How To Be An Illustrator by Darrell Rees

During the summer holidays I have read 'How To Be An Illustrator' by Darrel Rees, which was on my university reading list. I found this to be a very interesting insight into the life of an illustrator. When seeing the title for the first time you might expect a step-by-step guide on how to be an illustrator which it isn't! I have learn't from this book that the illustration lifestyle is all about your own personal preference, like whether you have an agent or not & if you work from home or work in a shared studio. My favourite part of the book we is the small interviews with illustrators, art directors and art buyers etc. It's definitely a book that I'll be referring to alot in the future. 

Each chapter starts like this with the chapter broken down into subjects it covers.

There is a nice variation of illustrations through out the book.

 This illustration by Marion Deuchars is one of my favourite illustrations featured in the book, I love the contrast of the bold red background and black & white image.

 A very handy page is the page on putting together your portfolio.

This page on financial tips is another helpful page for illustrators starting out.

Reading this book made me realise how much harder I need to work In my 2nd year of university.
Have you read this book? If so what did you think of it?

Victo Ngai - Tiger Advertisement

As I was peering over my Mum's shoulder whilst she was flicking through an issue of Jamie (chef Jamie Oliver's magazine) I spotted this illustration advertisement by Victo Ngai for Tiger Beer in celebration of the Chinese New Year. If Victo Ngai is new to you, like she is to me then here is a bit about her; She is based in New York from Hong Kong and graduated from Rhode Island School of Design. Her work, especially in this piece is influenced by oriental art with the inclusion of; Koi Carp fish, Chinese lanterns, fireworks, and blossom flowers. At a glance the explosion of colours that was used in this advert made me want to take a closer look at the illustration. The use of salmon pink and turquoise is a perfect colour contrast.  As well as the colour palette used in this piece, I love the humour of having people sat on the backs of the Koi Carp fish. I think the flow of the whole piece is very appealing which is achieved with lack of straight lines and the curved shape of the Koi Carp fish. Some might say this piece is a bit too busy with all the elements included in it but, I think that all the elements tie in well and create interest in the advertisement.

Here are some interesting facts about the piece: There are 9 Koi fish featured in the illustration as 9 is a lucky number in Chinese culture. Also, there are 8 hidden horses through out the illustration because 2014 is the year of the Horse and why 8 you ask? Well the number 8 is yet again a lucky number of the Chinese culture!

All in all I'd say this was a refreshing and unique approach to a beer advertisement. 

Victo Ngai's website

What do you think of this illustration?

Introduction

My name is Katie an illustration student at the University of Central Lancashire in Preston.
This is my blog I created to share my reviews of illustrations I've seen, books that I've read and exhibitions that I've been to. Bare with me when it comes to the design and layout as I'm planning on changing it once I get my head around the whole editing and HTML (what a 20 year old who doesn't know how technology works?) *hangs head in shame*. I'll give it a good go though *queue google open in many tabs*.
I'm currently working on my summer project which is 'sixties fashion', which means lots of research and experimenting! I plan on experimenting with collage, ink and fabric, maybe more depending where my project takes me! I'm so far enjoying my summer project as I'm very interested the 60's; the music, art and design, new inventions and fashion (of course). The sixties was definitely an exciting decade. I'll tell you more about my ideas so far  in my first 'summer project' post.