Belfast-based illustrator David Haughey is also an up-and-coming animator, and the hand behind the cover design of this year's Belfast Film Festival programme. Speaking to Catherine Lang, he explains how all the pieces fit together.
"Everything seems to be coming together at the same time," said David, who is currently dividing his time between putting together his latest animated short in his studio, organising his first exhibition and continuing to expand his portfolio of commercial illustrations.
Originally from West Tyrone, David did a foundation course in art before doing a fine arts degree at the University of Ulster's Belfast Campus, an experience which he describes as 'three brilliant years', but he was soon eager to expand his range of skills. "When I was at university, towards the end of the third year, I was also trying to animate, and created a demo reel, which led on to working freelance, tutoring and working for local post-production company, Streetmonkey.
Parallel to working for other people, David continued to work on his own projects, putting together a book of 22 illustrations which he sent off to various places, as well as posting the images on the Creative Ireland website, where it caught the eye of Kevin McSherry, a founding member of the Illustrators Guild of Ireland.
Kevin advised that it would be worthwhile sending the work to Three In A Box artists agents, who took David on, and a steady stream of commissions for international clients such as The Wall Street Journal,Canadian Living and Oxford University Press soon followed. "It had a brilliant effect, in the sense that I've been able to work for clients that I wouldn't have had access to before. Having the need to put that book of illustrations together provided a greater range of opportunities for me."
However, David still combines his international work with a variety of projects not only closer to home, but closer to heart, including an ongoing comic strip for a local newspaper, the Vacuum, edited by Richard West and Stephen Hackett. He recounts how he started out as a reader before becoming a contributor. When the Vacuum started up, I knew this would be a paper I would love to draw for, but I never built up the courage to send off my work.
One month, I saw a small advertisement stating that they were looking for an illustrator, so I sent them some examples, and though I had spoken with Richard previously, he didn'realise that they were from me. We've been working together ever since." Those illustrations have now led to his first exhibition, a showcase of 21 drawings originally created for the Fantasy issue of the Vacuum, on show at the Black Box in Belfast.
But perhaps his most prominent piece of work at the moment is the cover design and illustration for this year's Belfast Film Festival programme, which references many iconic moments from the history of cinema. "The response that I've got so far from it has been encouraging. The festival organisers knew what they wanted, but they had the confidence in me to go ahead and follow my own vision."
One element he cites as essential to making his vision real is the efficiency of computers, which he uses to digitally colour most of his hand-drawn sketches, as well as to package and send out the finished product. Yet he is aware of the potential downside of combining technology with artwork.
"A lot of it can become very homogenised, and you can lose any sense of human touch in the finished product. What I would hope sets my work apart is the way I like to keep the process very evident, right through to the end, so that the sketch lines, paper and in some sense the individuality still comes through. The rough process I use to animate is almost identical to the method I use to make an illustration - at the base of all of them is drawing."
Based on his own experience, David's advice to anyone considering a career in any area of the arts is to create your own luck by constantly producing fresh work for people to discover - and not to be discouraged by criticism.
"I've always been drawing, ever since I could pick up a pencil - and just through doing it and getting that early encouragement from parents, teachers and friends, I've continued to do it, thanks to people taking an interest in the work. But you can't please everyone's tastes. If you're creating things that satisfy your judgement at the time you make them, then to some extent doesn't matter what people's reactions are, because you're not making it for other people.
"What does matter is to keep making the work, and to create a portfolio that represents your range of interests, and to be interested in what you do. If you're continuing to generate things and continuing to stay active, the rest will follow."