Reflection

My plans for my engagement with external partners has gone well, I have received some good feedback from the agent which has helped me to develop a good portfolio page on my website, it has given me more confidence in my work and also with the surface pattern design. I really enjoyed working on and updating my portfolio, it helped me to see what parts of my art work to promote, and which areas I need to work more on. It was also nice to go through old work from this degree to see how far I have come and developed.
It has helped to solidify what direction I need to move and work in going forward. I can now spend some of my spare time working on some of these areas as well as work I’m doing on my degree, to build up a body of work to add to my portfolio for the future.
I have chosen to work on 4 pieces from my book that I think will be a good addition to my portfolio, they are all character work pieces and showcase the style and subject of the book. I am hoping to use these pieces to promote on social media once they are completed to a high level.

Most of my work on my portfolio is nature related anyway as this is what inspires me to create, but working on my book and also the research I did on agents and publishers helped to solidify that having a subject to write about and illustrations to create, helps the agents see what your about and what people that would send the book to. So having a direction or subject refines your work into a category so it’s easier to see where it will fit I.e. bookshops, retail shops, online stores, what magazines could promote it, etc.

So my critical review feeds into my work very well, and also works extremely well with my personal life, moving to the country, setting up a new garden, planting trees, composting, kitchen and cutting gardens and being more eco friendly and sustainable. I think most of my illustrations and work going forward will tie into educating children through picture books and illustrations and art work on sustainability and eco friendly options to help the planet. Maybe working on a series with Flora to have different subjects on the environment for each book.

With regard to ethical considerations for my external partners and research, I haven’t come across any problems or issues so far. Working with the agent was easy and we both worked well together, noting each others considerations. I had no problem with the feedback and took this as a positive and I think created a good interaction that could be valuable in the future. My book has a moral to the story which I had worked on in the last unit, so I know that there are no problems there.

I am creating more work, characters and full page spreads for social media, to create opportunities with more external partners, this is something that will be ongoing over time. I have also just signed up to a few makers markets in my area, to sell my products and art prints of my illustrations, so I am working with a company that puts on and markets the shows. I have also just found a craft store where you can rent a shelf or cabinet to sell your work from, so this maybe another avenue to go down to see how it does in there. I’m looking forward to working more on my book in the next unit to hopefully bring the book to life, showcase a few more illustrations on my portfolio and work towards sending it off to hopefully get it published.