First Portfolio Visit

Today I had my first portfolio visit with Helen at Taylor O’Brien Brand Inspiration.


http://www.taylorobrien.com/index.php

I was very nervous at first but soon felt more comfortable after being eagerly welcomed in. We sat and discussed the work in my portfolio. I explained what the projects had been for and how I felt about them. She really liked my monsters and suggested I try making them into wrapping paper or children's birthday cards. I'm very excited about this idea and can't wait to start looking into it!
She also really liked my pages that showed the initial sketches, leading up to the finished image. she said it showed that my sketches look very much like the finished thing, which would be helpful for someone commissioning work because they would know that the sketch is what they would be getting in the end. She suggested I add more pages with sketches and also examples of how my characters develop. 
When looking at my work for the Uganda children's book she suggested that I think about how my text is placed. She said it seemed very separate from the illustrations and it would be nice to see them working together more. I agree with this and have written about this subject briefly in my critical journal.
She also suggested that I annotate the pages with a little more detail. At the moment the pages only have the name of the project and the year it was produced. I need to have some brief explanation as to what the project was for so that it puts the work into context.


Overall I found the visit to be greatly helpful in terms of strengthening my portfolio. Little was said about ways to improve my work but I would hope that this means that my work is looking good. She suggested I get some business cards and start having more blurb books printed with examples of my work. 
She was very encouraging about my desire to write and illustrate my own children's books but pointed out that this can be a daunting thing to go at alone. She asked if I had considered collaborating with writers, which I think could be something to look into after graduation possibly.


In conclusions today was very helpful and enjoyable. I feel much more confident about future portfolio visits. Bring it on!