I'd googled Karens work before the lecture, to see what was in store and fell in love with her quirky style. She opened by saying that she initially studied zoology at Cambridge before trying again with illustration, a theme that is definitely reflected in her work.
She went on to show us an animation she had made, Headache Hotel, which can be viewed over at http://www.karencheung.co.uk/animation/animation.html.. along with other animations!
She has also made a childrens book, Shleepless, a book about a young boy having trouble to sleep, heavily ininfluenced by French picture books. However the unusual underlying tone, even though she won the macmillan prize! has left publishers unwilling to publish it with concerns that it may frighten children. Personally, I absolutely love what I've seen, the quirky concept, the mixed media techniques used throughout the book and the overall look, it's something i'd love to see on the shelf in work! I admire that Karen Cheung has pushed the boundaries of what is accepted as a childrens book in Britain, and glad that she hasn't conformed in order to get a deal. I hope in the future publishers come to their senses!
Karen got an agent soon after graduating Bristol University, and said that when putting your portfolio together you should consider what it is that you want to do; if you want to do editorial, they want to see people etc, concise, and that you should have different portfolios if you work in different styles. Karen didn't wait around for the jobs to come in but instead took her portfolio and went door to door in London to see if anyone liked her animations, before getting a call from 12foot6, fitting into their in house style and working there for a couple of years. This self promotion, to me, seems terrifying, I obviously need to become more confident in my work!
Karen also gave some insight into what it's like having an agent, that it helps to be versatile, to stand out from what others are doing, and that the downside is that you sometimes get passed work that you wouldn't normally take. This is where I begin to frown, simply because Karen has a style that is incredible and although that only my opinion, I can't be alone in. She showed us some work that she has completed through the agency and I can't help but think that maybe she was being a little too versatile. Some things she described as "not even remotely similar" to what she usually does, and she didn't seem as passionate about it as when she was talking about her animations or her book. Obviously i'm aware that it's easy for me, a clueless and naive student, to say that you shouldn't take on the jobs that mean you change your style. I understand that when the jobs there and you have grown up stuff to take care of, you're going to take it, however i'd like to think that i'd only do it to a certain extent. My style is the way that I work (although i'm still working on it) take it or leave it. . . I say that now and i'm sure if you check back in a year or two and i'll be drawing god knows what for god knows who!! Or something . .
Like those before her, Karen finished by giving some needed advice: Work hard, trust yourself, listen and have fun. Explore, don't restrict yourself. And after graduation, be brave, work even harder, persevere and don't take it personally. Always be critical, it'll help you produce the best quality of work. Oh and apparently TAX is important! All gems that know doubt i'll forget. .
So, for me, Karen was definitely the highlight of the day. Her work just clicked with me, she seems like a lvely person and her ideas and the way she works is inspirational. I like how she has combined her illustrations with animation, something that I would like to look into in the future, although I don't think it would be a way in which i'd consistently work, but I do have a few ideas in which animation would be a possible way of communicating it. All in all, a wonderful guest speaker!
All images belong to Karen Cheung, http://www.karencheung.co.uk/index2.html
Up next: Character Design and Social Networking by Jonathan Edwards.
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