How awesome are these illustrations?
If I had the dough I would buy the harvest print.
On Thursday, we had the delight of having Chrissie Abbott come into Uni to talk to us about herself and her work.
I was so pleased to finally have someone from the Illustration Industry come in to talk to us, so far we have had PR and Marketing personalities, Photography & Styling personalities, but no-one from the area in which I am most interested in...Graphics and Illustration.
Here is a little background info on her...
Chrissie Abbott studied Illustration at London College Of Communication, after Graduating she joined 'Zip Design' (a design studio who offer art direction, graphic design, brand development, iPhone apps, web design, web development, web banners,
motion graphics, illustration and project management).
Chrissie also worked with KOKO London, was working on their artwork and layout, this helped her learn more about the career she possibly wanted to pursue.
Worked with YCN (YCN also represent the dynamic duo 'Jiggery Pokery' who came in to talk to us about their work a while ago). YCN represents the finest illustration and moving-image design talent; and produces design, content, campaigns and other communication in all media for varied clients. After looking at their website http://www.ycnonline.com/home I am really impressed by the Portfolios represented and the amazing talent that is involved. Chrissie told us that working with YCN was an amazing learning experience for her, and not only did she gain experience and knowledge of the Industry, she also made many contacts (which is one of the most important things when trying to further your career).
Recently, Chrissie Abbott held a solo show in the Old Shoreditch Station - the show was called 'In my mind I'm clapping'. Chrissie merged with the curator to out the layout of the show etc. but all the work was her own and was all made especially for the show. She told us she felt that having her first solo show really made her feel as if she had stepped up in the world, as though she had progressed to the next level of the life.
Perhaps the most famous work she has done is her work with LITTLE BOOTS.
When Chrissie was working with LITTLE BOOTS, she wasn't yet signed. Chrissie was designing her promotion, and found that LITTLE BOOTS and herself had a lot of similar interest (Kate Bush, The Beach Boys etc.)
Once LITTLE BOOTS was getting bigger and was signed, Chrissie felt like she was thrown in the deep end, having to design flyers, merchandise, working on the Facebook page, the Myspace page, and playing a major role in the Art Direction for the photo shoots.
Questions???
* So where does she get her inspiration and imagery when creating album covers and promotion?
She looks to the material produced by who she is working for, the imagery for the music has to come from the music itself, it has to be related. She takes the actual imagery from old National Geographic magazines bought on ebay and uses other non-copy written photos.
* How will her style move forward?
Chrissie would like to look more into painting and use less found imagery.
* How much of her work is handmade and how much computer based?
Most of her work is computer rendered simply to save time. She told us she will present her work to a client, and they will ask her to move certain things around the page slightly, so having the work on the computer means she can do this easily.
* How does she keep motivated?
She has to obviously make money, but most importantly is her love for her work. Chrissie is really happy in this Industry and producing the work makes happy.
* Any Advice?
Don't ever take criticism personally, don't try and have a style just produce what you like. Trying to produce something that is 'trendy' is a bad idea as everything is changing all the time, it's not about being current. Produce work that communicates what you want to do.
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