Professional Pratice and Work Experience in Illustration
PRINTIFY/ETSY
UPCOMING PRODUCTS:
I have been looking at Print On Demand (POD) websites to explore different products and be able to experiment with designs without the investment of down payments and inventory space. As I plan to relocate from the UK, this seemed like an avenue worth trying. Be it temporary or not.
To explain some pros and cons, POD services such as Printify are very user-friendly, but come at a cost. Like Etsy, they take quite a large cut on the overall sale. When I used to sell and package my sales myself, I enjoyed giving a personal touch to certain orders. With this method, it's not possible, and when it comes to returning products, complications can arise. The convenience of a POD and having supposedly more time to delegate to creating more art seems quite appealing.
I've ordered 100 business cards, arriving in time for the upcoming exhibition!
After attending Alumni speaker lectures, and taking their suggestions, I made a LinkedIn account and started following companies that I would love to be involved with.
When my portfolio is polished, I will reach out and ask for feedback. I have already been told that I would benifit from having seperate websites for different styles and services.
I will be selling my Dog Ruff's zine at the exhibition, and would like to list it on my Etsy afterwards.
I will also be selling these A5 prints at the exhibition and on Etsy. I reached out to the owner and she's very keen to get some for herself and her family :)
T-shirt mock ups work in progress! These will be in colour!
COMPETITIONS AND VOLUNTEER WORK
I have already been involved with some volunteer work with Battersea, the cats and dogs charity. I showed examples of my work, and a commissioned piece would be an item from their silent auction. It raised £1000 one year, Battersea reached out again, and it raised £500 the next.
I found this experience really rewarding, working with clients that absolutely adored their dog and gave me a huge folder of references to choose from. Although it was good for networking and growing my portfolio, I would like the next opportunity to ideally be a paid one, so I've been researching competitions.
Etsy
Before university, I used to sell on Etsy and here you can see my reviews
I believe creating a larger collection of card designs (25 approx) is a worthwhile investment, as a source of passive income. I will generalise the theme of these cards a bit more, as I found having only Christmas or Valentine's cards to be although successful, a very seasonal traffic.
I would like to reach out to publishers and have been viewing sights such as Paperboy, Thortful, OhhDeer and would like to grow my list of reputatable publishers.
MORE COMMISSIONED WORK
LIFE DRAWING
As I have a large collection of life drawings, I'm selecting and printing pieces to create a life drawing portfolio. This is currently getting printed, however, I will show some pieces below.
I would like to use this in the future to show my range as it contrasts quite differently to my dog drawings. I feel quite passionate about life drawing and would like to continue attending classes wherever I go, and would love to be in the position to host my own classes in the future.
Scribing
I really enjoy observational drawing—it’s something I find to be very fulfilling. I’ve been practising by sketching scenes in the park, trying to capture movement, interactions, and the little stories happening all around. It helps me stay focused and improves the way I see and draw quickly.
Lately, I’ve become interested in scribing, especially after discovering the work of Scriberia, ,a studio based in London, that turns spoken ideas and meetings into live drawings. I love how they use simple visuals to explain complex things in a clear and creative way. I've always thought of myself as a visual learner, and creating those visual cues myself feels like a very interesting career path to me.
I’d really like to try scribing myself—maybe by shadowing someone or getting some beginner experience. It feels like a natural next step from my observational work and could be a great way to use my drawing skills in a different, more interactive setting.
EVALUATION
I updated my portfolio, but based on feedback, I plan to create separate websites for different services to avoid confusion—for example, keeping my dog artwork separate from life drawing. I also aim to invest more time in improving the usability of my website, ensuring it's easy to navigate. A key focus will be providing clear direction to the shop, which will offer a broad range of products, particularly centered around dog illustrations and card designs.
I intend to begin networking and reaching out to companies for feedback on my portfolio. I’m also interested in shadowing a professional scribe for a day to gain real-world experience.
In parallel, I’ll continue improving my animation skills using the resources provided by Alex Grigg. Ongoing learning and artistic development are important to me, and I want to ensure that my motivation remains strong beyond graduation. I’m committed to pursuing a career in the creative industry and am open to exploring various paths, including scribing, commission work, passive income streams, tattooing, and working in the games industry.