Hopes, Fears and Opportunities- part 2

 

Hopes Fears and opportunities. Part 2

Reflecting back to my hopes, fears and opportunities part 1 post from the first semester, I feel I have improved on many issued raised but I also feel that there is still room for more improvement. I no longer feel that I should have my future planned and all knowledge of illustration mastered as things will change and new opportunities may come my way, so my biggest improvement is that I am less fearful of finishing my degree, still have some worries but I think that is normal after being in education all my life I know now that in a few weeks I am entering the real world and illustration industry, scary stuff.

Hopes.

My initial hope was to improve on independent problem solving. Each project felt different, I felt more confident with some projects than others, whether this was how I felt about the brief or how I felt in general - I sometimes let my emotions reflect in my work. I now know I its ok to feel different to each project, as long as I put as much effort in to each then I will always produce a strong and different outcome and I will feel positively challenged each time. My second hope was wanting less need for input from tutors, this has also improved as now I understand my style better, I know the right answers that will compliment my work and I can move forward with developing and understand what I want to achieve better, I still take advice from the tutors as they are extremely helpful and I make the most of them while I have chance.

My other hope was to progress ideas faster, I find it hard to commit to an idea or theme. I can waste time experimenting, changing ideas or totally freeze in fear for a few weeks, feeling that constantly thinking about my idea meant I was still working on the project but really I wasn’t moving forward and was only creating more stress, this sometimes lead to spontaneously imagery that worked well but I cannot risk this for every project, so if I create similar images from an earlier stage in the project I could produce more and have more time on final touch ups and editing. I do work better under pressure and usually backwards, where I like to create ideas from things and textures I already have. I have also learnt a new way of working where I would select a few textures and elements I already own and challenge myself to create imagery by only using this selected range of elements.

Fears.

I originally feared that my confidence would hold me back from this year’s final push for work, visits and contacts. I am very pleased to say I didn’t let it! I believe in my work so much more now, maybe it was because of my contacts in London that give me a confidence boast, told me I can make it in the industry and I have a clear and confident style. I did initially hesitate when creating lists of potential contacts and sending the first email, but I was surprised with the amount of responses I got as I thought they all would be too busy to reply. I then got used to this and accepted it as part of being an illustrator. I think I will find it harder after graduating that I cannot get reassurance that my work is going well but I think this will encourage me to meet new people in the industry that can inspire and spear me on.

I also feared for my time management skills, getting off to a good start with the first semester as I was setting myself plans and deadlines, this semester I have tried to plan but this project has drifted in so many directions I thought it was best to go with the flow and plan a lot of time for being playful, As I hoped I have worked on multiple projects including 2 competitions and dividing my project into 3 smaller projects with crafts. I think this worked well for me as I sometimes felt myself getting stuck on some aspects of the project and needed to step away and look at it from fresh eyes, as time was short I didn’t waste time over thinking one project I just moved on to another.

Opportunities.

I initially wrote ‘opportunities- take them all’ and I hoped to make the most of competition briefs- which I did, the facilities and learn the vinyl cutter- which I don’t think I did as much as I wanted as my ideas for this project didn’t require that much aided equipment and the deadlines for the equipment was quick, I didn’t have time to use the vinyl cutter, I have used it once before and this sparked an interest to use it more often. I think I can use this time between now and the end of term for using all facilities for future use, I now also know that there are other places around Manchester with similar facilities and workshops if I ever needed it. I also need to find a cheap photocopier, maybe in a library, to get my photocopied textures and the ones in uni are no longer free anyway then it wont be much different. I think I should make the most of the library books available and collect as many textures and multiple copies as possible before leaving for future use.

For my final opportunity, I also wanted to have a better knowledge of the InDesign, which I achieved in the first semester with my zine project and finding out how to print a book double sided with bleeds and stitch room. I also use InDesign for my portfolio and PDF portfolio layouts, which has made me realize I need the InDesign programme for after graduation.

Aims
I wrote a list of aims to be achieved by the end of this semester:

Strong portfolio. I think my portfolio has come on so much this year, my portfolio is up to date with current work and as my work has been getting stronger this has aided my portfolio to become stronger. I received advice positive feedback from all visits about my portfolio visits, which has helped me.

Website. I have had a website since the start of the year. www.emma-thorpe.co.uk and I have worked on improving it a lot over the year, I have made sure it is easy to navigate, simple design and gives out all the necessary information.  I have also worked hard on making sure it up to date with my current work. Along with my website I have worked on a lot of promotion stuff, including booklets, postcards, stickers and business cards.

Future plan for illustration. I do have a better understanding of what I want my future to be like from illustrations but I cant predict what opportunities will come my way and I have no set job. I think I would like to gain as much experience as possible from the industry, maybe as intern or part-time shop work at a craft related store. I feel that my future involves surface design and crafting along side free-lance work.

Studio Space. I am undecided as of yet if I require a studio space. I have a room at home that I call my studio and for now that has everything I need so I am unsure if I want to pay out for a studio space. I find it hard to carry my stuff home everyday from uni and wish I could keep them in one place so maybe staying at home is best for me right now. I think if I did decide to move to a rented space I would like to do it with other designs so I am surrounded by inspiration.

To be continued…..