PPP3: Etsy

I have now set up an Etsy account to sell my products online, this includes the prints and zines I made for Thought Bubble that didn't sell. I plan to create a link on my website so people that view my site can access my prints etc should they want one. Etsy as a platform is quite easy to use and I faced very little trouble setting up, I plan to take advantage of this over the next few years as I plan to make a name for myself in the self publishing circuit.

PPP3: Zoom Illustration Website

Today I bought a domain name for my website - www.zoomillustration.co.uk. Over the next few months I hope to gradually design the site and put my favourite/most favourable pieces on there. Key things I want to include are;

- Character work
- Political work
- Digital comics

I plan to make the site work smoothly without it being over complicated to use, after all it's purpose is to display my work, not do magic tricks.

PPP: Portfolio Choices

Here are some of the choices I plan to put in my portfolio. Unfortunately at the moment I don't feel as though I have enough pieces of work that I am proud to present in my portfolio.

Here they are regardless, I've tried to pair them to add a sense of organisation to my work;

PPP3: Thought Bubble 2015

So. Thought Bubble is over and it was eventful. It is the first time I've exhibited at Thought Bubble and I feel my work was largely well received, at least I presume it was if I factor profit into it. With the cost of printing and securing a table included I made a profit of £35. This would have been lower had I not been sharing a table with Joe.

The majority of my profit came from three items, the Starlord Prints, the Star Wars stickers/notebooks, and the Tory Chums Zine (that I had to make more of after the first day). I noted that my zines didn't sell well at all and after discussions with Matt and Adam decided that this was due to the time needed to invest in such a product. Thought Bubble is a busy place and quick visual fixes are paramount to sales, 60 page zines concerning unknown characters do not create this immediate response which I attribute to their lack of sales. I've decided that in the next week or so I'm going to head down to Travelling Man and give them copies of my zines to sell as it is a much more suitable environment where people can have the time to read before purchasing.

I also found the person Joe and I were sharing a table with kept moving her work further onto our side of the table. This was frustrating and I had to politely make her aware of this at one point. I think next year I'll look to share a table again but rather apply for a whole table rather than having half to share between two people.

Additionally, I spoke to one of the organisers from the Birmingham ICE comic convention he appeared to like my work and suggested I apply for a table there in September next year.

Finally, from what I have gathered from the experience, to succeed at Thought Bubble you need to be either famous or have a product that appeals to a massive audience, or as I've taken to calling it - fan art.

PPP3: Visiting Professional - Victo Ngai

Today we welcomed Victo Ngai to the studio. There had been a lot of build up to her arrival with the tutors barely able to restrain their excitement. I knew little of Ngai's work apparent from a brief investigation when I found out she would be coming to the college. Her work doesn't really appeal to me, but I can see why people appreciate it.

What really stood out to me was her professional demeanour, whilst also having a nice personality. When asked if she had ever been late for a deadline she flatly replied - 'no'. This hit a chord with me after recently missing the Guardian brief deadline.

She also spoke about her feelings towards side jobs whilst building a name for yourself. She personally felt that working a part time creative job as you build your practice isn't the strongest of choices as it could distract from you personal work. I don't agree with this belief as throughout my time on the course there have been briefs that I've felt weren't best suited for me but I've learnt something from them regardless. This is how I'd expect it to be with a part time creative job in many regards.

It was an enjoyable day however and I hope to see another visiting professional before my time at the college ends.

PPP3: Illustrator - Evan 'Doc' Shaner

Today I came across the comic book artist Evan 'Doc' Shaner whilst reading DC Comic's Green Lantern. His work has a quality that is reminiscent to that of 1960's cartoons made by Hanna Barbara, so I was not surprised to find out after a bit of research that he is soon to be drawing a comic book series called Future Quest starring an array of Hanna Barbara characters.

Shaner works digitally and incorporates Kyle Webster brushes into his work. This makes me feel that whilst my efforts into using analogue processes more are needed, a digital only illustrative route is in fact possible.


Follow Tommy 'Zoom''s board Evan 'Doc' Shaner on Pinterest.

PPP3: Kaylan Presents 'Comic Party' Reflection

Last night I attended an event in association with Thought Bubble and Travelling Man organised by Kaylan Presents held at the LS6 Clock Cafe in Headingly.

I was approached by Calum the chap that was running the event through my links to Thought Bubble and accepted his invite as I felt this would be a great networking oppertunity. He was interested in me running a portrait booth where people sit and get a quick drawing of themselves. Additionally to this I was asked to take part in a comic strip drawing exercise, however my role in that was more limited as it was made predominantly for the visitors of the event.

I found the evening to be very enjoyable and the portrait drawing was an excellent exercise in quick facial studies. It also reminded me that I can indeed draw with a pen (as opposed to digital), very well in fact. I also took several of my zines to the event and received good feedback from those that read them, with many people asking if a had more zines and such (which I don't have at the moment, unfortunately). Finally, I had a few conversations with Calum throughout the evening and let him know that I would be more than happy to participate in any events such as this again should he need an illustrator. He also informed me that the owners of the Clock Cafe love hosting events so theres the possibility that something like this could be organised by myself or the college in the future.

PPP3: Travelling Man Exhibition

Last night I attended the opening of the LCA BA Illustration exhibition at Travelling Man. Many of the level 3 students (myself included) were asked to create an A2 poster that would be presented on one of the 16 displays in the centre of the store. We decided that there would be a colour theme to connect our work, therefore allowing the context of the posters to be completely open.

Being a comic book store I decided to go with a comic book related illustration as that would interest the store's core audience the most. I felt that consideration to the audience was very important, the last thing I wanted was to alienate them in any way like have a sexualised image in a store where children would be present etc.

Finally I spoke to Matt the store manager a bit. He told me the poster spaces are generally under-utilised  so thats something to think about. Additionally I asked about zines and the process of submitting them to Travelling Man. He said they take about 5 initial copies and read them (to make sure they are appropriate) and then they sell them with 100% of the profit going back to the creator. He mentioned that they want to the do something with the zine section of the store as it is quite small at the moment. This is something that I may bring to Matt (tutor) as it would be cool to organise a zine event of some sort with the college.