In this Masterclass, award-winning illustrator, author and game designer Owen Davey will be sharing his experience when it comes to both Client Work and Self-initiated Work. Owen has worked in the illustration industry since 2009 and has a lot to share when it comes to dealing with clients in the adverstising, editorial and publishing industry versus creating personal work and developing your own projects.
This Masterclass will be perfect for illustrators looking to get behind the scenes of the illustration industry as well as learning all the tips and tricks of developing your own work with an extraordinarily talented and seasoned illustrator and author (a.k.a THE Owen Davey).
Here are some of the topics we will be exploring:
Client Work
Types of briefs Owen has received, from very prescriptive to super broad
Advertising and the “Human Paintbrush Effect”
Editorial (somewhere in the middle)
Books (writing your own content vs illustrating somebody else’s work)
Finding ways to steer a project towards your own joy within a commission
Navigating differences in opinion with a client
Self-initiated work
An exploration of personal projects, using Fame and Fable as a case study
Inspiration and writing your own brief
Development of the idea, self-promotion, etc.
Turning a passion project into something more sustainable long-term
Pros and cons of monetising vs personal enjoyment
Pros and cons of working in collaboration with a client versus working for your own project
How Owen’s personal projects have shaped his work
Come learn from Owen how passion projects and self-initiated work can lead to amazing growth, paid opportunities and client work.
As always, when booking your spot, you will be able to input questions for Owen, which will be answered during the Masterclass.
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Each Masterclass starts with a presentation from our host for 45 minutes, then a Q&A with the host (Mélanie) for another 15 minutes and the last 30 minutes are for questions from the audience (come prepared!).
The event will be recorded. You will receive a link to the recording post-event in case you couldn’t make the live.
Ticket fee: £40
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My name is Owen Davey. My pronouns are he/him and I am an award-winning Illustrator from the UK. Since 2009 I have worked with clients across the industry, including Google, WWF, Facebook, Sony, Lego and National Geographic. I have created around 40 picture books which have been published in over 25 languages all over the world. 'Curious About Crocodiles' from my non-fiction ‘About’ series with Flying Eye Books won Best of Show in the 3x3 Professional Show 2022. From the same series, 'Bonkers About Beetles' won Best of Show in 2019.
I am also the creator of the game Fame a Fable, a fantasy-themed tabletop board game.Clients
WWF / Disney / Google / London Zoo / BBC / Waitrose / AirBnB / TFL / Lego / New York Times / The Guardian / National Geographic / Djeco Toys / Walker Books / Guinness & many more ...
Talks, Workshops and Judging Duties
Quentin Blake Centre for Illustration Non-Fiction courses / Creator of Portfolio Chats / D&AD New Blood Judging Panel / AOI Mentorship programme / Hay Festival / Dublin International Literature Festival / Hifest / OFFFest / Falmouth University / Rochester Institute of Technology (New York) / De Montfort University / Birmingham Institute of Art & Design / Cleveland College of Art and Design / Big Draw (Jewish Museum) / University of Worcester / Pop Up Projects
Personal Life
I live with my partner and our three wonderful children in Worthing, UK.
I’m a big old nerd and have a particular love of tabletop board games, including (but not limited to) Mycelia, Spots, Forest Shuffle, Marvel Champions, Point City and Quacks. I also love traditional playing card games too, including Canasta and Cribbage. I currently play as a Dr Jekyll-style character in D&D. I play guitar, bake, swim and enjoy walking whilst listening to factual podcasts. I love film and TV and fall asleep whilst trying to read fantasy books.