New Website and Blog

I have finally put together my new website. I have included a blog and will be posting my news at martamackova.com

Client Testimonials

I am putting together a new website and I thought of adding some client testimonials.  I wish I had done this already.  I got some most beautiful responses:

'I have worked with Marta Mackova on several occasions. I initially commissioned her to create  a short animation for my theatre production 'RoadKill' which featured the incredibly difficult subject matter of  a young girl being raped from her own perspective. This was a seminal moment in the production, and audiences all over the world  (London, Paris, Chicago, NY) never failed to be shocked, moved and unbelievably affected by it. Marta created work which was sensitive, inventive, deeply empathetic to the demands I placed on her. She has since created my company logo and a cover for a cd of music I produced. Each time her work has had an authentic originality, charm, and sensitivity to the subject it depicts. I love working with Marta.'

Cora Bissett, Theatre Director; Pachamama Productions;  Associate Director, National Theatre of Scotland

‘Marta is such a sensitive artist and I love her unique images and use of colour. Her innovation and creativity in adding beauty and energy to The Leadership Game© (A pragmatic Board Game for educating people on Leadership skills and behaviours) was thrilling for us as the creators of the Game to witness and we consider ourselves really fortunate to have ‘discovered’ Marta. She is also a super person who listens intently to the brief and pours all of her passion and talent  into getting it right.’

Tom Brown, Training Concepts Ltd. 

I feel so proud. Thank you, Cora and Tom!

More from Illustration Lab

 And that's the Illustration Lab over.  I will really miss it!  It has been such a great experience. We were all given some lovely feedback on our illustration homework from Vivan French, Jonathan Gibbs, Ross Collins and Natalie Russell and learned loads about picture book publishing from literary agent Kathryn Ross and about creating stationary and gift products from Studio One and Paper Tiger directors Michael Apter and Daniel Johnson. Thanks a lot to Scottish Booktrust, Vivian French and Jonathan Gibbs for organising such a wonderful course.

Homework

I've been working on my project for Illustration lab.  I'm testing the design of the sea and perfecting the animation.  Here is some work in progress:

Running/Flying Cycle

"...And Ailsa was walking on the water. She was walking, she was running, she was skimming the surface like a seagull...."

I am taking part in Illustration Lab this year, the course is organised by Scottish Booktrust and lead by Vivian French.  It has been a delightful and valuable experience.  I've learned loads about the publishing industry and got to meet Val Brathwaite from Bloomsbury Publishing, Catherine Rayner and even Nick Sharratt!

We were given a task to illustrate an extract from a book. I got really inspired and decided to create a tiny animation on top of my illustration piece. I have created some beautiful textures of the sea and a magical run/fly cycle to add some life to my illustration task.

Designing logos

I had a few logo design commissions last year.  I really liked creating designs for a Glasgow based theatre production company Pachamama.  Pachamama is a goddess of fertility and creativity revered by the indigenous people of the Andes.  I thought I would share some of the sketches and ideas for the designs.

Mirror Mirror

I worked with Film By Numbers to create animation and video projection sequences for Vanessa Coffey and Joshua Payne's new theatre piece Mirror Mirror.
Mirror Mirror examines the thoughts and feelings of those suffering from mental health issues and associated eating disorders. The script has been developed from interviews with young people in Scotland who are fighting with eating disorders themselves. Our visuals were projected onto mirrors, the performers themselves and helium inflated balloons that represented the character's thoughts and fears.
The play enjoyed great success as part of the Mental Health Festival at Glasgow's Tramway theatre. The show will continue to spread the word about these important issues with performances in schools around Scotland.

The Leadership Game

I have been asked to create more examples of illustrations for the Team Leadership Game for Training Concepts. It has been a pleasure working with Tom Brown and learning all about management skills. I cannot wait to start working on the designs for the board and playing cards, yay!

copyright Training Concepts Ltd.

more pitching

I have been lucky and got selected to pitch my ideas for a business mentoring and further funding support. I presented some of the story books I have been working on recently as a part of my pitch. It has all been a very exciting and valuable experience. I gathered some helpful information and it was nice to see a reaction to my ideas. I am excited about the work that is ahead of me and the opportunities it may bring.

Illustrations for a Board Game

I have recently worked on an illustration pitch for a Board Game that specialises in training leadership skills. I had lots of fun designing the cards of the different leaders and styles of leadership and managment. 

copyright Training Concepts Ltd.

From illustrating for a school magazine

Summery patterns

I have made some lovely graduation certificates for a local nursery. And since the weather has been so rainy I have decided to share some of the summery patterns I'd made. 

Simple look

I have decided that it is time to tidy my work into a nice clean and simple website on Cargo Collective. It was fast and fun.

From Roadkill

I have finally managed to upload some of the animation from 'Roadkill' to vimeo. Hope you enjoy it. :)

Animation stills from Roadkill and Snails & Ketchup

Created with flickr slideshow.
I was very lucky this year, my animation was part of 2 theatre productions at this year's Fringe.Thank you, Cora and Ramesh.