Dictator challenge

At Grillust we love a good dictator. Lord only knows what that says about us. We've previously seen work based on the hair cuts of dictators and rather smashing series of dictator spoons. Here we have a very traditional series of dictator prints - can you name them all? No prizes what-so-ever if you can. We can't lay claim to them however, they were created by fellow dictator lover, James Fry of Harrogate College who we just interviewed for a spot on our illustration course.

One Direction. Not as bad as we thought.

Call it a Day Book or Ideas Book, but not a Sketchbook

…Sketch? book page, Gareth Sleightholme

"The creatives' notepad, journal, field book or sketchbook is something so invaluable and an integral part of the fabric of the practicing illustrator/designer/creative that it must be encouraged in students.
Students, however, often tend to be terrified and cowed by the thought of it, believing that every mark made by their pen must have value (as they weigh it) and be part of a well-received and finished piece of work.
This of course is not true. It is just another of the varied and unhelpful myths carried amongst the debilitating baggage of the young creative.
The sketchbook is the gym for observation, a workshop for the creatives mind, space to spread out and bang nails into ideas and prize problems apart to look at their innards, and as an experimental place, some elements of it can therefore record failures.
And they should.
Failure is part of the design and personal development process
With this idea of recording failure added to the fear of making marks that do not meet the high standards of the students ambition, is it any wonder that the word “sketchbook” causes the range of reactions from incredulity (“You want me to do HOW MANY thumbnail drawings?!!”) to cognitive dissonance (“Yes, well I don’t really believe in sketching, I like to do the final detailed images first”) and back again.
We can, though, remove some of that fear and perhaps encourage the utilisation of this centuries old artistic and creative tool by simply removing the terrifying word “Sketch” (this alone seems to be enough to conjure up vague traumatising imagery related to the chalk and metal point works of various Dutch and Renaissance masters that they feel they must measure themselves against).
Instead we might call it a “Day-book”, the only threat to self included in that title being the notion perhaps, that it must be used… every day."

Gareth Sleightholme 

Link to Gareth's Blog

speculative equations

Imagine this, you're given 4 weeks to take a massive amount of photographs - oh the joy! The subject? Anything and everything that catches your eye, just 4 weeks of speculative play. Nothing is too small or insignificant to be a subject, in fact, you don't have to find meaning or concept, just interesting visuals. 4 weeks. That's a huge number of photos and a massive number of subjects.
Now imagine that rather than use the 4 weeks, you instead decide on a specific subject in 5 minutes. No play, no speculation, no research, not even a single photograph taken, just pin in the map decision making. 5 minutes from 4 weeks. That equates to 0.012% of the time given, the same as making a decision in 0.4 of a second when given an hour.
I don't know about you, but I think taking the whole 4 weeks seems like a much better plan.

(Note - some Grillust trainees might have been heading in this direction and this is a thinly guised, sarcastic post aimed at them)

Edwin, Mike. Mike, Edwin.

One of these thoroughly decent chaps is Edwin from yr2 illustration and one of them R.E.M.'s bass geek, Mike Mills. Which is which is anybody's guess.

It's what the internet is for...

Year 0 Students Carpet Studio

Our plucky Year 0 students have just completed a module that had them experiencing and exploiting a wide range of The University's technical areas.
Featured below for your edification is graphic evidence of their creative activities in our Silkscreen Workshop.

'Year 0 Supremo' Zoe Garnett-Scott was so impressed she is thinking of having them turned into Amtico™* for her kitchen floor. Lovely!




* Amtico™ = posh person's Lino.

Dear Santa, I'm an illustrator and I would like...

It's that time of year when thoughts turn to selfish wants and desires, when we think of all the great stuff we can convince other people to buy us. For the illustrators amongst you we'd recommend that besides the xbox ones, ugg boots and sugar mice on your lists to Santa, you make room for these two books. We've got a copy of each in the office if you want to peruse before (get someone else to) buy but both are full of essential information on the profession of illustration. Certainly essential for third years and a very good idea for anyone following an illustration pathway.

Becoming a Successful Illustrator by Derek Brazell & Jo Davies. Amazon Link
&
How to Create a Portfolio & Get Hired: A Guide for Graphic Designers & Illustrators by Fig Taylor. Amazon link

First Years, Sixth Project

'You have to understand it before you can design for it' is something we say a lot around these parts. That's because design is all about considering what you want to communicate to your audience and if you don't understand your subject, you won't have much to say about it!

With this in mind we asked the first year students to produce a digital instruction booklet that explained how something worked.

The 'somethings' chosen were mostly things that the Grillust™ team themselves don't understand. We are continuously looking to learn new things and thought in this instance the 'young pups' (students), could teach the 'old dogs' (tutors), new tricks.

Examples of things we don't understand include: how bats navigate; fracking; why we blush; the alleged 'popularity' of Nick Grimshaw and why people would listen to (let alone buy) the music of Mumford & Sons.

Have a look at the following, you might well learn something that you can later use to impress, perhaps in a social context (like the pub) or perhaps in a more formal context like a job interview (for a position in telephone sales).

First up we have Zac and Liam (both former students of Bury College) who sadly were not aware that Bury's most famous sons Elbow, had written a moving ballad called The Loneliness of a Tower Crane Driver. Tut, tut!

INCOMING!!! Linu and Hannah show you how a Mills Grenade goes bang.

Watling Street, Fosse Way and Ermin Street are all lovely, long and straight. How did the Roman army manage to achieve these magnificent feats of civil engineering? Sophie and Vincent explain...

Some 50 million of Thonet's No. 14 cafe chair were sold between 1859 and 1930, and millions more have been sold since. What was so revolutionary about this design? Let's ask Peter and Amy.

'It's a lot less bovver with a hover...' Catt and Molly explain the workings of the hovercraft.

What's you view on fracking? Have you ever fracked? Is it good for you? Let's find out (ably assisted by Jessica and Hannah).

Who doesn't love Plate Tectonics? Nathan and Ben both love 'P.T.' and have a wide range of 'P.T.' related posters on their bedroom walls. This is a mighty mechanism responsible for some very sexy features: the Mid-Atlantic Ridge; subduction zones; Iceland and... ...of course, volcanoes!!!

The hard-working and amazing world of the ant is uncovered by Drew and Rebecca.

Paper! Paper! Read all about it! Proclaim Louis and Tanya.

If you follow this link you can see many more wonders...

The whiff of Switzerland

Stuck for a Christmas gift for one of your Shoreditch designer chums? Then look no further…

We have created the ultimate Modernist perfume – a scent distilled down to only the purest and most essential elements to allow you, the content, to convey your message with the utmost clarity.

Air. Water. You.

• Numbered limited edition
• 24k gold printing on bottle
• Typeset in Helvetica Bold
• Letterpressed exterior packaging
• Contains 2 oz of distilled water
• Shipped ready for gifting

The Last Supper. Grillust Style.

Some days a happy band of staff partake of a standard tony* and crumble in the studio. We usually try to evoke a Renaissance atmosphere to aid digestion.



*  A standard 'tony' = beans and chips
    A 'tony-lite' = beans and chips (half portion of each)

The "Captains Last Crumble" Triptych

    1. Sizing up the task                      2. 'ere we go                                  3. Get in there

Captain Davies - A brief 'Blog'raphy

Now that The Captain has finally left the port of Grillust™ and sailed off into a golden sunset of his own making, we thought we'd pay tribute to our beloved, former leader by looking back over just a few of his more memorable blog highlights. Just click the date to read the original post...

Friday, 17 December 2010: The Captain decides to commute to work by boat. What could possibly go wrong?!!

Tuesday, 1 March 2011: The Captain combines studio-based, still life drawing for illustration students with a rather neat money-making idea. What could possibly go wrong?!! 

Wednesday, 7 December 2011: Radio 1 comes to The University of Cumbria and leaves their studio unattended and unlocked... Soon The Captain is Broadcasting to the nation. What could possibly go wrong?!! 

Tuesday, 28 February 2012: After reading 'Cloning for Dummies' The Captain creates his own 'Mini Me'. What could possibly go wrong?!!

Thursday, 21 June 2012: The Olympic Torch Relay comes to town. The Olympic Torch Committee think it would be a good idea to let The Captain take part. What could possibly go wrong?!!

Wednesday, 12 September 2012: Sponsored by Greggs, The Captain takes on the likes of 'Cav' and Sir Wiggo by entering The Tour of Britain. What could possibly go wrong?!! 

Friday, 13 September 2013: The Tour of Britain returns and The Captain needs to settle old scores. What could possibly go wrong?!! 

Captain Davies,  the Grillust™ empire (past & present) salute you.

why does ice float?

If you had recently been charged with making an animation that explained how something complex worked then you might be interested in seeing how the people at TED do it. You know, if you had been asked to do something like that, that is.

Cheerio, CaptAIN dAVIES