MATS 3 : The White Cat

So, I finally finished the front cover for 'The White Cat', which was the third assignment for Make Art That Sells. The White Cat is an American fairytale - it's got a prince, a quest, a princess cat and the usual dark undertones of a fairytale. For a strange reason, I found this one challenging, which is strange because I thought that the children's book assignment would be the easiest one for me to complete. It was also about cats - so I thought hey, I will complete nail this! But it took me ages to get started, to contextualise the story into a page... but here we are. I tried to use a complete different colour palette that I would normally use and draw cats in a different way. I am pleased with it, would love to know what you think! :)

Uppercase / Cats / Make Art That Sells.

In my last blog post, I spoke about cats of the past which I had created and how I was going to create new ones for the latest Make Art That Sells assignment. Well since then, Make Art That Sells launched a competition with Uppercase magazine (which, alongside Chickpea, Frankie and Flow is my fave magazine of the moment)! The competition was to create a page for their Surface Pattern Design Guide. The brief was loose, the content of the cover could be up to you although you were constricted with size and the copy/Uppercase logo. So with cats on the brain and coming out of the hands, I decided to work with what I was having fun making and incorporate some of the cats I was doodling in my sketchbook to make a repeat pattern for the competition. As promised, here is a glimpse into my process: 

I spent a whole day doodling and drawing different cats in different medias, above are a few pages from my sketchbook. I tried not to think too much, just getting loose and having fun, then I started to refine my favorites and painted them using gouache paint, scanned them into photoshop and edited final touches to them:

 

 

I started to play around with the pattern the colours, what other motifs would be added to the repeat to give it an exciting rhythm and pace. I spent a while moving things around on photoshop, printing it out, using my lightbox to move things around with my hands, scanning back into the computer etc, etc, documenting it in my sketchbook: 

 

I find it useful to always print and document in my sketchbook - I'm quite a messy person - I spread my work around my studio and have many projects going on at once, so for me, it's really useful to make sure I keep my development in my book so that I can look back on the decisions I have made and also keep all my work organised and safe. I changed some cats around, took some away and re-drew others until I was happy with the composition and every single motif. Then I added the copy - which I drew myself and scanned in:

 

Ta-da! Here is the final outcome, repeated over the cover. I submitted it to the competition and I am so so pleased to say that it was selected in the top eight and live reviewed by the amazing Lilla Rogers and Janine Vangool (editor of Uppercase), which was such a treat! Lilla said that she chose it because of the individual repeat and the eccentricity of the design (!) I'm so happy to have been picked and reviewed over at MATS. It's really boosted my confidence and I've been a making machine ever since! I'll share what I've been up to once I've finished making them all :) I'd love to know what you think! Any comments would be fab, and I hope that sharing my process on this project has been useful. 

Cats

For the latest Make Art That Sells assignment, I have to draw lots of cats - how I normally draw them, then in a variety of different styles and media to create a book cover for a children's picture book. So, I looked back over some older work, where I have drawn sewn, printed and even carved cats to make a variety of creations. Lots of people comment on the amount of cats in my work, saying 'ooh you must love cats' , which is interesting, because I don't have a particular affiliation with cats I don't own one but I do like to make friends with street cats when I'm out and about and I like their attitude, and am envious of the way they spend their days on adventures... but anyway! I decided to put together this mini-mood board of cats I have already created in the 'usual' way I draw to build up on and work from here. During the last MATS assignment, I also drew and painted a few cats and tried to move out of the usual style I comfortably work in. I'll post my sketchbook as I go along over the next few days.

Make Art That Sells 1

As promised, here is my first Make Art That Sells (MATS) assignment outcome. 

The brief was to produce a design for bolt fabric under the theme 'vintage kitchen' 

based on observational drawings of pasta and Pyrex style dishes:

This was my first attempt and I took a week to step back from it and re-address it, something wasn't quite right. I did like the icons and the energy of the design - when I made it as a repeat it looked fun - but I felt that overall it was a bit cluttered and too many colours (even though I do like it!) so I decided to make some cut outs and add texture to them using printing ink and scan them in to create a 'mono-printed' effect. I wanted the shapes to be stronger, more refined and their to be delicious textures in the design: 

The colours I was restricted to in the printing inks determined the overall scheme. Although I did mix the colours to a vintage palette which I had previously decided - I wasn't distracted by the millions of possibilities that you have on photoshop or illustrator, which helped me a lot! Here is the final version: 

I particularly like the coordinates at the bottom! I might get it printed on to fabric and whip up a purse or something kitchen-y for my portfolio. Had a great time doing this Make Art That Sells assignment - although I didn't think it would take me as long as it did to complete the first one. Shows that I need to work harder and faster since spending two years writing and researching... but I'm happy with this outcome now and ready to start assignment 2!