professional practiceSophie Ingledew

For most of my time

studying BA Illustration

I have been a little bit

intimidated by the

future, and the prospects

of earning a living from

my practice. However in

these final weeks of my

three years of study, it is

not an impending fear of

deadlines and graduation

that has driven me, but a

sense of excitement about

future possibilities and

the many directions that

my work could go in. My

practice whilst studying

at AUCB has been on an

erratic journey, from

plasticine models to pixel

art to digital painting

to drawings entirely

in colour pencil. The

contexts of my work have

ranged from editorial,

children’s book, general

publishing to animation.

I had always thought that

my final project would

be a narrative book that

would be created digitally,

and here I am working on a

non-fiction art book about

the ocean, created entirely

with colour pencils.

Initially I had wanted to create a

small informative book or zine about

humanity’s self-destructive habits,

particularly related to diet. I decided

to change that when I found it too

intimidating to talk about the project

in front of my peers. From this I learned

that creating work with a personal

element is not something I wish to do,

as it makes me feel too vulnerable to

discuss, or share for critique. I feel this

is fine however, as I know that I respond

well to highly-structured briefs where

the choice of subject matter is not

completely in my control. I know this

is a nightmare for some illustrators,

but it works for me. I think this is why I

responded very well to the unit in Level

5 which involved the interpretations

of different texts. It was the project I

enjoyed the most and although I don’t

think the work I produced from that

was particularly strong (perhaps due to

choice of media), it is often well-received

by people looking at my website or

portfolio.

Because I enjoy structured briefs, level

6 has of course presented quite a

challenge with it’s completely open

nature. I have struggled to be content

with my own project ideas, and in

retrospect I should have worried less

and taken on more competitions. I know

this now, and once graduated I intend

to fill any gaps between commissions

with more competitions than self-

initiated work.

Work from ‘Negotiated

Practice’.

I chose to use man’s

relationship with the ocean

and the imagery associated

with it as a starting point for

my EMP. It is rare for me to

begin a unit without having

some idea of what the final

outcome will be, as this

is what I use to structure

my time and development.

This vague approach was

very liberating and allowed

me to fall back in love

with drawing again after

my Negotiated Practice

work. The previous unit

had been very structured

and outcome-based, with a

lot of digital/texture work

involved. Although the final

context (greetings cards)

was not very successful, the

images themselves received

positive feedback online,

and a couple of people

wanted commissions using

this style, which was a first.

The choice to abandon

digital techniques for my final

unit is an intimidating one for

me, having just built up that

interest in my digital/drawing

hybrid work. However I

have chosen to focus purely

on pencils for this project,

not even taking time to

experiment with other media,

but instead trying to build up

my ability to create detailed

and delicate work, and really

honing this skill.

I began by calling upon a broad

selection of influences and research.

I visited aquariums, watched wildlife

and diving documentaries, looked

at myth and folklore related to sea

to create a wide range of mini ideas.

I think something I need to work on

as I move into the professional realm

is condensing the amount of time I

research before I begin drawing. I feel

a need to be very informed about a

subject before I begin making images

about it, particularly if it involves

personal opinion (such as an editorial

piece). I do not think this will be a

massive problem however, as time

management is not a weakness of

mine and I have learned how to

condense research and only use

what is important during my time

at university. It was suggested in

a tutorial to focus on the natural

mysteries in the sea, and the many

weird and wonderful sights that are

completely natural.

I also enjoyed drawing underwater

landscapes, and wanted to evoke

feelings of isolation but also of

exploration, adventure and discovery.

These latter themes run through all

of my work and are important to my

practice.

One of the key developments in this unit is the

use of shapes and negative space. In my previous

two years of work I have not really considered

this aspect of image making, opting to work in

rectangular areas or whatever shape the brief

defined. I have enjoyed working in the middle of

A2 and A3 sheets of white paper in this unit, letting

the composition and overall shape of an image be

created at the same time, rather than one defining

the other. This has allowed me to explore different

viewpoints and angles in the landscapes I am

drawing. Peers who have seen my work in tutorials

have said that they enjoy the drawings that seem

to be inside droplets or water or liquid (undefined

shapes). I have also used negative space to draw

a few images as if the viewer is peering from

behind a rocky surface/out of cave, and others

where the image is in a simple circle, reminiscent

of a diver’s helmet or ship cabin window. Whilst

I have not really participated in exhibitions

or competitions this year, I have found myself

focusing on preparing for the area of publishing,

particularly when constructing my book for EMP.

I made a mock-up children’s book in level 5 for

the Macmillan Prize, and this experience proved

invaluable in getting a book ready for professional

printing this time around. Creating a book myself

with my own content including text (or quotes in

the case of my EMP) has taught me a lot about the

practical application of my work and how it could

be used.

My Investigative Study essay was about

the relationship between text and image

in narrative books, it is something I am

interested in, even if it is not always at the

forefront of my practice. The essay has left me

better informed about text and it’s role next to

illustration. My personal preference is to use

less text, and let readers figure out or come

to their own conclusions about a book when

they pick it up. For example, in my EMP book

‘Mortal Lungs’ there is no introduction by me,

and all the text featured is quotations from

explorers, conservationists about the sea.

However I have spent a lot of time carefully

selecting which quote will sit opposite

which image, in order to imply things that

are sometimes obvious and sometimes more

subtle, and mostly left open to interpretation.

I am incredibly fond of work (both illustration

and the wider world of media) that is thought-

provoking rather than work that spells out

every detail for the audience. I enjoy open texts

very much and I think my work reflects that.

I think it is important that illustrators and

artists in general aim to provoke thought and

critique important issues once in a while as well

as providing entertainment. This is something I

hope to do in my future, and it’s why I would

like to seek out editorial/reportage work as a

secondary interest in addition to publishing. I

feel that the work created with coloured pencils

would compliment these areas.

Something I have struggled with

both this year and during the

course in general is coming into

the studio to share my work. I

have no problem sharing and

talking about my practice when it

is at certain stages of completion,

however I prefer to do the actual

creation in my own space and

have probably suffered from lack

of constructive criticism as a

result. Whilst I maintain a good

relationship with everyone in our

cohort and enjoy seeing other

people’s work during scheduled

tutorials, I have probably missed

out by not working in the studio

more often.

Whilst it is not directly related to my artwork, I have put in effort towards the fundraisers

for the Free Range graduate show, whether it’s clearing the studio for the Silent Auction or

serving drinks in other fundraisers. Because the work on the course itself is quite solitary

I have enjoyed the teamwork involved in putting together these events and have found

these experiences useful in terms of working with people professionally and networking/

making connections for my future career. This is in addition to making important group

decisions relating to the publications and logo for Free Range, which has enlightened me

on how challenging it can be to make creative decisions on a large scale with a group of

over forty people.

I have also made the effort to get to a

few TLK talks about self-promotion

and have them very helpful, in addition

to Hayley Potter’s workshop on

writing about yourself. These events

have subsequently informed the

construction of my website and other

promotional materials. I currently

have a simple website up which I have

made sure works with mobile devices

and so forth, however I intend to tweak

My website at www.sophieingledew.com

it a lot more and restructure how my

work is archived and displayed when

the deadlines for this current unit have

passed, in preparation for Free Range.

I have found indexhibit excellent,

providing a simple structure which can

then be edited to your personal needs. I

intend to use this in the coming weeks to

add more features such as blog integration

and possibly a shop and a downloadable

pdf portfolio.

Blogs have been an important

developmental and publicity

tool throughout the course. I

have finally settled on Tumblr

as my preference, mostly for it’s

community and the ‘reblog’ system

which allows your work to spread

throughout the site, which I have

found excellent for getting my work

out there. Something I need to do is

get some consistency in the design

of my blog and website, so that they

will link up well.

My Tumblr blog page at: http://www.sophieingledew.tumblr.com

I have also designed business cards

for self-promotion. I have decided

for my first set to keep them simple

and white, using the background

from my work. However when I

finish this set I would like to design

more that incorporate cropping and

more inventive framing, perhaps

with rounded corners.

I have chosen to have four different

designs, both to show variety and

also have some collectable appeal.

I have made sure that the business

cards share the same branding as my

Tumblr and eventually my website.

Finally, I have been asked a couple of

times to create publicity or concept

artwork for students on the BA

Film Production course, which has

broadened my professional network

Concept artwork produced for the film ‘N-Day’ at the start of level 5.

but also given me some real briefs as

an experience of real time constraints

and working with clients. This work has

been used in promotional materials on

the web and has been well received.

I regard promotional materials as an

ongoing venture, and something I have

set aside time to work on after the EMP

is finished. I am excited to work on more

unique forms of self-promotion such

as merchandise, whilst working on my

web presence, including linking my site

to facebook and twitter pages. I am

currently in a confident place with

my practice to move forward into the

professional world, and look forward

to exhibiting at Free Range and

beyond.

www.sophieingledew.com

t: 07403428333

e: sophie.ingledew@gmail.com

Objective I would like to work in the publishing or editorial industries, taking on a wide variety of briefs that will challenge my practice as an illustrator. My work is fueled by my interests in exploration, folklore and storytelling. I aim to create deeply atmospheric work filled with delicate detail. I specialise in creating work with traditional media such as coloured pencils, but also enjoy using digital techniques.

Education The Arts University College of BournemouthBA (Hons) IllustrationUA Level 4 Foundation Diploma in Ar t and Design (Merit)

ABC level 3 Awards:Pixel-Based Image ManipulationDesktop Publishing SkillsLife drawing

Taunton’s College, Southampton2 A-Levels (A, B) and BTEC Level 3 National Award (Distinction)

St. Anne’s Catholic School, Southampton9 GCSEs (3 A*, 2 As, 3 Bs, 1 C)

Experience Produced ar twork for student documentary ‘Cir-cles’.2012

Produced concept ar twork for the film ‘N-Day’.2010

Wet and Wild Graphics in Hamble. Work experience, 2 weeks. Assisting with tasks such as designing signs and laying out vinyl sheets.2006

Skills Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, After Effects & Dreamweaver. HTML/CSS.Excellent drawing skills that can be applied with both traditional and digital techniques.

Exhibitions/Published Work

2012 - Free Range, London (http://www.free-range.org.uk/)

2011 - ‘Bespoke’ at Boscanova, Bournemouth.