Be featured in this limited edition anthology of the best new illustrators engaged in environmental thinking. Read on to find out more…
***Please note that this brief is now closed: you can now order a copy of this book online by clicking here***
an illustration by Laura-Maria Arola from issue 9 of Amelia’s Magazine
Now, anyone who is following me on Twitter – my new favourite thing in the whole world – will know that I asked my dad to do the research for this book. I know what he’s like – apart from being a typical male who loves nothing more than “disappearing down the rabbit-hole” as my mum calls it (also known as busying himself in new projects) – he also loves a challenge. So I asked him to dig up some info on all the most obscure new alternative technologies currently being explored, so that I could put together a brief for Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration.
He rose to the challenge and then some… almost immediately I started receiving email updates on strange new ways of producing energy. But not only that… it seems I have been the unwitting catalyst for a whole new venture – or a whole new rabbit warren to explore, depending on your point of view. A trained if somewhat out of practice scientist, Bruce (that’s my dad, I know, wierd, I call him by his first name)- gleefully told me on Bank Holiday Monday that he’s just designed the best new wave power technology not yet invented. Having read nearly 2000 patents for various wave power technologies he has, in his inimitable way, decided that his idea is quite clearly the best (my dad ALWAYS knows best). Except he won’t share it with me, cos I might, like, post it on the internet or something, before he’s applied for a patent.
Still, exciting stuff, and just the kind of thing I hope to do more of with both this open brief and the resulting book that comes out of it. Amelia’s Magazine in print may be no more, but I could never leave print entirely, and so the idea for this book has been mulling around in my head for sometime now. What we need right now is a whole heap of imagination, because humans need to make a big leap forward if we want to get out of the mess we currently find ourselves in. And whilst the scientists and boffins of this world busy themselves with the minutae of complicated chemical reactions and intricate moving parts, we also need the skills of artists to make these technologies a concrete reality. Without both visions together we will continue to move at a snail’s slither, so my aim is to help quicken that pace. If I can inspire designers and illustrators to better consider the way their energy is produced by drawing alternatives, then maybe they will make better choices about where their own energy comes from. Of course I don’t believe that technology alone is a cure all for all our ills, but it’s a move in the right direction, and I aim to produce a book that provides a comprehensive resource of all the best new illustrators capable of engaging with environmental issues and envisaging future alternative energy sources.
an illustration by Allan Deas for issue 9 of Amelia’s Magazine
What will be in Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration ?
The book will be a compendium of profiles on the best illustrators who submit to this brief. Anyone is eligible to submit work, from anywhere in the world. I would particularly encourage new illustrators; those who are still at college, just graduating, or new to the field. Amelia’s Magazine is used by many influential creatives looking for new talent to employ, and this will be an even better way of getting your work noticed globally.
What will the book look like?
The book will be the same dimensions as Amelia’s Magazine, thereby sitting nicely on the shelf with any copies of the magazine that purchasers might already possess! It will be designed in a similar fashion but also expect some new ideas.
When will it be published and where will it be sold?
Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration will be self-published (again!!!!) The lead-times are just too long with the big publishers, plus they would want more design control than I am prepared to give to them. The ones I have spoken to also insist on producing all their books in the Far East, something I am very uncomfortable with given the dodgy environmental credentials of many industrial operations in that part of the world. It will be produced in the UK by Principal Colour as a limited edition hardback towards the end of 2009, in time for Christmas. Advance orders should be available to purchase on my website by the end of the summer, and will be much appreciated in order to finance the production process as it is going to cost me much more to keep production in the UK. The book will be sold worldwide at specialist art book shops such as those that already stock the magazine. I will aim to produce a second (possibly softback) edition the following year to be made much more widely available.
What can I do to contribute?
I need a number of different artworks from aspiring contributors, so please read the following information carefully and make sure that your submissions meet the criteria before you send them in to me.
Submission criteria
EXCLUSIVE WORK: produced specifically for AMELIA’S ANTHOLOGY OF ILLUSTRATION
1. Most importantly:
ONE EXCLUSIVE LARGE PIECE done specifically for this anthology and not featured anywhere else.
This should feature an alternative technology that has not yet been built or mass-produced in any great scale. NO RUN-OF-THE-MILL WINDMILLS AND SOLAR PANELS PLEASE!
an intriguing design for a line of windmills on a bouncing rod
This is a challenging theme, but thanks to my dad there are dozens of links below that will lead you off in the right direction. You will need to disappear down the rabbit hole for awhile for this brief requires time and thought to complete. It also requires huge amounts of imagination, which is what illustrators specialise in! And my dad! I’ve always held a belief that the scientific mind and the artistic mind are not really so different from each other. How else do you explain me? The child of two scientists?! but rubbish at science….
Anyway, I digress. In this illustration I want to see ways that a new technology would be integrated into our future lives… so interaction with the surroundings or people will be good. This is not a technical illustration, it’s an aspirational one, but you should imagine this technology in some detail, however fantastical it may be. You could even look back at technologies that were patented as far ago as the 1800s, but that have never become part of the mainstream. Your chosen technology should be the main focus of your whole picture, but don’t forget to add detail.
This should be accompanied by a short written piece describing why you picked this particular technology and what the illustration means to you. This should be no more than 300 words.
A word to the wise: the more obscure your choice of technology the better, since I will probably choose different technologies for each illustrator that I choose to profile.
You can choose to work in two sizes:
Double page (as was used in Amelia’s Magazine)
SIZE: page size: 400mm wide x 245mm high, with a bleed of 3mm all around; ie. final size of your artwork: 406mm x 251mm.
or
Single page
SIZE: page size: 200mm wide x 245mm high, with a bleed of 3mm all around; ie. final size of your artwork: 206mm x 251mm.
NOTE: Don’t put important stuff in the 3mm bleed zone (but do continue your image into it) as this is where the printers may cut bits off when the magazine is cut and bound.
RESOLUTION: 300dpi, as a photoshop file in CYMK mode, using Photoshop print profile: euro standard swap coated 20% (or euroscale V2)
GUTTER: please also note that the book will have a very deep gutter in the middle so it is good to keep important parts of your illustration away from the centre of the spread in double page images.
MY STYLE: if you want to know about my taste in illustration you should check out the current issue of the mag, or buy a back issue here!
2. A exclusive PICTORIAL LOGO on an environmental theme
Logo designed by Adrian Fleet for Climate Camp in the City at the G20 protests
If you have submitted something for the Climate Camp logo open brief then you would be able to resubmit it for this brief, irrespective of whether it was used or not. The logo could be for an event or a company or a product or anything at all, but it must be promoting environmental themes and ideas. I will be looking for colourful and engaging logos. Consider the work of Adrian Fleet for the G20 Climate Camp in the City logo when thinking about what to enter for this. My style tends to be maximalist, but the words must always be a bold and easy part of the logo to read. It could be work that you have already created and has already been used by a brand (though please check with them before sending it to me) or you could create a new piece of work for a real or fictional brand. It should encompass a creative use of typography with illustration. There will be plenty of food for thought amongst the alternative technologies you will already have researched.
This should be accompanied by a short written piece describing what the logo has or would be used for. 50 words max.
It can be any size, but please create work at 300 dpi to a largish size.
3. Typography: YOUR NAME!
Please create your name in the most imaginative way possible. This could be done by hand, or on a computer, but you should really go to town! Amelia’s Magazine is well known for the use of creative typography, and for Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration the floor is open to you to create your own type for your own name (or how you would like to be known professionally) Don’t think of it as branding, but as something to go to town with. If your work is chosen it will be used to head your page, and it should therefore be really creative and fun. Think of this as your chance to really grab the reader’s attention!
For this reason please work to these dimensions and no smaller. (it could be bigger)
SIZE: 200-400mm wide x 40mm high
RESOLUTION: 300dpi, as a photoshop file in CYMK mode, using Photoshop print profile: euro standard swap coated 20% (or euroscale V2)
4. A Border
Again this should fit a single page and reflect an environmental theme. Be sure to work with 3mm bleed and no more than 25mm in from the edge.
SIZE: page size: 200mm wide x 245mm high, with a bleed of 3mm all around; ie. final size of your artwork: 206mm x 251mm.
NOTE: Don’t put important stuff in the 3mm bleed zone (but do continue your border into it) as this is where the printers may cut bits off when the magazine is cut and bound.
RESOLUTION: 300dpi, as a photoshop file in CYMK mode, using Photoshop print profile: euro standard swap coated 20% (or euroscale V2)
NON EXCLUSIVE work:
4. Two other bits of illustration.
These should be your best recent work. They do not necessarily need to be on an environmental theme but should showcase as wide a range of imagery as possible, eg. people, things, places, typography etc. If you have created artwork for any of my previous open briefs this could form part of your submission although I would prefer to see new work. Be sure to stick to one style though – illustrators with a strong style of their own will always make the biggest mark, and I am unlikely to pick anyone who does not show a strong style throughout their submissions.
These can be any size, but please label each illustration clearly with a name and date of creation.
SIZE: as big as possible to fit the book’s page sizes.
RESOLUTION: 300dpi, as a photoshop file in CYMK mode, using Photoshop print profile: euro standard swap coated 20% (or euroscale V2)
CLOSING DATE: Monday 3rd August, by midnight please.
Please send lo res versions of your images (saved for web) to info@ameliasmagazine.com in an email clearly marked ANTHOLOGY OF ILLUSTRATION so that I don’t lose sight of it in my inbox if I am rushing through things on the day it arrives.
(This should be 6 pieces of work altogether. PLEASE DON’T SEND MORE THAN THIS)
If you are chosen for inclusion in Amelia’s Anthology of Illustration then you will be notified shortly after this date, once I have made my decisions. I have yet to decide how I will put together the profiles, but I may well need a photo from you and a short interview. If this is the case you will be notified later on in the summer.
And if you have any questions that are not answered above then please email me for clarification.
Join the facebook event here to ensure you get updates as they happen.
Best wishes and happy drawing!
Links
Below is a very long list of links, courtesy of Bruce: this is by no means conclusive, and the technologies may never work, but they are all being explored and would be valid ideas to illustrate. Youtube and Google Images are both a great source of innovative technologies, and I am sure you can find more. Feel free to go off and google you heart out – but you must illustrate something real and possible, and not a fantasy idea of your own. (unless you are also a scientist of course)
Wind turbines
Magenn’s revolutionary wind power system on youtube
The Floating Balloon Wind Generator
Motorwind Camping Set Wind Turbine
Magnetically Levitated wind turbine
Great pic of huge Maglev wind turbine
Wikipedia entry about Maglev wind turbines
Mag-Wind Vertical Axis Turbine
Wikipedia definition of airborne wind turbines
downloadable PDF containing interesting info about different types of airborne wind turbines
Wikipedia definition of Kitegen
Kitegen website – plans for a huge airborne wind farm!
Great picture of how kites could generate electricity
Guardian article about kite power
Video showing how a kite ladder would work
Makani Power high altitude wind kites
Google have put money into the Makani vision
Great article about Saul Griffith — wind energy entrepeneur, and president of Makani
Tom Van Sant makes amazing kite ladders as sculpture
Google search results for wind power technologies
Google videos about wind power
The huge offshore aerogenerator
Quiet Revolution wind turbines
Wave power
SIE-CAT wave energy accumulator
A list of wave power patents going back to the 1800s
Float wave electric power station
Orecon oscillating water column
video about Harnessing the Gulf Stream! (is this a good idea?)
Wikipedia entry about wave power
Pelamis being tested in Portugal
video showing Biowave power working
Tidal power
youtube – idea for tidal energy barrage in florida
google video links for Sea Gen
video of Biostream tidal power system
Gorlov helical water turbine on wikipedia
3D interactive model that shows blades of Gorlov turbine
Solar Energy
Thermal
wikipedia on thermal solar energy
wikipedia on solar energy generating systems
wikipedia on solar power tower
BBC news report on solar power stations
more images of solar power tower in spain
Bright Source solar power on wikipedia
solar tower energy in spain on youtube
Dual axis solar tower structure
Voltaic
youtube on israeli solar energy
First Solar free field power plants
youtube about plastic solar cells producing solar power
Standard geothermal
Enhanced geothermal
Wikipedia – enhanced geothermal systems
youtube video on enhanced geothermal systems
Tags:
activism, Alternative Technology, Climate Camp, Eco-Design, environment, Open brief
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This is an amazing thing and I am excited to begin drawing. Huge kites, wonderful! Thank you, Amelia, for an opportunity like this.
-Mary Lundquist
What an amazing list of links!
are we allowed to do non eco-friendly power sources ie nuclear power?
hi Louise
erm, now, let me have a think about that… non environmentally safe sources of energy in a book about how to live more sustainably… Nope! don’t think that would be a good idea. Nuclear Power = bad. Therefore please don’t submit any illustrations of this. Why would you want to?!!!! I’ve given a zillion links to exciting ways of producing energy in a sustainable way above, please take a look!
Amelia x
Does the theme run into sustainable textiles??
Haha ok. Why would I want to, well, in a school book a few years ago i saw a really cool looking inside of a nuclear thing with gold and stuff. But I guess goodness > intricate gold pattern thingys hehe.
Louise
Such an interesting lot of links Amelia i’ve already found some awesome articles off the beaten track. Thankyou to you and your daddy!
Natasha Pia xo
Hello
I wondered if you could give a bit more information for the border, because I’m not exactly sure what it will be used for, or how thick to make it..?
Or what to put on it, yaay thanks for such a wonderful opportunity
Olivia
Hi there,
This all sounds very lovely, I do have a question though. At the beginning of the brief it says ‘you should imagine this technology in some detail, however fantastical it may be’, then at the end it says ‘you must illustrate something real and possible, and not a fantasy idea of your own’ – I am finding this a little confusing! Which direction is the right one?
Great brief, and have finished a grate picture featuring some lovely wind turbines. How do i enter my picture ?
I’m sorry but for me there is a thing that it’s not quite clear from the text,should I send a web small version and than if you need my images I’m gonna send the big files? I’m not so shore so it will be great to know.Thank you!
Ana
Can you please contact everyone, even if they haven’t got a place in the anthology?-it’s agonising not knowing!
Thank you very much.
Hi folks
I have made no concrete decisions yet about who is going into the anthology – I am too tied up in the run up to Climate Camp to do this until the first week of September – you should all hear from me then. However I’ve searched for your email (person commenting above me) and I don’t have anything from you – can you please email me instead of commenting and I’ll try to figure out what has happened to your stuff!
thanks
Amelia x
Amelia, i’m asking for this for xmas…i’m not an illustrator but loved the magazine and having seen the book on the site and read all this info about it, i’m so excited! what an amazing idea for a book, here’s hoping it’ll make some much-needed changes to the world!
Bee x
[...] For anyone in the dark about this fantastic publication, it’s the creation of Amelia Gregory and features the work of 40 illustrators who responded to an open brief on the website. [...]
I think maglev will be one of the biggest technologies in this century. It should definitely revolutionize transport!
Hello Spambot, you don’t fool me but I thought I’d let your comment slip past because it’s well funny. I am not talking about the Maglev train, I’m talking about the Maglev wind turbine. Same idea, totally different outcome.
Hi are you taking submissions for your current magazine? if so whats the topic?
look foward to hearing from you. thanks
Julie Parker
Hi Julie, there’s lots of information on my website about how to submit work to be used on the website: the magazine has been entirely online since 2008. The best place to start is the “contact us” page at the bottom of here or read the “about” page. Or follow me on twitter to find out when I need stuff. Best wishes x
Hi, is the brief above finished? Is the closing date 3rd August 2009 or 2010? thanks
mia x
Yes, it’s finished! the book is published! there’s links all over my website. You can buy it here: http://tinyurl.com/anthologyofillustration