Industry Report

Since I started this course in 2015, my ideas on what Illustration is to me changed a lot through the progress and development I had between projects and personal industry research. With my previous Graphic Design course I did for 3 years and with a book launched in November of last year, I knew that probably that area wasn’t right for me as there’s a lot in it I don’t specially like. However, I can say that most of the production of University projects refer back to certain skills I learnt throughout that path like layout and type sensibility.

During my experience in this course I found out that Illustration is everywhere and that every single skill you learn along the way (editing film or a hands-on 3D installation, for example) should never be refused on the mind-set that “I won’t be needing this”.

For the past year I’ve been looking a lot into filmmaking and animation as an interesting path I could take as well as the graphic novels industry. I do enjoy character development most of all, to be able to show their personality through ways of expression and movement and also their relationship socially and with the world. Communication of identity is something I definitely appreciate doing, being it for animation purposes or not. I enjoy working both with software and traditionally as well, most of the times mixing both. I do prefer fiction over fact, as there are limitless possibilities on what I’m able to create. My vision for the future includes maximum creativity and drawing as a medium to transmit feel and evoke emotion and empathy from the public and both animation and the graphic novel industry provide me with that option.

I’m a book hoarder so I rely my research mostly by reading true experiences of people I look up to and also by following Instagram accounts, where I’m able to see progress and what’s happening on the now.

Nearly all my books are related to either animation companies/films I enjoy and want to see their research and development or to people that work within this industry and share their experiences. As an example Dream Worlds – Production Design for Animation by Hans Bacher[1], the ex-head of Production Design at Disney and now a Film-design teacher at Nanyang University in Singapore, is a book that essentially describes what Production Design is by talking about a variety of aspects. This book constitutes a continuous inspiration for me as it could be a route to take in the future. Another example is Lovely: Ladies of Animation[2] by a variety of illustrators such as Claire Keane and Lorelay Bove. This book constitutes into a portfolio of six different female artists that work within the entertainment industry. This is an absolute favourite, giving not only visual inspiration but also ambition for the future. The book I’m reading now is Starting Point [3]by Hayao Miyazaki, one of my favourite all-time filmmakers. This book is based on the first two decades of his career showing a collection of essays, interviews and memoirs that present his roads to success but also his frustrations within this industry that often suffocate creativity.

On the other hand, social media can establish a great way to keep track of my favourite practitioners and see what they’re doing in real time. I do follow a range of different medium artists such as painters, comic artists and even sculptors that regularly update with new art and information about what they’re currently working on professionally. The freelance artist Lois van Baarle She's definitely one of the artists I take for inspiration. Her work is diverse, fun and communicates character all over. I follow her work since around 2013 (when DeviantArt was still a professional platform to have a visual portfolio on). She often posts her progress and development of artworks online and considers herself as an illustrator and animator. Recently she has given a few lectures on digital painting in a few events around the world.

There’s also events that usually happen between Canada, USA and sometimes London that present opportunities to get to know practitioners in the industry. One of those events happens in the state of California in Burbank called The CTN Animation Expo where it “presents a unique opportunity that brings together the top professionals from both the traditional and digital worlds of animation. Hosted by The Creative Talent Network®, this now an eight year event has captured both the industry and local community's attention as a resource for education, employment, inspiration, business opportunities (…)”[4]. Even though I’m not physically able go to such interesting event, I follow it online in every way possible every year through social media.

Furthermore, I recently started following this online magazine called Creative Review [5] that features a range of articles on a collection of subjects such as typography, illustration, branding, film & TV, to name a few. They also present opportunities to submit creative work and also articles around how to get into the industry, pricing work and also careers advice, written by people that work within these specific industries.

On the whole, I do think that expanding my portfolio and keep track of events, articles and inspiring people is a beginning. My next step is to do my 4 month Animation Erasmus Exchange course to find out if this is an actual area I’m able to pursue. I may not enjoy it as much as I think I would and in that case, my path and ideas will definitely change in a near future.

After my graduation I’m think about starting to make contacts with people in the industry, get internships and try a range of different job positions within this application of illustration before settling down for a specific place.

Working as a freelancer or in a team of people, either way I would be happy to just work on what I love to do which is bringing joy and thought with what I create on an industry that thrives on entertaining people of all ages using storytelling as a foundation for what it stands for.

[1] Hans P. Bacher, 2007. Dream Worlds: Production Design for Animation. Focal Press. 2007.. Edition. Focal Press

[2] Lorelay Bové, 2014. Lovely: Ladies of Animation. Edition. Design Studio Press

[3] Hayao Miyazaki, 2014. Starting Point, 1979-1996. Edition. VIZ Media LLC

[4] About Us - CTN Expo. 2017. About Us - CTN Expo. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.ctnanimationexpo.com/axAboutUs.php. [Accessed 03 February 2017]

[5] Creative Review. 2017. The best in creativity - Creative Review. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.creativereview.co.uk/. [Accessed 03 February 2017]