Annabel Lee, the amputee
cissabrandao (154 pencils) | Fri, 2009-03-27 09:48
I posted an earlier version of this a while back. Some people hated it.
I like it a lot and I'd like to be hired by agencies that have a sense of humor, so it's going in my book.
Some people don't notice the untied shoe at first. Did you see it?
I wonder if there's anything that I can do to make it more evident...
Commenting on this Image is closed.
Hinging upon how many you're producing (one for your book? plus...?), you might wish to try "3-Ding" the illustration by affixing a bit of string over top of the untied lace...fuzzy frayed white or a hot pink string to draw the eye...
"Art -- the one achievement of Man which has made the long trip up from all fours seem well advised." - James Thurber
awesome. thank you so much.. i think that a piece of the string over the shoelace would totally help – or even the white. thank you very much! I am going to implement your suggestions.
www.larissabrandao.com
I did notice the shoe lace, I get the joke. But what is this for?
this is a greeting card i did for illustration class
www.larissabrandao.com
The rendering of this piece is so remarkably inferior to all your other excellent work that I can't understand why you would want to include it.
You seem to have a strong emtional attachment to this piece, which, as you've pointed out, we're seeing again now after you asked for critiques and got reactions that were mostly negative.
If you want to build your professional life on being cruel and provocative, and would rather shock people than work, then definitely include this piece. Otherwise, show it to friends who share your sense of humor, but keep it out of your professional portfolio. It's grotesque.
Mara
Where did these Lycos links (the words in blue in my post) come from? I didn't add them, for what it's worth.
Mara
Mara,
My intentions would never be to offend anyone. I am not cruel at all. Provocative, I hope.
I am hoping to be hired by an agency whose creative director has a sense of humor, as that would be a place I will feel more comfortable working. I think that having it on my book is indeed risky. That being said, if anything, this would show that I am willing to take risks conceptually.
Thank you for your comment, though. I absolutely take it into consideration.
www.larissabrandao.com
I was going to say that it's enough for me that you take what I said into consideration. I'm glad I got that far, at least ;-)
But I wonder if you've considered not just what this piece in your portfolio says about your being willing to take risks, but also about your judgment. I think if you use this piece, you should somehow make the point of reassuring potential emplpyers that you're capable of assessing when work of any kind that could be received as provocative is inappropriate, that you're capable of honoring the comfort levels of clients for various ways to approach their design needs. Absent having such a brief conversation with you, they might just think you wouldn't be someone they could trust to serve their clients without a lot of supervision. They might decide that's not the kind of thing they want to have to worry about.
So, okay, I've said enough. Whichever way you go, good luck! You have some very nice work to show off. I just hope this one piece doesn't prove so distracting that the other work gets overlooked.
Mara
It's obvious cissabrandao has talent and can write his/her own ticket in the design world. I do like "Annabel Lee, the amputee". It communicates the designer can do 'edgier' stuff. It's a valid and important message.
In a world where vicious humor commands significant market share (Southpark, Family Guy, American Dad, Bill O'Reilly), pieces like this are more mainstream than some might think.
However, should cissabrandao show 'Annabel' to an agency whose clients include American Airlines, Coca-Cola and insurance companies?
Absolutely! Cissabrandao would never be hired!
You see, hiding 'Annabel' might lead to a job offer from a staid, boring unimaginative agency. Accepting this offer would lead to creative frustration which would turn into a drinking habit which naturally leads to smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day and eating pork rinds. Eventually, Cissabrandao would have a heroin addiction.
You wouldn't want that on your conscience would you?
Without my sense of direction, I don't know where I'd be.
Good point! Poor designer, slumped in an alley with an empty bottle of Thunderbird clutched in her filthy hands, surrounded by broken syringes and empty nickel bags ...no no no! I can't have that on my conscience!
LOL
Mara
One of the most entertaining replies I have ever read on this site. Bravo.
Hmmm... hopefully the hiring manager does not have any family/friends who are amputees.
hey guys,
thank you very much for all your comments. I do take them all into consideration, at least for a second.
I was in NYC last week and I had the chance to present my book to a CD and the ECD at G2 Worldwide, an AD at Droga5 and a creative recruiter from TBWA/Chiat/Day. Annabel Lee, the amputee was definitely a turning point at all of these meetings. Although the comments in school were always positive, and she even got a prize at the student show, I was mildly reluctant due to some of the feedback I've gotten here. The responses were awesome, though! This little greeting card which, I agree, shows no design skills whatsoever, was a success. It was a conversation starter everywhere and everyone said they thought it was great.
Since I approached these people/agencies for feedback and not a job, I was able to discuss whether they thought it was appropriate for my book and they all said she should definitely stay. The lady at Chiat actually compared the sense of humor to Southpark, which caoimghgin had suggested here.
I will try to work a little more on it, and implement some of the suggestions given here as far as the execution of the card, because I think they are very valuable.
I guess including Annabel Lee in my book will indeed help me filter out the agencies where I probably wouldn't want to work for and save me from the heroin addiction.
Thank you!
Larissa
www.larissabrandao.com
Wow, what a great trip! Sounds like you totally scored -- and another creative soul is saved from the demon dope peddler.:-)
The reactions you got to the card tell me I really need to get out more! And go figure, I'm a huge South Park fan ;-)
Mara