INSPIRATION OF THE WEEK - MILICA GOLUBOVIC

Creative Boom Article, 13th October in Inspiration/Illustration

Thoughts 

"I am interested in honesty, not only with the world outside, but with ourselves as well. I try to examine where the boundary between outside and inside lies, and where the crossing point at which these realities blend into each other is. Can we really step outside ourselves, break through the barrier of our skin, and exist in the world seeing things as pure and simple as they are in their core? These works are about a human who is determined to go as far as they can, only to find a way back to themselves." - Milica Golubovic on the concept of her illustrations

• I honestly thought that it was done by hand, due to the rough mark making, texture and pattern. Though apparently she had done them digitally! However, I personally think that it would look much more organic if it were made with hand drawn materials.

• I find her visual representations of human behaviours quite interesting. I could see some surreal and sea-life influences. I find her illustrations very appealing as it somehow draws you into this dream-like state and somehow it's thought provoking as I actually need to try to make sense of her illustrations.

Not only does her works respond to her thoughts and opinions, but it also reflects her surroundings and how she perceives the world.

36 Mountains
A concertina book for an international festival
dedicated to illustration.

• I also just had to add in this gif of her concertina book. It's a simplistic and abstract way of visually representing mountains. I simply love the simple shapes, solid colours, collage work and how she seem to just visually represent certain aspects or characteristics of the subject. It's not something literal.

More from the article - http://www.creativeboom.com/inspiration/beautiful-illustrations-by-milica-golubovic-that-explore-the-complexity-of-humans/

Website - http://www.milicagolubovic.me/

GEMMA CORRELL - VAROOM! The illustration report Autumn 2016

Thoughts

• I often see her work online (Tumblr) and I enjoy looking through her illustrations. I never looked into her as a practitioner until I came across this article. 

• Her whimsical yet frank illustrations about our mundane life is probably what initially attracted me to her work and practice. I find her illustrations to be some kind of narrative or a reflection of her own life. Her work somehow gives a sense of storytelling. (This idea of storytelling through art is what I hope to be able to apply to my own practice. Hopefully.)

"'I'd experimented a bit, I'd done some collage and tried painting.' she says 'but this was all stuff that I was doing because I thought that I should, because it was what I saw as serious illustration...Then one day Rob Mason was looking at my sketchbook, and he said to me 'this is what you should be doing, don't have these preconceived ideas about what illustration is.' because I guess I was thinking it's too easy, to draw like that, like it should be harder." - Gemma Correll on Playing with Emotions, Varoom!

• Somehow this particular statement she made caught my attention. It's interesting how her tutor (as mentioned in the article) said to not preconceive ideas about what illustration is and how she hadn't been creating work that she truly enjoys. 

Gemma Correl - http://www.gemmacorrell.com/

Note to self

• In a sense, this made me reflect on my own practice. Am I really doing something I truly enjoy? Are the sketches and drawings that I create in my personal sketchbook any different than work done in college? I do enjoy working with set briefs, but there would always be this unsatisfied feeling. I sometimes feel that I lack having my own voice in my own illustrations (?) 

• On that grim thought, perhaps not only would I develop and explore illustration, I also do hope to someday find what makes illustration significant to me and my own way of communicating through illustration. 

APPLIED ART - WHAT IS THAT?

VICTORIA SAWDON - http://www.bigfish.co.uk/blog/portfolio/belvoir-fruit-farms/

Belvoir Fruit Farms branding

Thoughts

• I suppose when it comes to consumer goods, design and packaging would be the first thing that the consumers look at or are attracted to. Particularly for label branding, the illustrations and typography would matter (a common aspect in selling commercial goods)

• The design and packaging for Belvoir beverages in particular is rather successful in terms of catering to certain audiences. I honestly think that the subtle illustrations on label is visually appealing and somewhat adds elegance to the 'classy' product. 

• Perhaps if it were designed in a different, more graphic-like way it would loose the essence of this 'all-natural' beverage. I think that the design and illustration put into branding and packaging is essential. 

RICARDO BESSA - http://ricardobessa.com/

Mural at Zizzi restaurant

Thoughts

• I suppose this type of applied art is simply a decorative element. In terms of interior design, it adds character and colour to the restaurant. 

• I think that the mural isn't something functional, but rather something that would attract the customers visually. However, when I actually looked into the artist and his reason behind this mural, there is some meaning about the place (Telford)

FORMA & CO, SIMON: WAYFINDING - https://www.behance.net/gallery/44426873/Simon-Wayfinding

Thoughts

• I actually really like this type of applied art. I think that it's slightly leaning more towards graphic design rather than illustration. However, the use of human illustrations and symbols to direct a person is interesting. 

•  I personally think that logos and symbols is one of the most effective ways to communicate to people (visually). Thus, I think that this is a clever way of applying illustration and its functional!

• The artist had used universal symbols, which are simple and coherent (e.g the no smoking or toilet signs). They are also different from the usual logos seen for public spaces. 

LEO NATSUME - https://www.behance.net/gallery/36996479/Disney-Toy-Story-icons

Toy Story Application Icon 

Thoughts

• I thought that this was quite interesting, where the designer had implement a sense of pop-culture/famous characters. Though I think that this purely adds personality and aesthetics. In a sense it's more of a decorative element. 

• It might not be functional/purposeful in terms of the illustration/design, though it's visually appealing.

• For daily use, perhaps for the audience/consumer it's something nice to see and have knowing that it's Disney related (Toy Story). Though perhaps it adds character/uniqueness to the person's phone and I would honestly change my app icons to Buzz Light Year.

MATT RHODES & NICK THORNBORROW -  http://mattrhodesart.tumblr.com/
http://nthornborrow.tumblr.com/

Dragon Age: Inquisition Tarot Cards (in-game & physical cards)

Thoughts

• I think that Dragon Age: Inquisition is a role playing game with stunning art. What attracted me to the game is the beautifully drawn illustrations for when you create your character and additional in-game stories. 

• I rarely see any 2D illustrations in a purely computer graphic game. Perhaps it's not entirely functional, though the illustration adds personality and is simply visually appealing (this game is known for the tarot card-like theme)

• For instance, normal playing cards (in this case tarot cards) are often accompanied by illustrations and symbols, as it creates meaning. In playing cards, the king is often associated with an old bearded man with a crown or the tarot, The Hanged Man is illustrated as an upside down man. Perhaps, in that sense illustrations help describe the content of the cards.

THOUGHT BUBBLE 2016 

It was packed!

Thoughts 

• Going around the convention, I came across various talented illustrators, comic book artists and other creators. It was interesting to see illustrators with very different practice and 'style' put into one place. 

Illustrators that I particularly liked

Joysuke - https://www.behance.net/joysuke

Nikki Stu - http://antisnow.tumblr.com/  

 Ricardo Bessa - http://ricardobessa.com/  

Laura Howell - http://www.laurahowell.co.uk/

• I personally think that I quite liked these illustrators because of their tone of voice and visual language. These illustrators work around surreal shapes. They tend to work with striking and contrasting colours. (Also, they simply look aesthetically pleasing)

• Their illustrations looked well-crafted and refined. I find a few similar elements between their work which were: 

• they tend to illustrate characters or figures
• the designs are very simplistic and mainly use solid block colours
• the line quality are rather fluid and lucid

• I suppose their works caught my attention, because I see some of these elements in my own work. I quite like to work with simplicity and well-crafted things (that looks refined and finished). 

The Ride Journal - Editorial
Ricardo Bessa

Ghostly Forest
Joysuke

Kim Jung Gi draws live!

https://www.instagram.com/kimjunggius

• It was actually my first time hearing about Kim Jung Gi and I got the privilege to see him in action -live! I remember standing there, gaping in awe. I wasn't sure if his illustrations were based on reference, though seeing him live, it seemed that he was simply illustrating directly from imagination. Though I may be wrong.

• The detail, precision and line quality are simply superb. I thought that he was amazing and instantly became a fan of his works. I looked into his other illustrations and I loved how he could capture so much action and story simply through lines. 

Mermaid

• I particularly liked these two illustrations. I could see that his work is greatly influenced by his cultural background and environment. There are a several notable asian influences in his illustration.

• Though what particularly caught my attention is the social commentary through his work. I could see that he's trying to make a statement. For instance the 'Mermaid' illustration is being compared to a typical sushi restaurant.

Cool cosplayers!

We're totally having fun 
(not including the unbearably cold weather)

Meeting Laura Howell

Got our portraits done by Laura Howell
(illustrator of The Regular Show)

• I knew her work from a cartoon called the Regular Show, which she happened to be the comic book's illustrator. 

• Aside from the humorous characters and plot, I thought that her style reminded me a lot of classic American comic books such as Futurama or Steven Universe. They often have simple character designs and illustrations, yet are very memorable.

• To sum it up, I thought that it was a very overwhelming yet interesting experience. I could say that I was inspired, seeing all these wonderful work and talking to other illustrators. 

Just a few prints and stickers I bought from 
Joysuke, Ricardo Bessa and Nikki Stu.
I may have bought more things than I intended to. (I was weak)

BIG HEADS - A TALK WITH ROB HODGSON

• I genuinely admire Rob Hodgson's work and practice. From the talk the other day, I thought about a few things in relation to my own practice.

About his work

• I was surprised when he had said that he explore and test out various medias and ways of creating his wonderful pieces. Perhaps I was surprised because I somehow thought he had created such works instantly and that it was his 'style'. The simplicity in colours and his little characters. 

• Knowing the process of creating his works made me adore them more. I appreciate the thought and time he put into his works. 

Little Boxes - Cats

Thoughts

• Rob Hodgson had mentioned a few things that caught my attention. He had quoted the creators from Nintendo "If he thinks it's fun, they'll (the audience) think it's fun too." I thought that it's important to create work that I'd enjoy, which I think I should consider. I have been creating work that I generally enjoy, though I felt that I shouldn't be afraid of putting 'my own voice' or personal opinions in my work. 

• I also quite like his last piece of 'advice':  "I didn't leave with a style. I left with ideas. (when finishing his degree)" I thought that this was interesting and hopefully (soon) relatable. I also personally think that pure talent could only get you so far and through learning (exploring), experience (taking risks) and practice would (hopefully) cultivate my work. 

that thumbprint -clever!

Little Buggerz