Hello!
So this is my first post and I do apologise if I babble but I’m not so good at this.
This is something that has bothered me for a while and I think I’ve figured it out and so it seemed the best subject for my first blog post.
Throughout my third year of my degree and from then on I have been in a constant struggle with myself as to figuring out what my ‘style’ of work is and where I fit into the creative market. I did a degree in Graphic Design, but in the loosest form possible. Yes I learned about typography, layout design and logos, but there was an opportunity to try everything from screen printing and letterpress to exhibition curation and illustration. The sticky situation I found myself in was that I enjoyed it all. I didn’t have a single desire to focus on one aspect but when given a new project I would draw from all the techniques I had learned and use the one I found most appropriate and exciting, meaning my work was never done in a similar medium or style. This was never a problem until it came to my FMP.
There was a lot of pressure in my 3rd year to know ‘what job do you want?’ and ‘Where do you fit in?’ along with trying to figure out a kick ass project to get a good grade and promote yourself at the grad show. Let’s just say I crumbled under this pressure and although my project idea was interesting I didn’t do it justice because I was worrying more about who it would appeal to at my degree show than the most effective and exciting outcome. My Fmp outcome was an illustrative instruction book but throughout the year I was
knocked down by tutors negativity and unhelpfulness and lost all motivation and enjoyment in it.
Since finishing uni I have developed my illustrations and did begin to focus on one distinctive drawing style. This was going swimmingly until I began to experiment with other things and found myself back at what felt like square one when I began doing one thing one day and something the polar opposite the next. I saw what other illustrators were doing and wanted to be able to promote myself as they were but didn’t have a ‘style’ I worked in and so found it tricky.
Then recently it hit me.
Who Cares!
Yes I don’t have one style which I will become recognisable for but, I do have a multitude of skills. I have learnt the technicalities of indesign, illustrator and photoshop at uni, I adore analogue printmaking techniques and I can draw in several different styles. When it comes to approaching a project I look for the best outcome and solution rather than seeing things done in a certain way. I was so focused on becoming what I thought I wanted to be, a freelance illustrator, I was getting stuck in a corner and not enjoying myself and the work I was creating.
Admittedly I’m still at a point where I can’t see myself applying for a 9-5 desk job just yet but they aren’t the only two options. I’m still creating, drawing and printing in my spare time between my retail job but now I’m not trying to become something I’m not. You have to try things and see what happens, and if you work hard enough something will come along.
I feel almost free now that I’m not trying to pinpoint myself onto something and just doing what feels right. It seems obvious now but after uni I felt really stuck and like the only way to succeed was to pinpoint one thing and just do that. But that’s not me or my work. It’s strange how much better I feel just for writing this all out and getting it off my chest, so here’s to 2014 being a successful and creative year.
L x
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