Illustration Friday: Juggle {Topic set 21st September}

Retinal Dope - The Illustrative Designer Podcast

...So I got this really cool email last night from Von Glitschka, the creator of IllustrationClass.com. Illustration Class is a massive source of information and inspiration for any creative, providing advice, creative exercises, pdf handouts, step-by-step tutorials and more. In the 'Shared Creative Processes' section, you'll find working methods shared by nearly forty contemporary illustrators and designers, including Illustration Mundo's creator, Nate Williams; also Jorge Alderete, Pietari Posti and Saul Rosenbaum. Let's just say that, as online creative resources go, its pretty amazing. Von is also the creator of The Illustrative Designer Podcast, another great site providing "Fun, informative and inspiring discussions about illustration, design, creativity and everything in between."

Anyway, I could enthuse about these sites for ages, but what I really wanted to say was: YAY! I'm going to be featured in the next edition of The Illustrative Designer Podcast... in the super-cool Retinal Dope section! Thanks Von! I will post here when the new edition comes out.

Here's some links to Von Glitschka's illustration, design and creative resource websites. He's obviously a very, very, very busy man - add these to your favourites! Also deserving of special mention is Texturebook: "Created by a professional for professionals, these organic textures are timeless in application and will quickly become a favorite resource that will spark the imagination, inspire creativity and infuse your art with an authentic, organic flair." Nice.

Resources: IllustrationClass.com, The Illustrative Designer Podcast
Illustration: Vonster
Design: Glitschka Studios
Blog: Art Backwash
Fun: Keyboard-Characters
Texturebook Site
Buy Texturebook

Jenny won the AOI Pricing Survey Prize Draw!

From the Association of Illustrators website today:

"This Spring AOI sent out a call for information on fees for recent commissions to enable us to update our Pricing Report - the incentive? A whole free year's membership to the AOI, worth up to £150! AOI are very pleased to announce that the winner of the Prize Draw is Jenny Lloyd.

'When I filled in the AOI Pricing Survey, I did so because I knew the information is important to the AOI and vital for the reference of other illustrators. I certainly never expected to win the competition! I'm so pleased to win a year's free membership, because the services that the AOI provide are essential to me and to my business, and I always renew my membership without fail. This is a great bonus for me as now I have more in my budget for other forms of self promotion. Thank you so much!'

Information on fees sent in from illustrators revealed that in general fees have not gone up in the two years since the original report was published, however we have been able to update the actual examples of prices received, giving an accurate historical report of fees up to the beginning of 2007.
This updated AOI Report: Illustration Fees and Standards of Pricing 2007 can be seen here."

Hooray!

:{Custom52}: ... Playing without a full deck.

So, I gave in and created this blog yesterday - something I've been thinking about, on and off, for a while. But its just been one of those items on the neverending list I have called: stuff I really should do. I've been working on Christmas card illustrations though, and to be honest, am feeling completely devoid of inspiration - being surrounded by beaches and sunshine is not helpful when trying to design a snowman which is both stylish and innovative - so I decided to distract myself with something useful for a change. Et voila! At 4am this morning, post-bar-drinking and pre-sleep, I wrote a first post which was intended to be witty, concise and fascinating; obviously, when I looked back at it this morning - well, afternoon - anyway, when I got up - it was, of course, complete and utter rubbish. So please forgive me if this still doesn't make sense.

I thought I might start - if you don't mind - with a really cool site I stumbled on yesterday called Custom 52. Its a playing card design competition. Here's the blurb from the site:

"Quite simply, Custom52 is our brainchild, meant to inspire and bring together the artistic community in a new and exciting way. We thought, what better way to showcase many many artists work together in one collection than a deck of cards. It's compact, convenient and functional as well.

It's also an experiment... to put something out there that everyone can enjoy and spread across the land. We wanted to facilitate and be a part of something that really takes off and grows to worldwide communities... but we'll see, that's up to you guys! so best of luck and ENJOY!

Custom52 is an online design community using playing cards as our canvas. Entries are graded by your peers and only the strong will survive. The top design for each playing card will be chosen to go to print and a deck of the top submissions will be produced. The deck will then go on sale for the world to enjoy..."

Nice idea, eh? I had a look at some of the designs submitted and they're great; competition is seriously stiff. But I've entered for fun anyway - my version of the Queen of Hearts. Here you go:

Those of you who've seen my portfolio might recognise the image; its an old Valentines card design. But pretty much perfect in this context too, so - lazily - I avoided creating something new. We'll see if I get anywhere with it, I'll keep you posted if I hear anything. But its a great website to visit for ideas and inspiration even if you're not planning on entering. As the competition info enthuses - dramatically, several times - ENJOY!