Although my illustration would be aimed at tourists and lovers of London, the hosts will also be included in that target audience so it's important that I aim to appeal to them as well. In order to figure out what they're looking for I've decided to take a look at each company and analyse them.
Association of Illustrators - http://www.theaoi.com/index.php
The Association of Illustrators was established in 1973 to help promote illustration as a profession, offering memberships to students, colleges, freelance illustrators and agents so that they could help support them through every step of their career. This membership includes giving advice on pricing, developing portfolios, as well as providing a range of online tutorials and resources.
Even those without a membership could have some sort of access to this information by purchasing their publications such as “The Publication Directory” and “The Illustrators Guide to Law and Business” which gives advice on licensing, figuring out costs and copyright.
They are also perhaps the only company that launches international competitions – including their Illustration Awards – that celebrates the work of new graduates and professional illustrators. It was this competition that really caught my eye as I visited one of their exhibitions and was really inspired by the work displayed there: especially because one of the winners happened to be fresh-out-of-university!
Here are some of the illustrators that I found inspiring while I was flicking through AOI's portfolio:
Image sources: Anne-Marie Perks http://www.theaoi.com/portfolios/index.php/artist-details?memberid=989; Alice Wood www.alicewood.co.uk; Chris King http://www.chriskingillustration.com/; Andy Council http://www.andycouncil.co.uk/; Joe Wilson http://www.joe-wilson.com/; Tomislav Tomic http://www.theaoi.com/portfolios/index.php/artist-details?memberid=342
Conclusion:
After having a look at the portfolios advertised on their website, it seems that AOI embraces all mediums and helps promote illustrators that use different mediums. For example, there are some digital illustrations and traditional illustrations, as well as editorial and children book illustrations...
Due to the varied portfolios displayed I feel a lot more comfortable working within my own media (watercolour and ink) although I am intrigued to try out doing things digitally.
Transport for London - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/
Transport for London covers all aspects of travel; providing maps for the tube, DLR, bus, cycling, tram, overground and national rail, the river as well as providing a visitor's guide for tourists. Their site covers a wide range of information so that you could find anything you want to in terms of travelling around London.
It is safe to say that the Transport of London includes everything and anything you need to know about London. Even though they don't have an About page as such it's quite obvious what their aim is; to make your life easier when travelling. They are linked in to live travel news in case there are any disruptions on the services.
As mentioned in the brief, it is good if I manage to incorporate on of the aspects of the Transport for London within my illustration and they had listed some of the things that could be included: Red Bus, London Underground, DLR (Serco), London Overground, Taxi (black), Tramlink, and Barclays Cycle Hire. Below each point I have briefly written some key facts.
Red Bus
According to their website, “London Buses manages one of the largest bus networks in the world. Approximately 7,500 iconic red buses carry more than six million passengers each weekday on a network serving all parts of Greater London.”
Buses covered a wide area since public transport was brought together in 1933 under the London Passenger Travel Board (LPTB), and since then the red bus has become an icon of London. In most photos of London the red bus is always presented near the Big Ben or Tower of London.
London Underground
Also known as the Tube, London Underground is one of the most famous means of transport. It carries more than one billion passengers a year! In my opinion it's perhaps the easiest way to travel around London as the roads are an absolute nightmare because of the amount of traffic.
One of the things I find fascinating about the underground is the map; it's so easy to read and understand that I remember being able to find my way around quickly during my first time in London.
DLR (Serco)
DLR stands for Docklands Light Railway and almost reaches the amount of passengers on the tube: 80 million a year! However it opened much later than the underground in 1987, mainly focusing on the London Docklands although it's now linked to “Bank, Beckton, Lewisham, London City Airport and Woolwich Arsenal.”
“Their aim is to deliver a safe, reliable and cost-effective service for east and south-east London residents, commuters and visitors.”
London Overground
London Overground covers the trains in London, which is basically the National Rail (trains) equivalent. This was introduced even later than the DLR: in 2007!
Taxi (black)
There isn't a lot of information on Taxis in terms of background and key facts, however the London taxi is very well-known and another icon of London beside the Red Bus.
Tramlinks
Tram lines are a more efficient means of transport as they can easily go around buildings due to the fact that they can handle tighter curves as well as being able to climb steeper gradients. They are also not as noisy as other vehicles as they run on electricity and don't generate loud engine noises.
Barclays Cycle Hire
In order to promote healthier ways of transport Transport for London have introduced the Barclays Cycle Hire where you could hire a bicycle and once done with it, all you need to do is place it in a docking station. You can get up to 30 minutes free of use but anything after that you'd have to pay. It is incredibly cheap (especially compared to other means of transport) as it's only £2 to rent it for a whole day, and £10 for a week.
Conclusion:
Transport for London does cover a wide range of public transport and has helped make people's lives easier when travelling. Their maps and schedules are regularly updated and detailed, which is appealing for everyone including tourists.
This little bit of research has helped me to understand the important of public transport and the icons of London. I now know that the Red Bus, taxis and London Underground are universally recognised as they are the early forms of transport in London and perhaps the whole of Britain!
Past Entries
The Association of Illustrators and Serco have hosted competitions before so I was interested to see what these past entries were.
Image Sources: The Serco Prize for Illustration “Secret London” (2012) by Finn Clark http://cargocollective.com/finnclark/; The Serco Prize for Illustration “The River Thames” (2011) by Anne Wilson http://anne-wilson.co.uk/
Overall conclusion:
As I have mentioned above, looking at past entries and portfolios published on the AOI website has given me more confidence to work in my own preferred medium as all mediums are accepted in the 'illustrator world'. This doesn't stop me from experimenting with digital, although now I don't feel worried as much with using watercolour.
I think that by researching each of the hosts gave me more of an idea of what to include in my illustration, and I also became aware of the important of Transport for London because without it, London would be so chaotic and hard to travel in.
References:
All information gathered are from Transport for London's website http://www.tfl.gov.uk/ and Association of Illustrators http://www.theaoi.com/index.php.
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