kreaturekastle

Dear John, 

I started following kreaturekastle a while ago because I thought their work was lovely and adventure time inspired. After looking st their work for longer, I became much more impressed with the subtle use of gradient, this is something I've been using a lot recently to get the right affect with my marine creatures. It's really interesting to see how it could be applied to other illustrations and it's something I would like to have a play around with. 

I also really like the characters themselves but I think they're a little too adventure time now, it's good to see that with a bit of a twist though. The thing that makes them less adventure time and less everyday (aside from the gradients) is the line texture, this is something that Rowena is really good at doing and something that I think would benefit my work as I leave a lot of blank space. 

I decided to contact him though to see if he had any useful advice and to just tell him I like his stuff.

His website: http://ashtondame.com/portfolio/

Joshua Lambus

Dear John,

Joshua Lambus is a photographer who does blackwater dives, this means that he manages to get beautiful photos of brilliant bioluminescent creatures. I discovered him through using some of his photos on pinterest as reference. i thought he'd be the best person to contact as I feel a little guilty about using his imagery  andf because I'd love to work with him. He hasn't replied but I feel better because I tried and because I sent him some of my work that he inspired. 

Thought bubble

Dear John,

We got accepted! I applied to do thought bubble  with Tom this year and we got accepted! I'll have to make some fan art as that seems to be how to make a profit there but I'd also like to have some of my regular work as well. I think a half an half collection should go well and whatever I don't sell, I can put up on my Etsy. I think I'll primarily apply pattern to products as it's an easy way to show my work but it also makes something that people might want to buy. Creating the stock for my stall should keep me focused on making work until at least November, so I won't fall out of the habit of working. 

Post Hallmark

Dear John,

Today I'm going to tell you about when I did my placement at Hallmark. As it's in Saltaire, and I chose to have my travel reimbursed rather than stay in the accommodation they provide, I had to deal with a commute for the first proper time (getting to high school and college on a morning doesn't really count).  This was painful and it required me getting up around 6/half 6 on the morning but it was really good to prove to myself that I could do that and that I am able to if I have to for a job. Unfortunately, as I discovered on my first day, the actual building is up a massive hill that is only really accessible by car. There is a path for a long way but at one point it just peters out into the weeds on the side of the road. This meant that I had to get a taxi and the train every morning. However the taxis I booked frequently proved to be unreliable so I had to get the earlier train so i had enough tome to walk up if necessary. I really didn't like this and it affirmed to me that I need to pass my driving test and get a car if I want to be able to easily commute to places an so I don't spend £10 a day on travel. 

When I got there (after a brief meeting of the other people on placement and some forms) they had a look at the website I'd made and decided that they'd like me to work on pattern based on the illustration below. 

This proved to be a really fast way to get good at pattern as I was doing some pretty complicated patterns for two weeks straight. This was alright though as I find making patterns really satisfying and it was nice to see my work with a bit more of a commercial use. This carried over into my 603 work, I made the pattern below for my illustration friday brief (the word was punch). As this pattern was so much simpler than the ones I was working on for Hallmark I was able to complete it really quickly and while it is pretty simple, I think it's also effective and well balanced. 

This is what the desk I worked at and the office I was in looked like, it was really nice actually and while the computers and the tablets were pretty old (it had a separate monitor and tower!), they did have incredibly comfy chairs with cushioned back support and I still miss that to this day. It made sitting at a desk all day a lot nicer than in college. It was also surprisingly nice to see the office mentally and how they made office life nicer for one another. They had a big fish bowl of sweets on the way into the office and as it was christmas that I was there, they had put up little trees and decorations. This was all very sweet and it was nice to hear the people that worked there joking with each other, I think it'd be a pretty good job to have. 

Everyone Who worked there were really nice to all us on placement and I was able to run things by the woman in charge of us regularly (enough anyway, she also had to do her job) and she would give me useful little criticisms and suggestions. Which I imagine is how it would be like with either a client or an employer. The other woman who was working with us also taught us how to use the coining machine and the flitter (flitter is apparently just what they call fine glitter). I didn't really use the flitter myself as my work didn't really call for it and I'm not much of a glitter person but I went with Bryony (my desk buddy) when she did hers and I could see how it could be useful. I absolutely loved the foiling machine though. It really made my patterns stand out and added a little more purpose to them. I would be foiling a bunch right now if I had access to a machine. I think I'll have to investigate how I can continue foiling without the machine or try and get my hands on one. 

One of the most valuable parts of this for me, aside from the work experience and the trying out office hours/commuting, was the other people on the placement. I tend to be quite awkward and I stress a lot about meeting and getting on with people but I found that this is much more of an older problem of mine. This proved to me that I can go out there and meet new people and not ruin it by being too awkward. All that happens when you have to be around new people is that you make chat and hopefully friends that you want to chat to out of work, like with these guys below.