Aled Thompson BA (Hons) Illustration with Animation 2020

My final project during my third year of illustration with animation at MMU has been centered on my entry to The Carmelite Prize 2020 competition, where I used the skills and knowledge I had developed over the course of my education to illustrate a children's book. I was new to children's book when I undertook this project, however I was keen for a new challenge to broaden my portfolio and therefore I had to do a lot of research and experimentation, trying out different styles, colour schemes and compositions. Overall I ended up finding a style that I felt best represented myself as an artist while meeting the specifications of the brief. The final spreads are in the digital medium, using the program Adobe Photoshop.

In addition to the competition, I was also thinking about how to utilise my skills as an illustrator professionally and start finding a career path to follow after university. I've always been interested in the visual development aspect of the film and gaming industry, and being a part of a massive production alongside countless other artists of many different talents, and therefore I became interestied in pursuing a career as a concept artist and began to shape my portfolio to refelect that goal. I began using new techniques such as matte painting to explore creating realistic fantasy environments based on the myths and legends I grew up with in rural Wales. In addition, I've also been taking on freelance illustration projects, developing my communication skills with clients and using my artistic skills to bring the client's vision to life.