Portfolio
This is my digital pdf portfolio. The printed version (physical hand-in) has a few sheets in the back with more comics-oriented work which I could add/switch out when presenting to different clients.
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Website
Socials:
Online Shop (for zines and prints):
(Currrently not accepting orders but will set up again when i have time)
Other online presence:
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Promotional Material
Business Cards - an older design that is popular at fairs and i still have hundreds so will use them up before printing new ones!
Mailout - aimed at magazines that commission comics-adjacent work, and publishers. A zine featuring some info about me on the cover, then 3 comics on different subject matters. When you unfold it it shows a comic about me the author finding the inspiration for said comic and a bit about my working process (its somewhat meta and a bit silly...) plus a cheeky jesus comic on the back.
Some postcards - a postcard for my book Zayani Zam to give to potential publishers (?) (and also because I don't know how to print it for fairs so i will sell a digital version and people can have a postcard) and a silly jesus postcard
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Presentation
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Reader
(i know this is low effort sorry but seemed a bit pointless to me - all the information that should go in the reader is also elsewhere in this hand-in)
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Evaluation
Coming into this course I already had quite a clear sense of self and creative intent, having found my passion for comics at 15 and begun to make them and engage with the small press/indie comics scene during my foundation year in London. This gave me a clear sense of direction throughout the course, but equally I have learned so much about myself, both through the different modules and self-directed work undertaken alongside – how I work best, how I draw, how I research and what it really is I am interested in.
Before university, I began self-publishing comics very locally, which I’m continuing to do on a larger scale as it’s my favourite way of selling my work and gives me a goal to work towards. The comics community is still relatively small so it’s joy to be able to meet the people who inspire me and find collaborators and inspiration. I’ve learned most of my working style and self-promotion from observing and meeting indie comic artists such as Olivia Sullivan, Karrie Fransman, Sarah Gordon and so many more, as well as through attending comics support group WIP Comics in London. These connections led to being recognized as one of Broken Frontier's 'Six Small Press Creators to Watch' in 2021, who still champion my work when I put out new comics.
I plan to continue comic and zine events (this year I’ll be on a panel at SLCZF and tabling at Thought Bubble) and expand my audience by participating in more illustration- and art-focused fairs. Marcy and I will continue to run Zinezilla, which aims to bring creators and audiences together, as well as established practitioners and new creators. Both Bristol and the wider community have been so receptive to Zinezilla, especially since covid and the loss of BCZF, and it has helped me meet many cool people and build connections with folks like Dave Bain from Pip Illustration and Max from Shake. So I came to uni wanting to make comics but the course has opened my mind to the possibilities of illustration and to my own abilities and interests in other areas. Primarily I have developed a passion for research and non-fiction narratives, while before I made stories that stayed in my head. I've learned to apply my skills to different areas, such as editorial responses, academic essays and storyboards, and now see myself more broadly as a visual storyteller and problem solver. While consistent, strong visual language has remained something I struggle with, I’ve developed a flexible drawing style and methodology that I consider a strength. Visiting practitioners like Till Lukat, Jayde Perkin, and Warwick Johnson Cadwell helped me develop my comics practise and see a place for comics in a commercial landscape, and flicking through Warwick’s sketchbooks and identifying how he goes from idea to rough to linework to finished comic has made me attempt much more interesting angles and embrace more looseness in my pencil drawing. David McMillan’s editorial workshops were also really useful in testing us on an active brief.
While I’ve branched out of personal comics I still consider myself an authorial illustrator – in the work I’ve done as an illustrator for hire (editorials for Container Magazine, regular leaflets for the International Zen Association UK), I’ve still been afforded a lot of creative freedom and that’s what keeps me interested. My ultimate ideal would be doing freelance illustration work such as editorials, reportage, comics journalism, storyboarding etc, while also having the time to create my own comics/graphic novels. Short Term Strategy:
I plan to get a studio space in Bristol, as I can’t work from home and appreciate the creativity afforded by socialising and the input of likeminded people. I’d love to share a space with others from the course but I’ll take what I can get! I’ll continue working part-time (full-time if necessary) in hospitality to support my income - I like having the balance as I am then more productive on my days off. I have reason to be worried about getting sucked into hospitality but I’ve always been driven to continue my own projects even when working a lot. I intend to contact magazines and commissioning editors for illustration work - if possible, for comics/sequential-oriented work but also for editorial, design and reportage. Examples include the Guardian, Prospect, Vice, all sorts of small indie mags, as well as European mags like Le Monde and Drawing the Times as there’s a much bigger space for comics on the continent. I’m also keen to pitch to publishing houses that support comics/graphic novels, e.g. Avery Hill, Drawn&Quarterly, smaller indie publishers (Koguchi Breakdown Press) and potentially larger ones too like Faber&Faber - I don’t feel fully prepared to author a graphic novel yet but it helps to get in the door and can’t hurt to try :) Meanwhile can see myself exploring all sorts of other creative avenues - design work, signwriting, murals, anything to keep me making while looking for more targeted work! I’m keen to get involved in more collaborations, anthologies and group projects too to expand my horizons and contacts. I have the CW+ residency starting in September, which will help keep up my momentum and is a fantastic opportunity to take my research-based methodology into real life. I’m also applying for a narrative print residency at the Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium which would get me back into developing my printmaking skills (etching and screenprint).
Long Term Strategy:
One day, I would like a publishing deal and be paid to make comics. That’s the dream….. But I’m open to seeing where life and my interests take me. My aim is to be making new things and putting them into the world, in whatever form that takes :)
All things considered, leaving the course I feel well-prepared for the outside world of illustration. I have an idea of how to market myself not just as a comic maker but visual storyteller, and (hopefully) have the discipline to keep making when things get hard. Wish me luck!
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