THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES - STUDY TASK 2

A really interesting and relevant discussion about where our practice sits in the creative industry and in the economy. I found today's session really thought-provoking and this discussion of where/how I want to work is something I need to figure out. 

I need to prepare myself and answer all these questions that I have and that people keep asking me. Stop burying my head in the sand and work this out.

How am I going to make a living out of this?

ONLY 31% OF UK CREATIVE BUSINESSES ARE BASED IN LONDON.

I have always assumed that London is where EVERYTHING HAPPENS and that if I wanted to work as an illustrator, I might have to move closer to the buzz of London. I knew that other things are happening all over the country, but it's reassuring to know that in the creative industries today 

YOU CAN WORK ANYWHERE AND BE CONNECTED GLOBALLY.

As a creative practitioner, the industry offers work in the form of:

Design Studios (usually small teams, like Studio Mama Wolf)

In-House Creative Teams (normally full-time job, designing for a company)

Freelance Practitioners (a huge risk that can pay off)

My work currently sits across a few of the different creative disciplines. I'm torn between trying to specialise my practice to one specific service or building a broader skillset with which I could apply my practice to many different creative challenges.

Publishing and Book Design:

Publishing and Book design is what I initially perceived an illustrator's job to be. I now know that illustrators can and do work in all sorts of formats, but I do still dream of this goal. Working as a children's book illustrator/author is what I want to do, I want to see my books in book shops and for children to recognise my characters.

Most illustrators/Authors work freelance and are aided by agents who help them to negotiate business with publishers. However, there are some full-time creative jobs in the publishing industry (mostly Designers) and there are a few publishers whose team I would love to join:

Nosy Crow

Nobrow

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvZMFZSIkkJx4IMRV5XW8h0EJMkW3K3dWc9E1-i_TE74Do_W47YNEHtOIcUuPmUK5_aJkbk2QFk8uhBZ_PywyS3YciQnGbhx5b_RLvgFfR-dd-7MFRscjhaLWaixPH7E6mzxUX47WpqK4H/s1600/Pic1_Shana_N-S_Flying+High+with+Flying+Eye_Title_17sep15.jpg

Character and Narrative:

My interest in performance, theatre, stop-motion animation, puppetry and doll-making taps into this discipline of character and narrative. 

Examples of corporations that use character and narrative design in the entertainment sector:

The Jim Henson Company

LAIKA

I really admire the films and products that both LAIKA and Jim Henson company creates, but there are many roles and professionals that work within these companies to produce the final product. It's not all done by one person, so I should stop fretting that illustration is the wrong course. I don't need to know how extensively how to mould/cast models if it's the designing and sculpting that I'm passionate about. I'm not interested in the digital production of animation, it is the character design and storytelling that suits what I do/aspire to do.

Job roles within LAIKA that I might work towards:

http://www.laika.com/people

Art Director

Puppet Fabricator

Puppet Painter

Model Maker

Sculptor

Set Designer

Scenic Artist

Character Designer

Storyboarder


Retail & Merchandise
My 3-Dimensional characters (art dolls and toys) are sold as commercial products. This business is going quite well through Etsy and selling in a shop window in Ripon, but I would like to push this to be even more professional and successful. I would like to devise some sturdy, attractive packaging for the dolls I make.