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Inflate paddling pools, fill freezers with Fabs and prime frisbees for flight. Summer's here.
You're looking down the barrel of 4 months of summer holidays before you return as newly minted second or third years! But... If you need to contact us or UoC during the summer months, here's how you can go about it... (whilst on leave we won't be checking our emails)
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A few of you have asked what you can do over summer to continue your skills development, or at the very least avoid that thing where you come back in September and have forgotten what it is you're doing and how to do it (like at school when it would take the first fortnight after summer to re-learn how to hold a pencil).
With that in mind here's some advice:
With that in mind here's some advice:
1. Draw - A Lot!
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Seriously. Draw loads. Fill sketchbooks. Doodle on receipts. Sketch from reference, from life, from imagination. Try new materials. Make mistakes. Have fun.
The goal isn’t perfection — it’s practice, play, and progress. The more you draw, the more confident and fluent you’ll become. You’ll thank yourself in September. You won't have to look far to find sketchbook inspiration - try searching 'urban sketching' to see how your surroundings can inspire your work. The example right is by Lucia Leyfield |
Lucia Leyfield 2024
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2. Look — Be Curious
Spend time looking at the work of illustrators, artists, designers, animators, comic makers, and visual storytellers. The internet is full of inspiration — from Instagram and Behance to YouTube and blogs. Search second hand shops for illustrated children's books, vintage folio society editions...
But don’t just scroll and “like.” Be a connoisseur. Ask yourself:
But don’t just scroll and “like.” Be a connoisseur. Ask yourself:
- What do I love about this artist’s work?
- What techniques or ideas could I try?
- What do I need to improve, and who does that well?
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3. Personal Projects — Make Stuff!
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Give yourself a project or two. It doesn’t need to be serious or polished — it just needs to be yours. Maybe it’s a mini comic, a fake album cover, a zine, a character design challenge, or a visual diary of your summer.
No grades. No briefs. No pressure. Just you making work because you want to. This is how illustrators grow — by making things, trying things, and learning through doing. The example on the right is by comic artist Jason LaTour who, along side his mainstream comic output, explores aspects of his own life in online comics such as this. |
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Illustrator Paul Rogers has been drawing 1 image per page of Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road' and posting them to this dedicated instagram page.
4. Think Ahead!
If you’re heading into third year, start thinking about who you are as an illustrator and where you might want to go. What kind of work excites you? What areas of the industry interest you — publishing, animation, editorial, games, branding, comics?
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You probably won’t stick to one path forever. But having a sense of direction will help you make the most of third year — and give your work purpose and focus.
You don’t need to have it all figured out. You probably won’t stick to one path forever. But having a sense of direction will help you make the most of third year — and give your work purpose and focus.
Abbie Hodges, who graduated this summer, first identified her ambition to work in children’s book illustration and writing during her second year. That early clarity gave her the time and space to develop the skills, voice, and confidence that led to her standout final project, What Digby Dug — a landmark piece that beautifully showcased her growth as both an illustrator and storyteller.
Bonus Tip: Stay Connected
Talk to each other. Share work. Swap ideas. Encourage your peers. Illustration can be solitary, but it doesn’t have to be. Keep the creative conversation going.
Talk to each other. Share work. Swap ideas. Encourage your peers. Illustration can be solitary, but it doesn’t have to be. Keep the creative conversation going.
SUMMER PROJECT PADLETS
You know how much we love a bit of padlet action. Here's two padlets for you, on the left you can post inspiration and ideas for summer projects - could be embedded social media posts, other peoples work, competitions etc. On the right, you can share your own work with each other. We've turned comments on, so you can also give feedback etc.
Beneath the padlets, you'll find the HTML code to embed them on your own site. This way you can create a summer specific page and use it as your own one-stop-shop to summer success.
NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL... THE 2024/25 ACADEMIC YEAR
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