Hope, Fears and Opportunities Part2

When I returned to university last September, I hoped that in the year to come, I would finally find out who I am as in illustrator/designer and have some idea of what I want to do after graduation.

I can now say that I most certainly have a clearer idea of what I am going to do with my life, post degree. I am also trying to leave myself with many options to explore along the way; by firstly taking a managerial role at the company I currently work for- looks good on the CV!

It became clear to me this year is that, although I am indeed doing an illustration degree, I do not want to be a freelance illustrator. The idea of possibly having huge gaps between work has never appealed to me personally. I really want to focus my time on looking for more active job roles that reflect my personality. Call me crazy, but unsociable hours and constant demand, is much more appealing to me.

One thing that I hope to maintain, is my passion for creativity. For me, it doesn't necessarily matter what my actual job title/description is as such, so long as I continue to explore and be creative. I believe this is what will carry me through and (fingers crossed) make me successful.

Something else I have also managed achieve this year, is to stay true to my working methods. I have found a way of working that feels natural to me, and now have the confidence to explore and combine new techniques in order to show that my work is adaptable, and can be applied to a 3-dimensional environment. I really want to continue applying myself in this way. I have been taking photographs of my work for my major project and working in to them with collage and hand drawn type, and some of the outcomes are really exciting!

The biggest fear that I have for the future is getting 'stuck in a rut’. I am scared that once I leave university and go on to work as a full time manager, I may get sucked in to the 9-5 comfortable routine and forget where I really want to be. I guess this is why my biggest hope is to keep the passion. There is no rush, and I know that because I eventually want a career in retail and merchandising, I will have to work my way through many other job roles. I just don't want t lose heart.

In terms of opportunities, there is nothing I expect. I have learnt in the past year that there are no expectations. The only opportunities I will come across will be the ones I have created for myself. Of course by chance, the perfect job may come up, but it all comes down to how I apply myself and make the most of what is around me. I am a lot more confident than I was a year ago and feel as though I am capable of making the best of myself.

Hopes, Fears and Opportunities

When I returned in September to start the third year of my degree, my tutors handed out forms for us to fill in. We had to write about what we hoped to achieve by the end of the year and any fears we may have along the way. We also wrote about our expectations in terms of the opportunities we believe we will come across.

I hope to know who I am both as an illustrator and as a person by the time I finish this course. I want to be able to approach every task with my own unique methods with it being second nature to me. I know this will come through training but also through maturity. The final major project should help me find my own voice, it will be something I can spend a lot of time on, and also be something specifically of interest to me.

I have had many tutorial sessions, focusing on how I can continue to improve my illustrations. I seem to have found my niche working with collage, but now I need to bring my personality in to my work, with tutors describing me as confident and perhaps a little 'In your face' (This is all in good jest, we are all aware that I am the mouth of the class). I think I can do this through use of colour; quite often my illustrations have looked a little bland, perhaps because I have been looking at colour palettes used by some of my favourite illustrators. Using colours that are low in saturation with undertones of grey seem to be a fool proof option when wanting them to compliment one another, so I will toss that out of the window and work with colours I am instantly drawn to. Whether I think they will work together or not; I'm sure I will soon find out.

I am also struggling with the boundary between how I draw something and then transferring this in to collage. The line between the two is blurred in a way that makes my objects/characters look rather obscure (and not in a good way.) I am now starting to use the way in which I would form a shape with a pen, directly with the scissors.

In terms of fear, I guess it would be that I do not achieve what is mentioned above. I fear that after studying illustration for 3 years under some restriction may repress my creativity and that I will feel as though I am only able to work when there is a given brief. Whether this will become tedious or not; I am not sure. There are probably illustrators out there who are happy doing just that.

When it comes down to opportunities I really want to apply my illustrations on to products, learn how to adapt them in to different formats. This is why I have recently chosen a brief that does just that. The brief is for BMW's Warm Heart Fund. For this brief they want to see designs that will "enhance, contemporise and add value" to their charitable organisation which "provides funding and support for educational, environmental and cultural heritage projects"

The outcomes must be suitable for the following items:

-New Years/ Thank you card

- Certificates

- T Shirts

Other items I have considered from their suggestions are a memory stick and a mug.

Being able to construct designs suitable for different products means that I can show clients what I can do, as well as promote myself through all avenues.

I'm sure throughout the year I will form new Hopes, fears and opportunities. In fact strike that, reverse it, and make that throughout LIFE.......I'll keep you posted.