Monday 6 July 2009

Kate Copeland

Kate Copeland is a little lady with big ambitions; her passion for illustration and her recent flourishes in animation have seen her commissioned by some big names, from War Child to political editorial, her figurative drawings interspersed with abstract shapes and vector will be infiltrating your periphery soon.


You have recently redesigned the logo of War Child. How did you rework the War Child Logo? What are the thoughts behind it?
The logo design was an adaption, taken from the Army Of You event flyer I designed for War Child. War Child work to protect children living in dangerous war zones and I wanted to echo this in the work. The design shows a tangle of wings, a trapped freedom. It was a real pleasure to work with the charity.

What projects are you currently working on?

My work is currently involved in the music industry, which I absolutely love. I’ve been working closely with Filthy Dukes and Kill Em All to produce flyers and t-shirts. I’ve been designing artwork for the Pure Groove record label also.

Do you want to convey a message with your animation and illustration work?
A lot of my work last year was editorial based, and I enjoyed working with articles where I could comment on current political affairs. Most of my work recently has been more light-hearted, focused more on aesthetics than content. When I get the opportunity to work on editorial, I try to communicate a message and sometimes slip in my opinion.

How would you best describe your style?
I’ve recently started working with pencil again. I’ve been using pen for nearly the past two years and it’s nice to turn back to the pencil. I like to combine detailed figurative drawings, with abstract shapes and vector. It’s a fairly new approach for me, but I like where it’s going.

For what reason did you choose to study Illustration at The Arts Institute Bournemouth?
It had a good reputation and it’s a very open course. There’s a huge amount of support to develop potential and design disciplines have a wide cross over. It’s always lovely to be by the beach too!

How do you balance life as a student and freelance illustrator?
It gets pretty hectic at times and it involves a lot of late nights and coffee. I’ve been lucky so far that my student and freelance projects can overlap. I can often incorporate work I’ve created for university in my commissioned work.

Uou recently became a member of 'Just Us' collective, what are your future plans with this art collective?
‘Just Us’ is showcase for young creative talent from universities across the UK. It’s very fresh and new, so nothing has been set out for us all yet, but I’m looking forward to working with the other members.

You are active in illustration and animation. What attracts you the most and why?

Drawing has always been the focus in my life, always determined to have a career in design, so my path naturally lead me here. Since studying, I’ve found I can visualise better in motion and animation allows me to push my skills further.

You said you’d like to focus more on animation in the future. For what reason?
Ambition. I feel I excel in animation; my mind works better in with moving image. I can create narratives and give audience pleasure through motion and technique. There’s a satisfaction to producing transitions between imagery and working with music. Sound is equally as important as the visuals.
I still want work as an illustrator but I’m passionate in all areas of design, but I never want to limit myself. I still love working in editorial illustration, but at the moment I have a drive to create music videos, vinyl covers and big set designs. I’d love to see my drawings huge on stage or in a window display; it’s a big dream of mine.
It’s a lot of passion and big ambition for a little girl from Devon.

Check out more of Kate's work here.

By Nicky Ruisch

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