Notable Moments
09/10/17
I really like doing
card designs! It’s really fun to try out something that I have never done
before, really pushing myself to try new things is what I’m going to try and do
for this module.
03/11/17
Struggling to work
collaboratively for Lifting Towers. I find myself always wanting to be the perfectionist
and have things my way and I need to learn how to talk about things professionally,
especially things that aren’t going right, because I feel myself becoming
annoyed and I don’t want to be unprofessional. I hope that I can work
collaboratively and this is just a one off occasion and I’m not a big hothead.
UPDATE/ worked
collaboratively with a photographer on Roomzzz brief! It went really well and
we worked really well together. We had really good communication which I think
is one of the most important parts of doing a project together. I have worked
with photographers in the past and for some reason my little doodles always
seem to work really well with photographs. Maybe something to consider in the
future, teaming up with a photographer(s) in a collective.
16/11/17
Won a competition,
feels really good to be validated as an illustrator, especially someone like me
who really struggles to see the value in their own work. I wasn’t going to
submit to the brief at first because I was concerned about doing a piece of art
on such a large scale but I’m glad that I pushed myself out of my comfort zone
because the payoff feels great. This brief helped me to realise that pushing
myself out of my comfort zone and entering as many competitions as I think I fit
into is the best choice, if I don’t win it’s no big deal, but when I do win it
feels great. I’m glad that Network Rail recognised that I tried really hard to
make a good piece of work for the station.
15/01/18
Started a side
project that I’m calling ‘Drawing My Friends’. I want to work more on my
character design and see if it really is something that I want to consider as a
future career. Am I good enough? Always have these self-doubt thoughts.
Childhood dream of working at Disney feels far away right now, need to work out
how to either get it back or start creating new dreams.
17/01/18
Whilst working on my
COP work, which is about cats and how they are perceived in a creative society,
I’ve started to draw a particular cat in my COP journal. I am beginning to fall
in love with this character and am having so much fun drawing him. There’s
something about how his facial expressions are so different to what I normally
do that is making me want to draw more. It feels good to be doing something
different. Working with ink and trying not to be so careful with my drawings,
instead going with the flow and seeing what the outcomes are. In the past years
whilst at university, I have become known as the one that always has to have
her work looking perfect. I am going to try and use this brief to work around
this and see if I can break out of the perfectionist barrier. Having a
different outlook might have been helpful when previously working
collaboratively on the Lifting Towers brief and instead of striving for
perfection in everything I do, just having fun and seeing where it gets me.
Decided to call the
cat Montgomery. He hates everything. I love him. I have discovered a new way I am
enjoying working, I am having fun writing stories that I can tell with my
illustrations. Making me think that children’s illustration is a good path for
me because as I am drawing this I feel like my work is actually getting
somewhere that I want it to.
For some reason,
drawing Montgomery (which counts as character design, right?) is making me feel
like I am getting a little bit closer to my Disney dream, or something similar
at least. Trying to push through the thoughts of self-doubt, I worked hard to
get where I am today, I draw so much and practice why should I not be good
enough?
21/01/18
Finally the end of
COP. Feel like now I can solely focus on extended practice. Although I have
been keeping good time management and making sure that I am entering briefs and
trying to come up with some plan to create a self-directed brief. Feels good to
finally say I’m having good time management, feel like the past 3 years of
falling behind have finally whipped me into shape.
15/02/18
Finished first Montgomery
children’s book page. Really love how it turned out, so why am I having second
thoughts about finishing it? Something about Montgomery’s character makes me
feel like he either doesn’t belong in a child’s universe or should at least
first have his debut to an adult audience. Having thoughts of Montgomery
swearing ‘fuck off’, expletives are funny right? I think I have some humour in
me, although a lot of the time it’s self-deprecating so maybe working on a
character who thinks he’s too good for everything might help me to start
getting out of my own head.
Really want to
create a Montgomery zine! I think it would work so perfectly, I can hear his
really gruff old man voice shouting at the kids to get out of his yard. Still
could have the same premise as the children’s book, Monty hates everything –
But loves one thing – Sebastian (his owner). Would make a really cute little
booklet and might be something to consider selling at the Art Market.
04/03/18
Self-portraits. I
can never decide on them. I do so many, yet I always feel like I change too
much or my style changes too much. Why can’t I stick to one design? It’s not
like my face changes. Need to start setting in stone how I want to work, what I
want to work with, what mediums do I like? Really enjoy the self-portrait
briefs and how they push me to re-evaluate my practice and try something new every
time. Even though this is good thing, it’s also a bad thing because it means I
can never decide on which ‘new’ thing I like best. How much trying something
different, is too much trying something different?
05/03/18
Really enjoyed
researching into zines, they are very fascinating. Found some really good
inspiration and I feel PUMPED to make my zine now. Glad that I have discovered
that zines don’t have to be magnificent and complicated, because I favour the
simple zines for aesthetically pleasing purposes and time management purposes.
14/03/18
Thought I would
revisit the ‘Drawing My Friends’ brief, and to my surprise I am really loving
the outcomes. They feel like real character designs with personality and charm
and for once I don’t want to redo it! Feel like this is such a good moment for
me. Although this is only a short mini brief, I suppose sometimes you only need
a little bit of light to get out of the dark! (That was deep). Want to try and
combine styles and create new full body images of the sketches. Even though I
said I wouldn’t, I just can’t help but want to. It feels like my practice is finally
coming together, with Montgomery and my Friends brief, it really feels like I’m
developing a body of work that I would be proud to show to peers and
publishers.
22/03/18
I missed the Templar
deadline. I’m really disappointed in myself because I feel super confident in
the ideas that I generated, I just didn’t time it well and got all flustered
and caught up in the perfection again. Although, it’s not all terrible because
I have decided instead of submitting to that deadline, I shall create a new
Major project! Got really attached to Biff the dragon, which is probably a good
thing because that means the character designing part is working, because I wanted
him to be a loveable and adorable character.
Want to create a
children’s zine, works perfectly now that I am doing an adult zine for
Montgomery. Biff feels like he could really be a children’s book, like for
real. Want the zine to have a good message/moral, like most children’s books.
Biff has no wings, which could symbolise disability and hopefully make all
children feel like they have some representation in the world. Using story-telling
to make the world a better place! Inclusive children’s stories! Got really
excited when thinking of the possibilities for Biff.
27/03/18
Didn’t get picked
for the Papergang shortlist. Quite disheartening because I was quite confident
about my submission, but instead of having thoughts that I’m rubbish, just
trying to have thoughts that maybe my work wasn’t for them! Although, looking
at the shortlist, it kind of sucks to see people on there that just copied a
pattern throughout the whole set when OhhDeer said not to do that, basically
not putting the work in. Whereas I tried really hard on mine and made sure that
all the products were different. Don’t want to sound whiney. Got to get on with
it!
31/03/18
Got emailed today
from a photographer, they want me to help create their branding! I seem to
attract all the photographers. Excited to work on this brief because it gives
me a chance to try something new and different. I’ve always loved typography so
it also gives me more of a change to try out this skill, as well as composition
and colours. This brief also feels more like I’m a real illustrator, because I’ve
got to make sure that I do everything to the client’s satisfaction and there’s
someone waiting to pay me so they expect the best. It feels pretty good.
Trying out these
skills for the photographer’s promotional pack has made me think about my own,
I need some more branding and I want a business card, that’d be cool. Then I’d
be a real professional. I know that I want to carry on with the name Elizabeth
Faye, I know it’s not technically my real name but to be completely honest, I
hate the capital letter ‘B’. It seems really silly, but I’d much rather be
Elizabeth, and I think it sounds a lot more professional too.
4/05/18
Finished Biff zine
today. Both of my zines are done! It feels good to hold them in my hand. Doing
zines is so rewarding and having something that I can hold in my hand makes it
feel worth it. Learned some new binding skills from my flatemate who is pretty
good at it, much prefer the hand-stitched zines as opposed to the stapled ones.
It makes it look more personal and keeps them flatter, I found that last year
when making the greyhound one it wasn’t flat and I didn’t like it.
The only thing that I
wish I could change would be that I had a print slot to print them off onto
proper paper instead of just the mock-ups. I emailed for a print slot 3 weeks
in advance but never got a reply and when I went in they were all already gone,
but it’s no matter. Next time I’ll just have to make sure I have better time
management. Well, next time like when I’m a professional because this is
probably one of the last times I’ll be using the print rooms here in
university. Kind of terrifying.
08/05/18
My final self-portrait
is done. I decided to go back to my roots and create a similar portrait to ones
that I did in the first year of university. I will always be that girl who has
a mental breakdown in a blanket, but I am always that girl who overcomes it in
the end and does pretty cool work. At least I think so.
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