all part of my everyday life. I would like to continue this project and carry on illustrating collections of objects in the future as well as printing the designs onto cushions, mugs, bags, ect like the ones on my Society6 shop. I am happy with most of the outcomes except the mugs one as I tried out lots of placements but struggled to get the placement and text feel as though it fits together. This needs further experimentation. Also after looking back I said in my statement I wanted the illustrations to have a limited colour palette but I ended up using a variety of colours but I still think they work well together.

After printing my portfolio I realised that the double page spreads don't work as well as I had hoped, I need to work on these pages. Also I would want to print better quality for showing to agencies. I couldn't afford the portfolio reccommeneded right now so used a cheaper version, I would like to invest in an expensive portfolio for going to acengies. I think I have a good online presence as I have lots of different sites but I need to update and improve my blog and my behance as they don't have very much on them yet. My blog needs to be personalised as I am only using a plain template at the moment and it doesn’t look very professional so I need to improve it.

Industry contacts and Development routes

Beehive Illustration Agency

http://www.beehiveillustration.co.uk/

Beehive represents children's book illustrators around the world that are based in London.
They have a variety of styles of illustration on their books and i think this is an agency i would fit it well at. They have a graduate showcase where they promote recent graduates work through the agency which is something i am interested in looking into. On their website they have a submissions page that you can easily send them images of your work for them to look at and consider taking you on. There is also a link to how to publish your own children's books, another thing i am interested in.


Little Tiger Press

http://www.littletiger.co.uk/

Little Tiger is an independant publishing house for children's books.
"With four imprints under one roof – each with its own unique style and distinctive voice – Little Tiger Press is a dynamic and busy independent publisher. We’ve been publishing high quality children’s books for over 25 years, seeking out the best fresh talent in writing and illustration to bring stories to life for our readers."
They have so many illustrators on their books, including some of my personal favourites, this is a company i would like to work for. They offer 2 weeks of work experience in either editorial, marketing and publicity, or design. This is something i would be interested in looking into. You can submit your work for consideration by posting them samples of your work.


Plum Pudding Illustration

http://www.plumpuddingillustration.com/

"As one of the leading children's illustration agencies in the world, Plum Pudding is known
for being one of the most dynamic, passionate and proactive agencies around, representing
some of the most talented children's illustrators from across the globe.

Plum Pudding was built on the desire to give something back to the illustrators working
in the children's publishing world, to create a home for artists who wanted to be represented
by an agency that was not only hungry for and proactive in finding them the very best opportunities
and commissions the industry has to offer, but one that has a real empathy with what it is like to be
an illustrator in today's constantly changing publishing world. Plum Pudding is more than just an
agency, we are an illustration community and the fantastic relationships that we have with all of our
artists is testament to this. We believe that as an artist your agent should be an extension of yourself
and provide support and guidance on every level, from artists just starting out and wanting advice, development and an introduction to the publishing world, to those who are supremely well established and simply need their business and promotional needs taken care of, leaving them free to do what they do best, illustrate! We represent a diverse range of artists and work with a vast array of clients from across the globe and as a children's illustration agency exclusively we have an intrinsic understanding of the children's publishing world and all of its markets. We are specialised in our approach therefore and we understand that these markets are ever changing, inclusive of the growth of digital publishing, and are constantly looking to adapt this approach and move with the times to deliver, and meet both our clients' and artists' needs. Plum Pudding is an agency built on passion and relationships: we treat clients and artists like the business partners that they are, but fueled by our inherent love of children's illustration we go above and beyond to become more than that."

Plum Pudding is based in Surrey and represents a variety of childrens book artists, from illustrators, animators, story board artists, and paper engineers that make pop up books. This is an agency i would like to be represented by as i feel my style fits in well with their illustrators. you can submit work for consideration either by post or by emailing images. They also offer internships at their company which you apply for by email.

Bright Agency

http://brightartlicensing.com/

Above all, we listen to our artists – some desperately want exclusive card ranges, others are financially driven or solely work on beautiful patterns, whereas some just want to paint flowers! Whatever direction our artists want to take we work tirelessly to help them achieve their aims and find the right work from the right clients. If this means working directly with them to create the perfect portfolio pieces to win a particular commission, then our in-house art director is on hand to help. Our creative team closely monitor trends and supply our artists with mood boards which help us keep ahead of the game, we are constantly working with our artists to create new and exciting ideas that will capture the imagination of art buyers worldwide. Our extensive knowledge of the industry allows us to be the most widely used art licensing agency in the world, whether it be charity greetings cards, boutique ranges or gallery prints.

Bright agency specialises in artwork for greeting cars, stationary, homeware and prints. I think i would fit in very well with this agency from looking at the illustrators they already have on their books my style and themes i like to work with are similar to some other artists. You can send 10-12 images to them through email for consideration to join there agency. This is something i hope to do soon as i really like the sound of this agency as they say they help you tailor your portfolio to get clients and listen to what you what to do, this sounds ideal to me as i like to have freedom in my work.

Bright also have a children's illustrator section which i could go into as well as their normal illustration.

Inkygoodness

http://inkygoodness.com/blog/

"Launching in 2008 with their first group show in Bristol, U.K, Inkygoodness have grown to showcase new and emerging talent in illustration, character design and graphic art worldwide. Curating exhibitions and events across the UK, Inkygoodness have travelled to Bristol, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Antwerp and Berlin; debuting their first international exhibition ‘Character Totem’ as part of the Pictoplasma Character Walk in 2011. We provide a platform for new and emerging talent to showcase work alongside established artists, offering a unique opportunity to develop professional careers through self-promotion and networking. Inviting submissions from creatives around the globe, they have worked with artists from as far afield as Guatemala, Honduras, South Africa and USA."

Inkygoodness showcase new talent, both through online and by curating exhibitions showing artists, illustrators and designs work. This is something i would like to be involved in, exhibitions have always been my favourite way to show work, i really loved their "Wonderland" exhibition a few years ago and could see myself taking part in things like this.

https://www.flickr.com//photos/inkygoodness/sets/72157623056442809/show/

you can submit your work to them through the post or drop and email.

"Send us your stuff!

Here at Inky HQ we love receiving post, and every week we enjoy checking out in the postcards, stickers, zines and other handmade goodies that land on our doorstep – not to mention the growing collection of things we pick up ourselves! To coincide with the launch of our new website in April 2014, we are launching a regular spot to feature the best of what drops through our letterbox, and find out more about the creatives who made them."

Tigerprint

http://www.tigerprint.uk.com/placement-info/

Tigerprint offer work placements which sound really good, this is a company i would like to work for as they are very creative and open minded about experimenting with design. This is something i would like to apply for after finishing the course.

"A placement generally lasts for 2 weeks, however for some of our award-winners it will be a month. Typically, on placement people will be set a brief based on the skills and strengths of their portfolio or directly from a winning collection/student project. While on placement the work is reviewed regularly and the student encouraged to develop their work commercially whilst still retaining their identity"

MA in Children's Book Illustration

http://www.anglia.ac.uk/ruskin/en/home/prospectus/pg/childrens_book_illustration.html

I have been considering taking a course in children's book illustration before beginning my career in the industry, this would help develop my skills and give me more confidence in my abilities. The course at cambridge is very well respected and successful and would teach me the indepth knowledge of children's book illustration giving me a great start to becoming successful creating my own books. 

PGCE Secondary art and design

http://www1.plymouth.ac.uk/courses/postgraduate/3897/Pages/CourseOverview.aspx

I have also thought about taking a different career path and looked into teaching art in secondary schools, plymouth uni does a 1 year PGCE course in art and design for secondary school, which i have the requirements to get on. This course has 2 thirds of the year spent working in school which would make great experience.


Paperchase

http://www.paperchase.co.uk/

I would like to work for paperchase making illustrations and designs to go on there notebooks, pencil cases, bags, mugs and other items they sell. I think my style would fit in well with there brand and i really love the products they sell.


Hallmark

http://www.hallmark.co.uk/Information/Graduate-Opportunities/Welcome/

After the visit from Hallmark i began thinking about different areas of illustration i could go into. I really enjoy making handmade cards so working for hallmark designing cards for them would be a great creative job and there company sounds like a great place to work.

Final outcomes for project 3

I did 6 watercolour paintings of collections of everyday objects and added in handwritten text. They will be printed on high quality textured paper as prints and i am going to make the designs to be put on cushions and cups and other items on my Society6 shop.

Note: i dont know why the background colour is coming up as gray on the images, its supposed to be white.

research

creative style inspiration by other artists/illustrators and ideas for my theme  for my last project.


Angela Dalinger





Katt Frank



Lizzy Stewart
Anne Smith


Rebecca Green



Ayako Taniyama




Alyssa Nassner


Elizabeth Greaber


Alejandra Hernandez






Collections of objects

Project 3 research

For my final project i am going to do a collection of illustrations for display. The theme is everyday life and everyday objects and will all be similar in style, colour, pattern to keep a collective look to all the illustrations. I want to have the collection framed and in a variety of shapes and sizes to create a interesting looking wall show like the examples i researched here. I think the collection will be useful for upcoming shows and exhibitions and i would include a good photo of the display in my portfolio as well as some of the illustrations themselves. I have thought about using the collection in small independent exhibitions and shops and in places like cafes that sell art. I would sell them as framed originals and also do a series of limited edition prints to sell with my other products.

Packaging designs

These are the final designs for the packaging, I'm going to print them on good quality card and make them up into boxes, and for the bottle print off a label and wrap it around a bottle.