Traveling Man - Choice 2

I like the look of this brief, as know the Traveling Man comic shop quite well as a consumer, as I have shopped here a lot in the past, and at one point I even attempted to get a job placement there.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lt3s0zKCm21qfjs5u.jpg < image reference at this link.

The shop is great for their wide selection of indie zines, comics, books and merchandise, as well as the friendly staff, and they are very enthusiastic with their market, and with their chain of four stores being in large locations, having work on a shelf in either one would provide a good level of exposure, that could potentially provide me with a 'kickstart' into industry.

http://geordiejapan.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/2012-03-31-15-21-50.jpg < image reference at this link.

It is very nice to have such a good retail outlet so close to home.
As far as I know, this shop is the only place in my area that distributes publication work by the London based company, Nobrow press, and this is a popular section in their shop, as I know a few people, who also shop here for the same publications.

http://www.travellingman.com < image reference at this link.

I am very excited about the possibility of working with the Travelling Man, and in the past I have explored the creation of fiction, through the narrative illustration module.
If I decided to choose to go down the route of using this brief, I could take what I have learnt from past practises.

If the final publication is good enough, it may be sold, and stocked, at travelling man, and It will also be critically assessed, which on its own is very helpful to have feedback from industry. http://lumus360.co.uk/360blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Stop-Feedback.jpg < image reference at this link. The criteria of the brief states that the developed zine/comic must be produced by the creator in a small quantity, in order for a possible circulation, on the consent of the company, as they have the final say whether or not the publication is worthy of commercial sale. This means that I would need to research the best production process to print several copies of the comic/zine, if I decided to choose this brief. Also, the zine/comic that would be produced as a final, must be distinctive to my desired target market, and there must be extensive research into existing artists/illustrators, as well as research into historical/contemporary zines/comics. The Traveling Man Brief.

I understand that like Wylam Brewery, the company has a reputation to keep, and that if I decided to take on the challenge of this brief, my work would have to be at a really high standard.

This brief is a very open brief, which I feel is a very compelling reason to consider picking this as my route to go down, as I really do think that having a very high level of creative freedom, sometimes allows for the best final results, (depending on the criteria of course).

It reminds me a lot of a similar brief that I chose in module 2, which was called 'narrative illustration', as I produced a children's picture book from scratch, inspired by Nobrow.
I remember doing a lot of research into such areas as colour, imagery, typography, as well as technical areas, including printing, colour formatting, bleeds, and photoshop manipulation.
If I were to choose this brief as my route to take, I could see myself producing very similar research.

http://www.travellingman.com/page/7/Contact < image reference at this link.

The company's contact information can be found above in the image, and if I decide to choose this particular brief, I will be contacting them, and asking them a few questions to help aid in my development, and to also allow for some practise when it comes to contacting/networking within industry.


Pros:

• Creative freedom in brief.
• Friendly, helpful staff
• Local business
• Familiar with the store.
• Potential exposure is great.
• Income from sales could be involved as a further incentive.

Cons:

• Could be challenging
• Chance of being unsuccessful in commercial sale.
• Need to confirm the rights of my work, after brief ends.

http://www.travellingman.com







Thomas.