I am an Illustrator born in Portsmouth and graduate of the University of Portsmouth. I've always enjoyed drawing, but in time it has proved to be much more than a pastime.

My work is now receiving growing attention and I have had the privilege of applying my unique Read More...

I am an Illustrator born in Portsmouth and graduate of the University of Portsmouth. I've always enjoyed drawing, but in time it has proved to be much more than a pastime.

My work is now receiving growing attention and I have had the privilege of applying my unique approach to illustration to a variety of exciting projects over the past year.

I am mainly recognized for creating detailed ink drawings, but I enjoy producing artwork with a variety if different media, from digital programs Photoshop and Illustrator to silkscreen and other hand printing techniques.

I was privileged to be highly commended in the 'Macmillan Prize for Children's Books 2010' for my entry 'The Scroll of Britain', which was exhibited as part of the awards show at Foyles Gallery London.

I was also named winner of the Portsmouth Aspex Gallery's 'Aspex Award' for my end of degree show in the same year.

In 2009 I won the award for best film in the 'Hula Hoops Golden Hoop Film Awards' for my short film 'Doctor Hoop'.

I was named winner of the award for 'Best Designer' and the 'Solent Special Award' at the Fareham College Faculty for Creative Studies Awards Evening in 2006.

Education:
2006-2007, 2008-2010
University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, BA Hons in Illustration (1)
This course has provided me with skills in the traditional media of drawing, etching and silkscreen printing, as well as digital software such as Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

The course also had a key focus on research and this instilled the importance of informing myself of the subject and audience for my outcome.

I was also encouraged to take on as much commission work as possible alongside the course, which has helped me to approach work in a professional manner, particularly in communicating with clients and meeting multiple deadlines successfully.

2004-2006
Fareham College, Fareham, National Diploma in art and design (Triple Distinction)

1999-2004
Neville Lovett Community school, Fareham, 11 GCSE passes (10 A-C)

Previous work:

Freelance Commission, Album cover artwork for rock band In Darklight under the Angry Badger label. The project involved producing an abstract cover design that related to, and communicated the main themes of the band's music whilst creating a unique branding for the music as a product.

It also involved creating the layout of the CD case as a four panel digipack, which required the use of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to prepare.

From this project I have gained vital experience of preparing artwork for mass production and meeting the detailed size specifications.

Freelance Commission, illustrating a children's book Bottom Burp. The client was the author of the book who commissioned 3 double page spread illustrations as a preview to pitch to publishers. The book was a poem with one four sentence verse for each double page.

I was faced with the challenge of incorporating the text into the illustrations so that both complemented each other and the narrative flowed successfully through the book. I produced all artwork by hand with pen and ink before scanning and editing the finished images in Illustrator.

This work has given me good experience in dealing with constructive criticism, requiring several different draft designs before the final images were picked, and demonstrates my commitment to producing a high standard outcome that meets the expectations of the client.

Competition entry, The Macmillan Prize for Children's Books. I created a 32 page concertina book illustrating a brief history of invasion and settlement of Britain and the later British empire which I entered into the Macmillan prize, a competition for Illustration and Graphics students.

I was highly commended by the judges and my work was displayed at the awards ceremony and public exhibition at Foyles Gallery in London.

The exposure from this event lead to further interest in my work and a feature is to be published in national arts magazine ImagineFX.

This was a self motivated project which has given me experience of the large workload involved in creating a complete product alone, meeting deadlines, and presenting my work in a professional setting.

Competition Entry, Hula Hoops Golden Hoop Film Awards. I created two short finger puppet films for this national competition, the first titled Doctor Hoop won the award for Best Film, with my second entry coming runner-up in the same category.

I feel this project provided me the opportunity to develop a wider range of skills, namely story-boarding, set building and basic recording and editing of visual and audio material with iMovie and Garageband.

My entries are available as part of the Hula Hoops brand publicity, on their website: www.hulahoops.com/winner/D0CT0R H00P

References: Louis Sellers, member of In Darklight, leading publicity, marketing and production for the band.
Email: sellers.louis@googlemail.com

Maureen O'neill, Illustration course leader, University of Portsmouth.
Email: maureen.oneill@port.ac.uk