Illustrations and News

Image A Day Challenge - Day 1

2011-05-11T12:47:00.000-07:00

Well, after university I never got work as an illustrator. After months of submitting CVs, ringing companies and filling out endless applications with no reply I realised, well, I realised there was no jobs. And the ones I wanted want 3 years experience.

*insert long, angry tirade about graduates not being able to get 3 years experience because noone will hire them and being stuck in illustrator purgatory forever*

So, I set up my own business (http://www.theemporiumoundle.com/) and still draw. But not enough. I guess there's nothing like rejection after rejection to make you feel your drawing is pants, I suppose.

But I need to keep drawing. I just can't waste these years.

So, every day I will post a sketch or piece I've drawn for this challenge. It will keep me drawing, build up a varied porfolio and hopefully do something about this crushing feeling of defeat. Hopefully! ;)

Onwards!

Big Website Update

2010-07-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

My main portfolio website wasn't looking as sleek as it could be, so I've given it a bit of a facelift, adding sidebars to make it easier to navigate.

Big update of conceptual art work to come soon.

Why not give Arcana, my graphic novel, a read?

Arcana

2010-07-02T03:19:00.001-07:00

For my final year at university I created a graphic novel called Arcana, written by Daniel Davies. It's a pencil-shaded creation, unlike more traditional comic styles, and I am very proud of it. I have created a website where it can be viewed in web-comic form and would love it if you went to take a look.

The Exhibition

2010-06-16T04:20:00.001-07:00

Our exhibition was a great success - I got loads of fantastic feedback, and completely ran out of business cards and postcards, which can't be a bad thing!

University is now over, and so I am going to take a little bit of a break and update this site and get everything in order before going for a big push on commissions and jobs as an illustrator.

Portfolio Pieces - Day Three

2010-05-17T12:56:00.000-07:00

Had a stab at colouring one of the Arcana frames! Colouring loose, light pencil lines is pretty tricky, while still showing the texture and feel of pencil.

Speaking of Arcana, another pages is up on the Arcana page!

Portfolio Pieces - Day Two

2010-05-11T07:04:00.000-07:00

Another portfolio piece. Here is another bee, this time in a different style.

Portfolio Pieces - Day One

2010-05-10T03:42:00.000-07:00

I would like to have a few new promotional pieces in time for my degree show - to update the site a bit and to use on press releases and pitches and presentations and the like. Every day I hope to post a new one here on the blog, with the best also going on the website.

Day One : A bee and a thistle in my distinctive style.

If you like my work and are interested in working with me on a project, please email me.

The Beginning of the End

2010-05-09T05:19:00.000-07:00

And here we are - our exhibition is early next month, after that I will no longer be a student. Perhaps I can call myself an illustrator.

Many things have happened - there will be a huge update and revamp of the site in time for the exhibition, along with lots of promotional work to try and get myself into the industry truly.

There is lots to do in between now and the 4th of June, when the exhibition starts (like printing the exhibition pieces!), an essay, a big presentation and fund-raising. But, the thing I want to concentrate on is creating some fun little promotional pieces to print as postcards etc to hand out to publishers and editors.

So - I've decided to give myself a bit of a challenge! A picture a day which can be used for promoting myself. It has to either be a new picture, or a revamp of an Arcana frame or page fully coloured that can be used as such. Tomorrow will be the first day - today I'm going to try and update this site a bit and get things ready and settled.

Big Updates

2010-01-21T07:40:00.000-08:00

After a long Christmas break (which was, actually, mostly spent animating!) I have uploaded lots to the website. We have my Christmas card designs for the Spon End Building Preservation Trust as well as my Paper Princess Animation Project and even a new graphic novel in the works, called Arcana.

In other news, I have been emailing artists to ask for advice in making a name for myself in the illustration business and any information on the ever-changing competition and demands of the trade. Understandably, many haven't replied (it's a busy business), but I was surprised and delighted to have the legendary John Howe reply with advice - one of my illustration heroes who inspired me to learn to draw. As you can imagine, I'm pretty chuffed!

New Fairy Tales

2009-11-18T01:43:00.001-08:00

Just finished a series of illustrations for the New Fairy Tales magazine. I am really pleased with these - they were a lot of work in a short time, but I feel they are my best pieces yet. A direct link to these illustrations can be found here.

In addition, for my main project at university I will be creating a new short comic. I will post that here, too.

Finally, I am working on some Christmas card designs for the Spon End Building Preservation Trust on a medieval theme, which should be fun!

Kaos

2009-08-04T15:00:00.000-07:00

Kaos is back up at http://kaos.rebeccaholder.com/ !

Packaging and Point of Sale

2009-03-31T03:14:00.000-07:00

My last project was for the National Student Awards competition - namely the brief to design packaging and point of sale for Homebase and their new "Grow Your Own" range.

I adapted a WW2 "Dig For Victory" style theme, and created posters, packaging and ideas on the same theme - eventually deciding on several angles including a ration book style of seed packets and books, colour coded for the seasons, and a classic brown paper package style packaging for the main product, based around a Red Cross parcel. All these can be viewed on my website in the gallery, or by clicking on this link: http://www.rebeccaholder.com/growyourown.html

I know it is very unlikely I will win the award - the competition is amazing, and the previous winners' works are incredible, but I hope they choose to display my work, and print it in some form in their published booklets. Although, winning one of the coveted yellow pencils would be lovely indeed...

Catching Up

2009-02-22T14:04:00.000-08:00

Long time, no update! Life at university is plodding along - I have been mostly doing a lot of work on my comic (I'm making a good archive of strips so I can update every week for at least a half year - so If I do get distracted by something I have lots of lee-way to catch up), and for a packaging project for Illustration.

Very strange not illustrating in the way I usually do - instead it has been mimicry and design and a lot of research to get packaging in a particular set of styles, and looking professional. I will do a massive update of the whole lot and the varying styles, posters and designs for the project, as well as mock-ups of the packaging on this site once I have handed the lot in for assessment.

A Big Update

2008-12-15T02:25:00.000-08:00

Added a great deal to the site today, including all my final pieces for this term at university such as the 3D city created in Autodesk 3DS Max, my character designs and storyboards and several new illustrations. I also moved some older works into the archive area, and tidied up the site a little. With luck, I should be able to do more commission work over Christmas and the New Year over my break.

Autodesk 3DS Max and The End is Nigh

2008-11-18T02:32:00.000-08:00

It's not long now until we have to hand in both projects - the city building task and journal in Autodesk 3DS Max, and the character design journal, references and final large scale pieces presented in a A3 portfolio. It's a lot to do - and I am most worried about my Autodesk 3DS Max project.

Luckily I have a 30 day trial copy installed on my laptop of Autodesk 3DS Max, which should last me until after the project is over. Today I found this was a better bonus that I thought - in our lecture today we are using the university PCs to work on our 3D city, but the university only has 50 licenses, so only 50 students can have it running at only one time. Unfortunately I am one of the unlucky ones and the licenses have run out.

Anyway, I can use this time to work on my creative CV and portfolio, as well as my rationalle.

Medieval Textures and a Course Rep

2008-11-04T07:52:00.000-08:00

Things have been very busy with me of late - having two big modules before Christmas is scary enough, plus the PDP work and my extra module on International Business Cultures - things are a little hectic. On top of that, I am now, along with my close friend Justine Rugg-Easey, one of the Course Representatives for Illustration at Coventry University. Our first meeting was this afternoon, and it was an interesting introduction into our duties. I hope I have the time to dedicate to it, really.

For one of my modules, as you may have read if you read this blog regularly, I am working on a city in Autodesk 3DS Max. We could choose whatever type of city we want - sky is the limit, but I felt that Coventry had some of the best examples of Medieval/16th Century architecture that I could use as references, or textures directly into my buildings on Autodesk. All of the photographs I have taken around the city can be found here, if you are interested. With luck I will have some interesting city ideas and sketches to post here very shortly.

For my other illustration module I have been working on character designs, although mostly on a small book full of collage work on a circus theme, to which I will add illustrations to match the collage. This book is coming along very well, and I hope to scan some pages this weekend to display here - I like the mix of textures, rough collage and photographs with my neater, inked illustrations.

Enterprising and Autodesk

2008-10-29T13:34:00.000-07:00

Something I have only considered fleetingly is starting my own business - it's not because I don't feel I couldn't, in fact, I would love to. I just don't have any viable business ideas. Sure, I'd love a gallery/art shop/freelance illustration company but the way things are financially for me and for the rest of the UK today it wouldn't work - I'd need a really innovative idea to even consider it.

But, it was quite interesting to learn all the options we have at Coventry and the support we can apply for if we do want to set up a small business. Who knows, maybe one day!

Still working on Autodesk for one of my modules. It's slowly becoming much more clearer and much easier for me, although there is still so much more I can't wait to learn. I'm currently writing up my notes as clearly as I can for future reference, as well as exploring cities and towns from all over the world and other cultures for inspiration for my own city. I hope to do some more complex drawings with colours and textures in the very near future, and then import them into Autodesk and start on my final city design proper soon. Deadline is in early December, so I must keep at it as hard as possible.

Life Drawing and Creative CVs

2008-10-23T01:07:00.001-07:00

One thing I love to do is go life drawing, although it scares me half to death walking home in the dark through the area of Coventry we live (especially as on Tuesday two guys kicked both our locks out and tried to rob us in broad daylight). Life drawing at Coventry University occurs once a week on Thursday evenings, and they always do a good set of quick poses - which are my favourite. I feel that life drawing is key to improving my skills, it keeps me drawing fast as well as really looking at an object, and learning about shape, shadow and anatomy is important to my chosen path.

In PDP we have been learning about creative CVs. When I worked in recruitment I was always told that simple CVs are best to look out for, and less is always more - don't waste time reading the rambling CVs with half a page about hobbies. It seems we are being told similar in PDP as well as the very basics (like checking spelling and not having rude e-mail addresses). I should update my CV, really, but I have no desire to look for another position currently. I am a little worried we will have to do a work placement this year - we keep getting conflicting information about whether we do or don't. Fingers crossed that we won't, really.

Autodesk 3DS Max

2008-10-14T05:55:00.000-07:00

One of our modules at university this year is on 3D Animation and Design, using the Autodesk 3DS Max software. At first I was terrified of it - a completely new experience with completely new software, but over the last few weeks I've found myself soaking up more and more of the lectures, tools and commands that 3Ds Max offers, and it's slowly slipping into place. I have ordered a tutorial book, and am writing up my notes as I go along to keep it fresh - I must admit, I've never found 3D as interesting as 2D design and animation, but I am definately warming to it now.

The best parts of the software for me so far gave been using the extrude tool, while grouping up the shapes and creating more complex shapes - before lighting them and setting up cameras to view it from different angles. I'm so used to almost instant results when I draw or paint, that the wait is strange, but worth it once something is finished.

I have been thinking about my USP, my "Unique Selling Point" in my PDP recently - It's hard to say, really. Learning so much at university has made me think and rethink what I do, as well as the fact that I really enjoy writing in my current job and believe I have the skills to take that further. When it comes to Illustration, though, I think my main selling points that make me unique and interesting to potential clients is definately my imagination and ability to sketch out designs and ideas fluidly and quickly, as well as expand on these in a variety of medias - not only using pens, ink, pencils, paints and washes, but also in photoshop or flash - even directly with a graphics tablet.
Character design is definately my favourite, and I love exploring other cultures, costumes and designs people wear, as well as thier unique surroundings. 3DS Max can help me with this - mainly just for the surroundings of characters and mapping out areas, homes, cities and the like, and visualising things both small scale and massive. I know I'd like to work in the gaming industry - but ideally for conceptual work, illustration, background painting, character design, weapon design, costume design etc, so bringing my ideas from pencil or pen sketch to exciting 3D models and environments.

Nest week I must remember to create some textures and flat images for use in my current ideas (either from my own photos or sketches), to import them into 3DS and see how they can be used successfully.

PDP

2008-10-06T09:25:00.000-07:00

First PDP lecture of the year this morning. Hosted by a guest speaker, I believe - not the most gripping of fellows but lots of information to take in.
I must admit, I've never been the type to enjoy having a label stuck to my jumper and being told I'm "that person", out of a choice of several "types", so that part tended to irk me - especially when he rattled off the weaknesses for "my type". It sounds a bit boastful to say, but I am generally a really driven person. If I'm not working I'll be drawing or doing university work - so being told my "type" was prone to lack of motivation wasn't the best thing to say to convince me to learn more about my "learning type."
For the morbidly curious, it was agreed that I am a "Theorist", which makes me well-organised, factual and good at seeing alternatives and the bigger picture. The cons included putting things off, lack of confidence and several other even less desirable things. Not something one wants to hear first thing on a Monday morning!

Being told that when I have my first interviews I'll do this and that, and that I haven't had any experience of life, what with being a student didn't help. I left school shortly after my GCSEs and lived in Alta in Norway for 2 years, where I taught English and learnt Norwegian. Shortly after I worked jobs in the UK, including as a administrator for Churchill before moving on to be a recruiter for Thomas Cook. I realised I didn't want to be recruiting people to work as holiday reps my whole life, so I went back to college and took my A-Levels in Art, Photography and Graphic Design, and also won an award from the BBC and was published for my writing. Upon leaving the college with grades I was pleased with, I was awarded the "College Award for Creative Achievement" - an honour awarded to one student aloneeach year at Rutland College, and it made everything worth it. When I was accepted to Coventry it was a dream come true - people thought I could draw well and actually make something of myself with it! I was awarded with a creative scholarship, and it was a whole new different world for me.

So, what I'm trying to say here I don't really know. I just have this odd feeling about PDP, and about labels. I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks we aren't all drones that can be boxed up, and I like to think I can't be.

University Second Year

2008-09-30T06:09:00.000-07:00

I began my second year at university on Monday - this year we begin with the use of Autodesk 3DS Max to design and build a scene from our imaginations, using inspiration from either historical, mythological or modern cities. We can build the cities with traditional shapes, or using more imaginative blocks, such as sweets or household items. I'm a little daunted at learning a brand new software - as I enjoy using 2D work using traditional media, or with Photoshop, but I can use this previous experience to create interesting textures and scenes in the city. Other lectures this term include further illustration practice and an extra module on International Business Cultures and how to best communicate ideas when dealing with other cultures and peoples (although I did get an automated email this morning telling me the course was full - a full month after enrolling online and being told I was registered to the course). In addition to this we have PDP - and so I'm back again blogging about the details of my course and my progress.

This year has gone off to a shaky start, last year my Personal Development Planning was not marked as the sheets with the links to my site and work were lost, and marked as absent. Luckily I had my slips signed by staff to say I had handed it in on time, and it was marked late in the summer, which allowed me to continue into this year. As a result of this, I also lost my scholarship, something I was relying upon to ensure I would not have to work too many hours to pay the bills and could therefore spend much more time on my studies. Fingers crossed I can have this decision overturned, but as you can imagine, what with the first I heard of my failure being on results day and being told I couldn't go back to university without resitting, when I knew I had done all the work (why - it's all here!) was distressing, and has impacted my view of the university somewhat.

In between working as a writer for a fantastic web-content company in the summer, I have also drawn a little for pleasure. I will upload some of my summer works to the site as soon as I can, and the conceptual drawings and ideas for my 3D City for this Animation and Time based Illustration module.

Over The Sea Illustrations

2008-07-10T12:16:00.000-07:00

Added two new illustrations today, a moody blue piece painted in Photoshop called "Over the Sea", which I'm particularly proud of, as well as an experiment in a pin-up style (Warning : Not safe for work).

Film Noir - Final Piece

2008-06-12T13:07:00.001-07:00

Tweaked the site a little today, and added my final piece for my last module of this year at university, an illustration in a painterly style of a scene called "The Black Dahlia". I used my own photographs as references, as well as painting out the type (using other fonts from the time as inspiration) and am pleased with the oil painterly, rough and loose style that has emerged.

Film Noir and the Beginning of The End

2008-05-08T02:24:00.000-07:00

So, tomorrow I hand in my Personal Development Planning - the reason I have been blogging in such a way on my site, and being more concise with my descriptions and methods of work, as well as my influences and feedback.

In doing so, I have been able to monitor my work more, as well as see how I've developed and what directions my work has been taking - giving me an insight into what I need to concentrate more on, and to decide what path I want to take apon leaving university.

Taking the time out every week to publish some work online, and blogging about it twice a month, has been an experience a little tiresome at times, but I enjoy the feedback I recieve posting my work on this site, as well as sites like deviantart, where you can find my work at:
http://www.fayea.deviantart.com/

This site also has many of my sketches, works of a very similar nature to the ones you see on this site, works in progress and works I feel that don't meet up to the standard I'd like to keep on this smaller portfolio website.

Easter Holidays

2008-04-04T04:29:00.000-07:00

Mostly this Easter I have been working on our mandatory "Add-Vantage" modules that the university requires us to complete. Mine is "Introduction to Project Management" and has been taking a fair bit of my time, mostly due to it being something I feel I am not naturally gifted at.
For Easter, I promised myself I would work on my personal projects, such as the graphic novel I have been working on, and my gallery now has two new pieces related to this, of an original character of mine featured in the comic. Hopefully over summer I can really get it going, without university deadlines looming!

Maths Postcards and More!

2008-03-05T14:50:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow I hand in my second module at university - I'm very very nervous. I've spent a long time tweaking it, and adding more as I go, but there's always something you feel you can do better, isn't there?
So, tomorrow it's all over.

After that, it's all hands onto my Film Noir project, and expect to see many images in the style in my gallery quite soon.

Today I also updated the site a little, adding my Maths Postcards images, a project for a client through the university to design a postcard "advertising" maths to a young audience to be distributed in school libraries. I did four ideas, which can be found here. If you know of any competitions similar to this one, please leave me a comment - I'm always interested in getting my work "out there".
Also I added a piece exploring drawing to music, and how the styles, colours, methods and materials in an image effects the mood.

A Small Update

2008-02-27T15:06:00.000-08:00

Just a few tweaks here today - updated my photograph to a recent photograph of myself at university, the one from the newspaper as it is so vibrant and bright and enthusiastic - just how I would like to portray myself on my site and as an illustrator.
Also added a note in the Awards page about my CPA Scholarship from Coventry University, which is currently funding me upgrading my PC so I can handle higher resolution and more detailed files in Photoshop, as well as buying some more modern image making software in both traditional medias and on my PC. Thankyou Coventry University, I won't let you down!

Hot Off The Presses!

2008-02-07T11:52:00.000-08:00

Two friends and myself can be found in the Coventry Observer on the 31st of January issue posing for a photograph to publicise "The Big Picture", an initiative in the Coventry area to break a world record for the largest photomontage - with all the photographs used contributed by residents from around the area.

I'm glad I was able to help publicise the event, and also excited at being in the paper - the last time I believe I was still in primary school for a piece on pond dipping!

(If you are reading this from my website, please click on the "Hot Off The Presses" link at the top to view the cutting from the paper in which we feature!)

Watercolour Illustrations

2008-01-27T02:33:00.000-08:00

Some new pieces added to the site today, including a few watercolour and mixed media pieces created for a fundraising project at university.

I felt that participating in the fundraiser would help people to see my works - the fundraiser is for the third years final exhibition, and they will be showing the "postcards" created by students in a exhibition, and inviting members of the public to purchase them to raise money.

I hope that people will see my works, and note my name, and like them! I love the thought that someone could pay money for my original watercolour postcards, and read the back and find thier way back here.
(If you do - hello, thankyou very much for buying one of my postcards, It really means a great deal to me).
Also I hope that people will like my style enough to commission me for further projects, and start to create a name for myself in the industry, even while I am still studying.

Award Winning

2007-12-18T14:11:00.000-08:00

Today I was awarded the "College Award for Creative Achievement" at the Rutland College, Oakham.
This award is given to the one student they feel has achieved the most in the year, and I was nominated for it by my Graphic Design tutor, June.
In my time at the Rutland College, I worked very hard - I joined the college unsure of my skills and potential artistically and graphically (I had not done as well as I had hoped in my art based GCSEs, and had taken three years out of education to travel and work), and in the time I spent there I feel I learnt a great deal about Art, Graphic Design and Photography, which all has boosted not only my skills but my confidence in myself artistically.

I am very pleased to have this presented to me, and I hope I can live up to the title and talents of those awarded it in the years before and after me.

Proverb Illustration

2007-11-28T16:26:00.001-08:00

Uploaded my final piece for one of my modules at university, an illustrated proverb, "There are 40 types of lunacy but only one type of common sense".
I was really pleased how it came out - I used a mixture of styles and techniques - each one representing a feel of lunacy, or of common sense.
For the figure I used several clothing references from a popular sensible clothes catalogue, then created the sweet cartoon character with the blonde curly hair out of my imagination. I used bright and "wooly" looking colours, to convey a feeling of wrapping up warm and sensibly. I also used a classical umbrella, shielding her from the background and the lunacy. As you can see around the umbrella is the lunacy themed area, and inside it is calmer and blue.
For the lunacy area, I used reds and blacks, and drew out the big red moon in Photoshop. I also took photographs of myself making a sinister hand, covered in red paint, and scanned in papers I had created with splats and smears of red "blood". This added the rough, horror-filled feeling to the background.
The text was created using a normal font on a seperate layer, and then creating another layer over the top and drawing over it, using the font as a guide to keeping the letters even and straight, but freehanding a completely different feel to the letters, with the dripping, smeary effect. Then I deleted the reference font, leaving my own hand-written font.

The only critique for this piece, which I noticed much too late, was her hat being in front of the umbrella, instead of inside, and perhaps I could've drawn some "lunacy" images to hover menacingly around the figure in the lunacy area.

Life Drawing

2007-11-14T04:41:00.000-08:00

Removed some older works and added a selection of new life drawings, both male and female (full nude). Both of these models were not the "ideal" figure we are subjected to in our daily lives by the media as "perfection". I learnt alot more about anatomy, skin and how flesh moves and hangs from our frames from these sessions, as well as how to interpret age and weight. It's fair enough drawing pretty people, but I must expand myself to a much wider range if I am to succeed.

I hope to update my site as I progress, moving older works to an archive that can also be viewed by the public and potential clients to show how I've improved, but not showcasing them as my current standard of works.

More Illustrations

2007-11-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

Added three new illustrations to the site, these are mostly my personal works in my free time. I like to spend my spare time practising exploring my figures and creating characters and ideas. I hope I will keep progressing and learning new styles that I can exhibit in my portfolio and be seen as an illustrator, designer and artist that has a broad and exciting range with bags of imagination!

Every Thursday I attend a life-drawing class, and I will post some of my favourite figures on the site in the life drawing section, and use the rest as references to create more fuller works. I hope that by attending these classes, and expanding on the drawings I can greatly improve my knowledge of different anatomys, lighting and drawing at various speeds.

Graphic Design

2007-10-20T13:58:00.000-07:00

Added a few of my graphic design pieces, including logo designs, poster and record covers.
I created these last year as a part of my Graphic Design A-Level, using a variety of artists and designers as inspiration as well as exploring textures and collage with my own photography and papers. I enjoy using my own photographs in my works, as well as painting, scrunching, dying and printing on papers to create texture and interesting background - especially scanned into Photoshop and layered on top of each other.
I feel this creates a natural hand-made look, with the sleek computer edited finish on top.
As I progress through my Illustration degree, I want to use these techniques again, and have been working on creating interesting papers to draw apon, or simply to scan and layer an existing image onto, which I feel will help me create a more distinctive "style" thats recognisable and interesting.

Testing... Testing...

2007-10-09T10:54:00.001-07:00

Is this thing on?

Hey there. I'm just seeing if this works - I'm trying to create a small blog on here for news and updates on my work and thoughts, and to help track my progress as part of a university requirement.
I'm trying to create a reflective area where I can record my ideas and thoughts, as well as keep track of my critiques, references and inspirations. How will I be exploring my degree? What am I learning? Am I closer to achieving my goal to be part of the industry? Are my works relevant and successful, and what skills am I learning as I go?

Right now I don't have alot to say - Kaos is on a bit of a hiatus as I'm bogged down with Illustration projects right now, and I have a few pieces of graphic design works I am keen to add to my portfolio as soon as I can, as at the moment there is little to no evidence of my graphic design A-Level here!

Best wishes,
Rebecca