Graphic Guru Event

Graphic Guru will take place this Monday (10th October) The event the mutant off spring of 'Drawn Free' (born last year) will see six ex-Stockport illustration graduates return to the nest to meet with our current 3rd year fledglings.

The event is an opportunity for the 3rd years to talk to the graduates, and seek advice and support.

An added bonus this year will be that our five graduates Rose, Ben, Chris, Nat and Liam and Pete (see links in the Alumni section to the right) have all kindly agreed to act as 'Gurus' for a small group of current third years. This means that through out the year they 3rd years will have a point of contact with someone already doing the job out there in the big wide world. They can call upon them, rather like 'phone a friend' if they need advice on a project, visiting clients, or the direction of their work.

Add into the mix the illustrators friends: tea and cakes and it should be a great couple of hours.

Illustration as Writing Symposium

I highly recommend this on November 3rd and 4th. I went to the event in Cardiff last year and came away feeling totally inspired and full of ideas. This year it is just down the road at MMU.

This is the 2nd International Illustration Research Symposium which looks to illustration as an expression of the ‘primary language of vision’ and aims to integrate its practices and philosophies, both historical and emerging. The event seeks to expand the theoretical and practical frameworks and nuances of this potent and far-reaching discipline.

Illustration and Writing will look at illustration as visual language, and reflect on the role of the image within, around and in place of writing. We hope to explore the ways that purposeful images can augment, clarify or problematise meaning in relation to text.

Anna Violet Published!

Congratulations to graduate Anna Violet as a book that she has illustrated is due to be published very very soon. "How Anansi Got His Stories" will be published next month by Oxford University Press, Anansi is a familiar character from many African and Caribbean tales. The book is aimed at children and their parents to introduce them to different cultures, traditions and morals.

Natalie Wood at Eye Candy

Great news that Natalie Wood who graduated in 2010 has been offered representation by Eye Candy. There is also lots of recently commissioned work on her website.

Chris Howker at MUSIC

It was the turn of Chris Howker to create a installation for a design agency in Manchester, 'Music'. Chris painted directly onto glass - which is not an easy task.... especially at a large scale and reversed! Chris explains "I had to paint on the inside of the room rather than the outside so that it wasn't scratched easily".

Rose wins GOLD at A.O.I

Rose Lloyd a graduate of the Illustration course from 2009 has won Gold at the Association of Images (AOI) Images 35 Awards. Rose attended the Images 35 Awards evening at the Bankside Gallery. She was awarded the Gold award in the Advertising category for her image "Spring Family Concert" which was commissioned for the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, this job was actually born out of a meeting with an agency from the 'Are we there yet' bus trip that some students were part of to promote their degree show.

'Images' is the UK's leading illustration competition, annual, awards show, and touring exhibition dedicated to showcasing the very best contemporary illustration published in the UK. The work selected to appear in 'Images' is judged by a highly regarded panel of industry experts, spanning multiple categories, and is an annual competition.

This is such wonderful news.

Manchester and Salford Illustrated

In October 2011 (27th October – 10th November to be precise) the very first Manchester and Salford Illustrated exhibition (#MASI) will be held at 52 Princess Street, Manchester. It will be a showcase of the very best commercial artists and illustrators in the area and has been created to raise funds and awareness for a Manchester based charity. Some of our graduates are involved and students are also invited to submit work.