LCC FdA Design for Graphic Communication Show

I say hello, Steph Says Hello

Soupa is a bit of fan of illustrator and designer Steph Says Hello (AKA. Steph Baxter), who's based in Leeds.

Steph's work is a colourful, happy mixture of hand drawn characters and digital colouring. She is heavily influenced by Japanese cute culture and small baby animals (kittens, rabbits and red pandas are her favourite) Stephs typography work was recently part of the Lyrics & Type: Verse 2 exhibition in London alongside awesome artists such as ilovedust, Allan Sanders & Drew Millward. She will also be exhibiting at Inkygoodness London in September.

When Steph isn't doodling for other people she can usually be found chatting to her cat, Tibby, drinking ginger tea and watching Nickelodeon.

See more of her work at: www.stephsayshello.co.uk

Q&A with Jason Lear

What or who inspires you? I feel that it is important to try and keep my work fresh and vary a little from one piece to the next. With that in mind I do try to avoid having a closed source of inspiration. I admire artists such as David Downton, Stina Persson, Rene Gruau and a host of other fashion artists. My inspiration comes from many other varieties of artists and media and from things I see from day to day or people around me. I think it is important to record mentally or literally, at least one fresh source of inspiration a day.

What materials do you use when working on your illustrations? My start point is always pencil. I have a set of 3 pencils that I use religiously for each new work. An H, 9B and a graphic retractable pencil. After that, Black Indian Ink and then anything I can lay my hands on that suit the specific piece I am working on, whether it be fabrics, threads, paint, tape or pieces of jewellery.

How do you decide when an illustration is 'finished'? I will always have a mental image of what I want a piece to look like, or to what point I want to continue pushing it. I am a big fan of minimal, subtle and unfinished, so I will always be tentative in my approach. I will always prefer to leave something unfinished and suggestive than overworked and heavy.

How do you go about promoting yourself? I am a little old fashioned and like to believe that the work speaks for itself. I do find that an online portfolio and blog work very well, as well as being part of artistic groups and communities online. Whenever I have a personal project finished and ready to be shown I will send mail outs to clients and contacts, and plan exhibition time in order to get less commercial work circulating.

See Jason's work here : www.soupa.co.uk/showcase-jason.html

Soupa's Spanish talent in Etapes Magazine

Soupa member Oscar de Castro's work has been featured in the latest issue of Etapes Magazine.

You may recognise these works as they were on sale at Soupa's Christmas stall in the Truman Brewery last year.

The magazine is distributed in Spain, Portugal and throughout Latin America in more than 15 countries. It's considered one of the most important and respected publications in Graphic Design.

Here is the extract translated from Spanish:

"Oscar de Castro is a conceptual graphic designer. He takes all the sense of one idea to smash all the small elements in a precise shape, on the one hand very simple and subtle, but on the other hand, the creations are a mixture of details very calculated. In his new vision of the old human masks, he had used contemporary shapes based on maths to show images related with legendary myths."

See more of Oscar's work on Soupa : http://www.soupa.co.uk/showcase-oscar.html

Cockpit Arts - open studios

Project10 – June (graduate) edition

Steve Price (Plan-B Studio) has set himself a rather intriguing challenge; 10 projects in 10 months with 10 NFP/NGO organisations or projects that are 'fun'.

When he first began in January he thought Project10 would be ten projects for ten charities. But Project10 has become much more than trying to create ten projects in ten months. As ever it is about quality, not quantity. It’s also about something fundamentally more important; collaboration.

Rather than send out press releases to promote his endeavor, he had the bright idea of using the Newspaper Club to create a limited-edition mail-out to 100 industry leaders and press people. The content is contributed to by writers, designers, artists, illustrators and other generous people, who often team up and work collaboratively on the content itself.

Steve’s dedicating June’s issue to the newest graduates. Not all 16,000+ of them; Steve’s picking ten for a carefully created issue that celebrates the best of the design industries newbies.

Applicants will not just be selected on their work, though. Oh no. In order to get yourself and your work in to the paper you must (off your own back) source, organise and interview your design industry hero/heroine for the paper SPECIFICALLY about the notion of collaboration in today’s industry (N.B. Steve might be able to help you get the interviews).

Applicants need to contact Steve with their plan and then supply up to 500 words of interview, images to support the interview and/or examples of your own work. Deadline is Tuesday 8th June 2010.

For more information contact: project10@plan-bstudio.com

Pens and needles

It would be fair to say that Liz Clements loves ink. Not only does she produce beautiful illustrations inspired by people she sees in real life – she's also working to become a tattooist.

Liz studied illustration at Falmouth College of Art and, after graduating in 2006 has worked with a range of fashion and editorial clients.

Talking of her work, Liz told Soupa: "I am a big fan of reportage style illustrators such as Adrian Tomine, David Choe, and also more classical artists such as Klimt, Egon Schiele, Mucha and the Pre Raphaelite artists, particularly Rosetti."

While Liz's website is under construction, you can follow her on Twitter @ Lsbeth

Design Museum talk – Bibliotheque long lunch

Craft Central - Made in clerkenwell

Shades of Gray

Harriet Gray is a designer-maker whose pretty stitched hearts you might have seen in an earlier post on Pass the Pattern.

As a practising illustrator, Harriet produces beautifully delicate drawings with a stylish edge, and she's now developed her own label making cushions, ornaments and mini mirrors.

I caught up with Harriet to discover how she's gone from paper to fabric and whether she can offer any advice for those who want to see their illustrations come to life.

What's the idea behind your new range? I love drawing and creating new illustrations but I had the feeling that I could do more with them, which is why I started experimenting with putting them onto products like fabric, badges and mini mirrors. I love the character of handmade items and knowing that someone has personally put the hard work into making it.

Do you make all the items yourself? My handmade items are only ever made by me, either on my sewing machine or tedious hand stitching! I also use a badge and sticker maker which takes up a lot of my time – oh, and stuffing!

I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to my work so I like making the items myself to ensure everything is exactly how I want it.

How do you get your illustrations onto fabric? I tend to shop around suppliers depending on my needs for the product I'm making but I generally locate them on the web. I use Spoonflower (who are based in the States) for my fabric printing as they offer a variety of options for the weight of fabric/layout of design and I’ve always received high quality products, good prices and a fast service.

They only offer digital printing though, and as I love screenprinting I am now on the lookout for somewhere local where I can screenprint some of my new drawings onto tea towels and other items.

How would you describe your style? My style of work is quite delicate and girly so I think the items I make suit my drawings quite well. I get a lot of inspiration from nature, fashion, the human form and generally the little random things that happen around me – most of my items have been made specifically with someone in mind.

I usually keep to small runs for my products and don’t generally tend to make more than 20 of any one item – I think it makes the item more special if you know there are only a few of them in the world. This also keeps ideas new and fresh and stops me from going insane trying to make hundreds of one item!

What advice would you give to those who'd like to have a go at selling their wares? To anyone wanting to start being crafty I think it’s important to make things that you like yourself – get involved with local craft fairs to get your work out there, go for it and don’t be afraid to experiment!

Images courtesy of Harriet Gray. Find her work online at www.soupa.bigcartel.com

Doll Art Exhibition - Opens tonight!

Luke Waller - brand new site

Soupa member Luke Waller has a shiny new site up and running at http://www.lukewaller.co.uk/ and it looks great! Go check it out to see his new work along side his Fred Bear apparel label.

Illustration agencies

If you are an illustrator and looking for an agent or a creative looking to commission – here is a list of agencies to get you started. This is by no means a definitive list, but a good starting point. Thanks to Carlos Garde-Martin for contributing to of this list.

Pocko • Big Active • Advocate Art • NB Illustration • Agency Rush • Higginson Hurst • Unseen • Private View • Synergy Art • Central Illustration • Breed • Eastwing • Heart • Debut Art • Dutch Uncle • Folio • Levine / Leavitt • Lemonade • The Artworks • Blunt • Eye Candy • Good Illustration • Bernstein & Andriulli • Anna Goodson • Its all true • The Organisation • The Art Deptpartment • Friend + Johnson • CWC • Jan Collier • Levy Creative • Agent 002 • Colagene

Also check out this link for more international agencies.

Brighton Freakshow

Lazy Oaf Drawing Club

Print Club at Pick me up

J'adore Cleo Ferin

What a cool cat Cleo Ferin is. Only last year, Cleo graduated from London College of Communication with a degree in surface design and already she's: designed record sleeves for French duo, Lisbonne; made a range of clothing for Brag Boutique in Brick Lane and produced garments for the Sugababes' video, Here Come The Girls.

Oh, and she's been illustrating for cool kids mag, Okido.

Fancy a look at what I'm loving?

Here's I Like London which is available as a fabric or wallpaper...

Spot the ice cream van? Here's a close up in the green colourway...

Of course, we'll always have Paris so if you fancy a little French fancy, there's I Am In Paris – also available as a wallpaper or fabric...

And, if you'd rather wear your art on your sleeve (more over, your neck), you'll love Cleo's range of 100% silk scarves, which in her own words are 'hipper than Hermes, more chic than Chanel.'

After seeing all the colours and patterns, I'd have to agree...

Here's a close up of Cleo's best seller, the nautical-inspired diamond and chain design...

And those were just a few reasons why J'adore Cleo Ferin.

Find more things to love at www.cleoferinmercury.co.uk and purchase scarves at www.lostjohns.co.uk

Thanks to Cleo for sending the pretty pictures – which remain copyright of the artist.

New work from Christie Podioti

Christie Podioti has just produced a series of new screen prints featuring geometric patterns and bold colours - see a selection on her Soupa page and check out her portfolio site for the full series. You can also buy t-shirts and tote bags featuring similar geometric patterns on the Soupa Emporium.