Professional illustrator Paul Jackson, who works under the name Wesley Merritt, began his Masterclass at Middlesex University with an introduction to his life as an illustrator, talking about projects he has done and showing examples of his work. He also talked a little about the financial aspect of being a freelancer. Everyone enjoyed this insight into real life as a creative professional. Paul’s brief to the group was for each Club member to create an illustration of a fact from a list he had prepared, designing the task to show how illustrators work within the constraints of a brief.
The young people were asked to think about the client they were working for and come up with a variety of thumbnail draft ideas. Paul led the group through the task stage by stage, helping them and discussing their work as they progressed, until they had all produced an illustration, in their own style, from their chosen fact. The Club members thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the chance to experiment, and found the day hugely enlightening.