STUDENT WORK: BLOOD ON THE PLAINS

 

For his FMP 3rd year student CONOR FENNER-TOORA has created a graphic novel telling the story of the Fettermen Massacre, one of the worst defeats suffered by the US Army during Red Cloud’s War.  Below are a selection of spreads from the comic;

Find more of Conor’s work online;

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STUDENT WORK: NERRIVIK THE SEA GODDESS

For her FMP, 3rd year student ALEXANDRA SURUGIU has retold the Inuit folk-tale of Nerrivik and how she became a goddess as an illustrated picture book. Below is a section of artwork from the project;

 

Find more of Alexandra’s work online;

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STUDENT WORK: 1ST YEAR GRAPHIC NOVELS

Our first year students recently completed their graphic novel brief which tasked them with creating a four-page autobiographical comic. Below are Keith William’s sensitively told story of how he decided to pursue illustration and Wilson So’s dreamy childhood memory;

KEITH WILLIAMS

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WILSON SO

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GRADUATE PROFILE: CRISTIAN ORTIZ

Since graduating from Middlesex CRISTIAN ORTIZ (a.k.a Crom) has gone on to become an  award winning freelance illustrator and animator. His work has been featured in the AOI Annual and is the creator of the British Comics Award nominated Golden Campaign comic book series. As well as this he has worked with clients including Fox and Warner Brothers.

1. Can you tell us a bit about what you’ve been up to since graduating from the Middlesex?

After I graduated from MDX the credit crunch hit (2008) and everyone was panicking. I had a job lined up with an animation studio for the beginning of 2009 but they went under with many other companies at the time.

I held onto my bar job in Camden Town while working in different collectives, organising exhibitions with people from uni and applying for jobs that could let me afford living in London. I was still doing the odd commission here and there but in general the recession vibe kept most clients and companies scared of hiring and spending money.

I’ve always had a love for animation so I was very versatile with the use of animation softwares of the time, like Flash and AE which gave me a bit of an edge when I started applying for jobs in advertising agencies. I worked in a couple of ad agencies for a few years, while publishing my own comics and growing my online presence. I quit the ad industry in 2014 to dedicate myself fully to my work and my projects.

2. How do you go about producing your illustrations and is there a part of the process you particularly enjoy?

I keep a moleskine notebook where I sketch all my ideas with biro and when I have something I like, I re-draw it in pencil, clean it up and scan it. then I “ink” it on my cintiq and add colours if needed. It really depends what piece I am working on. Sometimes I go fully traditional, do pencils, then real inks, etc.

When I’m working on comic pages, I notice how much I enjoy working on the pencil roughs. After the line-work is done everything feels a lot more mechanic, not as organic as getting good fluid lines on paper.

 

3. What does a typical day of illustration work for you look like? Do you have any tricks to keep yourself motivated?

I try to have a relaxed and productive start to my day. After a few years of full-time work I really appreciate what I have now, so I tend to take the morning to ease into work. I drink my coffee in bed while catching up with emails and messages from around 7:30, I’m at my desk at around 9:30 everyday after exercise, breakfast and getting ready.

Depending on the day of the week I have to spend an hour or so getting orders from my online shop ready to be posted. I always try to keep at least an hour a day to work on ideas in my sketchbook.

I wouldn’t say I have tricks to stay motivated but there are certainly tips that help me stay focused:

1. Keeping a to-do list is essential. That feeling of crossing things off makes you feel great and at the end of the day you can see how productive you’ve been.
2. Taking time to play games, watch films, read books and comics that you like is great to get over the dry patches of creativity.
3. Looking at what other artists are doing usually gets me really pumped up to try and be better and to work harder on my craft.

4. As well as working as an illustrator you’ve also written and drawn several issues of The Golden Campaign. How did you get into self publishing? What advice would you give someone looking to get into producing their own comics and graphic novels?

I have always made comics for the fun of it. Even when I was at Middlesex I used to publish a comic about my tutors and peers on Myspace which was really fun to make. To have people in the class coming to ask when the next pages were going to be out was a big thing for me. I enjoyed how easily accessible it was for everyone to read the comic online. I started Golden campaign as an online comic back in 2012 as an exercise to keep my skills sharp while spending 8 hours a day doing design work at the ad agency. As years went by, costs of printing comics, in decent quality, got lower and I finally had money to invest in my own work so for me it was a no brainer.

My advice for anyone looking to get into self publishing is just to go out there and try it. Enquire into the costs of printing and means of distribution.Nowadays everything is out there for you to do it, easily accessible information online and the UK has a vibrant and friendly indie comix scene.

If you’ve never made a comic before don’t get yourself into an epic 7 volumes project that you can’t finish. Start small, shorts stories or a condensed one-shot but make sure you finish it. That way you experience the full process from pen and paper all the way to printing press.

5. Are there any projects that have felt like milestones in your career so far? What made them stand out and why do you feel they’ve been important?

Yeah, there have been a few that meant a lot to me, at the time, as they were signs of my progress towards what I wanted to achieve in my career.

I did a big project for the Arts Council England a year after I graduated which was the first illustration job I did that paid professional rates. I had to do all the illustrations for a graphic novel/rap-opera which was really exciting and taught me a lot of things that could only be learnt on a project of that magnitude.

Finishing volume one of Golden Campaign felt like I managed to prove to myself that comics could be done from beginning to end by one person. This encouraged me to continue with bigger projects and to find ways to improve my work.

Overall, while these were important projects at the time, I’d like to think the actual milestones are yet to come.

6. How did you find the transition from student to practicing illustrator? Do you have any pointers for new graduates who may be in that position right now?

I found it to be long and too gradual for my liking. things took longer than I expected and Im not a very patient person.

What I usually say to new graduates and those still at uni is not to wait for the graduation day to start getting things moving. You are an illustrator now! Go out, find projects, get commissions, arrange internships during summer, make contacts and be aware that we all learn on the job. The earlier you start the better, just be open to new things and have flexible plans.

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Find more of Cristian’s work online;

Website | Tumblr |Instagram |Twitter |

STUDENT WORK: MONSTERS OF THE DEEP

As part of his final year recent graduate CHARLES JOHNSTON created this short comic about the possible mysteries that lurk below the ocean’s surface for the annual Johnathan Cape competition;

Find more of Charlie’s work online;

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STUDENT WORK: PERSEPHONE

As part of her 3rd year work student SHAZLEEN KHAN has adapted a section of Malorie Blackman’s critically acclaimed ‘Noughts and Crosses’ into a graphic novel. Below are a selection of pages and spreads from the project;

 

Find more of Shazleen’s work online;

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STUDENT WORK: DER MORGIGE TAG IST MEIN

As part of her second year work student WIKTRORIA RADKIEWICZ created DER MORGIGE TAG IST MEIN, an illustrated book about Unity Mitford. Unity was English socialite- turned Fascist who became part of Hitler’s inner circle.Below are a selection of pages from the project;

Find more of Wiktoria’s work online;

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PREVIEW: HIGH SPEC

 

From February 3rd to 26th the WALTHAMSTOW VILLAGE WINDOW GALLERY will be hosting HIGH SPEC, an exhibition showcasing a selection of innovative, award winning work by  some of our recent graduates.

“Illustration has come to the forefront of London’s creative industries in recent years and this show presents award winning work highlighting the quality, energy and breadth of inventiveness of its young practitioners. The ten graduates on show hail from the BA (Hons) course at Middlesex University. They all have their own visual language but are joined by a love of storytelling. Chloe Smith’s beautiful and lurid images tell the tale of how Antwerp got its name, Nakim Brown unfolds the history of the universe in a glowing graphic novel, and Summer Du Plessis unpicks Bowie’s Star Man in luminous print.
 
Awarded a D&AD prize for best show at New Blood, the exhibition includes risographs, drawings, screen prints, linocuts and digital paintings. The Illustration course at Middlesex is studio based and aims to bring out the individuality of each student. The work here reflects the high quality its graduates are recognised for. Included in the exhibition are: CHLOE SMITH, NAKIM BROWN, ELLA GINN, DERVLA LEONARD, CHARLES JOHNSTON, SUMMER DU PLESSIS, NICOLE COWAN, MATT INGRAM, JASMINE BRADY, TARO QURESHI.“

 

 

Join us on Thursday February 9th from 7-9 pm for a ‘meet the artists’ drinks reception but remember to dress for the weather as this is a largely outdoor event. Warmth provided by the good company and glow of the window display!

STUDENT WORK: ASHES TO ASHES

During her final year, graduate SUMMER DU PLESSIS used riso printing to create this short, psychedelic comic in tribute to the late David Bowie;

 

 

Find more of Summer’s work online;

Porfolio | Instagram | Twitter | Website

THOUGHT BUBBLE 2016

Leeds’ Though Bubble festival is one of the UK’s biggest independent comics and arts festival. With hundreds of exhibitors ranging from Illustrators, comic book artists and small press publishers it’s a fantastic showcase of talent from all areas of the industry.

This year a number of our students, graduates and staff were exhibiting at this year’s con;

WIKTORIA, SHAZLEEN and HENRY are currently studying at Middlesex. Between them they have self published a number of independent comics.

WIKTORIA RADKIEWICZ

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SHAZLEEN KHAN

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HENRY MATA

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JESSICA LIM graduated from Middlesex’s illustration BA in 2013. ‘Jessica Lim is JESSICAXYL, a UK-based illustrator. She loves drawing food and animals, and is big into cute culture and bright colours. She is currently freelancing and working on her first fictional comic, Bao & Pom.’

JESSICA LIM

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graduate group THE DRAWN CHORUS COLLECTIVE were represented over the weekend by FRED CAMPBELL, AMBER COOPER-DAVIES, ALEX MOORE, SUMMER DU PLESSIS, CHARLOT KRISTENSEN, MICHAEL O’BRIEN and BEN HENDY. Composed of 19 multi-disaplantary illustrators they have produced a number of book and crafts and were also selling items produced by individual memebers.

DRAWN CHORUS COLLECTIVE

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