Typography: Digital No.7

By Wee Ho Gai

blog

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 

then read here!

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Typography: Hand drawn No.2

By Helena Maratheftis

blog

@thefty

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 

then read here!

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Artists 104: Gabriella Barouch

It is with great pleasure that we can bring you a little bit of an insight into the wonderful Gabriella Barouch. We have a real talent on our hands with Gabriella, she has such a beautifully executed style it makes it hard to know where to start. Her work has a real attention to detail that makes you just fall into her images. The viewer can be lost in her worlds, as each delicate line draws the eye on a journey across the surface informing you and surprising as you track accross her complex highly rendered work. She is that rare creature capable of lifting you up with her work and giving you something to take away and treasure. At once though provoking and intriging it is as hard to delve into her flawless technique as it is to break into the past. Her vintage flavours render her work with a great authenticity that helps to secure it in any context. She has that real talent and a bucket of honed mechanical skill that will see her in good stead in the future and I'm sure there are doors waiting to open for her. So with the best wishes in all she does it's Gabriella Barouch.

Who are you:
My name is Gabriella Barouch.

What do you do:
I'm an illustrator, designer’s toys collector, and vintage lover, I take feeling and music and translate them to images. I'm also working on worldwide commissions.

How did you start:
By deciding to study in art academy, everything kinda rolled from there.

A Personal statement about you or your work:
I try to get to people's feelings by creating strong images.I feel I have a long way ahead of me, of learning and developing my skills.

But for now I give everything I get in every illustration :)

Links:
portfolio
@GabriellaBr
flickr

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Typography: Digital No.6

By Salli Sue Swindell

blog

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 

then read here!

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Artists 103: Luke Brookes

Feature time again and we have some more eye candy for you in the form of the sweet and gentle work of Luke Brookes. freelancing for a mere matter of months Luke's tight style has won him a great breakthrough client list and I'm sure he is going to go from strength to strength with his easygoing approachable style. Luke's  style allows him the freedom to express narrative in his work with almost perfect clarity, making him commercially very useful as well as giving him a great platform for his imagery. Luke has a familiar style yet he takes it and makes it his own with his use of light and his attention to the natural world. His rendering of the night sky is elegant and belies some sort of interest in the cosmos. His work really comes into it's own when dealing with nature and natural scenes and he can capture the essence of an animal or landscape and break it down into clear cut but beautifully executed pieces creating a scene that speaks volumes. Having survived Staffs uni (which is no mean feat if you have ever been into the LRV on a night out), he is making waves and I can guarantee you will be seeing a lot of him in the future!  

Who are you:
My name is Luke Brookes and I'm a freelance illustrator currently living and working in a small village just outside of Birmingham, UK.

What do you do:
I started freelancing about 9 months ago after graduating from Staffordshire University. Since then I have worked with some really cool people and i am loving every minute of it!

Personal Statment:

My work is very narrative driven, I cannot help creating little stories in my head about the scenes or characters I create. I like to include as much depth in my work as I can, so when you come back and look at it you discover a new element. A lot of my work depicts scenes of nature and the beauty of a landscape. I use layered shapes and color's to create vast worlds and scenes ranging from a snowy wilderness to fantasy wonderlands that always engage the viewer.

Links:

portfolio
blog
@luke_brookes

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Typography: Hand drawn No.1

By Lou Taylor

@loutaylor

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography Rally? 

then read here!

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Typography: Digital No.5

By Amy Crabtree

@cakeswithfaces

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography rally? 

then read here!

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Typography: Digital No.4

By Erin Buckley

@erinloubuckley

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography rally? 

then read here!

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Typography: Digital No.3

Vote for this design on Threadless! 

By Zeptonn

@Zeptonn

Zeptonn's flickr

and

Esther Aarts

Esther Aarts' flickr

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography rally? 

then read here!

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"UPSTAIRS FOR THINKING, DOWNSTAIRS FOR DANCING" Exhibition News

Exhibition news now, and we have a great one for you now.Upstairs for Thinking, Downstairs for Drinking is the first solo outing of the venerable Mr Millerchip who brought his own slice of awesome to our Paint it! Make it! event. Mr Millerchip's lovable style brings you the best in characters with humour and a certain elegance in their construction, creating a melange of edgy and clever characters set against tumultuous and stylish backgrounds. So if you have a spare moment, get your good self to The Pure Gallery and take in the untamed glory of Mr Millerchip! Check below for the dates and details.

The Pure Gallery proudly presents

"UPSTAIRS FOR THINKING, DOWNSTAIRS FOR DANCING"

collection of images created by Mister Millerchip

The UK based Illustrator has created a world of characters who appear within complex narratives, living out their lives in two tone splendour. 

Mr. M's first solo show “ Upstairs for Thinking, Downstairs for Dancing” depicts an oddly mundane 24 hour period in the life of Lars Arraday, a determined street preacher by day and a successful ballroom dancer by night. 

Black and white could not be any clearer which is perhaps the irony of the show through a simplistic yet sympathetic approach to his chosen palette, Mr M has indeed made a success out of creating thought provoking imagery that conveys a story of one mans obsessive desires. 

 
The show runs from the 1st to the 29th of September 2011 with a special view on Thursday the 1st of September 7pm till 10pm. Check below for the address and you can see the facebook page here!

 
The Pure Gallery 
151 Park View 
Whitley Bay 
Tyne & Wear

UK
NE26 3RF 

Links 
The Pure Gallery
Mr Millerchip

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Typography: Digital No.2

By Marsha Baker

twitter

email

Marsha's Esty shop is coming soon, but in the mean time prints are available as12 x 24 $25!

Do you want to submit your design for our Typography rally? 

then read here!

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Artist 102: Jack Gilliland

Proud of showcasing new talent on the rally, we have a great new artist to bring you today. Jack Gilliland has got himself a great bold style backed up with some serious skill based chops, always a fan of hard graft and painstaking working practice I'm more than happy to introduce Jack and his characterful illustrations. Jack is one of those artists who can visually summarise a person, but crucially he also has the skill to pull of drawing them in a compassionate and expressive way. Familiar people in familiar scenes, he can evoke the self conscious, painfully deliberate carelessness of a student's pose, so full of personality you can almost smell the cigarette smoke. Jack grabs personality and plates it in a soft palette with intense lines. He has a very developed eye for figure which is one of the best traits to take forward in an expanding working practice, he eats form and gives you composition, at his strongest working from life, he excels at showing us those he knows and he should stick to his guns, as he is onto a good thing. So wishing him the best of luck and with great pleasure, It's Jack Gilliland.

Who are you:

I am Jack Gilliland and i like to draw.

What do you do:

I am currently studying Graphic Design at university and just about go into my third year. My work is all mainly illustration based as i really enjoy drawing. I am hoping to soon open up an etsy shop and start making prints and designing tshirts to sell, as i really enjoy making things aswell as drawing.

How did you start:

 I have always really liked drawing ever since i was little. By the end of school/sixth form it was the only thing i was really interested in doing, so i did a foundation degree at College and then when onto University

A Personal statement about you or your work:
I tend to work by hand using pens and pencils to do initial line drawings and then i bring my illustrations onto a computer to edit and colour. I usually draw things i find amusing or a bit different, i like keeping it fun most of the time and hopefully that comes across in my work.

Links:
portfolio
blog
flickr

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Children's Book Rally with fantastic prize

This rally is now closed for submission.


We are extremely excited to announce our Children's Book Rally in collaboration with boutique children's book agency Frances McKay Illustration. We have a really special opportunity as our prize, courtesy of Frances McKay illustration and Mike Jolly of Templar publishing, a chance to show off your portfolio to a real industry vet! So please read on for our submission guidelines and details of the rally and the wonderful opportunity!


We will be accepting submissions as of today, the first posts in the rally will be posted in September, so plenty of time to get cracking.

Submission Guidelines 

• Only original stories or Classics please, so feel free to showcase your new concepts or old classics. As far as classics go, stick to the familiar for example Little Red Riding Hood
• Please submit two double page spreads, take care to note where the spine of the book would be and avoid crossing it important imagery or text, as this is a requirement of most publishers in the industry.
• Text if short can be included below the illustrations, no more that one or two sentences
• For longer text that you wish to be considered, please include a link to the story or synopsis on your site (please also state what these links are for when you submit them)
• When creating these submissions, you may want to add a 5mm bleed to outside edge of your original (spine not included) as if it gets picked by a publisher you'll need to add one! (it's not a requirement for us though)
• RGB 72dpi jpeg images please
• Please send us the links to your portfolio sites. (blog, facebook, flickr and etc)
• Send us a link to your twitter account if you have one, so I can promote you on twitter effectively.
• Please send your submission to illustrationrally[at]hotmail.co.uk with the title "Children's Book Rally".
• Only entries that are unpublished or not under contract by a publisher are eligible, if you are represented by an agent please include this so we can credit them.
• Note: Frances McKay Illustrators and Illustration Rally may enter but will not be eligible to win.
• Deadline is Monday 10th of October
• The winners will be announced the end of October 

Example Submission

By Donough O'Malley

Read the blog article about this book here, it's helpful!

Prizes!
The winner of the children's book rally will get to meet with Mike Jolly, an Art Director from Templar publishing who will look through your work and portfolio, giving you one on one advice about how to make it in the children's book industry.


In addition both the winner and the runner up will be featured on Frances Mckay's blog along with mentions for other noteworthy entrants. 


Frances McKay's blog is followed by the following publishers:

Hodder Children's Books
Random House Mondadori
Templar Books
Zoe Waring - Senior Designer at Scholastic Children's Books
Will Steele - Designer at Templar
Walker Picture Books
Heinemann Publishing
Penguin Books UK
Workmann Publishing
Andersen Press
Simon & Schuster UK
Usborne Publishing
Atom Books (imprint of Little Brown)
Scholastic UK
Nosy Crow Apps
Sortis Books

So if you don't want to miss this fantastic promotion opportunity to get noticed in the world of children's book illustration please enter, and best of luck!

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Typography: Digital No.1

By Lorien Pitsinos

@loriennlindsay

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Do you want to submit your design for our Typography rally? 

then read here!

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Magazine Feature: Saji

Here on the rally we are determined to bring you some sweet new things and let you know about some of the great artistic and creative goings on in the world, as such we present to you Saji. Saji is a magazine where food is the star and is combined with fashion and illustration in a beautiful melange which will have you salivating for more. From black burgers to delicate sweets Saji takes you in a direction you would never thought possible. It's really fun to have so many wonderful disciplines combined and gives people from every creative field something to feast on. Truly international, the magazine is printed in French, English and Japanese which fits cleanly into a solid yet gentle typographic style, such a perfect little package please take a look at this hyper exclusive gem of a magazine, and on a side note having made some of the recipes I can personally vouch for their tastyness.


The latest issue is Saji Wagashi, the Japanese sweets issue, featuring work from : MIHO, Takashi Taima, Yoko Kogami, Sachiko Kanaizumi, Natsuki Otani, POSTICS, Clothes by Orphan Age.


We'll be doing a give away on twitter, tweet "Magazine Feature: Saji aka @mihosaji http://bit.ly/nS7DVD RT this tweet & 3 people get a free copy of Saji magazine #saji" then I'll pick winners from tweeters next Monday! Read on for an interview with the editor MIHO!

Illustration by Sachiko Kanaizumi

Illustration by Natsuki Otani

Illustration and photograph by POSTICS and MIHO

Who are you? 

I'm MIHO, I'm usually a photographer, I take photographs of food and objects for magazines, books and advertisement.

How did you come up with the concept for saji, why food, fashion and art?

I wasn't interested in eating at all when I was a child originally, because of that I messed up my health. Then a doctor told me that what I am eating isn't good, he said  “What you eat today is what you will be 10 years from now”. I thought "I didn't know that at all!", "If I only knew that before I would have done better!". There are so many magazines and books for people who love cooking, but there is nothing for children who are not interested in food, I just wanted to teach them what I learnt, so I thought "Let's make it by myself!" That's the reason why I put food, fashion and art all together in saji magazine.


I included What's saji? in this interview, it is a story of myself so please read it. I hope there will be less children like how I was, I started saji with the support of the artists who understands my this feeling. I believe eating good food will bring us good thoughts, if we think of ourself as a small universe, we will be able to have power of thinking for our great mother earth.  

what's saji? Once upon a time there was a very fashionable and pretty girl. She was so busy shopping for new clothes, polishing her nails and dancing at night clubs that she had no time to even think of eating. Above all, her busy parents were always away from home, and dinner was a boring time when she ate on her own. If she got hungry, there were always tempting sweets or frozen dinners from the convenience store. Then one day, to her surprise, she fell sick. “It’s because of the things you eat,” her doctor said to her. “What you eat today is what you will be 10 years from now, my dear girl.” “What am I going to do?” The girl felt hopelessly lost. That was when she met saji. “Don’t worry, my dear.” With a wave of saji’s magic wand, recipes appeared in front of her. Cutting, mixing or baking, she simply followed the recipe. “Oh my, it’s a piece of cake!” She started to have fun cooking on her own. “Voila!” She wore a big smile, satisfied with the prettily garnished dish she had just prepared. Inviting her friends to her home and sharing the dishes she prepared, she was ever so happy. “You see? Cooking is something magical. No-fuss, no-rules! Just cook as if you were playing and have fun eating with a spoon in your hand. Isn’t it wonderful?” “OK. Let’s have some more fun!” After that the girl fell in love with food as much as she had been in love with dresses or doing her nails.

What nex for saji and you?

Next... after 11.3 Japan earthquake my mind is in Kodomo Shinbun (Child Newspaper) to protect our children. But the next concept for saji is already ready, it came up even before saji wagashi. I often think about security and reassurance after the earthquake, I want to give off the impression of true prosperousness and that we are thriving again.

I also would like to say, "To eat with people I love. Any meal is okay without frozen food and junk food" I think food is important so the situation of eating as more people seem to eat individually in Japan. The earthquake made me think that I want to be safe and sound and eat food with people I love!


Links:
Saji
Saji blog
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twitter

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