Today was the launch of Charlie's Kidney Transplant! I didn't know what I was doing, felt so surreal hahaha! Met quite a few of the staff there and they were all so so so friendly, expressing their fondness for the book and my illustrations! Everyone was so enthusiastic about it, it made me really happy! Was not expecting this much attention. I think I turned tomato red in the face - the place felt like it was 100 degrees! They even surprised me with a gigantic bouquet, which I had to carry around city centre getting odd looks from people! I feel unbelievably blessed!
Also met a guy from the medical illustration department (I think?) and he asked me if I've ever given a thought to doing medical illustrations and to work with them - the answer: 'not until now'. aaaahhhhhh, what do medical illustrators work entail??? maybe I could do some research? Anyway! I'M SO HAPPY CAN'T WAIT TO DO THE NEXT BOOK FOR THEM!
Also some of the staff are going to this conference (I forgot the name of it) in two months - or is it weeks, I can't remember oh dear and they want to bring the book along and they wanted a poster made for it, which I said I would happily do for part of my OUIL 603 brief!
Also, I just saw this; oh my goodness, US recognition?..
I thought that my Baseball girl received a lot of attention in the summer brief peer review and I also really enjoyed drawing her, and drawing characters in motion in general. I think I'd like my zine to be a collection of some badass sport ladies in action! - I've been really into exercising lately as well, but been slacking since I got back to Leeds so I need the motivation!
either that, or animals (since I drew quite a few of them in my sketchbook of the ones I saw when I went to the safari in Indonesia) but I think I prefer the other.
Today we had our summer brief peer review; it was really great to see what everyone got up to this summer and how everyone has greatly improved their image making! I didn't really have a lot of sketchbook pages as I had the Leeds Children's Hospital book to complete in the beginning of summer, and then I was too caught up exploring and having fun (so I didn't have a lot of time to draw) whilst I was away on holiday. I brought in the previews of the Hospital book, my summer sketchbook and one of the onfrom drawings that I did to the review and I was surprised with the amount of feedback I got (because I thought I didn't have a lot for people to look at).
I've always wanted to know what my work is like to other people and what they like about it - the strengths, so that I could capitalise and continue to develop on these. People have identified that my work is:
Vibrant
Colourful
Charming
Energetic
Professional
Warm
Polished
and I'd like to think that these are my selling points and what people/clients would want and get from me. In level 6 and for my self promotional material, I want to capitalise and develop on these points and create a stronger 'brand' image/style for myself and my work.
I've decided to start doing Karoline Pietrowski's weekly ONFORM drawing game, to keep my brain going and to push my character design or whatever it is I'll end up drawing! Here's my first one! It's really good exercise and it's fun too! Ya'll should join!
This book was a recommended read for me since I have an interest in the animation industry and also in the design of the 50's. It's a very interesting read and its really fascinating to know the history of the industry and how style and design in the 50's really came about.
Few things that I found particularly interesting:
Because of the limited production budget, television advertising demanded that animators communicate with audiences within a more condensed time span than the average theatrical short, in black and white and on a vastly reduced screen size to boot. These requirements demanded a simplified graphic language that could be read quickly by the eye while retaining its core graphic appeal. As a result characters were increasingly designed with thicker outlines for legibility and often with disproportionately large heads and facial features to accentuate their expressions, enabling viewers to engage with them emotionally.
And yet most of these early television series managed to be entertaining because they were created by talented artists who treated the limited budgets not as a handicap but as a creative challenge.
Stephanie is an illustrator and painter from New York currently working on picture books, painted covers, comics and spot illustrations. Her major inspirations and influences include music (Punk, Rockabilly, Jazz), mid century album cover art, old monster movies, Halloween, vintage Golden books and children's books, early animation and circus sideshows.
I really would like to try switching up my tools in level 6 and try going back to use actual paint to create my illustrations. Stephanie uses mostly gouache to create her work but I like that they actually look quite digital. I've had a few practices with gouache before, but not enough, so if I have the chance I'd like to experiment with it some more.
Ok. So. I rarely talk about faith or religion or things like this because I really don't feel the need to - theres really nothing to it; I'm a human being, you're a human being, only I believe in something that you may not, which I have no problem with. But lately things are getting out of hands and I just feel the need to express myself.
Now, I rarely use my Facebook anymore, literally abandoned for 2 main reasons: 1. I really can't be bothered with it any more and 2. because sometimes people are so closed minded I really can't deal. But sometimes you will come across things that really brings a whole new light to people's minds. Recently there's that thing with the kid who made a homemade clock to impress his teacher only to get arrested because fear got the better of her. Today, I'm quite glad that I decided to log on to Facebook because it made me come across the video below and it really made me think - people are so bombarded with negative stuff in the media, they almost completely forget that this is just the doings of a faction of people out of millions and billions. We need to start reminding ourselves that the only reason for this fear is because we shut ourselves up, too consumed in the negatives, not wanting to know, not wanting to find out.
I must say that people have started to become more understanding and accepting of other people; equal rights, LGBT, etc. etc. But maybe we still need to educate ourselves more, maybe we need to see things more in other peoples perspectives, live in other's shoes. Which got me personally thinking, got me questioning myself.. how can I show people that, I as a Muslim, am no different from anyone else. Then I came across this other video:
..which whilst gathering my thoughts, I remembered of this animation short that Pixar will be putting out in front of The Good Dinosaur in November (which I am highly anticipating, by the way):
Pixar's Sanjay's super team will be the first Pixar film starring a character of colour. Director Sanjay Patel drew on his childhood experiences to create the 7 minute short, which chronicles a Hindu prayer ritual with his father. It’s also the first time religion is the subject in a Pixar film. Which when I first heard of this, I thought 'yeah! this looks very promising' - maybe we need to start incorporating more into what we put into people's heads, especially children's. Incorporating other people's beliefs and religion through an animation is a light hearted, fun way to subtly get people to live in their shoes, to experience the thoughts and feelings. It's a very good idea. Good on you Director Sanjay Patel.
After gathering my thoughts (I seem to always be 'gathering my thoughts', right? ahaha), I thought maybe I could too use my artistic skills and create something that is based off of my childhood-to-now experiences moving and living as a Muslim in a non-muslim country (believe me, I have stories to tell). Its always nice to know that you're not alone, that there are people out there who understands so I think this is a very good idea, no, I truly believe in this idea because I think a lot of people (who might have experienced the same things as me) would relate to my stories in one way or another and it would be such an honour if I could be the one to bring things to light, bring people together. Every little helps right?
I would like to kick start the project in OUIL 603 but I feel like something like this, something that's personal, will require some careful planning and a lot of time, which I don't think I will have - I don't want to work under pressure for something that I want to invest every part of my heart and soul to. Soooooo... when I have the time in the future, this is what I want to work on - between figuring myself out, finding jobs, working on jobs, raising a family or whatever it is I'll doing, I will get this project going - and believe me when I say this.. when I get passionate about something, I really get passionate about it and then who knows, maybe you'll see me one day as a character on screen or books or even both. There's no stopping me :-)
I also thought about an alternative idea, which I think would be more doable for OUIL 603 here.
I came across these two individuals whilst I was searching for animation studios in the UK (post can be found here.) Their work instantly caught my eyes out of the others amongst them. They have that 50s-60s illustration style about them and I've always loved this cartoon style, I think its so much fun! What I love most about the 50s design is the use of shape and line. There's just something about it that makes me feel so excited hahah. I can't really explain in through words but, I just love the exaggeration of shapes, its makes things more fun and playful, which is what I'm all about! It's like looking at the world with different lens, and I'm just amazed by it!
Alan Kerswellstudied Illustration, Photography and Graphic Design at Newcastle-Upon-Tyne College of Arts and Technology, but somehow fell into the world of animation by complete accident, and consequentially has been working in this industry for 20 years. - his client list is pretty impressive too. I really would love to know how he got into the world of animation by 'complete accident' - lucky son of a ... maybe I should contact him?
Rich Wakeis a 2D Flash animator, designer and illustrator who has over 20 years experience working in the London animation industry.
Glen Keane is one of my fave people in animation. I always love seeing how he works and he never fails to make me gaze in awe. I love the flow in his work, how his characters seem to move so gracefully and accordingly to their personalities and actions. I absolutely love drawing figures but can you believe it if I say that I have never in my life gone to a life drawing class, not even once, like ever? but after seeing this recent video of him drawing from life, I feel like maybe I should just start attending classes, or just do it in my spare time and get people to dress up and pose or whatever for me. I think it'll be a good exercise for me.
I think a bunch of the people I follow on Instagram know each other one way or another, which is pretty cool! I think the ones below went to the same life drawing class since they posted around the same time and the person in the drawing both have the headband thing. Every Wednesday, Centre Stage Gallery have life gesture drawing workshops with different themes such as this one and I would totally join if there was something like this in the UK.
I decided to look back at all the comments I received in my level 5 module feedbacks to see where I'm lacking and what I could do to improve myself in the future/level 6:
OUIL 501 (CoP)
To do:
Spend more time investigating, testing, generating ideas.
Make more time earlier on in the year to investigate and plan - (which I must admit I haven't done. oh dear 601 CoP is already looking bleak.)
Provide myself a clearer structure so I don't confuse myself
Image making - shape, texture, colour - how can I push myself with what I already have?
Investigate the kids industry
Investigate history of animation - golden era production houses and their artists.
Read 'Cartoon Modern' by Amid Amidi.
Develop sequential image-making.
Collaborate with a writer.
Find own narratives and characters to invent or re-invent based on my interests
Look into historic reference material regarding storytelling and character.
OUIL 504 (Printed & Moving Pictures)
To do:
Take risks and experiment.
OUIL 505 (Applied Illustration)
To do:
Extend visual language of character and expression - push image making, experiment!
I think my biggest weakness is experimentation and investigation really. I need to keep pushing myself with what I can do and not be afraid to try something new; I need to keep challenging myself with my image making, but sometimes this is hard for me because I always feel like I need a lot of time which sometimes I don't feel I have. Maybe this is why artist, not even just artists actually - just people in general don't stop learning until the day they die because life is an ongoing learning process. But anyway, hopefully I'll be able to improve myself slowly but surely through the coming briefs in level 6 - I'll try to do the things I've said above. That is the plan.
When I was searching for animation portfolio books, google images gave me some photos of flip books - wouldn't it be cool to have a little animation going on at the bottom of your portfolio?! omg. Has anyone done this before? hope not. let me be the first. :)
I've just been notified of the launch date for the book I illustrated for Leeds Children's Hospital! I reaaaaallly wanna go but it's on a Wednesday, gotta ask Fred first..
I came across this book 'No Plastic Sleeves: Portfolio and Self-Promotion Guide for Photographers and Designers and decided to give it a little bit of a read. Most of the things in the book we've already covered with John in our PPP sessions, but it was just nice to go back and remind myself of it.
After reading these couple of pages, its making me consider making 3D products as well as 2D. But I'm going to have to give this some thought because it can be expensive to produce. At the moment what I have in mind to create as self promotional material (to build upon the pack I made in level 5) is:
My family in Indonesia are all very supportive of my decisions and chosen career pathway; they know that it is my ultimate dream to be a part of the animated feature film production team. Whilst in Indonesia I was told that the Mayor of Bandung, Ridwan Kamil (who have done a very good job around the city since he became mayor), went to have a meeting with Pixar about a possible new Animation Studio for the creative economy in Bandung. After hearing about this, you cannot imagine how ecstatic I was! If in a couple of years this does happen, then I'll be waaaaay closer to realising my dream!
I'm a very family oriented person, family comes first to me and I love Indonesia to bits, and being able to do what I want to do in a country I absolutely adore, close to all my family, would just be so.. so. ugh, theres just no words to describe it! I mean I'd be ready, oh so ready to go work in America if I got given a job, but this is just much closer to the heart. I could die with a smile on my face knowing I've fulfilled my goals in life hahahaha. Not only am I excited for myself, but also for all those talented kids in Indonesia. So please please please, let this become real. Let's all pray. Keep the good work up, Mr. Mayor!
Normand Lemay and Griselda Sastrawinata-Lemay is a husband and wife team whose currently working as feature animation artists at the Walt Disney Animation Studio. Every Tuesday they used to post art tips and techniques on their Instagram and Tumblr, which are very easy to understand and so helpful for students and aspiring character designers/artists, like myself. I was so excited when they announced that they were going to make a book out of these tips and techniques! Unfortunately I was abroad and had limited internet access when the book was made available for worldwide shipping, so I didn't get a copy and it has been sold out for soooo long. I'm still waiting for a copy to be honest - although most of its content are on the internet, I think a physical copy would be a handy little thing to keep close, to go back to every time I need some guidance! So I'm still keeping an eye out!
Participating in MEFCC 2015 in April was such an amazing experience but I didn't really get a chance to look around as much as I wanted to as I had to manage my booth most of the time. After participating in this, I realised how beneficial attending conventions and exhibitions like this could be. Making connections and getting myself out there is something that might propel me in the direction of my chosen future career. So when I heard about Animex International Festival of Animation and Computer Games that some of the animation students attended in February, I knew I had to do a quick research into it.
Turns out that this could be something pretty worthwhile for me to go check out! Like Comic Con, Animex is an inclusive event where people meet to be educated, inspired and entertained. At Animex you can learn from the foremost in the field and get the chance to meet and discuss the state-of-the-art, see behind the scenes of the biggest hits, do business and have a great time at one of the premier games and animation events anywhere in the world. Consisting of a unique blend of talks, workshops, networking events, exhibitions and screenings, Animex promotes an ethos of collaboration and sharing, bringing the world of computer games and animation to audiences of any level of expertise, regardless of background and prior knowledge.
I came across this post, and hearing that 'Disney sends representation every year to Animex' is such an exciting thing for me; it means a chance to talk to them, to get personal advice on how I could possibly get into the animation industry, and more importantly to get a job at Disney.
Animex also run student awards, which I've talked about here.
I'm definitely going to consider going to this next February! I also have a friend who studies in Teeside Uni so accommodation won't be a problem at all, if I decide to stay the whole week (8th - 12th) that the festival is on.
As a bridge to the world of animated feature films and big animation studios in the US, I decided that I should probably get a little bit more experience here first before going big! I thought I could start off relatively close to home; I decided to make a catalogue/list of personally hand-picked animation studios that are based in the UK that I find would suit me well or the ones that have caught my eyes. This list should enable me to find contacts easier if I ever want to get in touch about work experience, internships, studio visits etc.
Bristol: Aardman Animation - There are two studios in Bristol and the closest one is 15 mins walk from my house.
Sun and Moon studios - As well as being a full service animation & games producer they offer a comprehensive range of design & illustration services.
A Productions Ltd. - Strong reputation for creating and producing award winning children’s content for broadcast.
Wonky studios- WÖNKY Films are an award-winning full service, high-end animation company that creates content for multiple platforms.
Leeds:
I didn't find any studios in Leeds that I feel I could fit well into.
London: Blue-Zoo Studio - Clients include clients include BBC, ITV, BSkyB, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney, Kellogs, Lego, Shell, Barclays, and HSBC amongst many more.
Studio AKA - Film & TV work - reputation for creating diverse & captivating stories for all ages & audiences. Films have been honoured by BAFTA, Sundance, Annecy & Cartoon D'Or and by over 130 Film Festivals awards - including an OSCAR nomination.
Picnic - Services include 2D & 3D animation, script writing, illustration, character design, storyboarding, concept/ip design.
Parabella - Specialises in bringing narratives to life with visual flair and character
After thinking about developing a portfolio and looking at internships at Pixar in the last post, I decided to browse their website some more and came across these 'Paths to Pixar' videos:
Layout Artist - The guy with the glasses in this video, reminds me of me little bit at 2:00:
"Once I had the layout done, I found the animation just tedious. I wasn't terribly good at it, which was a problem. I felt like I had already done most of the work. And that's when I knew that in animation, in the sense of being an animator, it wasn't for me but that I still was interested in animation as a type of film making."
This is exactly the same thing that I said in my PPP presentation about the moving pictures brief for OUIL 504 Studio Brief 2. I really enjoyed making the art, figuring out scenes, layout, how I want things to move. But when it came to actually animating the scenes, it felt a little tedious. I wasn't as excited during this part of the process. This is why I'd like to collaborate with animation students again. Maybe I should give the title of being a Layout Artist a go in the future? Maybe.
I also watched another video Artists - I really like what this woman said at 3:16:
"To really do well in this business, you have to get excited about things that seem like they're going to be impossible."
To be completely honest, right now, I feel like me getting into Pixar or any other animation studios for that matter, is so far-fetched. But I have always been taught to keep dreaming big, aiming high, thinking positively, because you never know; things that you thought were once impossible might just become possible. So I'm gonna keep reaching for the stars!
Since the beginning (and also before) of this degree I already had a clear pathway in mind on what I want to achieve, what I want to be and where I want to be in a couple years time. I started my level 5 PPP presentation with this, reminding my peers and myself of my ambitions; to ultimately have a career in the animation industry (DreamWorks, Disney, Pixar, BlueSky, Laika being a few studios that I look up to).
I don't feel that my work is up to the standards (yet) of animators/illustrators/artists who work in the mentioned studios above. So in order to make work up to the standards of current employees at these studios, I decided to find out what their expectations are; what it is exactly that they require of you, skills, experiences etc.
I looked up internships at Pixar and there was one that caught my eye the most;
This sounds super exciting to me especially if you get to go to California! but I'm not confident yet to apply. This year I really want to develop my portfolio and get better at:
Character design
Environment (sets/props)
Colour/lighting
Further develop my layout and composition.
Overall just get better at drawing
To achieve this, I need to practice, practice, practice. Observe. Experiment. Play. Take photographs. Use photo references if need to. Stop being so afraid of getting things wrong!!
Pixar also wants applicants to submit demo reels, and if I were to one day apply I would need to be able to know how to make one. Pixar, actually has a link on their website that tells you how. THANKS PIXAR! maybe I could create one anyway as a self promotion material? yes. its a possibility.
As part of our Responsive module, Bex, Joe and myself took on the YCN competition briefs. Bex and Joe took on the Fedrigoni brief, whilst I the Pan Macmillan brief. Commendations were announced officially on their website on the 4th of June. When I saw my name on the list, I was utterly excited! - I was actually shaking. I was really proud of myself! Told my family too in our family group chat, and they all showered me with unlimited use of excited emoticons in their messages - I felt extra loved that morning hahaha.. (I think there were a total of 5 students from Leeds College of Art who received a commendation.)
On the 2nd of September, we attended our very first official awards ceremony at the London Barbican Centre and Conservatory! I felt so so honoured and grateful to be able to experience such things! I feel so much more motivated to do well with my career. During Level 6 I want to take on more live and competition briefs for a chance to experience this once more. I also think that it is a good way to get yourself out there.
All commended work were exhibited after the presentation ceremony, and it was really interesting to see other people's reponse to the same brief - just shows how diverse we all are and I was really impressed with how professional they all were! I was amazed! Overall, a memorable night!
As well as a writer, my cousin (not the one discussed in previous blog post) runs her own homemade banana chips/crisps business in her spare time. She asked me if I could make her a little logo to go on the packaging of her product. I enjoyed my previous logo designing project for ayasoBoutique so I thought I'd help my cousin out with hers. This way I could gain more experience with this type of design work (and also because I'm nice).
Her brand name is PiQsang because banana in Indonesian is 'pisang' but I'm not quite sure where the Q came from and I didn't question her about it haha. She already had some ideas on what she wanted so this was quite helpful. She wanted bananas in the letter Q and she wanted a Siger crown (a traditional crown from Lampung) somewhere in the logo because she said that her product is inspired by the traditional dishes of Lampung (not sure if I've translated her correctly, but it's something like that anyway haha) and she also wanted it in pink and yellow.
Though I have really limited knowledge into designing logos, if there are any rules to this type of design work, she was happy with what I came up with, so that's a job well done for me :-)
I would like to learn more about designing logos and such, but I think that's what graphic designers are there for. So I will just learn through doing (if I get people asking me to make them logos again).
Whilst in Indonesia I visited one of my cousins uni because I just wanted to see what it's like. She goes to the University of Textile Technology in Bandung and it was an interesting experience just going around the uni; the atmosphere is really quite different than in the UK and when I asked about the learning side of things, I was quite surprised that they were still required to do maths and science (not sure if it's just my cousin or like that everywhere in Indonesia too).
As well as aspiring to work within the animation industry, I have also dreamed to be able to one day have my own little boutique on the side, like how my mother once did. My cousin has already planned to start a little business selling some of her creations and thought that it'd be a good idea to combine both of our skills together. We haven't gone into details about what it is that we'd like produce, but as a starting point we looked at fabric printing prices in both the UK and Indonesia. I looked at how much it would be to order printed fabrics with our own designs on them online in the UK and she looked at prices in Indonesia. The difference is unbelievable! Soooo cheap to print in Indonesia!
I really enjoyed my stay in Indonesia and want to go back again next year and work on something with the cousin. I'm definitely going to make something happen, make my mark in Indonesia as well as in the UK (and everywhere else in the world)! Yes let's do thisssss. Further research and discussion with the cousin needed to make this a reality!
