Republican Party Elephant

Illustrator Thomas Fuchs and designer Felix Sockwell have released a whole book of these different representations of the republican party logo. I found it on the creative review blog & iv put them up here because it amazed me how creative you can be with something so simple. I cant pretend to understand every one of them, but i love how they express so many different concepts using the same shape and colours. I guess it just reminds me that communication is often most effective when its kept simple, & also to push myself further when it comes to ideas cos i never thought you could say this much using only a blue and red elephant.

Biddy Maroney

I emailed this illustrator mainly just for the one piece, above. I found it online, & tho i work in a very different way, I love the way hes used fabric as a texture and the richness of the colours, also the pattern in the background adds a further decorative element to the piece. Im eager to find out more about illustration in other countries so thats another reason for contacting him. Heres the answers to the questions i sent:

1. I particularly like a piece of yours called ‘silver spangled Andalusian’, I was wondering what techniques have you used in this piece?

Thankyou, that one is almost completely digital.
I drew the chicken with ink and a brush so I could use some of the inky lines for its feathers. (I didn’t end up using the outline of the bird in the end though, just some of the feathers) I used the brush and ink stuff as layers of texture in Photoshop, mixed in with a lot of fabric and string that I scanned in, and found photos (the birds eye and cricket balls) I drew the text, and various lines in Photoshop with a Wacom.

2. In the last few months, since this global recession, have you noticed any difference in the design industry, for example in the amount of work you get?

Between the stuff I do through the Jacky Winter agency and the stuff I do with my partner as Webuyyourkids I’ve been flat out working for the last two years and haven’t noticed any change to this recently. But it’s hard to say as I’ve only been with the agency 18 months, and WBYK is also relatively new – so I’m lucky to be involved with growing businesses which keep getting busier. I have heard that budgets are tighter though, so I’m now very wary of turning down work.

3. Are most of your jobs within Australia, or do you get work from other countries via the internet? If so, where, and do you notice much difference between the type of work coming from different countries?

Pretty much all the work we do as Webuyyourkids is from within Australia, and that is a huge percentage of my work. The Jacky Winter Group is different though – the initial point of the agency was to get Australian illustrators working with overseas clients – so I’ve done a fair few things for US clients through that now, who would never have known I existed without my agent. It’s been mainly editorial illustrations for American magazines, but theres also been jobs for Australian clients through JW as well – mainly Australian advertising agencies. I guess they are just the sorts of companies that have reacted well to whats in my portfolio. I couldn’t say there was any trend I could pick to do with the different countries or anything.

4. What have been the main influences on your style of illustration?

I love to draw in brush and ink but lately have been doing so much digitally – drawing with the Wacom straight into the computer and then layering textures in Photoshop. I do like black murky inky things so I guess that’s a big influence. Working with Sonny as Webuyyourkids has influenced me heaps as I’m usually working as a duo so Im being infuenced by his style which is so much more clear and uncluttered and he has great compositional skills I’m trying to learn from. I like a lot if kitchy spooky things. Being able to rework things / correct things / compile different things on the computer is seriously the biggest influence on how I work though. Other illustrators I love are Shary Boyle, Raymond Pettibon, Charles Burns, Steak Mountain, Milton Glaser, Alan Aldridge, Zeloot, Edward Gorey and I love Tim Burton too. And old movie.

Major Project - Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

During this self initiated project, I intend to develop further the visual style that I have been working towards over the past few months, through more ambitious experimentation in terms of 3D work, and the appropriateness and range of materials used. Using the influence of sixties psychedelic poster artists such as Alan Aldridge combined with the 3D work of contemporary illustrators like Juan Carlos Federico, I hope to finish with a bold visual language that will stand out from the crowd. I also intend to look again at the way Christian Boltanski uses shadows & silhouettes in his photography – I think this could be a useful reference in trying to create a sense of paranoia.

I want my work to express the insanity and paranoia, and the erratic nature of Hunter S. Thompsons LSD / Mescaline experience, and also the disillusionment felt by the author over the death of the dreams and idealism of the 1960s. Representing the views of both the author and myself, I intend to explore ideas relating to the greed and materialism behind the American dream. Despite the quite dark nature of the book; the bad trip and the hallucinations and paranoia it causes, as well as the authors underlying criticism of American society, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas retains an element of humour in the writing style; something that I would like to come through in my work.

As discussed in my last tutorial I plan to look at incorporating pattern into my work, in terms of creating good designs but also communicating a message. I intend to research the possibilities as to where my work could fit in within the music industry, from the obvious sleeve artwork and merchandise, to growing industries such as designs online for example bands websites.

Alan Aldridge Exhibition

I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30am and spent a total of 11 hours on a bus to see this exhibition at the Design museum, London. Whether it was worth this amount of suffering im not sure, but i definetly enjoyed it and got some inspiration out of it.

The huge cut outs and hanging displays made it unlike any exhibition id ever seen before; it felt almost like entering a whole new world. The Beatles music being played added to the atmosphere. I thought his imagination is fantastic; i particularly liked the odd little creatures he invented for the children's book 'The Butterfly Ball' (Illustrated poems). Its an idea i should consider in the hallucination / paranoia aspect of my major project. Though i generally liked the way the exhibition was laid out, I can definetly see Roger Sabin's point (review, Eye magazine no. 70, p.88) that "the exhibition can feel like a fairground ride at times, and the candyfloss quality of some of the art can lead to a risk of sugar rush".

One large room was covered from floor to ceiling with his album cover designs and illustrations for the Beatles lyrics (of which i bought a book). At first this room looked very impressive, and added to the feeling of stepping into Aldridge's world, but then i realized that I'd actually like to see the stuff that was 20 ft in the air.

I was suprised by how much commercial work hed done - i was unaware that hed designed book and magazine covers and worked in advertising, but one of my favourite pieces on display was a Heineken ad, consisting of two images, the first of a weary, pale looking caterpillar with a full pint of Heineken. The second is an empty glass and the caterpillar has developed fantastic, bright coloured wings. His work for Penguin has inspired my cover design; I loved the contrast between the simple black background and the bright, bold image on the front.

Other exhibits included a car painted with psychedelic designs (I'd love to do this to my car..), but my favourite piece was an animation for 'One of these Days' by Pink Floyd. It felt like driving through a tunnel at night while on acid (not that i have done this) - the walls were covered in wierd and wonderful creatures, and kaleidoscope inspired designs. Though a bit disjointed in places, i loved it and watched it several times.

I like the last line of the review in Eye magazine: Aldridge "sucessfully navigated the tricky terrain between blowing deadlines and blowing minds".

Juan Carlos Federico

Alot of his design work is completely different to this, but i love this series of little mechanical looking creatures; i like the idea of experimenting further in 3D using found objects, particularly metal & mechanical objects. I think these materials add a cold, emotionless aspect to the piece, and thats something that could be appropriate in trying to express Hunter S Thompson's view of Las Vegas. (Major project is gonna be based around Fear & Loathing)

http://www.juancarlosfederico.com.ar/Restatos.htm

Some of them look really quite sinister, others are more quirky & amusing. Also, as his views are expressed largely through one long acid/mescaline trip, i think the idea of inanimate objects coming to life fits quite well. Im assuming in alot of cases hes not actually made the thing but photographed the individual parts and put them together digitally, ill definetly email him & find out more though. Hes Argentinian, i hope he'll speak English.

Anthony Ventura

Heres a reply from another contact, i love his work although its totally different to mine, i emailed him more to find out a little about the industry abroad, in this case Toronto. This is the reply i got;

Hey Jenny ,
Here's the answers to your questions. I hope I answered them OK.
If you ever have any more questions or need any advice on being an Illustrator, feel free to drop me a line and I'll
pretend to know something ;).
Thanks and best of luck to you with your future endeavors.
Anthony.

1. I love the series of ‘Skullshire girls’, I was wondering did this come from a
brief given to you, or is it a self initiated project? If so, where did the idea
come from, and what is the next stage for them?

It’s a self initiated project. The Skullshire Girls was a result of me wanting to
keep busy and try new things. Sometimes as artists, we hit a wall, and are not sure
of what to do next. I wanted to create something that I always had something to
do a drawing or a painting for in between other projects. Basically The Skullshire
Girls are an empty palette for me to have fun with. The idea and name was a spur
of the moment thing based on a few illustrations I had already done.
As far as the next stage, nothing is really planned for the girls. What I’d like to
see done, is after I have created a large body of work dedicated to them, I’d like to
see maybe a book collecting all the pictures and paintings and whatever else I’ve
come up with for these hags. Ultimately my true dream for the girls would to see
them made into a line of collectable toys, but I don’t even know where to start
with half the stuff I come up with so that’s a pipe dream right now!

2. I love the dark atmosphere in your work, can you tell me what influenced
this style?

Others describe my work as dark, but I have never seen it that way. My style just
came naturally, nothing was ever really preconceived about it. I just kept drawing
and painting and the work kept, and still is evolving. I think artists and illustrators
have to always challenge themselves and try new things, or else what’s the point.
The funny thing is, right now, my favourite art is usually more graphic and
colourful. These days I tend to enjoy the designs of animation and graphic design
more so than a lot of the painting and illustration I see.
There are times I look at others art more than I work on my own, and I really
think it helps to stay inspired and motivated. I like to tell people be influenced by
everything around you, but never copy it. Let it get into the subconscious, and
then it will truly influence what you do.

3. In the last few months, since this global recession, have you noticed any
difference in the design industry, or do you think its over exaggerated by the
media? (Im a little concerned to be graduating in the middle of a recession)

I’ve noticed that when the word recession is used, the work does slow down a
little. It’s usually in the beginning until the media focuses on something else. The
problem right now is, the bulk of good work comes from the US and things are
bad there right now so I have noticed a slow down. After 9/11, it was pretty bad.
But again, the entire art field is a rollercoaster ride. Sometimes it’s way up, other
times it’s way down. You have to be creative in the way you market yourself
almost just as much as you are in your work. I still have problems when it comes
to getting my work out there. As an artist I’d rather be drawing than sending out
promos and making mailing lists. Unfortunately, it is a necessary evil.

4. When (and if) I start working as an illustrator, id ideally like to be working
for clients all over the world, im interested in Canada particularly because I
loved Toronto when I visited, I have family there and would love an excuse to
go back! Do you have any advice on the industry over there?

Most of the work I have done is from the US. Canada is a very small market, with
only about 3-4 major cities and way to many artists, lol. But, it would be the same
as marketing yourself elsewhere, we have lots of Magazines, Ad agencies, Design
studios, it’s just a matter of reaching them at the right time. I think the biggest
problem for me is, Canadian companies tend to pay a lot less than US companies
for the same work. I think that’s why I tend to focus on the US Market. It’s really
expensive to market yourself, so you want a good return on your investment. Pay
attention to your audience too, I’ve notice my work is very well received in
Europe, especially Spain, so I’m trying to figure out ways to tap into that market
too…That’s the thing with this business, your always learning.

Anna Maria Lopez

I found this illustrator on the illustrationmundo site, i love the pop art influenced style of these examples, theres some better stuff on her website but you cant copy & paste from it...

http://www.anna-om-line.com/english.htm

Further down the page theres some examples of how shes printed some work onto fashion accessories like wallets & belts, it looks pretty good i thought. Iv emailed her anyway, so hopefully ill hear back from her in the next few days...

Patrick Thomas Studio Visit

Despite feeling slightly worse for wear, I really enjoyed the visit to Patrick Thomas's studio in Barcelona. I felt i could connect with the ideas behind his work and the way he thought, and the idea of working abroad has really inspired me.

After doing a BA and then MA in graphic design, Thomas set up the Big Orange studio in 1987 with Lawrence Zeegan, but moved to Barcelona in 1991 partly because he was sick of the Tory government. Although he barely spoke a word of Spanish, he began working freelance from his hotel room. By 97 he was able to buy La Vista studio, a rooftop apartment near the centre of Barcelona, where he currently lives and works.

He cites his main influences as being Peter Blake, Peter Saville, and the punk movement. This simple, direct style and pop art influence is evident in alot of his work. He is also inspired by William Hogarth, and Russian constructivists such as Alexander Rodchenko. Most of the work he showed us were cover designs and editorials for the economy supplement of a Spanish newspaper. Interested in appropriation, Thomas enjoys the challenge of making an existing image his own. He collects a huge amount of images for inspiration. He often uses cliches in his work, and is very direct in the way he communicates. I loved his piece about the differences between France and Germany - the image consisted of a corkscrew and bottle opener side by side. He works very quickly, often getting a brief in the evening and handing it in the next morning. Recently he had an exhibition in London, where his work was presented in a black and white newspaper format, commenting that a good idea should work in black and white.

He has produced a large number of promotional postcards, some examples are shown above. The studio was filled with huge screen prints of his designs, my favourite being the iconic image of Che Guevara, his face made up of corporate logos and symbols of capitalism. I like the irony behind this idea, but also the point it makes about how the image of this socialist revolutionary hero has, since his death, become so famous that it is almost as much a corporate logo as any of the others.

Coloured Acetate Experiments

Ive been experimenting with using coloured acetates (£1.80 per sheet!!) in 3D, working in the same way as i did with the aluminium foil. I photographed them on a windowsill to let maximum light shine through, i think its worked quite well apart from where the glue is visible. The flowers are inspired by bits of Greek design from my research, with the intention of using them in the trippy bit of my cover design. When i get a chance ill try getting them photographed properly on the lightbox, experiment with the translucence of the colour, see what shadows & effects i can get from placing small objects or designs under them.

Old Stuff - Faith Project

I did this at the end of second year, it was the first time id started making things, so was a bit of a turning point for me. I chose to focus on Voodoo, i made several dolls (the rest of which, for some reason, refuse to be uploaded) out of found stuff like card, sequins, wire, a stick, its held together with selotape, but you wouldnt know from the photo. I was a bit dissapoionted with the final designs, but i really like this back lit photo. The main influence was Christian Boltanski, (thanks Rose for that), i love his photography & the way he uses light and shadows, see above top.

Old Stuff - Reusable Bag Brief

I did this nearly a year ago now but i still like it so i thought id post it up here. The brief was designing a reusable bag for Saisburys, the theme i chose to focus on was the debate over free range & battery hens. I was working mainly with prints, and although my works changed a bit since then, i still enjoy this way of making images, and dont want to leave it out entirely. Iv just made reusable bags for a few christmas presents, (as i am cheap and couldnt afford real presents), they turned out pretty good. I enjoyed doing it & intend to look further into this industry as it seems to me the market for it is really growing, what with every other shop desperate to jump on the environmental bandwagon.

Aubrey Beardsley

Iv always loved Aubrey Beardsleys work, i think i was probably drawn to it because its so dark and twisted. Stylistically hes very different to my stuff but iv been looking at him again recently for the quality of his compositions, which i have, due to apalling time management, been known to leave as a bit of an after thought. The way he uses negative space works so well and thats something i need to look at more cos i always try to avoid it, for some reason.... also the way he can create a sense of perspective using something as simple as a single line. The way the viewers eye is drawn up & down the piece by the curve of a cloud (in Salome, above), or a womans dress or hair, & the contrast between the black & white adds to the sense of drama.

Card Industry

The UK population spends £1.5 billion a year on greeting cards - more than it spends on tea and coffee - yet finding a route into this fiercely competitive industry is not always easy. There are estimated to be around 800 greeting card publishers in the UK, ranging in size from 'one man bands' to multi-national corporations. Not all publishers accept freelance artwork, but a great many do.
List of card companies looking for freelancers: http://www.greetingcardassociation.org.uk/members/GCA-members-search/search-results?freelancers=a&p=1
Iv had a look at the websites on this massive long list to see if my work might be relevant to any of them, most arent, but I found a few that could be:

http://www.bugart.co.uk/greetingcards/cards.php?id=3
http://www.hotchpotchcards.com/our-cards/general (Tigerlily range)
http://www.paperrose.co.uk/artists.html (advertising for freelancers)
http://www.pq2.biz/pq2_store/index.php
http://www.realandexcitingdesigns.co.uk/home.html (advertising for freelancers)
http://www.soultraderuk.com/index.htm (huge range of different styles)

• Browse the greeting card displays in card shops, varietal stores (WH Smith, Boots), department stores and gift shops. This will not only give you an insight as to what is already out in the market but also which publishers may be interested in your work. Most publishers include their contact details on the backs of the cards.
• There are a number of trade exhibitions held during the year at which publishers exhibit their greeting card ranges to retailers and overseas distributors. By visiting these exhibitions, artists will not only be able to gain a broad overview of the design trends in the industry, but the current ranges of individual publishers.
• Some publishers are willing to meet artists and look through artists' portfolios on the stand, others are not. Do not be put off by the latter. If you believe your work could be relevant for them, ask for a contact name and follow it up afterwards. Some larger companies may suggest you contact their art director or design manager, while for smaller businesses it may be the managing director of the company who deals with the design aspect.
• It is a good idea to have a supply of business cards handy, perhaps illustrated with some of your work, to leave with the publisher.
• Progressive Greetings Worldwide is the market leading magazine for the greeting card industry and the official magazine of the Greeting Card Association. The editorial and advertisements will provide immediate insight into publishers, new products, industry issues and news of the day. It often carries advertisements of publishers looking for freelance designs and verses. A list of publishers appears each month at the back of the magazine. It is published 12 times a year and is available through an annual subscription (£40 a year) and also includes special supplements such as an annual Focus on Art Cards and Focus on Humorous Cards.
• The first step is to establish whether the publisher accepts work from freelance artists and their requirements for an artist's submission. It is always better to send several examples of your work to show the breadth of your artistic skills. Some publishers prefer to see finished designs while others are happy with well-presented sketches. The publisher is usually looking for a distinctive style, creative thinking, market awareness and professionalism. If he likes your style he may bear you in mind when commissioning new ranges.
• Remember that publishers work a long way in advance. Christmas ranges for example are launched to the retailers in January; Spring Seasons ranges (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Easter and Father's Day) are generally launched in June/July. Development of a range may take up to six months prior to launching.
• Some publishers respond to post from artists straight away while others prefer to deal with a pile of artists' submissions on a monthly basis. Do not be disheartened if you hear nothing for a few weeks. A publisher interested in buying your artwork will then issue you with a contract. This may cover aspects such as: the terms of payment; rights of usage of the design (eg. is it just for greeting cards or will it include gift wrap, stationery?); territory of usage (most publishers these days will want worldwide rights), ownership of copyright or license period.
  

There is no set industry standard rate of pay for greeting card artists. There are a number of different ways an artist can be paid by publishers. It can either be made on a per design or range basis. These include:

• Flat Fee - the publisher makes a one off payment to the artist for ownership of a design for an unlimited period. The fee can be anything from £150-£250 for one design, with a sliding scale coming into play for more than one design.
• Licensing Fee - this grants the publisher the right to use artwork for specified types of products and for a specified number of years, after which the full rights revert to the artist. Artists are paid in the region of £150 + per design for this.
• Licensing Fee + Royalty - similar to above, but also with a royalty payment on each card sold. Artists would generally receive £100+ licensing fee plus 3% of trade price of each card sold.
• Advance Royalty Deal - the artist is paid a goodwill advance on royalties. In the case of a range, the artist would receive a goodwill advance of say £500-£1,000 and 5% additional royalty payment once the threshold is reached.
• Royalty Only - the artist will receive regular royalty payments based on the number of cards sold. Royalties are generally paid quarterly. Artists should expect a sales report and royalty statement.

Dos

• Do your homework. A little time spent researching the market will save you a lot of time, money and frustration in the long run.
• Do ring up the company prior to sending copies of your designs to check whether they accept freelance work and to find out to whom they should be addressed.
• Do remember that few greeting card display racks show each card in its entirety. Remember to ensure that some of the design 'action' appears in the top half.
• Do remember that most wholesale designs will need to include a caption - or space for one
• Do present your work well and meet your deadline. Remember, news travels fast in the industry.
• Do put your name and address on the back of every design.
• Do enclose an SAE if you want your work returned. Please make sure this is large enough and has enough postage on it to take your samples.
• Do agree how you will be paid.

Don'ts

• Don't ever send originals.
• Don't waste your time sending a long letter of introduction. It invariably will not be read.
• Don't sell two publishers similar designs. A bad reputation will follow you around.
• Don't take rejection personally.

Gillian Blease

Gillian Blease did her degree in Fine Art at Newcastle University, and for a while attempted to gain a reputation working in this field. She has been working as an illustrator for nearly 15 years, and commented that it has taken her most of this time to reach the point of making a decent living from it. Blease began her career in illustration by collecting and filing images of literally anything she found inspiring. After taking a short course in illustration, and reading the AOI’s ‘how to be an illustrator’ guide, she had the idea of re-doing illustrations for existing Guardian articles, in order to build up a portfolio. She had a fairly slow start, but after six months, did a job for the Guardian, which eventually led to many more.

Her main influences as a fine artist were Andy Warhol, Patrick Caulfield, and Terry Frost, and from looking at their work, I can see how she found it relatively natural to begin illustrating. Blease highlights a trip to Japan as a major influence. She taught English and travelled around the country, noticing and being inspired by the symbolism in Japanese art and culture, and the concept of using simple representation to communicate an idea.

Another major influence are Goya’s etchings; while working at the Whitworth gallery, she wrote an article on his work. His use of empty space and sense of drama stuck with her, something which she tries to use in her own work. Other influences include Paul Rand and Julian Opie; she mentioned how simple Graphic design and a bold use of type inspires her.

Produced in Illustrator, her work focuses largely on shape and pattern. Things are stripped down to their simplest form, and she uses a simple colour palate. Blease favours minimalism, and believes that imagery works better when surrounded by empty space. Through her simple but effective designs, she became interested in pattern, and now sells her work to the Bright Agency for greetings card and textile designs.

The majority of Bleases’ work has been editorials for newspapers and magazines, such as the Guardian, the Daily Express, and Restaurant magazine. She mentioned that the Guardian is good to work for, as the only restrictions are the dimensions. Her worst job was a commercial piece for the Southbank centre, in which she had a complete lack of creative freedom. Some of her editorial work has to be completed within an hour, something which she finds challenging but valuable, because it keeps her from being too precious about her work. Occasionally she will get several editorial jobs on the same subject, and has to find a way of illustrating each one differently. She has begun working in book design, an area that she would like to be involved in more, due to the length of time given to complete work.

She highlighted the importance of being reliable, and also advised us to regularly send postcards to potential clients. I found Gillian’s talk very interesting; I like the way she can diversify to work in several different areas of illustration. She was able to explain her influences very well, and was honest and informative about the ups and downs of the industry. While I am not massively interested in doing editorials, I thought the idea of card design might be worth considering, so iv done some research into the industry, looking mainly at the Greetings Card Assosiation Website:

Grant Gilbert

After completing a print based degree at Birmingham university, Grant Gilbert spent three years working for Planet 24, a production company famous for producing the ‘Big Breakfast’ and ‘The Word’. He then moved on to channel 4, where he enjoyed larger budgets, creating title sequences and promos. He also spent a year in New York working at the Attic, but moved back to London when this studio closed after September 11th. It was then that he began working freelance, and set up Double G studios, partly because he thought it would sound better to call from a business rather than as an individual. He employs other illustrators as and when he needs them, and often works with other companies in order to gain inspiration from others, rather than sitting at home in a creatively stale environment. He also advised us that it is very important to get your name around, and to be passionate about and have confidence in your ideas, or other people will change things.

Gilbert was involved in the rebranding of channel 5, and also produced the Channel 4 Music promo – a short animation inspired by summer festivals. I really liked the use of neon lights and silhouettes inside the tents. In addition, he was brought in to produce the More 4 promo. The logo had already been finalised, but needed animating. This is a very simple but effective piece, involving overlays of shapes based on the logo. The Channel 4 adult entertainment channel uses a neon sign designed by Gilbert.

When pitching for the job of rebranding BBC1, he joined up with a company called Red Bee. The brief was to show ‘the coming together of people’. His main inspiration was an image from the Korean games in 1988 of several thousand schoolchildren holding up individual cards to form one single image. He won the job, but the BBC hated the idea, so it was back to the drawing board. The final rebranding received criticism from the press – it had taken ten months to produce and cost £1.2 million of liscence payers’ money. Gilbert felt the BBC was his hardest job, because there was too much interference. It was more insular than channel 4, and he had far less creative freedom due to it being funded by public money. These days, he has to pitch for around 70% of his work, but is getting more and more of his work through recommendations. He is also a D&AD judge, and advised us that a simple, striking design will stand out.

I feel that while Grant Gilbert is obviously very good at what he does, his work has no relevance to my own. He gave us some useful advice though!

Tal Rosner

Tal Rosner’s background is in Graphic design. When studying for his BA degree, he concentrated on magazine and poster graphics. He then completed a Masters in Moving Image at St. Martins, in order to “translate what I learned in Graphics into animation”. He has since taught himself to use Adobe After Effects. After finishing his education, Rosner took a job in post production, but did not enjoy it; preferring instead to concentrate on small projects where he could have full artistic control. He cites the biggest influence on his work as being art between 1905 and 1935, making particular reference to the Bauhaus and a poem by Josef Albers:

Calm down,
what happens,
happens mostly
without you.

The first piece he showed us was an animation to classical piano music called Doppelganger. It was all produced digitally, beginning with footage from a camera placed on the front of a train. He uses a split screen, representing the two piano parts. I really loved this piece, particularly the abstraction of the journey, and the Kaleidoscope style moving patterns it eventually became. I thought his sense of rhythm is excellent, and fitted in very well with the movement of a train. He then showed us five short pieces put to classical music by Stavinsky. They were created in a similar way – he chose a building, filmed it, and deconstructed it into individual parts for the animation. He mentioned that he films around London for inspiration.

Rosners best known job to date was the title sequence for the series ‘Skins’, for which he won a BAFTA award, and is currently working on the third season. I was particularly impressed with his attention to detail within this piece, and the fact that he produced 72 different versions before choosing the final edit.

Rosner was recently commissioned by the London symphony orchestra to produce visuals to be played at a live performance. It was based around the seven days of creation, but from a non – religious point of view. In much the same way as his earlier work, all the filming was done inside the orchestra hall and then abstracted; light fittings were, for example used as stars, and scaffolding eventually became trees. This level of creativity really inspires me.

Overall, I was very impressed by Rosners’ work, particularly the Doppelganger piece, and although his animations are not directly relevant to my own work, I found the idea of taking something as mundane as train travel, and abstracting it until it becomes a fascinating, Kaleidoscope pattern very interesting.