10 Questions

How do I manage my time effectively?

I know that time management and organisation is of my biggest weakness and I am working hard to overcome that. I will continue to work on this by drawing myself up timetables, becoming a fanatic list-maker, and being self-disciplined.

     

      (on the contrary...)

       How should I balance work and play?

     As important as working to the best of one's ability is, it's also important not to completely frazzle one's brain by finding no balance between work and a social life. Learning to strike this balance is key to retaining any kind of emotional stability. I'm slowly getting to grips with finding this balance, but I need to keep trying. I plan to do this by attempting to retain as overlap between my work and my social life by attending drawing workshops and classes/exhibition/conventions/etc. with other people that share my interests.

How do I take the first steps toward establishing a presence in the illustration world?         

     This is an important one, and I hope to find, at least, some kinds of answers by making the most of opportunities like attending Big Heads interviews and talks by visiting speakers, as well as making trips to illustration conventions and events, to hear speakers and get the chance to meet and talk with practicing illustrators. I also hope to take more of 'hands-on' approach by getting involved in local competitions for poster design etc. 

        How do I avoid getting stuck in a creative rut?

     I want to make sure that I don't get complacent, and that I keep my practice fresh, interesting and constantly evolving. I will do this by attending all the workshops I can and pushing myself to get comfortable with using digital methods, so as to keep my creative practice expanding.

   How can I overcome my weaknesses?

    

    Whilst I have strengths, I am certainly able to identify areas of practice in which I am very weak, and I want to overcome these weaknesses. I will do this by trying to remain aware of what I need       to improve on, constantly evaluating my own work, attending all tutorials and workshops, and by continuing to read, discover, and practice, practice, practice.

   How can I expand my skill-set and keep bringing fresh, interesting creative techniques to my practice?

      I want to keep expanding my portfolio of work by experimenting with as many methods as possible, both ones that I have and haven't tried before, I will do this by attending formal workshops, but also by ensuring that I keep abreast of the illustrative world around me, in order to remain aware of different ways in which images can be made.

  How can I use colour effectively, and how does colour influence the way we view images?

      For someone that loves colour, and coloured work, so much, I have a very poor understanding of how to use it myself. I think I can improve on this by reading some books on colour theory, and also by always taking the time to study, photograph and question the world around me, and asking myself to really think about why I find some things more beautiful than others, what makes something eye-catching, etc. 

 What do I want to do at the end of these three years?

     A scary question, indeed. As much as everyone would like to strike a lucky break and hit the ground running as a full-time freelance illustrator, the reality of it is that that is unlikely to happen. By the end of my time at LCA I hope to experimented enough, learned enough, enjoyed enough successes and made enough mistakes to have a clear idea of where I want illustration to take me. There is no formulaic answer to this question, all I can do is keep pushing myself to work to the best of my ability and keep looking, reading about and discovering things that interest me and let these interests influence my practice as creatively and organically as possible. 

Where do I belong within illustration?

   Although there are certain areas of illustration that really interest me (picture books, for example), I'm keen to decide in what direction I want my illustrative working style to develop, so as to start concentrating on strengthening the skills I would need for that area. I will answer this question by exploring and researching any illustrative style that interests me, and by ensuring that I fully research and explore every brief as much as I can. I need to learn to stop playing it safe!

How to get the most out of peer reviews/critiques/self-evaluation/etc?

      Learning how to answer this question will help me get the most out of the course. I will really pay attention to all feedback I get on my work, and try to question everything, both from my point of view and from other people's, asking myself questions about why things did and didn't work, did the fault lie in the concept or the practical execution and, were I to redo the work, how would I approach it differently.