CV

My CV

Emma Barnes – Business CV

Hello, my name is Emma Barnes. I'm 23 and I'm currently studying Level 5 illustration at Cleveland College of Art and Design. Education: I studied for five years at Park View comprehensive school where I received C grades in English, Maths and IT studies and B grades in performing arts. After I graduated from school, I studied level 3 art and design for three years at New College Durham where I received a BTECH degree in art and design. I'm currently studying Level 5 illustration at my second year at CCAD in Hartlepool. 

Skills: I'm a very quick learner and I'm friendly and approachable. I'm very good at working with other people and I'm a great team player, I adapt to new working environments quickly and I'm quick to handle any difficult situations that I may face in a working environment. I have basic maths and IT skills. I'm very interested in colour theory and I try to apply that to my artwork. Traditionally, I usually work with colour pencils, lead pencils, fine liner pens and some times water colours and collage work. I've been drawing digitally for a year now and I've adapted very quickly to it. I've learned to be very quick at drawing digitally and I'm skilled at creating full colour, digitally drawn illustrations in photoshop. 

Websites/Where to find me: I have a number of websites and online stores where I display my artwork. Such as: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/emmabillustration (online portfolio)

Society6 - http://society6.com/monsterouscreations     (print/clothing store)

Redbubble - http://www.redbubble.com/people/twistylemons (print/clothing store) 

PrintAllOverMe - http://printallover.me/collections/twistylemons (clothing store) 

Contact information: Mobile – 07587733316 Email – barefa1991@student.ccad.ac.uk

Postage address – 17, The Green, Chester Le Street, County Durham, DH2 2BA

Commissions

Commissions

When an artist is approached by an interested client that wishes to employ their artistic skills to create an art piece or multiple pieces for them, this is what's known as an 'art commission'.

An art commission can be used for numerous circumstances, such as using the commissioned artwork for advertising purposes, to design packaging or a logo for a business or company or simply for personal use.

A good way for an artist to advertise to potential commissioners is to set up a website or facebook page showcasing examples of your artwork and also including this such as what kind of media they commonly use in their artwork, contact information, past commission work experience, ect. This is sort of like having an online cv that the general public and potential commissioners can look at anytime since it also acts as an online portfolio.

The commissioner should give as much information and expected outcomes as possible to the artist since, like a brief or a contract, if the details given about what the commissioner expects from the artist is too vague, this could cause confusion between both the customer and the artist and the finished piece could be something entirely different to what the customer expected it to be. This is why a good commissioner should have specific concepts, guidelines and requirements for the paid artist. Good communication between the commissioner and the artist is also important. 

Email is a very good way for an artist to communicate to their commissioner because they can attach files of how the artwork they're creating looks so far so that the client can give feedback to the artist and therefore tell them what they like so far and if they could change anything.

Contracts

Contracts

When working for a client or company, a contract can sometimes be created by the client to assure that they will be allowed to use the artwork created for them in their projects or company branding, that it can only be used by them and that they will own the rights to the artwork.

Written contracts regarding artwork are similarly written like an illustration brief, containing the requirements of what the expected illustration(s) should be, sizing requirements, deadline dates, ect. Although, contracts will include copyright terms and the amount of royalties (if any) the artist will receive from the clients product sales. Usually, the amount of shares the artist will get is through a percentage allowance, such as 50% of the full cost of the artwork the artist will receive from the client before the beginning of their work.

I found a template online that shows an example of a simple commission contract, showing what may usually be found on a typical contract.

Artist's Commission Agreement

This is an agreement between _________of_________(the Artist), and_________of_________(the Commissioner), by which we agree that

1. The Artist shall create the following proposed work:
   description:
   materials to be used:
2. In consideration for the Artist creating the proposed work using his/her best aesthetic skill and judgement, the Commissioner shall pay to the Artist £__________, as follows:
   
   
   £_________by cash/cheque before s/he starts to execute the work;
   
   
   £_________by cash/cheque when the artist gives the Commissioner written notice that the work is two-thirds (2/3) complete; and
   
   
   £_________by cash/cheque when the artist gives the Commissioner written notice that the work is completed.
3. The Commissioner shall arrange for the Artist to have access to the place where the proposed work is to be executed for _________days, between the__________day of _________197_, and the_________day of_________197_.
4. The Artist shall retain the copyright in the work.

Date the_________day of_________197_.

Signed:_________ (the Artist) and_________ (the Commissioner).

( Taken from http://www.artquest.org.uk/articles/view/commissioning-an-artist1 )

Conceptual branding

Conceptual branding

A company brand works in many different ways. The definition of a 'brand' is a product that is manufactured by a company under a particular name, such as 'a new brand of soap powder'. 

When a company establishes itself as a brand, it's also creating an image for itself. Things such as brand logos, the name of the brand and even trademark mascots are important since they will be representing a company and will be what the general public will associate the company with.

A good example of a well-known and recognizable brand is The Coca Cola company. 

This is one of the most recognizable and successful soft drinks brands in the world. The iconic Coca Cola logo was first designed in 1886 by John S. Pemberton and is still being used by the Coca Cola company today. The fact that the logo has hardly changed and is still being used today could be the company's way of using the logo for nostalgic purposes and that the curly lettering of the logo and the iconic red and white colours used on the packaging is still being used due to the general public's familiarity with it and that it also spans through different generations so it will appeal to a wide range of ages.

It goes without saying that companies will use their brand logo or chosen brand packaging for promotional means. I'll use the Coca Cola company again as an example of this since a good marketing tactic they used in the recent years is replacing the iconic Coca Cola logo in their drinks bottles with randomised names. So instead of seeing the familiar 'Enjoy Coca Cola' logo on the side of  a cola drinks bottle, the words 'Share a coke with (a random name would be here)' would be there instead, still written in the original Coca Cola logo lettering.

This was a very successful marketing tactic since consumers would look for bottles that had their own names on them and collect them. The original red and white Coca Cola logo was so iconic and recognizable, the Cola company didn't need to change their lettering type or packaging colours when they first used this marketing stunt, which proved to be very successful and is still be used on Coca Cola bottle packaging today.

Writing a brief

Writing a brief

When working for a client or company, they will provide you with a written brief of what they will want you to produce for them. Illustration briefs usually include the exact details and requirements of what the paid illustration(s) should look like, information and concepts behind the illustrations, picture themes, sizing requirements, who the target audience is, a payment or budget figure and a deadline date.

Illustration briefs should be well written and thorough, including every requirement that the commissioner expects from the work that will be produced from the illustrator. Briefs that are vague and don't include too much detail into what will be required from the artist will sometimes cause confusion with the artist and a poorly written brief can result in the artist creating something completely different to what the client has visualised so putting as much detail and information into a brief is very important.

A good example of a brief that's easy to read and is also informative is this brief below I've found from a website advertising a competition to design a book cover for the book, 'Lord of the flies'.

1. Read the book for ideas and themes, and look at the competition website for help with ideas. You can interpret the story visually in many different ways – we will be looking for the most creative and visually appealing solution. You may wish to concentrate on the location, or some of the characters, or a single character, or a single item or motif, or something more abstract and symbolic – the choice is up to you.

2. Create an illustration for the cover, to fit the dimensions below. Your image can be full colour, or a single colour, or two colours . . . it’s up to you.

3. You can use any media: paint / pencils / collage / printmaking / photographic illustration / vector based artwork / a 3D model (photographed and designed to fit the dimensions) . . . the possibilities are endless.

4. Please do not include lettering, but allow lots of space for it. The designers at Faber will be adding the author and title type to the cover.

5. When uploading your work to the site please supply it as an RGB jpeg, no bigger than 5mb. Please make sure you keep the original high res artwork as this will be needed if you win the competition.

6. Size: 208mm high X 136mm wide Your artwork can be bigger than this, but it must be scaled to the correct proportions. Also, the outer 5mm of the winning artwork will get trimmed all round when printed. This is called the ‘bleed’. Nothing important should go in this area.

Brief taken from this website >> ( http://www.lordofthefliescover.com/about-competition/illustration-brief/ )

Master of trade

Master of trade

I've chosen to write about Marguerite Sauvage as my example for a master of trade. 

(Midle Age by Marguerite Sauvage)

Marguerite is a very successful French fashion illustrator who has worked for many different clients ranging from Playstation, Playboy magazine, Maybelline and DC comics.



(Panel excerpt from Sensation comic feat. Wonder Woman issue 7, DC comics, drawn and coloured by Marguerite Sauvage)

She's an originally self-taught artist who uses both traditional and digital media in her artwork.

She originally studied Law and Communication in 2001 and only decided to pursue a career in illustration due to her lifelong passion for drawing. Despite being an illustrator, she as also worked in publishing, web design, interior design and textile design.

She's also a fan of comic books and sci-fi movies and references them frequently in her work.



(Fan-made movie poster for the classic sci-fi movie, The Blob, by Marguerite Sauvage)


I consider her to be a 'Master of trade' because she doesn't confine herself to one type of illustration market and she also doesn't have to change the way she draws or how her art looks in general to fit with what her clients ask of her. Her artwork is very stylish, distinctive and visually appealing which most members of the public and potential clients and commissioners would approve of.

I've also included a list of awards she's won for her artwork and books she's been published in.

Illustration awards :

3x3 ProShow, 2013

American Illustration 28, 2009

American Illustration 26, 2007

Society of Illustrators 49th, 2006

Applied Arts magazine, 2003

Graphic design and illustration books publication :

Sectrum 2013

Exposé 11 - 2013

Die Gestalten Verlag – Hairy

Die Gestalten Verlag – Illusive

Die Gestalten Verlag – Illusive 2

Tashen – ILLUSTRATION NOW !

Mitchell Beazley Art & Design – Imagemakers

Scala - Traits très mode

Martin Dawber - BIG BOOK OF FASHION ILLUSTRATION

The October Halloween SCREEM party

The October Halloween SCREEM party

Our class and the Level 5 Graphics class were given the task to create, advertise and organize a Halloween party that would held in the college. We had to arrange everything including how it would be advertised, how much we would sell the tickets for, security measures, music and the opening and closing times.

Everyone took part to help with the party planning by either working together or solely arranging things by themselves. I volunteered to design a poster that would advertise the party, which you ca see in my previous post.

We also created a facebook page to boost recognition and also advertise the party to potential ticket buyers outside the college. We set up a small ticket booth in the college reception area where all of our tickets could be bought. This ticket booth was open from twelve in the afternoon until one and our class took turns running the booth. 

Although, we did sell a fair amount of tickets, the party had to be cancelled due to lack of interest and not enough ticket sales. It was very unfortunate that the party had to be cancelled since everyone worked very hard on arranging and organizing everything but I was very happy with everyone's efforts to make the party go forward.