1. Introduction.

2. joe la-placa???

3. how i work.

4. Equipment.

5. Inspiration

6. Negotiated practice.

7. Final major project.

8. online presence .

9. Promotional goods.

10. Commissions and events

contents

Introduction.

Currently studying BA ( HONS ) Illustration I am a few weeks away from graduating and start-ing my up hill struggle into the creative industry.This book features a small insight and summery into my creative practice, focusing on my final year, and my future plans at the time spent at the Arts

University bournemouth AUB.Thanks for viewing.

(taken from my Website.)Joseph La-placa was born in sunny slough during 1991, but

now resides in the seaside town of Bournemouth studying illustration at the Arts Institute Bournemouth.

Constantly cold He creates works about the twisted truth & everyday life he portrays this in a cauldron of dark morbid creatures, animals, nature and black hearted humor. The rela-tionship in line and mark making play’s an important part in

his practice creating certain moods and depth’s. Joseph spends most his time day dreaming in a haze of a more

wonderful place.

Every strange and curious image comes from the view in my minds eye, I’ve always been fascinated with the idea that i can think of

something and watch it come to life in front of me on paper. Before Starting University i rarely ever used a pencil to mark out initial idea’s because i was young and naive and thought i was the shit.

looking back at my Pre Uni work i shiver with embarrassment. In College i struggled with posture and only ever used the same Fine Lined Pen created loose wobbly awkward looking Characters. One Thing hasn’t Change In My Year’s of studying “ Art “ Is my

obsession for Inky goodness, And the Relationship Line can create from thin and Bold Lines.

A lot of The Work I make has been a constant battle through my years of education, i still use the same theme’s to create the imagery that i do, and it is through constant practice, trial and error in push-ing the way that i work that has made me confident enough to lay

down an image with speed and confidence.

How i work

Equipment.Fine liners= A mans best friends.

Inspiration

I draw influence from everywhere whether it’s walking to work through the beautiful Merick park observing the tree’s and how they line up together, or feeding the pigeon’s my left over croissants on my

lunch break’s. I’m a HUGE wonderer/ Worrier and this heavily fuels my work, constantly pondering idea’s and

theory’s from the little to the large Like our Existence and why we are here, to where wind comes from? if i think of something i feel it necessary to find out the answer. I’m pretty sure i haven’t benefitted much

from being in education, so i choose to educate myself and continue to feed my curiosity’s.I am a great believer That you are only as good as the things you surround yourself with, So i choose to

keep interesting people and things in my life so i can pick at them and draw influence from their characteristics.

I have started to Collect Taxidermy and Curious Objects to fuel my work, i keep these on my workspace along with some cacti to refer to when i hit my old nemesis “ Creative Block”

Inspiration

I draw influence from everywhere whether it’s walking to work through the beautiful Merick park observing the tree’s and how they line up together, or feeding the pigeon’s my left over croissants on my

lunch break’s. I’m a HUGE wonderer/ Worrier and this heavily fuels my work, constantly pondering idea’s and

theory’s from the little to the large Like our Existence and why we are here, to where wind comes from? if i think of something i feel it necessary to find out the answer. I’m pretty sure i haven’t benefitted much

from being in education, so i choose to educate myself and continue to feed my curiosity’s.I am a great believer That you are only as good as the things you surround yourself with, So i choose to

keep interesting people and things in my life so i can pick at them and draw influence from their characteristics.

I have started to Collect Taxidermy and Curious Objects to fuel my work, i keep these on my workspace along with some cacti to refer to when i hit my old nemesis “ Creative Block”

Nature is a Theme that is constantly current in my practice, Despite Starting off strictly drawing static, flat characters. I made it my main aim Through university to take the confidence i have with line and figure’s and move that over into animal’s and plants, so the characters i create have a world to explore. I have always been a fan of old Scientific and botanical illustra-tion’s, i find beauty in the fine line etching’s of these drawing’s and have adapted the way in which i work to achieve this feel.i’ve always really enjoyed animals in the sense they are so much more interesting to draw then the human figure. scales, feathers and fur are something i’ve become obsessed with, and i find it awfully satisfying when i finally crack a design.

Evolution and surrounding theories have shaped my work and state of mind in a huge way, never really being religious and having bad experiences with religion in the past has concreted my views about Who we are and Who i am.Despite being complex being’s i still view The human race as Animal’s and try to enjoy each day as it comes, because none of us are sure when we will 6 feet under or cremated if that’s your thing..Charles Darwin has been an important role in my “ Adult “ life, I enjoy reading and learning about his journey sailing around the world documenting species to the outstanding body of work that was created Whilst writing the theory of natural selection, and the origin of species.I quite enjoy the idea of man evolving from the Ape, and find the idea of a god frustrating and unrealistic.

Musici believe music makes us who we are and shapes the way we

dress the way we speak and the way we act!I Listen to a vast selection of music all for different moods

depending on what type of work i am trying to create.

Grime

I listen to a lot of Grime music because i’ve been exposed to it since my teen’s, living in a not very nice area everyone had instru-mentals and beat’s which the “ hard boys” in my year would be barrin’ along to. There’s something about Grime music that is so appealing to me, It’s Gritty and british and speaks for the lost

voices of our country. The Americans Have Hip-hop and we have Grime, a type of street poetry, the artists speak in a way only

we can understand, it’s a culture i’ve found myself being heavily shaped and moulded by.

Reggae

I really Enjoy the vibe reggae gives, it’s a relaxing and interesting genre of music to listen to and i’ve found myself being slightly obsessed with the story of Bob Marley & the

Rastafarian movement. The story’s he tells in his music are really quite sad but sugar coated with off beat drums and strange sounds. I cant help but feel happy listen to reggae music and is

usually my first choice of music to listen to when creating illustrations as i can drift in and out of reality shaking my

invisible dreads.

artists

For as long as i've been really into illustration, Keaton Henson has been one of my favorite Illustrators, I've always been into clean

looking illustrations with nice line work and attention to detail, i spent a good two years trying to draw in a similar way through

college and through persistence and bleeding eye's i branched off creating my own practice with it's only twist on things. Keaton's work is fundamental to my short story as an image

maker.

Keaton Henson.

As of recently i discovered an absolute gem in Pat Perry, and have quickly become obsessed by his imagery, his drawing skills are nothing short of incredible. he takes joy in simple drawing

and being outdoors showing “ There’s still magic out in the light “ i admire the direction in which is illustration leads and would

love to be doing similar things in the near future.

Pat Perry

Alongside my Work Blog i have a number of side blogs on tumblr in which i use to source inspiration and imagery,

There are many strange and beautiful things floating around on the internet and i feel like a fisherman catching all the

fishes that tickle my fancy from photography to architecture and other illustrators work.I also keep a blog full of wonderful botanical illustrations, old natural history sketches, anatomy and scientific images.

Negotiated Practice

For my first project of the final year, i needed to try and up the lev-el’s on the way in which i worked, after looking through past project’s and picking out pieces that i liked i needed to create

something that would really push me into making more bigger time consuming pieces as opposed to smaller thoughtless illustrations.I decided to make a series of image’s based on a title i came up with “ For everyday there is night “ i wanted to illustrate the

strange goings on in a little hillside village when the sun goes down.I found this project very difficult to get into as i wasn’t used to

illustrating intensely with so much detailed line work and as i got into the flow of thing’s it was already to far in to the project, it was a real eye opener into time management. I’m still super happy with the images i made for this project as they lead onto the way i was

going to work in terms of style for my FMP.

Final major project

So for my last ever project in higher education i thought it was more than necessary to create something that i knew i would love and want to keep for a very long time, i re-alized that the majority of my project’s had no depth to them or no sentimental value, so i wanted to create some-thing personal. originally i wanted to illustrate the story of my granddad’s life and the tale of him leaving sicily in the 60’s to immigrate to england, because I’m constantly plagued with the thought of what if? what if my granddad never left i would never of existed. But i felt bogged down

about created a story that had little to go off.

so i decided to focus a story about my own Existence...... Existence is a short book highlighting certain memories,

people and places from my life. The book also feature’s writings from philosophers and poets pondering the

questions of why we cease to exist and different idea’s around the subject of existence. As usual it was a slow one to get into as there wasn’t much i could research, i could only examine my own life picking out certain things that stuck out for me, but i can honestly say i haven’t ever been

so proud of a project, and i adore the strange feeing of nostalgia i get when i look through it.

Online presence Although i try to stay as far away from a computer as possible when creating image’s.. having an online presence is an essential

part to getting your work viewed and getting work would be impossible as the world becomes more and more digital.

I am currently working on a website as we speak, just tightening things up and getting everything as clean as i can before i launch it, i feel i have to be very picky about the kind of work i put up online and the

work i choose to do for people.having a good clear website is important for the audience and

creatives viewing it, i think it’s important to not give too much away.

Online presence Although i try to stay as far away from a computer as possible when creating image’s.. having an online presence is an essential

part to getting your work viewed and getting work would be impossible as the world becomes more and more digital.

i have recently started a new work blog and uploaded more of my recent work and stuff I'm comfortable showing. i think it's important to keep an active and current blog, it's nice for the viewer to take a behind the scenes look at your practice whether it's sketches, initial idea's or music and other people's work you find interesting, it give the audience the chance

to delve a little deeper.

i have recently made a Face Book page for my illustrations. Funnily enough, Face Book has been one of the main tool’s for all commissions and general enquires about my work, on my general profile i am constantly uploading pictures of my illustrations in all there stages for people to see the way in which i create what i do.i feel i have built quite a lot of hype over my illustrations and the page got over a 100 likes in the first few hours of its launch, this certain social media platform works well in the way that i work and i always receive great feedback on my imagery. And people are often messaging me whether it’s for a commission in the pipeline or just to say they enjoy my work.I’m playing the waiting game.

Twitter is another decent way of communicating and socializing with people and creative types, it allows the audience to see bite sizes chunks of information and

imagery, it’s also very interesting to see what other illustrators have to say about there own practice, its great for following agencies and finding out when exhibitions are up, and can be useful for taking tips from the pro’s....

this being said you have to be stupidly careful about what you say on the internet these day’s and twitter i believe is the easiest to get caught up in.

i have recently made a Face Book page for my illustrations. Funnily enough, Face Book has been one of the main tool’s for all commissions and general enquires about my work, on my general profile i am constantly uploading pictures of my illustrations in all there stages for people to see the way in which i create what i do.i feel i have built quite a lot of hype over my illustrations and the page got over a 100 likes in the first few hours of its launch, this certain social media platform works well in the way that i work and i always receive great feedback on my imagery. And people are often messaging me whether it’s for a commission in the pipeline or just to say they enjoy my work.I’m playing the waiting game.

Twitter is another decent way of communicating and socializing with people and creative types, it allows the audience to see bite sizes chunks of information and

imagery, it’s also very interesting to see what other illustrators have to say about there own practice, its great for following agencies and finding out when exhibitions are up, and can be useful for taking tips from the pro’s....

this being said you have to be stupidly careful about what you say on the internet these day’s and twitter i believe is the easiest to get caught up in.

promotional goodsdue to being heavily riddled with financial difficulties as the last of the university day's die for the last time, i haven't had a chance to put any real money into my illustration.

but.... i can tell you what i plan to do.

i plan to create some business cards for our end of year show, a selection of 3 or different illustrations upon each one, business cards are something you’d think would be

weird for an illustrator to have but you never know when you are going to strike gold, one day you’re a poor illustra-

tor, the next day your an illustrative extravaganza.i plan to attend as many show’s and creative hubs, get my

beak in and hand some out.

Business cards

tee shirts.

I’ve always enjoyed the thought of people wearing the designs i created, so over the summer, i plan to hook up with a local screen printing company and print a variation of tee shirts for people to clothe themselves with, i’ve had a lot of request’s for designs to be made into tee shirts, so I’m confident i have enough attention

around my work for me to make a bit of money from them. i’m also interesting in knocking up a few tote bags, crew necks and

hoody’s for when the weather isn’t so great.

After creating the book Existence and having really won-derful feedback, this summer i plan to create a few more of my own publications whether its existing work or short sto-ries. i really like having something physical and it’s much more of a pleasure to view as opposed to an online docu-ment. I’m also looking into getting some canvas’s made and framing some digital prints to be sold on an online

shop.

commissions and eventsother then a few dodgy flyers and half attempted tee shirt design’s for rubbish people i have been luckily enough to have a string of commissions lined up for me when i finish university, these mainly

consist of friends company’s and bands.

Tee-shirt design for one of my best friends bands, i created This tee shirt for HINDSIGHTS before they embarked on a lengthy

tour around europe, i used the design from my book Existence and was more than happy to give it to the boys, this worked out perfectly for me, as i got a few more jobs out of this design and a chance for my work to be finally put on some clothes. it’s nice to help out the boy’s and it gave me good publicity, the tee shirts

sold really well on tour and I’m stoked at the fact a lot of European kids are walking around wearing my design and more

importantly looking cool.

Tee-shirt design for VYBZ LIFE clothing. A good friend of mine created a clothing company on the ethics it would help out young

designers and illustrators giving them a platform for there work to be seen, with this being said i was offered the opportunity to create a design for the company, a competition was announced that the design had to somewhere contain the word VYBZ. and was to be worn by jessie ware’s DJ at coachella festival in LA. i went with this dark crest design and an old penny farthing, everybody enjoys riding a bike and i thought that would be a good design that could reach out to more audiences. I have been offered further work with VYBZ LIFE as i think it’s a good way to earn money and to get

my work noticed.

Bosconova ( bespoke ) exhibition.in our second year around christmas time we held a little exhibition

down at Bosconova cafe in boscombe with a loose winter theme.For most of us it was probably our first exhibition, and we had a really lovely turn out, although I’m pretty sure my piece didn’t

actually sell and is now housed in my parents home.

Flirt Exhibition ( bournemouth ) Our very own darling Natasha Allder took it upon herself to set up a little table in Flirt cafe’ showcasing and selling the 3rd year’s work

as part of a fundraiser for our final year exhibition.i submitted 4 one off hand drawn christmas card’s they went down a

treat.

Illustration 3rd year Silent Auction.Recently we had a silent auction in the arts bar at uni and i found it to be a really fun experience, i somehow fell into becoming a part of selecting the works and helping set up which i thought was really good as i haven’t been involved in much activity over my stay at AUB, it was a really enjoyable evening and was really nice to see my fellow illustrator’s having a good time and a lot of people taking

interest in our work.

the futureSince i can remember i’ve been using drawing as a form of

communication and have always had a pencil in my hand/up my nose. i cant quite get my head around the fact that i have somehow managed to take something I’m passionate about and have a crack at making a career out of it. I know the steps after university are going to slow and painful and I’m going to feel like I’m back at square one but after almost 7 years studying “ art “ i feel i am more than ready to stretch my wings and flee the nest that has been the arts university

bournemouth.I’d like to thank all the tutor’s especially Joel & Lisa who have kept me straight and motivated and i hope haven’t lost

faith in me. my university experience has been a bumpy ride but after a final summer lapping up the rays on bournemouth beach and working relentlessly selling shoe’s to the public i plan to move back home for a bit to take some time out and really get to

grips with the task i face of making it as a free lance illustrator.

aim to take half a year out working on promotional goods and a strong portfolio as well as entering as many competitions as i can sink my

teeth into to better my web site and to keep my work straight and contextual.

over the past 3 years i have been keeping a sly contact’s folder of agency’s from all around the world.

I do not plan to spend my 20’s in this country i want to explore the world and make fun and exciting work along the way, i hope to move

abroad within the next year or so, possibly berlin.i want to be somewhere with a decent creative hub, as i will miss the university life and our studio which is constantly crawling in creatives.I want to push my work more towards publishing, so i can build a fine collection of self published work as well as clothing and music related

projects.i would have no problem with joining a collective as i want to

collaborate with anyone who shares the same passion and excitement for image making.

i hope my dream of owning a boat/tree house and a hairless cat isn’t to far over the horizon.

Relevant Links

http://cargocollective.com/Joesmindseye

http://joelaplaca.tumblr.com

https://twitter.com/OLDIRTYJOSEPH

https://www.facebook.com/JoeLaPlacaIllustration

http://www.behance.net/joelikestodraw