Health and Safety

Health and safety is one of the most important things when it comes to working in an art environment. There are many tools, processes and environments which can be a risk to you and the people around you. To ensure that you are not at risk you can carry out simple little tasks which ensure the safety of you and others. You can start by clearing your work area whilst you are not working in it, this makes the risk of tools and substances very slim. You can dispose of substances properly, for example in a bin and not the drain depending on the substance as some things may clog the pipes which will cost unnecessary time and money to fix. Clear the floor area around you to prevent slipping/falling, or if there is an accident there is nothing on the floor to injure yourself on. When working with machinery such as a printing press make sure you are wearing protective gear if it is needed and tie away any loose clothing and tie back long hair. If a spillage of any substance should occur then you should clean it up immediately to avoid disasters. If you are working by windows take into consideration the wind etc in case of any accidental breakages/spillages. There are countless amounts of health and safety factors to consider but these are just a few important ones to start off with.

The website below shows a checklist of what is considered when an environment is being tested for health and safety regulations.
http://www.hse.gov.uk/risk/classroom-checklist.pdf

CCAD tick the following boxes regarding health and safety:
- Work environment and work systems are safe
- Correct storage plans 
- Safe transportation of substances
- Supervision where necessary 
-Training in how to use machinery 
- Guidance to safe points in the event of a fire
 (http://moodle.ccad.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/5520/mod_resource/content/3/Handbook%20-%20General%20Information.pdf)

Copyright

How can you protect your work through copyright if it is an automatic right?
The easiest form of copyrighting your work is adding the © symbol, your name (if you are the owner, if you are not, add the owners name) and the year the piece of work was created. These three steps will cover you if anyone should question where the work came from and who the owner is. 

How does copyright effect you?
When you copyright your work it means that your work is protected from being used without your permission. Simply adding a © symbol will ensure that your work is protected from others.

How to ensure that you don't infringe:
There are a few different ways of ensuring that you do not accidentally infringe. Copyright protects the physical work itself not the idea so if you have an amazing idea and find out that someone else has also had that idea then document all research and reference and it will cover your tracks. If the thought crosses your mind that you might have accidentally infringed then you need to ask yourself if you have copied their work or not.

BA (Hons) Degree

You can go into a wide range of careers with a BA (Hons) Degree and can also enroll onto a postgraduate or masters course. There are a lot of different path ways you can take when you have a Degree in Illustration; here are a select few: 

- Fashion Illustrator
- Book Illustrator
- Printmaker
- Publishing
- Postgraduate study; MA 
- Magazine Illustrator
- Teaching
- Architecture 
- Commercial
- Engineering
- Medical
- Product Design
- Science 

After achieving a BA (Hons) Degree the skills you have learned throughout will be helpful with your future plans, whether it be a career in your chosen field or further education. These skills include; printmaking, experience with materials and equipment, problem-solving, concept development, research skills, communication skills, working with clients, promoting your own work and professional practice etc.

http://aub.ac.uk/all/extra/study-abroad/ba-study-abroad/
http://aub.ac.uk/all/extra/study-abroad/pre-masters-study-abroad/
http://aub.ac.uk/all/extra/study-abroad/illustration/

The Pitch

Last week we had to choose one option from the list below and we had to pitch it to the rest of our group.

•iMac

•21.5-inch: 2.7GHz
•Specifications
•2.7GHz quad-core Intel Core i5
•Turbo Boost up to 3.2GHz
•8GB (two 4GB) memory
•1TB hard drive1•Intel Iris Pro graphics
•BlackBerry Smart Phone
•Q5
•iPhone 4s
•iPhone 5s
•HP ENVY 700-060ea Desktop PC Intel® Core™ i7-4770 processor
•Windows 8
•Hard drive: 2 TB
•Memory: 16 GB
•Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 660
•Samsung SM-P600 Galaxy Note 3 10.1 16G
•Android™ 4.2 (Jelly Bean)
•298.9 pixels per inch
•Octa Core 1.9 GHz processor
•Android Apps available on Google Play
•MicroSD card slot
•iPad2 16G

I chose to pitch the iMac. 
I realise that there are many arguments regarding whether iMac's or PC is better. In my opinion I think they both have their strong points but I do believe that iMac's are better suited for our industry. I think this is because they are 'artist friendly' as they have many more creative tools and programs than a PC. 
A main reason people are thrown off by iMac's is the price. These people are right in saying that iMac's are very expensive but the product you get is worth the price. 

Bloomsbury Publishing

Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a publishing company established in 1986 and there are four companies around the world, London, New York, Sydney and Delhi. Bloomsbury publishes a range of types of book; this includes academic, children's, educational and professional books. Bloomsbury works with many authors but I think the most well known in England would be J.K Rowling; the author of the Harry Potter series. 

Consumer Markets

Comic Book Demographics

When I think of Comic books I think the target marker would be teenagers ranging from 13-18 but after researching I found that is not actually true. 
Looking at the link above I found that the majority of Comic book reader are aged between 18 and 45 which proves me wrong completely. I also thought it was interesting how half of the people who buy Comics are single and 5% are gay. 

Debut Art

Debut Art is an agency based in London but also has offices in Paris and New York. It has contemporary image makers and clients who create artwork which is original and works well as part of commercial media. The illustrators with Debut Art have created artwork for many companies such as British Airways, Sony and GQ etc. (more). The art withing Debut Art is shown in exhibitions in The Coningsby Gallery in London. They have 30 exhibitions every year. The team who runs Debut Art includes; Andrew Coningsby, Samuel Summerskill, Jonathan Hedley and Rhiannon Lloyd (<London), Kat Irannejad (<New York), Arnaud Mayet (<Paris) and Neil Leslie (<Edinburgh).

Contact
Client Terms and Conditions

Introduction to Industry Structures: Prints and Limited Edition Prints

Most artists/illustrators create prints, some which are mass produced to be sold and some are actual art pieces. A print can be reproduced digitally as many times as the artist would like but a limited edition print is different. A limited edition print is self explanatory really, they artist creates a set amount of prints (say 50 for example) and they are the only originals available to purchase. A limited edition print is easy to recognise from a normal print because it is signed by the artist (not digitalized) and is numbered (example 10/50). 

Limited Edition Prints:
Limited Edition Posters and Prints
Limited Edition Art prints and Collectable Art
Limited Edition Prints at Tate

Introduction to Industry Structures: Competitions

Competitions

'An even or contest in which people compete.' Definition from The Free Dictionary.

Art competitions are no different to normal competitions. Artists display their work and compete with other artists to win the competition.

Illustration Competitions:
Commarts
Illustrate It
Folio Society

Introduction to Industry Structures: Gallery

Gallery

'A room or building for the display or sale of works of art.' Definition from dictionary.com.

A gallery is a place where a lot of famous and none famous art is displayed for the public to view and/or purchase. I think galleries are a great way to show off ad maybe sell your art work. It is a great opportunity to get your work into a gallery because it could be seen by someone of high ranks and it could open up a lot of doors for your future in the art industry. 

Illustration galleries: 

Illustration Art Gallery
House of Illustration
American Illustrators Gallery NYC

Introduction to Industry Structures: Collaboration

Collaboration

'The action of working with someone to produce or create something.' Definition from dictionary.com.

To create a collaborative piece of artwork two or more artists work together on a single piece of art work to create a final illustration. Ideas and sketches can be passed around to one another and all can add their own style/touch to it. It is best to collaborate with people who have a different style to you/people are better at a specific thing therefore there can be a wider range of techniques and styles used in the collaboration piece.

Collaborations:

Mark Carthew and Mike Spoor

Mica Angela Hendricks and her four year old daughter

Hayley Potter and Chloe Regan

Jack Teagle

Introduction to Industry Structures: Freelance

Freelance

'Working for different companies at different times rather than being permanently employed by one company.' Definition from dictionary.com.

To be a Freelance artist you need to find a legitimate client, receive a brief and work your hardest to create something to their expectation. The client gives you the information you need and you work from their details and you give them a time frame and expected price. In my opinion this is a good way of selling/receiving art work. I think this because it is easy to get in touch with the client to discuss any changes etc and it males it a personal project to the client and no project will be the same.

How to be a Freelance Artist

Freelance illustrators:

Kate Forrester

Death Valley

Uberkraaft

Introduction to Industry Structures: Agencies

Agencies

http://www.folioart.co.uk/

Folio is an agency for illustrators and designers based in London. There is a wide range of artists with unique styles and techniques who are with this agency and they have a lot of clients such as Coca Cola, Google, Nike, Apple, P&O etc. (more can be found here). I don't believe that Folio Art has a house style because there is a large range of artists styles and techniques.

http://www.centralillustration.com/

Another agency that is also based in London is The Central Illustration Agency (CIA). With illustrators and animators from all over the world they work with industries such as advertising, design and publishing. I think this agency had a slight house style and I can see a distinct connection between the artists who are with the agency.

http://www.handsomefrank.com/

Handsome Frank is a UK based agency which represents many illustrators and has worked with big brands and agencies. I don't think this agency has a specific style, there are a lot of artists with this agency and they are all pretty unique.

http://www.eyecandy.co.uk/

Eye Candy is also a UK based agency which has a collection of over 50 illustrators. They work within advertising campaigns, packaging, publishing, editorials, greetings cards, merchandising and design projects. Because most artists here are similarly themed it suggests that there is a house style within the agency.

http://www.lemonadeillustration.com/

Lemonade Illustration Agency is a global agency. They represent illustrators, CGI artists and animators from all around the world. They've had clients such as Coca Cola, BMW, Kelloggs, NHS etc (more can be found here). I think there is a small house style within this agency because looking at the artists I can see a lot of work based around people.