A Wonderfully Obsessive Exploration of Tints!

We've been interviewing prospective students today, in fact we've been interviewing every Wednesday since Christmas! Along the way, we've talked to some great people and seen a lot of excellent work.

Today, hiding quietly within a very impressive portfolio, we found this anonymous looking sketchbook.



Both portfolio and sketchbook are the work of Saffron McCormick, currently a student on the Pre-Degree Foundation Course at Wigan & Leigh College.

The sketchbook contained a fantastic surprise for us and we've asked Saffron's permission to share it with you (she said yes, by the way).

Documented on page after page, is an intense and obsessive exploration of specific colours and their tints.

In the images below, you see the journey of a colour on its way to white. Saffron begins by painting the full strength gouache hue (top left) and then adds just enough white to create a discernible tint.The process ends when no colour remains.

This amazingly analytical approach and commitment to doing a job well (Magenta has an amazing 639 tints!) has produced a document of great power and charm.

Well done Saffron!

PS. If you've found your way here via The Student Room click here to see the portfolio advice that the BA Graphic Design & Illustration courses at The University of Cumbria offer to our prospective students. 

However, it's important that you remember that all Universities are different (for instance some won't interview you at all and will offer you a place based on your UCAS points) this is simply an indication of how we go about things at Cumbria.

Here's some general advice we can offer to anyone applying to Graphic Design and Illustration courses

1. Don't accept a place at somewhere you've never visited (three years is a long time...) Once you've experienced a few Universities, your heart will tell you where you should study.
2. Find out how big the year groups are. The amount of tutor contact and support you receive will decrease dramatically as the size of the year group increases (once you get above 80 things will become quite impersonal).
3. Check that you will have a studio space to work from (some Unis expect you to work at a distance).
4. How many projects will you undertake per semester? Deadlines in the professional world are short and virtually everything you undertake in the workplace will be completed in less than a week. Are lengthy projects preparing you for life after Uni?
5. Always remember that getting a degree (easy) and achieving a career (a challenge) are two completely different things. To work in the industry you need two things: A) Your personality (likeable, highly motivated, reliable, pro-active etc.) B) Great work in your portfolio.
   A degree certificate doesn't get you a job in Graphic Design or Illustration.
6. Our students continue to have a great record of getting great jobs once they graduate. What is the secret? They all worked really hard, are all lovely people, are all passionate about their subject and all produced great work to put in their portfolio (see 5 above)

If you're curious you can see lots more of our student's wonderful work by following any of the links below:

BA Graphic Design

BA Illustration

Course Blog

Course Flickr

Course ISSUU