Jim Kay Exhibition

Due to following the Seven Stories blog I learnt of their recent exhibition 'Illustrating Harry Potter'. This is a series that I have followed from a young age and have always found the previous book covers and drawings fascinating to look at. So once the opportunity arose to look round the exhibition of the first illustrated story by Jim Kay I knew it was something that I couldn't miss!

I had not previously known of the illustrator Jim Kay however from looking round the exhibition I have found his way of working inspiring and hopefully I will be able to apply some of his techniques to my own work. As the illustrations are Kay's interpretations they are different from what I imagined from reading the book and watching the film. This was something that I found difficult to deal with at first as we all have our own image of the characters and surroundings.However, when drawing and experimenting with the illustrations, Kay creates a number of design sheets, working through his ideas and taking certain elements to produce the final design. This is a technique I would like to bring to my future work as it is strategical and effective in a way of producing an informed piece of work. 

Visiting the exhibition has also given me an insight into how smaller exhibitions are organised. This knowledge will be beneficial in OUGD406 when working with the venue space. I have learnt that having a consistent layout through the exhibition improves the viewing experience as your eyes are following from one section to the next without being disturbing to the experience.