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Jo Davies, Author at The Open College of the Arts

To find out more details about the transfer to The Open University see A New Chapter for OCA.

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Jo Davies


A finger on the pulse of illustration thumb

A finger on the pulse of illustration

Because I am researching for the second edition of Becoming A Successful Illustrator I feel I have a finger on the pulse of contemporary illustration. Despite having several books and journals to my name and a sustained career in this area I think it’s simplistic to make absolute announcements about what illustration is as though it were a unified entity to be objectively understood. It’s not. There is no such thing as a typical illustrator either, nor a typical work methodology.

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Seeing into the Future thumb

Seeing into the Future

Discovering how an illustrator operates professionally, what processes and methodologies have shaped their ideas and outputs, can provide direct understanding that can be drawn upon and applied to future situations. In November the Varoomlab illustration conference will focus on the theme Visionaries.

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A real storyteller thumb

A real storyteller

Jo Davies explores the work of illustration 2 student Dolores Costello.

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Stephanie Gotterson thumb

Stephanie Gotterson

Most illustrators are recognised for their visual language or “style” – a way of giving form to ideas. Stephanie Gotterson’s ‘Doodles’ reveal an intuitive visual aesthetic, a sense of design and visual organisation.

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Washed out? thumb

Washed out?

If you have visited commercial galleries in holiday towns or read how to do books you may justifiably consider watercolour painting as a potentially staid and unfriendly media. From my own teaching and professional experience I think it is often perceived by students as being technically difficult to handle and unforgiving in the hands of […]

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Craft and Concept: Kanitta Meechubot thumb

Craft and Concept: Kanitta Meechubot

For some students the demands to experiment and explore new media possibilities can be a challenge. The images we see daily, created by illustrators for use across graphic contexts: the pages of books and magazines, for advertising posters and within packaging, reflect stylistic diversity and increasingly reveal playful, individual and sometimes unique approaches to media […]

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Rob Hodgson thumb

Rob Hodgson

Together with Derek Brazell, I have just completed a new book Becoming A Successful Illustrator published by Bloomsbury. As well as preparing aspiring illustrators for the competitive world of professional practice one of the of the underlying aims of was to showcase the work of a diversity of illustrators. Representing the range of contexts that […]

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