Awesome technology..

Yesterday there was an opportunity to see a new piece of kit by Wacom, over at Plymouth College of Art and Design. So me and a few friends went along, just to have a sneak peek. I wasn't sure what we were in for really, but they had some really cool pieces of technology over there... including the new Inkling (a digital pen) which isn't available quite yet. Once you have clipped the receiver to a page in your sketchbook, the movement of the pen is able to be detected and recorded, this creates a digital copy of your drawing and saves it automatically, so you can transfer it to your computer as a digital file. Check it out on the website here, it's pretty amazing stuff! But I'm into my printmaking right now, so not considering buying one just yet...Definitely worth watching out for though (especially if your into your digital), glad we went and had a preview. 

Thanks for reading x 

Useful Resource

Stumbled upon these handy hints for illustrators! Even if you cannot be bothered to read them all, the advice is a worth a peek .... Although some is contradictory, you can pick and choose what is relevant to you... here

Enjoy reading :) 

Self promotion and Creativity (Original post dated 15/05/11)

​Recently after spending most of my time in the print room exploring new ways of producing artwork relating to my last project, I have been thinking about self promotion. I have been trying to find an outlet for my prints and experiments, that could be used in order to gain exposure. After a lot of thought and consideration an idea has begun to develop, but it needs more time. I have been looking for further inspiration in the field and read two interesting articles in Computer Arts. 


The first article is an interview with a London based strategist who works for Mother, an international creative agency. It is interesting because it talks about big ideas and alternative ways of finding inspiration, from which to spark ideas. 

The second article​ is about Joe Duffy, who has built up a company dealing with brand identity and design. But he talks about needing a combination of illustrative skills and business sensibility to formulate strong concepts, which I think is very true. He makes some good points about the advantages of collaboration also.

Tape art (Original post dated 14/05/11)

Converse and Footlocker produced an advert for their footwear, which caught my attention. The subject of music directly relates to my current project. It is great setting for the advert, taking full advantage of the outdoor space, considering how the artwork could be placed within a three-dimensional context (especially the headphones in the tunnel - great idea!). Simple but effective! Very cool..... :)

Ian Wright - not the footballer (Original post dated: 14/05/11)

I love the work of Ian Wright. His use of materials is ingenious and very wide ranging, including rubber stamps, mascara brushes, hama beads and badges to name but a few. One of my favourite pieces is his Jimi Hendrix portrait, created from Hama beads. I love the colours and composition of the beads, which all add up to create a very cool portrait. As seen on his website here: http://www.mrianwright.co.uk/ as well as many other amazing pieces of artwork!

Music to my ears! (Original post dated: 08/05/11)

Christian Marclay is an American artist, he composes art (and music) by using LP records. He is interested in the juxtaposition of sound and art and combines the two to produce some interesting, eyecatching results. As well as using LPs, he has used cassette tapes and record covers to create artwork. He has been influenced by artists of the Fluxus movement including Marcel Duchamp, who manipulated readymade and found objects, turning them into art. I love his cyanotype of tapes seen here, it is similar to the result I want to achieve in the print room.

His Record cover collage's, which can be seen on this link, are very aptly and effectively composed, as well as humorous. His vinyl record installation in the Museum of Modern Art, New York, is awesome and I want this type of "vinyl" flooring (below)!!