1. What is my tone of voice?
I need to find out what my own tone of voice is and how to express this through my work. At the moment I do not see any similarity from one of my drawings to the next. I feel that by consolidating my own personal method of expression I will gain confidence and the illustrations I create will be more unique to me. To do this I need to continue to draw and experiment, and I hope that, as a result, I will eventually find my preferred method of working.
2. What field of illustration do I want to go into?
I have no idea what field of illustration I would like to specialise in, and in a way I do not want to know for a while. On other hand, discovering which field of illustration I am best suited to will help me to focus the development of my work in one specific direction. In order to specialise, I will need to explore as many paths as possible through practice and research, and then through this I will find my preferred field.
I have no idea what field of illustration I would like to specialise in, and in a way I do not want to know for a while. On other hand, discovering which field of illustration I am best suited to will help me to focus the development of my work in one specific direction. In order to specialise, I will need to explore as many paths as possible through practice and research, and then through this I will find my preferred field.
3. Am I good enough?
I constantly question and doubt my own work, which sometimes can become discouraging. I think I will always have a slight doubt in my mind regarding my own illustration, but I think it is necessary, at this point, for me to gain more confidence as I believe this will make me more willing to take risks. In order to do this I think I need to just draw as much as possible, hopefully this will bring improvement and therefore greater confidence.
I constantly question and doubt my own work, which sometimes can become discouraging. I think I will always have a slight doubt in my mind regarding my own illustration, but I think it is necessary, at this point, for me to gain more confidence as I believe this will make me more willing to take risks. In order to do this I think I need to just draw as much as possible, hopefully this will bring improvement and therefore greater confidence.
4. In such a competitive industry, how do I make my work stand out?
I hope to learn how to make my work stand out, as well as how to best promote myself as an illustrator. Making my unique work I think will come with knowledge of the industry as well as developing own tone of voice. In order to learn these things I need to continue to draw and generate as much work as possible, as well as remaining up to date with what is going on in professional illustration. Promoting my own work is also something that needs to be practiced as soon as possible in order to gain better understanding of the best ways to do it and to gradually build a name for myself.
I hope to learn how to make my work stand out, as well as how to best promote myself as an illustrator. Making my unique work I think will come with knowledge of the industry as well as developing own tone of voice. In order to learn these things I need to continue to draw and generate as much work as possible, as well as remaining up to date with what is going on in professional illustration. Promoting my own work is also something that needs to be practiced as soon as possible in order to gain better understanding of the best ways to do it and to gradually build a name for myself.
5. How do I make a living as an illustrator?
I would like to learn what it means to be working in the industry and how all the 'business' side of things work, as obviously knowing these things are essential to being a successful practitioner. I hope to gain this knowledge through research, working on live briefs and whilst on the degree hopefully doing the odd bits of work that would be similar to that of a working practitioner e.g. gig posters
I would like to learn what it means to be working in the industry and how all the 'business' side of things work, as obviously knowing these things are essential to being a successful practitioner. I hope to gain this knowledge through research, working on live briefs and whilst on the degree hopefully doing the odd bits of work that would be similar to that of a working practitioner e.g. gig posters
6. What can illustration lead to?
A degree in illustration teaches you the key elements of creating good images, therefore surely a lot of the skills we learn are transferable to a lot of different areas of the creative industry. I would like to learn more about the options I have and the things that I am well qualified for through studying on this degree. I hope to find this out through personal research, discussing this with tutors and peers, and I also expect, in our later years, for this to be something that is talked about on the degree.
A degree in illustration teaches you the key elements of creating good images, therefore surely a lot of the skills we learn are transferable to a lot of different areas of the creative industry. I would like to learn more about the options I have and the things that I am well qualified for through studying on this degree. I hope to find this out through personal research, discussing this with tutors and peers, and I also expect, in our later years, for this to be something that is talked about on the degree.
7. How do I network?
In this industry, as like many others, networking and building a name for yourself is very important. I would like to learn the best ways in which to meet people and network with them in order to build a range of links in the industry. I expect that this is something that will be discussed in later years of the degree, but also I should be doing this actively by myself - things like doing work experience, attending events, trying to get odd illustration work and attempting to make a good impression on those that you meet. Also staying in contact with my peers from LCA will, I am sure, become useful in the future as they hopefully develop into successful practitioners in their respective industries.
8. How do I get better at drawing from my imagination?
Drawing from imagination is something that I have always struggled with, and so drawing from observation and particular from reference is how I create most of my work. Being able to visualise images in your head and then record these, however, gives much more room, in my opinion, for creating unique images, as they obviously only come from your imagination. In order to improve at this I need to draw a wide range of subjects from reference and observation in order to develop an understanding of how figures, objects ect. are constructed. Also repetitive drawing and attempting to draw from imagination as much as possible will also help develop this skill.
9. What are the best ways in which to gain inspiration for work?
Occasionally I get "Writers block", and I struggle to generate ideas in response to a brief. I would like to become more proficient at finding ways in which to overcome this and also source unique and inventive ideas for my illustrations. I feel that this will improve simply through practice, but also becoming more active in the research of the subjects I am presented with e.g. doing a piece on washing machines -- sit and watch a washing machine. Going to the source of a subject is something that I would definitely like to do more as, more often than not, the best work and ideas come from 'real world' genuine experience.
10. Would I enjoy being a professional illustrator?
This question may seem strange to ask as surely, you would hope that, being a student on this degree, that I enjoy illustration. I do really enjoy it, but as I learn more about what it means to be working as an illustrator in the industry I doubt whether Id find it enjoyable as a career. I worry that relying on my work for income will take the enjoyment out of making and the 'business' side of things - dealing with contracts ect. - will be tiresome. On the other hand, however, I think by learning how to work as a practitioner and improving my image-making will make this all seem less daunting and "doable".
Drawing from imagination is something that I have always struggled with, and so drawing from observation and particular from reference is how I create most of my work. Being able to visualise images in your head and then record these, however, gives much more room, in my opinion, for creating unique images, as they obviously only come from your imagination. In order to improve at this I need to draw a wide range of subjects from reference and observation in order to develop an understanding of how figures, objects ect. are constructed. Also repetitive drawing and attempting to draw from imagination as much as possible will also help develop this skill.
9. What are the best ways in which to gain inspiration for work?
Occasionally I get "Writers block", and I struggle to generate ideas in response to a brief. I would like to become more proficient at finding ways in which to overcome this and also source unique and inventive ideas for my illustrations. I feel that this will improve simply through practice, but also becoming more active in the research of the subjects I am presented with e.g. doing a piece on washing machines -- sit and watch a washing machine. Going to the source of a subject is something that I would definitely like to do more as, more often than not, the best work and ideas come from 'real world' genuine experience.
10. Would I enjoy being a professional illustrator?
This question may seem strange to ask as surely, you would hope that, being a student on this degree, that I enjoy illustration. I do really enjoy it, but as I learn more about what it means to be working as an illustrator in the industry I doubt whether Id find it enjoyable as a career. I worry that relying on my work for income will take the enjoyment out of making and the 'business' side of things - dealing with contracts ect. - will be tiresome. On the other hand, however, I think by learning how to work as a practitioner and improving my image-making will make this all seem less daunting and "doable".
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