Study Task 2 - 5 Inspiring Illustrators

 KENDRAYEE

•  I've followed the work of Kendrayee since 2012 when she was formally known as 'unadoptable' as her illustrator name, I remember seeing her basic line work illustration on websites such as tumblr and liking them for what they were, it's only until recently that I've rediscovered her work in Instagram and have been pleasantly surprised with how much it's grown and developed. I can now see it as something that has a narrative and meaning with interesting use of media and process.
• I'm really interested in her use of mixed media, how the texture of print can work alongside the more simple line work. I think definitely in terms of childrens books, this could work really well as something that quite exciting and interesting to look at.
• She mainly uses social media such as instagram to promote her work but has a website and a number of zines that she partakes in art fairs with.
• I would really like to learn to be as experimental with my narrative and I feel like Kendrayee has an innovative way of looking at stories and portraying them in an almost psychedelic and playful way.
• I'm not sure I want to create work that necessarily LOOKS like kendrayee's work but i can definitely see how my use of line work could play across within print media, which i know is something that I want to improve my practice on.

ED CHEVERTON

 

• I just really love Ed Cheverton's work. It makes me anxious because i don't think i'd ever be playful and experimental enough to be able to create work in the same way as him but I really really wish I could.
• The use of bright bold colours and patterns mixed with the more simple line drawings is just so harmonious and perfect to me. 
• His work can appeal to both adults and children and this is exactly what I'm going for. The illustrations are so simple and playful that children can understand what's happening yet the great design and experimental collage is something that can appeal to adult creatives interested in the design.
• Maybe I should try this use of line work with a big bold block of colour, it could possibliy work alongside my work and then I would be able to transfer this into print? It excites me thinking of the possilbities and endless designs that I could create for this brief but I'm really glad that I've looked again at Cheverton's work, I feel like it's given me a bit of direction in terms of creating my work for the book.
• This will really be a challenge for me, but i want to be so playful and free with my work, especally after the more serious subjects of Angela Carter that I focussed on in 504.
•  Cheverton has had in work in a number of journals including the childrens magazine, Anorak, This is definetly a good starting point for me to explore and gather more infomation about contemporary, independent children's illustration and begin to consider which direction I'd like to start taking my design.
• I think one of my favourite aspects of Cheverton's work is the pencil crayon writing, this really adds the finishing touches of the hand drawn and childlike nature of his work and should definetly be something that I consider when coming to creating my book.

LUKE BEST

•  I've been a fan of Luke Best's work for many years now, I'm constantly inspired by his innovative and creative use of collage, line work and cut paper in order to create his illustrations that are full of narrative, creativity and intrigue.
• Similar to Ed Cheverton, I love Luke Best's use of bright colours in his work, in this module I'm going to try really hard to let go of the serious nature that often runs through my work and try to be more playful and experimental in the outcomes I am creating. I think in some ways, this is why I chose to illustrate children's books, so force myself to create this playful nature.
• I'd really like to learn the way that Best uses shape to become a background for his more refine line drawing. The bright colourful shapes offer a sense of exaggeration for the line work that is mounted on top of them and due to this I feel that and due to this playful nature, again Bests work can appeal to both children and adults. 
• I really like the way that the media can be seen in Best's work. The pencil marks and smudges from the media he has used havent been taken out and cut down, this is important. I seem to always be happier with my roughs and designs before the final so I need to remember to allow my experiments to remain within the final and not refine my work too much.
• This use of texture through use of media is something that I really enjoy about print process and I feel that through exploring similar illustrator I could really push myself to create work that I also enjoy looking at.

MATHILDE VAN GHELUWE

•  Mathilde Van Gheluwe uses a strong use of hand crafted media in order to create her endearing illustrations.
• I have only discovered her work recently but I was instantly drawn in by the use of pencil colour and shading used within her practice. Through using this media she is able to be experimental with her use of colour and through this she is able to use texture within her work adding to the appeal of it.
• I particularly like her character design within her practice. I feel that each character has their own personality and expression which is something that I really need to practice and work on within my own studies, especially if I'm wanting to create a children's book. I need to make the characters seem relateable and appealing for children so that the book is more appealing for them!
• I don't really want my work to look like this but I feel that I can take alot of inspiration from the way that she uses body language and character.

CHRIS SIMPSON ARTIST

• Chris Simpson Artist uses a strong sense of character in his work. I love the quirky and surreal nature of his narrative and I really want to take something from this. I feel like I too would be able to create this creepy yet interesting and humerous element of work.
• As my book is for children I still need to make the characters interesting and child friendly but i love the exaggerated limbs and confused faces of his charatcers and I really want to experiment with this way of creating.
• He uses alot of simple line work and I feel that although I'm used to this way of working, I would be able to experiment with uses print textures and other ways of creating alongside the line work.
• His characters are fairly simple and don't have too much details and embellishments that would take away from the narrative and the characters themselves.