Over the last year, I feel like I have developed in both my artwork, and myself. Throughout the year, I feel like the quality of my artwork has steadily improved, and I have learned a lot of new techniques which allows me to create a more diverse range of artwork.
I would say the biggest area of progression for me this year was in my increasing my knowledge of the software I use such as Illustrator and Cinema 4D, and becoming more proficient and confident with the tools and features. I became far more experimental with the software I use during this year, and I am now much more likely to try and incorporate a feature I haven't used before, or in general just try out something different, like using various pieces of software to contribute to not only the editing/animation stage, but the actual look of a piece of work, such as using Cinema 4D to create a background etc.
Easily my favourite part of the year was the trip to Berlin, to go to the Pictoplasma event. During the trip, I got to meet and hang out with an awesome group of people (some new to me, some old), and got to see some amazing artists and their work. I feel like this trip allowed me to see that people are just people, and I shouldn't be so scared to just talk (still working on this, however).
I feel like my strongest area during this second year was the way I developed personally, as I feel I am now more confident than I was in the first year, not only with the quality of my work (which I do feel could have been far better in the second year), but I also feel more confident in my personal life. I feel like a large part of this was due to the recent Berlin trip. Another strong point for me this year was the improvement to the quality of my illustrations. I feel that I am now more conscious about the quality of line work, colour choice, and composition of illustrations that I make, and I am better off because of it. The recent gaming t-shirt and 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' design are something that I actually like for once, which used to be a pretty rare occurrence. I would also like to mention, while it's not exactly a strong point, I feel like my time keeping was a lot better this year (though it did slip near the end), and I hope for it to keep on improving.
My main weakness this year was, I feel, my own motivation. This is a problem that has effected me in the past, and I feel like if I don't change my ways, it could seriously effect me in future. While this was mainly down to me not really being fond of a few of the modules this year (as I actually feel like my motivation for work since last year has improved), it's still an area for improvement for me, and I feel like it could really help me advance myself and my work. Another area I feel I could improve upon from this year is the speed at which I actually produce work. Again, while I feel like this was an area that I did actually greatly improve on, it is still one of the key things holding me back, as evidenced by the animation production module this year.
Quite a few opportunities came from this year of the course for me, both in things that I've completed like the Influx Clothing live brief, going to Pictoplasma etc. and in things for the future, such as producing a portfolio and creative CV. Creating my portfolio and a basic show reel showed me pretty much what kind of thing that I should be putting into it, and how to lay it out (obviously, improvements can be made, but I'll go into that later). These assets can then be used later in interviews and such (like I did with the third year interview), with new work and up to date animations.
The main target I am setting myself, coming out of the second year, is the continue to update my portfolio and show reel, and improve the quality of said work dramatically, as I do not feel like the quality of the final products were good enough, and I don't want that quality of work to represent me creatively. Another key target I want to set is to be way more experimental in my work; I want to strive to create all sorts of animations and illustrations of good quality, so I can have a diverse range of work for my portfolio, instead of being scared to try out new features and have to trouble shoot a bit.
In conclusion, I feel like this year was massively beneficial for me, both in a personal sense, and a professional one, as I advanced in the quality of my work I produce, and I became less scared of everything. While there were some things that needed to be improved, I feel like this is also a kind of benefit for me, as it outlined areas that I need to improve, so I can set about actually improving them instead of worrying.
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