opportunities are everywhere !!!

I'm one to always stress about finding success and what it takes for you to find your goal, what people don't understand is that no matter what industry your in there are opportunities everywhere it just takes you to open your eyes and grab them. Sometimes it happens on chance sometimes it happens with time, it just depends. e.g. when I started my clothing thing I didn't think I'd get even one buyer but turns out when I was wearing it in the gym and to events people were interested. When something illustration related pops up and is positive it always makes my day, another thing is just having the opportunity to be on  an illustration course for you to find your strong point and where it is where you will do well, that alone is a head start and some people don't see that. to even land on that avenue it took awhile. education is something I had to be patient with because I feel I am quite practical rather then just being in one space for awhile I feel and I need to up, awake and active doing something.I feel there are quite a few opportunities in university because the project briefs bring development and some involve competitions and that gives you a chance to get your work out there. And if you've crossed that bridge allot more opportunities come along the way. dedication, patience and maturity are all key components that you need to await a good opportunity.

Fears !!

I fear allot of things and I try not to think about the negative side of my illustrations but to look on the brighter side. But to get straight to the point, the biggest fear I have is the repetitiveness I have with drawing and not breaking out of that pen style. I fear that what I have to bring to the industry may not be enough or is just limited, there's loads of things that pass through my mind that brings me doubt. I fear that context is so much of a weak point that it may bring stress for my degree. I know that's something I shouldn't reveal and is a bit close for comfort but its honesty and its truth. I fear that I don't listen enough and that when i'm being criticized and being given advice but to take it as advice and not as judgement, I can get emotional and think that people are getting at me rather then helping, I always seem to think I can do things on my own and that my individual abilities are all that I need. But the truth is that if you get all the help you can you may even reveal a side of your talent that you didn't know about and then things change, so I'm just going to listen more rather then pointing a fingure and not listening.

My Hopes

I wish to finish university with a degree and graduate with opportunities passing my feet, university has been a struggle as what I brought to the table was very limited but for every time I forwarded a design to my tutor the advice created development but to avoid 'the bighead' I think I have came far. As I've started this clothing line I hope it maintains and one day blows up and just turns into a huge success. I'm one to live small but that top floor of confidence was hard to reach but with the help of my friends, family and tutors I feel as though I have crossed that bridge. I have allot of hopes but I don't want to 'jump the gun' and expect something that wont happen. I'm more for the encounter and the experience it brings along the journey, the course has brought me happiness and it has been fun watching my work grow and myself as a pupil, there's allot of competition out there within the design industry and everybody is unique. The best advice I can give myself is not to lose the joy of drawing because I love putting pen to paper and creating things I didn't think I could create and just having that master ability to put down an idea when the moment comes. I think of it like this, in a sense you are a god because if you have that gift you can create what ever it is you want, creativity comes in different forms, its a power that we've been given. And I'm happy I've got it. So as for my hopes, as I said, I have allot of them, I'm just ready for whatever it is that's about to pop up !!

website opinion. www.thebearhug.com

I've always been a big fan of high profile illustrator 'Luke Dixon' and his clothing brand 'The Bear Hug', when he starting printed onto fabric all I could think about was 'when is it he will get them published ?' because I always wanted one and was always influenced by his work. But his site is another thing, as I've kicked off my own clothing line and the due launch soon to crack my Facebook page in mid January, his site is also an inspiration but I don't know how or what company he's done it through as I want and need this form of layout for my homepage. His site looks very professional and you can see that he has sat down and thought about what he wants on his page not just the t-shirts, jumpers and prints he's selling but what it is that comes with websites and the things you need. I've tracked Luke for awhile now and I've noticed how he has changed his website twice but on each round he has worked it correctly, the first time round was very good but he blew with his renewal and new layout. Because he has done this I think this has created a new line of exposure and because he has his designs/t-shirts timed on when to put up a new seller it creates a wider audience and the height of his market then becomes reachable !!! Hes a fantastic illustrator and what hes doing will last for years, not allot of people can do what he can do with only just one uni-fine-liner and a piece of paper. His ideas are phenomenal.

A soft opportunity and a portfolio visit with a retailer/provider of the carhartt store.

As I was walking through town just to collect some comics I was walking past the carhartt store and couldn't help myself but I walked in just to browse and nothing more and I had noticed that they had some screen printed designs on a few of their t-shirts and I ended up getting caught and locked in conversion with one of the retailers and of course I mentioned that I was a post graduate and how I was studying illustration and she asked to see some designs and I shown her a few and she asked for my email and she said it could be a possibility that the head office maybe interested so I wrote down my email and its still in process as we speak, nothings confirmed but I do have my fingers crossed. I revisited with my portfolio early hours of the morning and just got some advice on what she thought and she was convinced with what she saw but she also said the same as what fitness instructor mark Ellis was saying. Just to break habit and try some new techniques, I've took this advice on board and I have noticed myself that I am quite repetitive in some ways but this can be handled with some thorough development and study. She also pointed out that the the black and white theme that I have 'going on' is quite strong is relevant with in the design industry in this day and age which I appreciated also.

portfolio visit with fitness instructor mark ellis !!

As I've mentioned I did some commission work with the owner and head manager of "The Body Sculptor" wanting several t-shirt designs and some personal jumper designs alongside. But whilst this was going on I got Mark Ellis to review my portfolio with me and he gave me some good feedback, he mentioned that I just need to use a wider variety of media and to try some new techniques and just to see if i have any strong points. So I took his advice on board and I have tried what he had said. However I'm forever drawing in black uni-fineliners straight onto white cartridge paper and breaking the habit wasn't easy, I nearly gave up on the first couple of tries but that didn't stop me. I tried some water color methods and a couple of others and things started to brighten. Whilst we were working together on this project he also mentioned how good my customer services were and that when he got his first order he was pleased. He also notified that when I gave him his first order that when the first t-shirt I gave him was slightly small soon as he required an exchange it came straight back to him. He was pleased with my portfolio and also my services !!

brand new business cards !!

advertisement on behalf of northwest clothing co ltd

northwest apparel UK LTD

A new design I've added to my range

how the experimentation went.

As you can see below the image looks miles better just through creating bolder lines and giving it a contemporary edge, sometimes I'm not always able to get gather an image together from scratch so if theres something I've done in the past and it could be enhanced or its just not finished I will the n use it to my advantage and see where it ends up and now this piece looks like it will be put towards my business plans.

the result was a success

the drawing below.

the illustration below is actually an old drawing I did round 2011, I was recently running through a few illustrations because my imagination was pritty cloudy due to lack of imagination. So i picked this piece of work up and looked at it and I tried to find a way of making it looking stronger and alot more attractive. So I copied to have a backup piece and copied another to work into.

experimentation

the imagery below

The piece of artwork below has also been put towards the t-shirt collect for northwest apparel uk ltd, I've also organised and attended a shoot for the homepage of my website when its due.

another piece of artwork that sits well on a t-shirt.