The Testing and Methodology of an Illustrator

A large part of an illustrator's (or any creative) job is to promote themselves. Promotion ensures that their work is seen by a wide audience, and in that wide audience are potential employers as well as fellow artists who can offer valuable feedback.

A very useful tool for self-promoting is the Internet, which is what I shall focus on. With the popularity of sites such as Twitter, Facebook and Flickr, many illustrators participate in social networking as a form of promotion. The 'quick update' aspects of the former two sites are a convenient way for the illustrator to let his or her 'followers' know that, for example, a blog is updated, or that they are featured in a magazine/art exhibition. An alternative is the good old social forum, which if successful and active, can be a brilliant way to get feedback and to see the work of other artists.

Flickr has a 'community' option in which members can join and add their images to a 'group pool'. Although a nice way of sharing work with others, and a way in which I have found new artists who I follow the updates of, I have found that there isn't much constructive feedback given here as there would be in a forum.

Another way is to be promoted in an illustration blog - one example above. Pikaland features illustrators from around the world who have caught their eyes, and also offer services such as projects and their own Ning and Flickr groups. Being featured is a great way to see what others think of your work, and which pieces have worked successfully.


Also, your methodology will come into play. Part of a successful illustrator's methodology is researching popular artists/illustrators of the day. My own methodology is as follows:

I will carry out artist research relating to the brief I have been given.

I will also research into the concepts behind my (eventual) final piece.

I will also experiment with different forms of media.

If it is relevant, I will go into character development and art style based on the research and other studies I have made.

... and with this information, I shall go on to developing my final piece.

The Three Act Structure, and The Hero's Journey

When one thinks of acts, the theatre comes to mind - not necessarily artwork. However, an important aspect of visual communication is that of storytelling and effective communication with the audience.

In school, children are taught in Literacy that every good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end – or an establishment, a crisis, and a resolvement. We establish a scenario - whether this includes a backstory or not is optional, but the audience is given a 'here and now' portrayal of our protagonist. A crisis or the 'meat of the story' comes up in which the equilibrium is thrown out of balance, usually thanks to a choice that our protagonist makes. And, finally, at the end of the tale there is a form of resolve, where a new equilibrium is restored (and not necessarily a 'happily ever after').

For example, let's take Disney's UP (one of my favourite Pixar films):

The establishment is as follows:

-          Many years ago, Carl and Ellie are a normal couple.

-           They save for Paradise Falls

-          Other obligations require the money.

-          Ellie suddenly falls ill and dies in hospital before the trip can take place.

-           Carl alone, grieving and bitter.

The current scenario:

-          Carl still in a state of grief and lives alone in the old house, where building sites surround it

-          He is opposed to the construction around him

-          The court declare him a 'public menace' and he is forced to move into a residential home.

Carl makes a decision:
-   Using thousands of balloons, he lifts the house into the sky to travel to Paradise Falls
-   He accidentally takes with him a young boy named Russell (a stereotypical sidekick).
-   Arriving in Venezuela, they meet a flightless bird who Russell dubs 'Kevin', and the main antagonist, Charles F. Muntz.

The main crisis of the film is that Muntz is after Kevin.

Resolve is brought about:
- Muntz’s death trying to snatch Kevin
- Kevin is later reunited with family.
- The house lands perfectly by the side of Paradise Falls, fulfilling Carl's promise to Ellie
- Carl has turned from a bitter, crotchety old man into a kindly grandfather figure
- Carl finally accepts Ellie's death. A new equilibrium is restored.

Secondly, another form of storytelling is that of The Hero's Journey - or in the words of one Joseph Campbell, a monomyth.

For this example, I shall use the 1994 Disney film The Lion King, the story loosely based from the Shakespearean tale of Hamlet.

-          Simba flees Pride Rock after the death of his father Mufasa, out of fear that he was the one that caused it.

-          He meets Timon and Pumbaa, who are his mentors and helpers as he grows up.

-          Later on he meets his childhood friend Nala, who reveals to him that Pride Rock has fallen into a state of ruin, and Simba conflicts with himself over returning to take his place as king

-          ‘Gift of the Goddess’ is when Mufasa appears to Simba as a ghost in the clouds

-          He finally returns to Pride Rock and fights his uncle Scar

Useful links:
Hamlet and the Lion King, by Trey McElveen. http://www.lionking.org/ - accessed 2nd Nov, 2010
Monomyth - The Lion King. http://wiki.unknowableroom.org/ - accessed 2nd Nov, 2010

The Creative Brain, and the Importance of Working By Hand

Sketching diagrams by hand is essential for getting initial ideas down. The use of ‘mind maps’ is popular in schools and jobs alike, as they display a connection between the key word or idea, and related ideas.

Secondly, sketching by hand can help you get a feel for the composition, or general look of a piece of traditional work in a way that a digital program can not. We can see the general idea of our work in our mind’s eye, however it is not very often that we can capture those little nuances in such detail.

Drawing with the hand improves hand-eye coordination, and your relationship with basic artist tools. We can test media in sketchbooks, how it reacts with the paper and other surfaces, and not have to worry about how it looks as a final piece. Experimenting in this sense is a key part of creative play, and without it we would not develop our artistic skill nearly as much.

My own reflective visual journal (now referred to as RVJ) is full of experimenting - both ones that have worked well, and those that have failed. Through that, I believe I can see the pathway that my work has taken with each brief - aside from the occasional use of printouts (mainly images), little of the work in my RVJ is digital. I have also made small sketches for design ideas and mind maps at the start of briefs to get my brain working, and I believe they have been a benefit in my journey.

Also, evident in one's RVJ is that of the collaboration between the left and right brain. The right brain is a child at play - responsible for our creativity and love of all things chaotic, artistic and messy. When we're lost in a piece of work or experimenting with a new set of paints, our right brain is taking over. Our left brain, however, is the complete opposite - it takes control of our logic and thinking. We can use our left brains in our work by applying logic and asking questions of our work - what is this doing? Why? Where will it lead? Annotations can be applied to our experiments, and in doing that we can give our right brains a general direction or theme to play around in next.




Images I found useful:
- my own work
- http://ninespv.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/left_right_brain_xp1.jpg