Tag: ECA Illustration

15th July 2019

Macmillan Prize 2019: student success

Two of our recent graduates have every reason to celebrate:

Seobhan Hope’s book ‘Summer’s Sleep’ has been highly commended and Amy Steele has won 3rd prize for her book ‘The Lunchbox’. In this blog post Seobhan and Amy speak about their books and how it feels to be shortlisted for / awarded this prestigious picture book prize.

Shortlisted: Seobhan Hope

“Summer’s Sleep’ is the story of Summer, the giant, who can’t go to sleep. I spent my final year falling in love with and researching folk tales from around Scotland, and was particularly taken by the Story of Samhuinn, or Halloween, where tales tell of a summer and winter king, who fight to see who will be next to rule the kingdom each year in Autumn. I reinterpreted the old tale, wanting to create a meaningful story that was going to encapsulate ideas of sustainability and raise awareness around climate change and global warming in a gentle way. In my story, we find a giant called Summer exhausted, not being able to sleep, and not knowing what to do. He personifies the warm season, which can not end because its gotten too warm for winter to come. Included in the story is also a diverse group of little characters who -slightly cluelessly- set out to help the tired giant. The final result is a colorful, hopefully amusing and thought provoking wee book. The process of coming up with the story, creating the characters and assembling the book was so much fun, and I am delighted it came highly commended at the Macmillan Prize Competition!”

Winner of 3rd prize: Amy Steele

“The Lunchbook is about a banana who lives in the fruit bowl but dreams of making it into the lunchbox. Like all fruit, he wants to be taken to school and eaten up, every bit. But being a banana has its difficulties and Banana ends up lonely in the lunchbox as all his new friends get eaten. As the story goes on, Banana gets more and more forlorn and begins to rot as he struggles with his emotions. The book aims to differ from other books with food characters because these characters WANT to get eaten, which (I hope) makes people laugh.

Being chosen for 3rd place in the Macmillan prize was super exciting and actually, relieving, because I had been so worried about the story all year – the main character essentially dies – so it was a good boost to know that publishers like the idea even though it’s absolutely bonkers! I went down to London for the private view which was really interesting. I enjoyed getting to see all the other entries and chatting to the illustrators – everyone was so talented! Macmillan also asked me to come into their offices and have a chat about my book and my portfolio while I was down, which I did, and it was SO helpful to hear their feedback and encouraging words about my work.”

At the award ceremony

Jul 15, 2019

6th June 2019

A-Z

A-Z is a first year Illustration project celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, which was first conceived, compiled, printed and published in Edinburgh on 10 December 1768.

The project began with a visit to the archives of the National Library of Scotland, where library staff introduced the student group to the original Encyclopaedia Britannica.

After being inspired by the original books, students were asked to each choose one entry and create two pieces of artwork in response:

#Britannica250

In support of the library’s appeal to digitise ‘Britannica’, students created short animated gifs, which are shared across the ECA Illustration and National Library of Scotland’s social media accounts. Use the Twitter and Instagram hashtag #britannica250 to find these lively interpretations of words you may be unfamiliar with. Here are a few examples:

Risograph print

In addition to the animated gifs, the A-Z is a collective book featuring the eighteen chosen Encyclopaedia Britannica entries in the form of risograph prints. The focus of this project was to get students to think about image and text layout and the imaginative interpretation of texts. It also served as an introduction to risograph printing and an exercise in working with a limited colour palette.

This work is currently on display at the National Library of Scotland throughout June, alongside the original Encyclopaedia Britannica.

Jun 6, 2019

18th March 2019

Illustrated Anthologies

“Don’t use the phone. People are never ready to answer it. Use poetry.” – Jack Kerouac

Our first year Illustrators spend the first half of their semester working on a number of poems they were first asked to write and then illustrate. Sources of inspiration were Surrealist word games, biographies linked to Edinburgh’s Royal Mile and Political Protest. The main focus was image and text relationship and composition on the page. As part of this our students also learned to put together the pages of a book digitally and get it printed to a professional standard. Come to BOOKMARKS on Wednesday and you’ll be able to see some of these gems at our first year stall!

Mar 18, 2019

17th July 2018

New Blood Festival 2018

We just returned from the D&AD New Blood Festival in London where 17 of our recent graduates presented their work to the world. In preparation for the event the group designed their own stand with a ‘Pick n Mix’ concept, which reflected the variety of styles and approaches within their work. Apart from the opportunity of seeing what the rest of the UK’s fresh Illustration, Graphic Design and Animation graduates are up to, this annual event is also an opportunity for them to get valuable advice from industry professionals. Adobe offered portfolio surgeries and there were many other events to attend throughout the 5 days.

The show was a real success with many visitors picking up postcards and business cards and having conversations with our Illustrators about their work and future aspirations. Terri Po and Jo Ruessmann made it onto the ‘One to Watch’ list and were offered a place in the New Blood Academy for this week where they will learn more about how to start their careers as new professional creatives. We are very proud of all of our 2018 graduates and wish them the best of luck for their creative careers!

Jul 17, 2018

28th November 2017

Oban 2017

We’ve just arrived back from another lovely trip to Oban with a mix of second, fourth year and Master’s students. Now in its sixth year, this trip provides students with an opportunity to not only bond with their peers but to also leave the studio and focus on drawing and research carried out on location.

In a place like Oban you have to come prepared for any weather as it changes all the time. Being outside and experiencing a new place in a very physical way through the cold, sun, wind and rain can be challenging and often has an impact on the students’ drawings which in return are full of personal emotion ranging from joy to frustration and display lots of evocative atmosphere. Narratives of people interacting with the town and landscape fill sketchbooks and allow students to discover new stories and build a rich source of material to further develop.

This year our second year student Hannah Riordan reflects on her trip:

On the first main day in Oban we selected a point at random on a map and had to go and draw in that location. I was given an area surrounded by road works and fly tipping: Quite different from the boats and coastline I had envisaged filling my sketchbook with! I ended up drawing some cones that surrounded the road works site. This proved to be more exciting then I had first anticipated. It was interesting to observe the patterns the cones had been arranged in. I then climbed over a wall to be a closer look at some rubbish that had been left there. A rusty washing machine sat there surrounded by plants and flowers. I found the juxtaposition between these two things surprisingly intriguing! It then started to rain so we went to the Oban chocolate shop, which for me has to be the highlight of the whole four days.

We also spent a day exploring the islands. We chose Lismore and left it until the afternoon to visit. When we got there we realized that everything we wanted to visit was too far away for us to get back from in time for the final ferry. So we sketched in the middle of a muddy field surrounded by aggressive cows and an excitable beagle and thought to ourselves “at least its not raining.” I started on a watercolour landscape when the heavens opened. We decided to return to the ferry port waiting room to shelter from the rain. Our group had a sing along whist drawing each others tired and slightly damp faces.

All in all Oban was a great experience. I really felt like a got to know my course mates better. It was also refreshing being able to just draw and not worry about the outcome or deadlines.

And finally, a few more images of crits, drawings and fun at the hostel.

Nov 28, 2017

24th November 2017

Ethics of Everyone

A successful collaboration between 3rd year illustrators and MSc School of Education students culminated in a presentation at the School of Education Inclusive pedagogy conference.

Over 2 weeks students reflected on the anagram SHANNARRI, which is a measure of well-being used in Scottish Education. They considered their personal educataional experiences and researched the limited teaching tools that explore issues of the ethics of everyone and issues of social justice. The education students wrote stories exploring the subject and the illustrators responded to these making prototypes of teaching boxes filled with educational games, books and artefacts including cushions, comics and workbooks to facilitate workshops.

The work received excellent feedback from the students and teachers attending the conference. With such great learning potential for all involved Holly Linklater (Lecturer in Education) and Harvey Dingwall (Lecturer in Illustration) plan to develop the themes and content of this project further for both teaching and research contexts.

Nov 24, 2017

30th October 2017

Meet our Artists in Residence: Sarah Sheard

Hello! Having graduated from Painting at ECA in 2014, I have come back to haunt the illustration department this year as an artist in residence. Since graduating, I have taken part in several exhibitions as well as developing a range of greetings cards (and also work as a picture framer).

I have a polymathic approach to making, learning and using many different processes from drawing and painting to model making, zines, animation, and printmaking. I usually make work that has a humorous or playful element to it, whether this is conveyed in the subject matter or in the way it is made. I really enjoy work which acknowledges that art can be a very playful and ‘entertaining’ subject, and am hoping to explore how this will meet a design approach within illustration.

During the residency I’m particularly interested in developing my art practice through exhibiting work, and exploring how this will feed in to design projects. I’d really like to create a children’s book and develop my printmaking and animation skills. I’d also like to explore collaborating with illustration students as well as other departments and discover new approaches to making.

I’m looking forward to working with you all so please come and say hello! (I am usually in the studio Wed-Fri)

sarahsheardart.tumblr.com | www.sarahofthenorth.co.uk

Oct 30, 2017

6th October 2017

Meet our artists in residence: Pilar Garcia

I am a Spanish artist. I completed my MA in Illustration at Edinburgh College of Art the last course. Before this degree, I had no formal training as an illustrator, having worked in advertising and graphic design. I am now one of the artists in residence at Edinburgh College of Art, with another residency lined up next year, at Arteles in Finland.

My practice normally focuses on women, mindfulness and imperfection. I have always been interested in everything related to human behavior, the relationship we have with the world and especially with ourselves. In addition, I have discovered my interest in interpreting nature and personal well-being in an enlightened way. Imperfection is my alter ego. It is everywhere, in art, human figures, nature, animals and love.

I work in mixed media, combining traditional materials, such as ink, watercolor and ink pen with digital. My aim is to reach a delicate and imperfect art (I always make the right imperfect drawings that make sense to me) through making freely and uniquely drawn illustrations.

I draw everything, from figures, animals, plants, landscapes, objects and buildings. I enjoy illustrating narratives and book covers and also creating lettering, patterns and animation.

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Oct 6, 2017

5th October 2017

Meet our Artists in Residence – Moira Zahra

Hello! I’m one of the Illustration Artists in Residence for this year at ECA. I’m a full-time freelance illustrator and graphic designer working mostly in children’s books and editorial illustration. Prior to being a freelancer I was a lecturer and programme coordinator in Malta, teaching graphic design, interactive media and game art for seven years.

During my residency here I will be working on client projects as well as working on my own projects. During the first semester I will be working on a children’s book with Merlin publishers (a Maltese publisher). The book is called ‘A Walk in Valletta’ and it’s about two characters touring the Maltese capital. I will be more than happy to discuss my process with any students wishing to know more about children’s book illustration (you can find me in the Illustration studio on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays).

Another project I will be working on is a collaboration with a jewellery designer, who is also based in Malta. For this project, I am doing various character and background illustrations that will eventually become jewellery pieces. This is quite a challenging project for me because I’ve never designer products or jewellery pieces, so it should be interesting to observe and learn from the process. I’m also discussing another project with a book maker, where I will be doing illustrated covers for hand-bound books, but this project is still in its initial stages.

My personal project is about the theme of identity, specifically the multilayered/multidimensional layers formed by creative Maltese locals who live abroad. I’ve been working on this theme since moving to Edinburgh a year ago, and would now like to take it a step further. I have several drawings, sketches and ideas for this project, but I’m looking to expand these ideas by doing thorough research, interview subjects and experts. I’m in the process of pitching my idea to get funding for my research so this will hopefully help support my project and my research.

Eventually I would like to take some of these drawings and illustrations from this project and experiment with 3D printing. Rather than doing sketches specifically designed for 3D printing, I would like to expore ways of how to turn ‘flat’ illustrations to 3D objects, therefore preserving the illustrative qualities of the pieces.

If you’d like to view more of my work, visit www.moirazahra.com or www.instagram.com/moirazahra

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Oct 5, 2017

22nd September 2017

Meet our Artists in Residence – Yasmeen Khan

Hi! I’m one of the new Artists in Residence in the Illustration department.

I’m originally from southeast London, but I’ve been living in Cornwall for the last three years, two of which were spent completing an MA in Illustration: Authorial Practice at Falmouth University. Moving to Edinburgh has proved to be a bit of a change from Cornwall! But it’s definitely a positive move – I’m already finding my new surroundings to be incredibly inspiring. I write and illustrate short stories in the Gothic tradition, and Edinburgh feels like the ideal place to do that – becoming steeped in its atmosphere, history and beauty can only be good for a ghost story writer.

I’m really looking forward to getting involved in ECA’s community and academic activities. I’m excited to be able to use the facilities, especially the print workshop, as my practice involves a lot of printmaking – I love to work in monotype, and any intaglio technique, especially etching, aquatint, and mezzotint. These were the techniques I used to illustrate Vignettes, the book I made for my final MA project.

While I’m here, I hope to produce some new works of illustrated fiction. I also love book design and bookbinding, and my goal is to make my stories into beautiful, and most of all, enjoyable books.

I’m also looking forward to continuing my academic research here at ECA. My research interests are focused on how illustration contributes to and interacts with texts’ emotional resonance, and how this connects with Derrida’s notion of hauntology, with particular reference to Gothic fiction. I’m also very interested in film and television, and especially in how they use and interact with illustration.

Finally, I’m looking forward most of all to becoming part of the Illustration department’s activities, and working with the students! Hopefully, it will be a wonderful and productive year.

Sep 22, 2017

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