Professional Practice

ripleygosling11
May 1
6 min read

Updated: May 12

Commissions

Designing the UWE Greetings Card.

Through New wave Agency I collaborated with another student to design the UWE Christmas card. We each created illustrations, and although my design wasn’t selected, the project provided valuable experience and helped me develop my creative and professional skills. The brief was to create a festive greetings that wasnt too festive and that showed inclusivity without being tokenistic. The planet design was to imply the feeling of the overview effect that astronauts feel when seeing earth from above. I wanted to celebrate the intricate unique lives we all lead around the planet, joined as one under the night sky. Below are my individual and collaborative roughs .

Below is my final design which uses a patttern of plants from around the world in seasonal colours.

The Botanic Gardens Sculpture Trail

Another work opportunity I took part in through New Wave was the Botanic Gardens Sculpture Trail. For this brief, I visited the gardens and received a guided tour from the head horticulturist, Andy. I was particularly inspired when Andy showed me a giant redwood tree and explained its fascinating relationship with lemon slugs, which feed on competing trees. In return, the redwoods create a cool, moist environment that benefits the slugs, forming a unique symbiotic relationship. Drawing on this idea, I created a small army of ceramic slugs to inhabit the garden as part of my response to the site.

While setting up the display, we were caught in an intense thunderstorm, but the weather cleared over the Easter weekend. During that time, I ran a market stall for two of the four days, where I had the chance to share and sell my prints, ceramics, and jewellery. It was a brilliant experience to engage with the public face-to-face and receive direct feedback on my work.

You can find my blog post about the event Here.

Below are some highlights.

Hereford Wildlife Rescue Poster Design

Over two summers, I volunteered at Hereford Wildlife Rescue, led by Dr. Sasha Norris. This experience led to a commission to create an educational poster highlighting the vital role of native grasslands in supporting butterfly populations. Many butterfly species are grass-specific—relying on a single variety of grass to feed or lay their eggs. Without these habitats, they face extinction. Below is the poster I designed to help raise awareness .

Markets

So far i've had mixed results with markets. I’ve taken part in the M32 Market and Artigo and the Botanic Gardens Sculpture Trail. The M32 event coincided with a skate competition, and unfortunately, the atmosphere didn’t suit my work, my stall received limited interest.

Artigo Market was more successful, I had some positive engagement, particularly later in the day. My stall was positioned at the back of the shop, which meant many visitors didn’t initially notice it, but footfall improved as the day went on, and it was a good experience.

Exhibitions

Arnolfini

To celebrate the work created through New Wave Agency they organised an exhibition at the Arnolfini. My slugs sculptures had recieved a great reception at the sculpture festival so they got invited to take part and were on display for a month .

UWE's Cropped Flora and Fauna

A fundraising event for our degree show I donated some riso and wood engraving prints.

Babe

I exhibited and helped curate the Illustration stand at BABE (Bristol Artist’s Book Event) It was also the debut event to celebrate my picture book, Adrift.

UPFEST

This was a particularly exciting challenge, as I'm used to working alone at my desk, painting live, outdoors, and in front of a crowd really pushed me out of my comfort zone.

Life Drawing Exhibition

I exhibited work in the UWE Life Drawing Exhibition at the Bower Ashton Library.

Folklore Exhibition at the Loovre

I displayed three engraving prints, each inpsired by folklore surrounding mushrooms.

PAL

I worked as a PAL Leader for Life Drawing, supporting Sarah Jane in running the sessions. My responsibilities included setting up the room and discussing drawing techniques with other students. This experience gave me valuable insight into the possibility of leading my own workshops in the future.

Live Brief - D & ad competition

For the Professional Practice module, I responded to a D&AD New Blood brief set by The Original Morris & Co. You can find a full breakdown of my project on the blog post linked here. Below are a few highlight images showcasing key moments from the project.

Other competitions I entered include, The Batsford Prize, Macmillan, and the Creative Conscience Awards. See the full list on my Professional Practice Spreadsheet, this will be emailed with my submission.

Picturehooks Meow? Meow! Comic Competition

To create before and after illustrations of a cat on a plain background.

Fundraiser Valentines Card

Heres my design for one of the degree show fundraiser fairs. I made this card using chickens from my Best in Show Zine illustrations.

Further events and applications.

I’ve been actively applying for bursaries, grants, and market stalls to help develop my work, expand my reach, and build my experience. Although I have not been successful yet, each application has been a valuable learning process. I applied for the Heritage Crafts Bursary to pursue training in calligraphy and illumination, and also applied for stalls at the Windmill Hill and Riverside markets. I'm staying optimistic and determined, better luck next time!

Recently I applied for UWE's enterprise summer scholarship. Which, if I get it would be a big help to me continuing my colours of the Silk Road project and building a marketing strategy for the project and myself as a freelancer.

Full application can be found below:

Portfolio

Below is a link to my downloadable PDF Portfolio. You can also find my Portfolio on my website homepage and portfolio page.

Homepage

Portfolio Page

Promotional Items

I designed a pack of promotional cards to send to art directors and potential clients, each featuring a snippet of my illustration work. I wanted to evoke a sense of storytelling throughout the set, so each card presents a different aspect of a narrative, some depict before-and-after scenes, while others capture moments from a journey. I also designed business cards and postcards. See below.

I've been recieving requests for illustration work however there's a lot of information I need and often people arent aware of the process. To help I created a form which they can fill in. See below.

Commission Me

Exit Strategy

My exit strategy is ongoing and I am using the document below to create my plan.

I have begun compiling a spreadsheet of clients, publishers and other industry people and organisations that would be useful for my future career and will keep adding to this as I go along. I will email a link to my spreadsheet with my submission.

Social Media Account Links

Online Shop

I’ve started adding products to my website shop, which I’m focusing on as my main platform for selling work. While I also have an Etsy shop, I’ve found the marketplace to be oversaturated, and the upfront listing fees can add up quickly. I’m also on Redbubble, but the earnings per sale are quite low, 30% max. Ultimately, I’d prefer to sell directly through my own site, where I have more control and can offer a more personal experience. You can find links to all my shops below.

Website Shop

Etsy

Redbubble

Evaluation

Overall, I’ve made a good start in establishing my online presence, including setting up my website and social media platforms. Moving forward, I’d like to build on this by sending out my portfolio and printed mail-outs to potential clients. While my current portfolio is hosted on Wix, I’ve found its design limitations frustrating. I'd like more creative control over how each project page looks, but this would require learning some coding skills.

Through commissions with New Wave, I’ve gained confidence in working on commissions. Although I haven’t landed any external commissions yet, I’ve enjoyed sharing my work at markets and exhibitions. Receiving in-person feedback has been rewarding.

I also enjoyed the challenge of the D&AD New Blood brief. Creating a social media campaign was outside my comfort zone, I think I responded in my own way through storytelling, which felt authentic to me but I don't think it fitted the brief perfectly. Appearing on camera was a first, I usually keep my face off social media, but it turned out to be less daunting than I expected.

I’m planning to reprint my mail-outs on 250gsm card stock, as the current batch was mainly for testing paper options. Having a final, high-quality set will help me make a stronger impression when reaching out to clients.

I found creating the exit strategy challenging, but I still feel I’ve made a strong start on a post-graduation plan.

Although I’m feeling daunted by the uncertainty after graduation, I’ve been introduced to a wide range of potential paths for my practice. I hope to keep the momentum going. I have a table booked at Zinezilla in September and plan to continue building on the connections, network, and progress I’ve developed throughout the course.