Sun's Out!

Finally got to practice painting something with a sharp contrast of light and dark - which I've always wanted to study from life! Again the painting was done in less than an hour, so the details were not really what I wanted to observe, but the colours and the way light changes the way colour is seen (to me anyway). I was literally still in bed at 11am, but I saw that the sun actually made it's appearance for once and I just had to paint! so this was a spur of the moment thing - which is mostly always the case when I do these paintings.

I actually do feel like doing these studies are helping me. I'm always learning new things with each painting I do like how to mix paints, how much water to mix with it to get the effect you want, colour and lighting! - it's true when they say that studying from life is really important! and I will try to keep this a constant thing, going to make it a habit to study from life weekly (I would do it daily, but right now uni work is taking over most of my time.)

Finished Zine

I printed more copies than I needed to - for MEFCC maybe.. or to sell on my Etsy shop. I'm happy with the finished product! I want to make the guys version now.

More UK Animation Studios

The animation studios I looked at previously were mainly based in Bristol and London. Below is a list of more animation studios (not just Bristol and London based) that I'd like to get in touch with as well:

Arcus Studios

Mummu Ltd

Red Knuckles

Cloudscape Studios

RJDM Studios

Young

Studio Distract

Snipple Animation

Animated Magic

Moth Collective

Emily Hughes

At the beginning of 3rd year I said to myself that I would try to save up as much as I can so that I can travel after I graduate. BUT! I just couldn't resist myself with this cute, cute print from Emily Hughes! I really love her work, its so charming and I love the aesthetic of her work (it's quite the opposite to mine, so it's quite fresh to see something different!) She also drew an original pencil sketch for me! I gotta get these framed asap! She is such a lovely person, I feel like I should contact her - though I wouldn't know what to ask her as most of the questions have already been answered through Big Heads! - I don't want to make her repeat things - I'm sure she gets asked the same questions again and again, I don't want to annoy her haha 

Collaboration

I would like to collaborate with animation student(s) again this year, as I think that it would benefit me a lot, with me wanting to go into the animation industry.. the work produced from it would especially be perfect for a portfolio for the career that I am aiming for. I've created a poster, inspired by sophie wright's own poster that I will post on the animation notice board - if I do get any responses, and depending on how big of an animation project is proposed, I want to make this my Big Kahuna brief for OUIL 603 - but I want to check with Fred first if this is a good idea..

Plein Air Painting

(in reference to this post.)

Went plein air painting with friends from illustration and animation first year yesterday - so much harder to do it outside! so cold, got frozen fingers and runny nose by the end of it and went straight to the nearest cafe to warm ourselves up. But it was really enjoyable! I really liked it! we're planning to go again next week - going to make it a weekly thing and might even invite some of our other course mates.

 Below are my other paintings that I did in bed of the view from my bedroom window - the left one was my first one from the 17th; I wanted to go outside and paint around the neighbourhood but it was just way too cold for me. The right was from this morning - the sky was such a pretty colour around sunrise time and I just had to capture it! I had to work fast with this one as the sun was rising pretty quickly and changing the lighting and colour of the sky pretty quickly. but all of these paintings were done in less than an hour - it's really good exercise and a good way for me to document my last year in Leeds. I'm looking forward to next week's painting sesh (maybe with a lot more people too)!

Fashion Show Backdrops

(in reference to this post.)

Backdrops all complete and sent! I was told to keep pink as the main colour since its for Breast Cancer Awareness, and to keep it feminine and light. I didn't want to make the backdrops too full on as there will be water and grass elements around the show but I still wanted it to have some impact! So I started playing with simple shapes, layering them up and came up with this, which the client really loved! I'm really excited to see how it will all look once it's all set up! Hopefully they will have photographers at the event (6th Nov) so I can have nice pictures for my portfolio since I won't be there!

Response: A Productions

Ahhhhhhhh! I got a reply back! really surprised how quickly they responded as well! My heart was beating so fast when I read the email they sent back ahaha - I'm so happy!

"stands out by a country mile"

"Your illustration work is strong, with a great use of colour and composition"

"stylistically it looks fantastic"

Are you kidding me right now?! I could cry, really. hahaha. Here's what I replied with:

I really hope that we can work something out soon - it would be soo good!

ayasoBoutique Fashion Show

ayasoBoutique are working with Pink Polo (polo match for Breast Cancer Awareness) and I've been asked to create some fashion show backdrops for them, who I previously worked with to create their logo. I've asked Fred if I this would count as a brief for OUIL 603 but he said that if its just me reapplying the things I've already done previously then it would go into PPP. But if I end up making something new, then it could be considered as a brief for studio practice.. we'll see

They're having it over a swimming pool for heavens sake! I cannot miss the opportunity to be part of something this awesome and crazy! hahaha. Below are the things that they want from me, which I recon I can do in a day if I use the day solely for this. I'm planning to do this tomorrow!

Thought Bubble Zine

I've decided to go with the sports idea as previously mentioned here. I've titled it Game On: 'Gurlz' because I might make a 'Guyz' version in the future haha!

I'm really enjoying drawing in this way, its quite different to how I would normally draw - focusing more on line rather than shape and colour. I'm using this as an exercise to practice my lighting as well, as it is one of the many things that I said I would like to improve on this year and be good at! I think I've also really improved my figure drawing skill! I'm really having fun trying to push the postures making them more exaggerated and full of energy!

Cover Letter: More Personality

Selena Dehne of JIST Publishing in CareerBuilder.com stresses the importance of showing hiring managers that your value is more than the data points and punchy phrases on your resume.

“You’ve got a personality, passions, goals and career experiences that make you unlike any other candidate for the job,” she adds. “It’s up to you to share this information in your cover letter in a way that dazzles employers and strengthens your resume.”

The cover letter needs verse, sparkle and finesse. A cut-and-paste retread from your resume is redundant and squanders a prime opportunity to stand out from the crowd.
“A lot of people write cover letters as if they were paragraph-form resumes,” notes writer Seth Porges in Forbes magazine. “Instead, use your cover letter to show personality, curiosity, and an interest in the field you are applying to work in.”

Should you write like you talk in a cover letter? Some experts believe that an authentically personal, conversational tone is more effective than formal business writing style. The safest approach is to be clear, concise, and businesslike without being stilted. Be yourself, but avoid colloquialisms and clichés.

I talked to John today, about my pack and cover letter before sending them off. The pack was given an absolute green light and the only advice he gave me was to bring more of my personality into the cover letter. So here's my second attempt:

I'm not quite sure if this is any better, but I've tried to put in more of me in it and also I've tried to make it more personal for each studio by adding in what I saw on their websites that pulled me in (the above example is for 'A Productions' in Bristol). I can't tell whether I'm coming across as passionate or cheesy though? hahaha, I'll ask John again. It's a little longer than the previous letter, but what can you do eh? I'll be folding this in half and putting it in the pack like that, if I get a green light for it.

edited 17/10/15:

Letter has just been approved by John! Posted 4 of them today, but they won't even get picked up 'til monday anyway so no rush I guess. Also I decided to stick my stickers on the back of the letters so they'd stand out from other mails! (also to keep envelop secure because the sticky part is not very sticky.)

Cover Letter: first draft

I tried to keep it casual and short and sweet, so not to make them reluctant to read it. I'm not sure if this is too generic though. Should I try to engage them more at a personal level like mentioning something I liked that I saw on their website or something? it might show that I've actually made an effort to research the company - which I did. But I will leave it like this for now and get it checked out with John before I send it off. Also I tried keeping the design of the cover letter in the same style as my pack/CV; hopefully they'd be able to see my efforts and illustrate my understanding of branding.

This will be printed in A5, in case you were wondering. 

MEFCC 2016?

This morning I received a message on our group chat; Somaya (Ka May) is like my big sister, mentor, and everything - she's literally the best! She also happens to be the project manager of MEFCC and girl boss and designer of ayasoBoutique, and she's invited me over to Dubai again to take part in MEFCC 2016 in April! 

Last MEFCC was such a huge success for me and a very very very good experience indeed so I'm really quite excited! Also, unlike last year, I have months to prepare this time and could make more work for it, which I could set as a brief for OUIL 603 maybe?

AAAAHHH DUBAI HERE I COME AGAIN!

Updated Pack

This is my updated pack; a simple A5 presentation folder - it'll have a folder pocket on the inside, bottom right, which will have slits for a business card (I'll be making that separately). Pocket will also hold samples of work. I will also include a cover letter (or just a little friendly note) within it, just to state my intentions for sending them a pack. and then I will send to previously mentioned studios and hope that they respond back! Planning to print 8 copies tomorrow..

I ended up printing 10 copies. As usual, the printer's can't get the colours right, but it's okay I guess, still looks pretty good to me. Total cost added up to £5.44 because I used the laser printer and brought my own paper - so not too bad!

All there is to do is print work samples!

Signature

Today in our PPP group tutorials, John mentioned something about creating signatures to put at the end of our emails. Since I'm planning to email some people, I thought this could be a good way for them to get a snippet of what my work is like. Also to make me appear a little bit more official/professional. Above is something I created pretty quickly but I kinda like it! I could also see this being made as stickers! psssst.. can you tell that teal is my favourite colour?

Also I am planning to send out some promo packs to the animation studios I've picked out before, but I want to re-design it a little bit; make it so that its more compact and money friendly (trying to save up to go traveling next year hehehe).