PPP Presentation

here's my ppp pressentation
i am dreading the presenting
but it will be over soon and it shouldnt be too bad
i thought i hadnt done much this year but it turns out i did so thats cool

final promo pack

pleased with how it turned out printed
as i hoped the roughness and errors in my drawing are barely visible at the intended size
i made the whole pack fit into a matchbox so everything was business card proportions, 8.5 x 5.5
i wanted it to be small and unassuming, unobtrusive, but filled with faux-bragging, i hope the size of the actual item contradicts the faux brag in a way that makes it subconsciously clear that i am meeker than the pack would ironically suggest
its cute and satisfying to hold
i decided to make the matchbox with the inlay pattern of the comic and red, which i had to print both sides of and colour in red on the edges so there'd be no white
i didnt end up printing out small exampls of my work because the pack is example enough, and it wouldve ruined the colour scheme, brand consistency and whatnot
also my blog link is there so there's no need for little versions of work to be in it
im content i think it went well

online presence

i've been working on my online presence, here's what i've set up

tumblr 

http://hollieholliesmith.tumblr.com/

facebook

https://www.facebook.com/hollieholliesmith/timeline

instagram 

https://instagram.com/everythingscomingupmillhouse/

threadless

(they let you have a shop for free and you make double money for the first £1000)

https://instagram.com/everythingscomingupmillhouse/

behance, still workin on it 

https://www.behance.net/hollieholliesmith

pinterest

https://uk.pinterest.com/hs109802/

print problems

printing was not without its hassles
mostly related to the size of the booklet, meaning there was much aligning to be done so the page would print out in the same place on each side of the paper (my printer doesn't do double sided)
i figured out a system though where i stacked the pages atop eachother, centered both ways and only revealed the ones i wanted printing each time
there were many errors, as can be seen here

final drawings

here's the pages of my final mini creative cv comic thing
i think it turned out okay but i would've liked to have spent more time on the drawings and the whole thing in general
it looks okay though, i like the colours i chose to use because they look neat and pleasant but arent particularly bold in their statements or intentions, its not a set of colours that say a lot about the content i think they're fairly basic and ignorable which fits this purpose because any bold colour statement in the wrong direction would leave a different first impression to my intention
i really like the cloud blue pencil, eventhough sometimes it doenst show up best after scanning

promo pack prep

after briefly planning my project pack before i have now drawn the images i intend to use in it

my aim was faux bragging, theyre loosly based on skills i have but massively exaggerated, as i always get told i undersell projects or myself or im not good and pitching things and whatnot, so this time im overselling

hopefully it comes across how i intened, as a joke, and people i send it to dont just think im an arrogant maniac

initial sketches

for my promo pack im planning to take inspiration from chris wares mini comic for the lambiek comic shop in amsterdam, i got a free one when i went to visit, apparently you can sell em or £40 but i want to keep it cos its cute

here's my intial plans

ill make a little mini comic that exageratedly brags about skills i have, or slightly have, and that will go in a little box or envelope or matchbox with my business cards and some small examples of my work 

communicating

sent some messages out when i saw things i wanted to be involved with,
here they are

correspondance with the person who runs humans of leeds, about the web banner illustrations
he was pleasant to speak to and minimised my stress with this hectic brief

i also sent out this message to the debrief via facebook where i was directed to an email adress
they havent replied yet but oh well ill try again
id like to work for them they have a tone of voice in their publication conducive to that of my work
i think it would be fun

i also emailed the leeds uni musicals society because i saw a poster for one of their shows and it was rubbish, and this would combine my two greatest loves, drawing and musicals
they havent even seen the message yet though so i think the page may be a little dormant and i couldnt find and email

pints and pencils

I went to a monthly drawing competition evening called Pints and Pencils at fab cafe, run by the owners of Travelling Man.
We had to draw onto this photocopied image of a bear
I had fun with it because I'd spent all day working so I just made silly pictures
Turns out the guys judging it all thought they were hilarious
I was awarded both first and second prize, but they didn't realise I did both, so a vote evaluated whether i was to turn the prize to the next runner up (which was Rowena) or whether my 'talent overrides' and i should be awarded both. The vote went in my favour which meant I got second prize of £15 to spend at travelling man, and first prize of 20 to spend at travelling man, so now I'm rolling in comics vouchers. Ideal prizes. Also now I know that my tastes and humour are in line with that of the travelling man owners so should I try and sell my comics with them they may be more willing now.

Anyway, drawings

painted a cute lil bowl

on holiday at the manor houes hotel, its a craft hotel we've been coming here my whole life
i didnt get much craft time bceause there was still work to be done but i did paint this lil bowl
im gonna make some for my mothers birthday in june
also i wanna do more porcelain painting and crafts in summer its well fun

Made a business card

here it is

my tumblr

is this - www.hollieholliesmith.tumblr.com

made a self portrait for my tumblr profile thingy

groovy patterns, fun to make

visual identity and whatnot, this could go on a business card and various other things 

tumblr

cant seem to embed a tumblr anymore....
oh well

http://fatsamsgrandslamspeakeasy.tumblr.com/

this is where i reblog work I like

TASK 1

1.What should your identity convey about you?

• the work I want/am willing to do
• why it is different and preferable to the work of another practitioner
• my attitudes and ethos in terms of the job and my business
• who I am, details etc. identification, contact

2. Is it actually important to have an identity as an illustrator?
I suppose an identity forms whether premeditated or not, based on ones work and habits and personality, but since it shows clients who you are and what you do its probably best to make conscious and informed decisions about ones identity and how it is perceived from an outside perspective to ensure it gives the right impression and beckons the right kind of work.

3. What could be included in your pack and why?

• some form of comic or booklet, sequential narrative, a la chris ware for lambiek 
• business card
• postcard
• larger booklet? sample of existing comic
• ephemera/stuff, a toy, game, coaster, souvenir, some object of interest, something fun, a tiny wig, whatever
• pleasantly packaged in a well planned way, compartments/pockets for items, custom made card packet, envelopes and little things to open, (secret life of bears) interactive and tangible.

4.What are you wanting to achieve by producing promotional items?

• a greater feeling/air of professionalism 
• something to present to clients, show what I actually do, currently I have nothing to show anyone what I do, just files and stuff 
• figure out my 'identity' and what I'm actually doing

Promo Pack Board

Follow Hollie's board PPP Promo Pack on Pinterest.

Thoughtbubble

Thoughtbubble is very different from the other side of the table. Having attended for the past three years I thought I had a good idea of what it would be like but it was more of a gigantic learning curve.

Stuff I've learnt:

Preparation is key - I was not prepared in advance and this made the run up to Thoughtbubble INCREDIBLY stressful. I did all-nighters and everything. Next time I will start doing things from the minute I book my table, but along side other work, rather than sacrificing college work to finish the things I planned to do for this. I didn't get to do everything I wanted to, like adding to my old comics and finishing my new ones to a good standard. I didn't allow enough time to print and produce and were it not for Rowena's assistance none of my comics would be trimmed, folded or stapled. 

Front covers are important - I have a tendency to put a lot of effort into the contents of a comic but by the time I get to do the cover I've usually ran out of time and I just slap something together at the last minute. This hasn't been a problem before as I've been giving them out for free but when I want people to buy my comics all they can see at a quick glance is the cover, there's no way of them knowing if they'd enjoy the story  

Fan Art - I realise I have undervalued fan art. As much as I still think it's a cop out and that people should create their own characters and worlds to make work based on, I now realise there is a market for it at Thoughtbubble and in terms of profit it is very valuable. Who's to say there's more integrity in writing stories anyway.

Quality - Looking at other people making similar work, I noted that their things were of a lot higher physical quality. They were printed better, in colour or at least the covers had colour, and more thought had clearly gone into the things they were selling. Overall other peoples things appeared a lot less rushed than mine did.

Table Setup - The more professional looking tables had more care put into the setup of their tables, they didn't just cram all of their things onto the available space like I did. There's decorative elements to consider, also more professional looking stands and nicer ideas for displaying work like hanging prints on a washing line on the front of the table.

Rude Browsers - An irritating amount of people would approach the table, read the entirety of one of my comics, put it down, smile and walk away. I don't know why they thought that was okay, especially when the thing they read was usually only a pound, and I have no idea how to prevent this next year other than calling them out on it, which would probably just create a bad atmosphere. This requires further consideration.

'Networking' - The most enjoyable part of the whole thing was just talking to other creators. I noticed it was massively different to talking to them as an exhibitor than as an visitor as our gold wristbands automatically established a level of equality and solidarity, leading to more in depth conversations based on an assumed level of knowledge. I was on the end of our table so I sat next to Dilraj Mann who is a lovely person and we bonded over many things from creative processes to the idea of a world populated entirely by hardcore nerds.