VISITING PRACTITIONER Olivier Kugler

Today we had a talk from Olivier Kugler, which was so inspirational! I recently realised that his work was my first post on PPP, and it looks like he'll be one of the last posts this year too!

He started by giving a lecture in the theatre, which was all about his history and the stories of people he reported on:

- Studied Graphic Design
- Swapped from copying comic books to drawing life
- Tried sending out portfolio- often got no reply, so worked as a graphic designer for three years to get income
- Was told he needed to add colour to his work if he was going to be taken seriously as an illustrator
- Got work from The Guardian: Given freedom to draw what he wanted
- Swapped to taking photos and drawings from reference, which helped him develop as a visual storyteller
- Then asked to do regular drawings for Guardian
- Uses photos to ensure he experiences and enjoys his travels, then draws later
- When he needed work he just went to Paris and contacted publishers to find work
- When the financial crisis took hold of the UK his work for the Guardian slowed down a lot, so he had to find work from other places, often taking self initiated projects

ADVICE:
- Draw, draw, draw- never stop drawing- it will inform everything you do
- Photographs are one scene, illustrations can do lots more, shift focus, tell a story etc.

What do I think?
- I really enjoyed listening to how his practice worked and what his processes were
- I also really liked hearing about his struggles in his practice, and how he pulled himself out of times when he had little work- Kept putting himself out there and asking for work! Need to get over the fear of rejection