Laura Carlin Talk

These are my notes from the Laura Carlin talk today. It was the best talk I have been too so far. It was really good to get an open and honest insight into the work and thought process of an imaginative and expressive illustrator. It really interested me the way she thinks about how to communicate subjects. A good example was how you should think outside of the obvious and how that can benefit your work. If you are asked to illustrate a woman you could just draw her, but that would not necessarily tell you anything about her however if you draw the outcome of some of her actions that could demonstrate aspects of her personality. It makes the viewer of the work feel a closer connection to the character. That's not to say that you shouldn't draw the character but that it is a good idea to think well beyond the text or idea you are illustrating. What does the character feel about what they are doing? What are they thinking about?How can this be communicated through their facial expressions or posture. Following on from this is the importance of looking up from your phone more often, noticing the small day to day things that people can relate to. Relying on stock images from google can make your work stagnant and generic. look around and get away from your desk to get inspiration. think about postures and actions you encounter day to day that will not be found in posed photographs. Use your own loves and hates to stimulate your inspiration, this will help make your work individual to you. I feel like this is something I have lost this year. by completing so many briefs i think at times i have reverted back to 'safe' techniques and made literal and quite simple illustrations to communicate narratives. This is something i want to explore more over summer when I have more time. I have printed my current portfolio but would like it to look very different by the end of summer. I want it to demonstrate humour, emotions and character as well as my as well as my skills at character design and landscapes. A lot of people on the course have been worried, feeling they're not ready to jump straight into the world of professional illustration, including myself. It was very reassuring to hear a successful illustrator talk about working in a non illustration based job after university and illustrating on evenings, especially in such as positive light. I have found each year of the course that I learn throughout the year but am only able to properly apply that new knowledge over summer when I have more free time and space. I plan to go to the bologna book fair next year and can use that as a target for me to aim toward so that I don't lose focus over the summer.

Over all the talk today made me want to start experimenting more, both with my practice and with book ideas. It made me realise some things I had been trying to achieve through my illustrations but that I hadn't been able to sum up or even pin down to a specific way of working.







Laura Carlin

The importance of being yourself

If you follow trends your career lifespan will be short
What do you like
What do you hate
What annoys you


Follow up ideas

Don’t be afraid to ask

Start emitting things that aren’t necessary from scenes
Exaggerate things
Change scale

Make books , more books
Teach you to edit your work
Keep folders of things that inspire you


Children’s books
Play- images should be playful
Observe all the time
Don’t miss small details
Look up from your phone
Don’t illustrate everything
Pose questions
Spark the imagination
Don’t repeat the text
Draw just before or just after the action

The woman
Does a picture of her tell you who she is
Could a picture of something else do it better


Don’t need to go straight into full time illustration after uni

The iron man - ted Hughes
Not patronising
doesn't change tone of voice for children

sympathetic to the iron man

Collaboration works for you
They like doing what you hate
And are good at it

Children’s books is tough
End up producing tons of work boiled down to a book
Even people like Jon Klassen struggle
Publishers don’t give children much credit


Try and get into the world you are illustrating
Create the landscape
Storyboard the book, bock in colour and white space
Work starts to look static the more you are familiar with it
Find devices in design to switch up compositions
Devices that fit the narrative
City- close in borders- claustrophobic
Think about body language
Posture
Movement
Can look right without being ‘right’

Ceramics started selling during recession
Started as a hobby on evenings
History is prejudice so I just add a bit more
Learn skills along the way
Could end up being profession, could inform other work

Andre Francois

Create back stories to everything and everyone
What are they doing, where are they going, where have they been, how do they feel about it

Read a text
Watch films with a similar feeling or from a similar time
Then put the book away to gain some distance
Helps to separate from the text

Find people who are honest about your work to get feedback from

Get away from your desk to think
Walk away between stages
Draw through struggles
Don’t panic