Artist Talk: Sean Battle

The second of my two artists talks blogs. This post is focused on Sean Battle, an editorial illustrator who recently graduated from Falmouth University in 2020. He is currently based in Newcastle and lectures at Newcastle College while working as a freelance illustrator. Before his presentation, I had a look through his website and Instagram account, finding many projects and illustrations that were interesting and I wanted to know about. 

From his portfolio, you could tell he primarily works digitally but is passionate about finding ways to add texture, bringing visual interest and narrative into his work. Editorial illustrations need to convey a message to a specific audience so I thought it would be interesting to learn more about his thought process and how his approach in working with magazines and newspapers. Below are the notes I took and a few of the questions I asked him.

'Education at Work', editorial illustration for The World Illustration Awards

Sean Battle website portfolio

1. I picked up on your portfolio being mostly digital. Is this due to digital being better suited for editorial and tighter deadlines or purely because you enjoy this technique?
2. Similarly, do you feel working in editorial has altered your approach to generating artwork?
3. After living in Falmouth and possibly being closer to London, did you feel there were more opportunities in the South or was travelling home always on your agenda despite the possibility of more jobs in London?
4. How do you approach local businesses or companies you'd like to work for; is it more showing an interest in person/via email or making artwork prior and marketing it to them?

• Through the presentation he discussed some work he had done at university and went on to talk about client work, the briefs and how he produced the artwork. It was interesting to hear about his thumbnailing process using what he referred to as a matrix which was a large grid with about 20 sections. With this, he broke down the brief into visuals, thinking about the key iconography so he could refer back to it during the design process. This way, it allows you to stick to the brief and make sure you are producing what the client is asking for while using creative licence for the style and process.
• He had a positive mindset with the shorter deadlines- since the turnaround is quicker, it alters your approach and increases confidence in what your producing. This is sometimes a negative as you have less time to explore alternative ideas but can be good for people who take a while to refine ideas, making you more conscious of the deadline and what you're presenting to the client.  
• Sean's outlook on editorial was thinking of it as building your own world, you want your style to be similar for each project so audiences can build links between your work, making it more recognisable. This is important as people can visualise your style- someone like Amber Vittoria, an editorial illustrator who has worked for The New York Times, has a very recognisable style and is known for her iconic abstract painterly style.
• Likes to play with style, finding new angles and ways to connote text in a playful way that will resonate with the target audience. Interested in playing with the concept through thumbnailing smaller ideas, distinctive compositions are key to creating an impact. 
• Lucky to be selected for a D&AD course after university, a course that 'promotes excellence in design and advertising' (D&AD Awards 2022, 2022). 

What I've learnt

I loves Sean's talk as it was from the perspective of someone who had recently graduated and how he faced the uncertainty of graduating and not having a clear career path. That is definitely something I struggle with as a creative as I don't want to go into a design agency so it's hard balancing the desire to make artwork and the need to make a living from what you do. I loved how open he was about his processes and his aspirations to work on a picture book in the future, he seemed very passionate about what he was doing which I could relate to. 

I don't plan to focus on editorial but from seeing how imaginative his illustrations were, it seems like something I would enjoy as each website/magazine/newspaper targets a different audience so it allows you to explore alternate visuals that I might not get to explore through children's publishing. Its interesting to explore different visuals as it helps you reflect on your practice, thinking about why you create artwork in a certain way and how you could build upon your practice, thinking of ways to incorporate narrative to engage with your audience.

References:

Sean Battle Illustrations. 2022. Sean Battle Illustrations. [online] Available at: <https://www.seanbattle.com/> [Accessed 24 February 2022].

Instagram. 2022. Seanbattleart. [online] Available at: <https://www.instagram.com/seanbattleart/> [Accessed 24 February 2022].

D&AD. 2022. D&AD Awards 2022. [online] Available at: <https://www.dandad.org/en/d-ad-awards/> [Accessed 24 February 2022].