Best posts made by carrieannebrown

Phew, glad that's finished! Anyone else planning to do the spine and back cover? I wanted to do it for today but it took far longer than expected (as usual). Good luck everyone.

Really tried to throw my all into this one. Not sure I pulled off the focus all being on Bongo but it's my first piece with this many elements so I did my best. Hope you like it! Good luck everyone

Edit: Does it look pixelated to anyone else?

I just completed this for my low level graphic design job. I was so pleased with myself for finding a way to insert some illustration, because they usually require a corporate/slick/generic design aesthetic but I challenged myself to up my game this year and do work that I am proud to show off so I can start applying for better jobs

Good luck everyone!

First time entering! This is my interpretation of how I'm feeling about isolation - 'Bored to Stone'. Good luck everybody, some amazing entries

@Nyrryl-Cadiz almost the exact same thing happened to me too (horrible saturation and type), although I was only commissioned to do the cover art for a series of ebooks. I sent in my own versions with type I thought looked much better but they rejected them. I just ended up taking the money and asking not to be credited, I couldn't think of another way around it. I just used my versions of the covers in my portfolio and didn't work with them again.

Hi all,
I'm looking for a bit of last minute advice on this month's submission. The idea is that the title is the yellow brick road. I have started adding brick texture to the lettering, my question is do you think it is worth continuing as it is proving very time consuming. Are there any other issues you see that I can make quick changes to? Or even large issues that I can change after the submission to make it better for my portfolio?

Thanks in advance! Sorry this is so last minute.

I really feel for Jake, I can't imagine seeing all these comments popping up on the networks he's worked so hard on, he must feel very attacked. I understand how Dunn could be frustrated but I hope they can work together to resolve it and put an end to the comments. I looked at Rendering in Pen and Ink by Arthur Guptill that you mentioned above on Amazon, and you can see similar examples on there too, specifically the pages Dunn highlights with the dust brush and pens.

So I didn't have time to make all suggested changes but I think it's slightly improved. Thanks a lot for all your help. If there are any small changes you think need to be made let me know, otherwise, I think it's done. Finished is better than perfect, as Jake says.

@pixel-dsp it's not entirely true that Alphonso Dunn is lesser-known, he has 644k followers on YouTube, Jake only has 167k. Jake has a bigger following on Instagram but less overall.

Jake did specify the book by putting Frank Baum on the template. He also said an edition, rather than version so I think he means the same story but with say a new foreword or something.

My understanding is that he was trying to give us a prompt that was similar to what a real commission would be like, so sticking to the book means you've actually read it and are able to follow a brief. If I was commissioned to create a book cover, the first thing I'd do is read at least the first few chapters.

He's also chosen Wizard of Oz because the original story is out of copyright. The film isn't. It shows an art director that you can follow a brief but still be creative within those confines.

Having said that, if the aim is to create a great portfolio piece and it doesn't align with your aims, there's no reason you can't change the prompt slightly to create something that appeals to your market.

I had a commission recently for a big company for an instruction manual that I knew could become a huge pain and go on forever so I added in a line that only offered 3 sets of amendments. It really helped because the last amendments came from the sales people who wanted to make loads of changes and they wanted more changes afterwards but since I'd reminded them throughout how many sets of amendments were left, they just asked how much for a new set of changes. I know it would have gone on forever otherwise. I still haven't been paid for this job though so who knows if it turned out well

Hi all,

I'm looking for a little advice in improving the cover I did for the Wizard of Oz brief last month. I feel like there could be a great portfolio piece here, but it is too messy at the moment. Do you think it would work better if all the other elements other than the road were similar colours so only the title stood out and the rest looked like one piece until closer inspection? Or if I took out some of the elements? I think the Kalidah falling needs improving, the log, for example, could be better and the whole thing is very dark compared to the rest.

For the back, I was planning on adding a small emerald city below the text and the hot air balloon in the top left corner, unless you have any better suggestions?

I'm using the official prompts combined with a more magical prompt list. I've had this idea for a children's book in my head for ages but I can't work out the specific details, so I'm using the inktober prompts to create something connected to the story as a sort of brainstorming experiment to build out the world (if any of that made sense). I'm not looking to do any breath taking work, more like tidy sketches with a little story

@deborah-Haagenson yes that's what I thought, I assumed Jake's intention was to create a more realistic brief as if we were working for a client, so I've stuck to the specs. But if it doesn't align with the market people want to work for, I guess it makes more sense to create something more specific to their portfolio aims. I wonder if solutions that don't fit the brief will be considered in the final 16.

@kylebeaudette It's very rough, I'll use your advice about more layers for a smoother finish if I feel the urge again

@Pamela-Fraley I thought the same thing, people are claiming he plagiarised Dunn but in the same post are complaining that he trademarked something he created! Crazy

Hi all,

I am working on a new portfolio website (carrieannebrown.co.uk) and was looking for some advice. I want to start contacting art directors (and possibly agents) but I have only been commissioned a few times, mostly by the same company who always want work that is flat characters to animate and isn't the kind of work I want to get in the future. So my questions are:
Should I only show work I am proud of OR include commissioned work that was done with a very tight deadline and lower quality?

I am also in two minds about whether to start contacting people for work now or wait until my portfolio has more children's book related pieces in it? I could do with making some money tbh, but is it worth the effort at the moment or will I just confuse the art director?

I also do graphic design as my day job and am trying to find a new job in this field (as I am currently furloughed and worried about the company closing) so I have my graphic design on there too because I don't want to pay for two websites. I'm hoping this isn't too confusing to either types of jobs.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me,
Carrie-Anne

@Nyrryl-Cadiz it's genuinely stressing me out too! I'm worried about being in the public eye in the future now. I tried deleting my social media apps to stay out of it but it didn't last long . I don't want to argue with strangers on Instagram but some of the comments really wind me up!