Hi buddy you had a good week?
As you know I’m in the last year of my degree and as part of my course I have to create a learning plan. which I have done. I wanted you to have a look at it and tell me what you think.
You will!
Thanks. Well here it is then. Hope you enjoy it…
Overall Objectives
Before starting to plan out the projects I will undertake during the next 8 month, I found it useful to first analyse my strengths and weaknesses so I could focus my efforts more effectively.
Looking back at my work to date, I realise that although I have strong traditional and digital rendering skills, which are a solid foundation for any career within illustration, there are some areas within my practice I deliberately avoid. These areas include my ability to analyse the work of industry professionals, my knowledge of social media promotional techniques, my reliance of digital colour correction for my colour theory and my lack of ability, to draw realistic female characters.
Going forward , I am confident these shortcomings can be overcome. By applying my mature work ethic, strong artistic ability, good conceptual skills and my industry experience so far.
With this in mind I have developed the following projects which will utilise my strengths and address my weaknesses over the following 8 months.
I intend to produce 2 personal projects, the first of which will explore themes around the technological singularity, with the second helping me develop my free hand drawing ability as well as my understanding of traditional colour theory. I will also produce two commercial projects. One competition and social media based and one which will develop a worksheet game for the education sector.
Skills, Knowledge and Experience acquisition and application
I already posses strong digital illustration skills so these will be utilised to create my digital content throughout the year. I am constantly gaining more insight into this sector through following tutorials by artists such as Lincoln Hughes (2020) and Lino Drieghe (2020)on you tube.
To address my shortcomings I will start a sketchbook dedicated to human anatomy and traditional colour theory, with a focus on the female form. I will do this by first studying anatomy and medical books, such as the Atalas of Anatomy for artists (Fritz Schiner 1947) and Human Anatomy (R.T.Huchings 1977) as well as the works of the artists who inspire me, such as Devon Cady-Lee and Frank Frazetta and creating responses within my sketchbook. This sketchbook will not only be a source of skill acquisition but a document that tracks my development as well as a valuable tool for self evaluation.
My commercial project will be competition based and will be an entry into the clip art international illustration award. This is a social media based competition with the theme of the “Cutest creature in the galaxy” I have picked this competition primarily due to the fact that social media re-posts and the number of “likes” received are a factor in becoming a successful finalist. This will require me to focus on increasing the number of people who follow my social media accounts. I will accomplish this first by conducting research from blogs and vlogs into social media techniques from Instagram marketing experts such as Tylor Loren (2020) and Wikihow (2020).
Once I have gained a greater insight into this I will then aggressively push my brand #stephencarart by creating a more aesthetically coherent Instagram and Facebook page. I will also join illustration based groups and follow their members, who will in turn, follow me back. I will also run paid for promotions on my posts in order to widen my on-line exposure. Through these projects Its my hope that by the end of the year to have massively increased my following on social media. My aim is to get to 10,000 followers before 2021 from my current number of 67.
Processes and Method
The coming singularity is a time in the future when humanity will merge with super intelligent artificial minds, I will explore this concept by producing work based on this theme.
Firstly I will produce a collection of digital illustrations based around the theme. These will be rendered in a colour pallet associated with the Synthwave 80’s retro aesthetic of purples, blues, magentas and turquoise and utilise my strong digital skills. These skills will be bolstered by further reading of tutorial books on digital painting beginners guide to digital painting by 3dtotal 2016
I will also produce a collection of concept portfolio pieces in the same aesthetic aimed at the gaming and entertainment industry, depicting futuristic cities. For these I will learn and use photobashing techniques, tutorials for which I will acquire from you tube and Lynda.com, as well as utilising my skills at digital painting and manipulation. I will follow tutorials from books such as The Ultimate Concept Art Career Guide 3dtotal (2018) and Photobashing Illustrating Backgrounds by Tsubura Kadomaru Zounose (2017). I will also purchase stock photo packs based on city environments, industrial machinery, vehicles and technology from the Photobash website. These are royalty free and will allow my to create my images without breaking copyright laws.
As promotional material for this project I will print simplified versions of these illustrations onto t-shirts which will be offered for sale at the end of year show as well as on my website.
These techniques I will learn from vlogs such as-
Make something (2019). I like to make stuff (2015) and Lee Stuart (2020)
Possible Collaborators
I have already programmed in flexibility into my year time plan so will have extra time to add in additional projects that come up during the year. I have no intention to work with other artist or seek placements of any kind during the year as this will be incompatible with my current work commitments.
Commercial Context related to your progression into industry
After graduation it is my plan to start a family with my partner. I will be the main care giver so it is intended that I be able to dedicate time to that and fit my illustration around the needs of a child. With this in mind it will be difficult to commit to the requirements of a traditional work environment. I will focus my illustration practice on producing artwork that will be sold though an online store with a focus on high quality prints and collectable art. These will be sold to my fan base which I will gain through a building of my online social media presence.
Possible sources of research
I will be constantly referring to my own collection of art books and guides to inform my work. I will also be using;
The Ultimate Concept Art Career Guide 3dtotal 2018
Photobashing Illustrating Backgrounds by Tsubura Kadomaru Zounose 2017
Beginners guide to digital painting by 3dtotal 2016 –
Screenprinting by jane sampson (2017)
You tube videos will also be used from
Make something (2019)
I like to make stuff (2015)
Lee stuart (2020)
Professional Development Plan
Working from home is not a problem. I am very self reliant and am fully and competently able to complete all the tasks I have set myself without any further external help.
As several of my project will require access to high quality printers I will need to access the collage print room. As this is currently available I do not see this as a problem at the moment, if the print room becomes unavailable then there are many online resources I can use instead. An article by Lee Devonish (2018) lists several online print makers and the associated costs such as Inkfil and Vistaprint.
So to summarise, I believe the projects Iv chosen will address the weaknesses I think I have within my practice as well as using and enhancing my current skill set.
I will also have produced a body of work which has a cohesive aesthetic which will be both recognisable as my work and also be marketable, both to consumers and to industry clients alike.
I will also have physical items to sell and to use for promotion. And I will have developed my traditional drawing and colour theory skills.
I feel this meets all the points that i identified during my self evaluation. Meeting these points is going to enhance my skill set and knowledge base beyond where it is now, giving me a stronger foundation and confidence going forward.
Reading list
The Atalas of anatomy for artists Fritz Schiner (1947)
Human anatomy R.T.Huchings (1977)
Screenprinting by Jane Sampson (2017)
The Ultimate Concept Art Career Guide 3dtotal (2018)
Photobashing Illustrating Backgrounds by Tsubura Kadomaru Zounose (2017)
Beginners guide to digital painting by 3dtotal (2016)
Hardware, The definitive works of Chris Foss (2011)
Juxtapoz Illustration (2008)
Perspective Made Easy. Ernest R Norling. Dover Art Illustrated. (1999)
Bibliography
Lincoln Hughes (2020) concept art tutorial photo-bashing sci-fi enviroments. You tube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LWb_4lYLlds&t=583s
Lino Drieghe (2020) Photobashing Technique. You tube.Available from:
Make something (2019) getting started in screen printing. You tube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSpsWewtxXw accessed (2020)
I like to make stuff (2015) screen orinting your tshirts. You tube. Available from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDDE8VvViFo accessed (2020)
Lee stuart (2020) 1 year screen printing. You tube. Available from:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CupamDcGpPQ accessed (2020)
Tylor Loren (2o2o) 12 New Ways to Get More Instagram Followers in 2020. later. Available from: https://later.com/blog/get-more-instagram-followers/
Wikihow (2020) How to Get 1k Followers on Instagram. wikihow. Available at: https://www.wikihow.com/Get-1k-Followers-on-Instagram
Lee Devonish (2018) 5 places to make prints of your artwork blog. Available at https://leedevonish.com/5-places-to-make-prints-of-your-artwork/
There you go then. That’s my learning plan. I really value your input so let me know what you think.
ok, see you next time friend.
Who is? stephencarrart 