The Curtain Call Cometh

For Projections, I created design elements for three different characters that I created for the Specialism module. At first I wanted to create full designs for each character, but as I went deeper into developing the project, I found this to be an unrealistic goal. While I am glad that I was aware enough to scale back my plans, it was a constant concern that even if I showed my development stages in the final blog post, it wouldn’t be substantial enough for the module. While I believe that the exhaustive research and development makes up for the rather limited final product, I believe it’s better to have a project that didn’t result in an awe-inspiring final result but which you learnt a lot from rather than a project that turned out a good product but which you forget you did a week after completion.

The strongest aspect of this module by far was the visual research aspect. I assembled a colossal library of material to draw inspiration from throughout the module, and it came very much in handy when designing. Although the subjects may be limited in terms of subjects, the range of styles and mediums used more than makes up for that.

For Nina, I wanted and got a rather cynical look. Her eyes remain pretty wide and expressive but the line at the top gives her a more stern, colder appearance. Her hair was something I couldn’t quite pin down, but eventually I got the side profile as seen in the blog.

For Alyssa, I wanted a more happy, wide-eyed look. I most certainly got that in the end, her final eye design is one I’m very happy with, and one that isn’t a direct copy of anything. At this stage, design work is quite derivative, even when creating original work your inspirations tend to show quite heavily. Here though, I came up with a strong design and executed it well.

Jon I got down almost right away. His rather dark temperament immediately screamed for the more beady-eyed with line implying eyebrows-look. Simple and effective.

The leg development is one aspect I’m very proud of. Although, as stated above, it is quite derivative of the ‘Donovan’ design shown in the blog post, just being able to create believable legs is a big step up for me. The simple process of creating long vertical lines with a parallel line below the crotch is still in the ‘copy what you see’ stage, but with some development I can make it my own and improve dramatically.

The industry research aspect was good, but not great. I was limited by how limited job opportunities are at the moment, but I believe that I got across that much and did what I could. I did find that site odesk, that is an interesting prospect and one which I may well end up using to find work after college is done.

I also believe I critically responded well to the professional designs. Although at this point it feels like a deaf man critiquing music, I feel that I have enough knowledge to evaluate the designs, even if it’s in such a limited extent. In hindsight, in one of those head slapping ‘why didn’t I think of that before’ moments, I realized that I should have done some work in responding to the brief the professionals were given for comparison purposes. I’m not of the skill level yet to produce a full design, but I could have done what limited things I could to respond to it in some way.

If I’m being honest, I feel that the weakest aspect of the module was in having something to show for my efforts. I can show the drawings I’ve done all I want, but at the end of the day it still isn’t as impressive as a full design would have been. I’ve come on leaps and bounds in my skill level since beginning this project, all the drawings you see in the blog post would have not been possible for me to draw at the beginning of this module. I’m still not able to do everything, my leg design is still pretty derivative and I wanted to give Alyssa baggy trousers, but my attempts to do so were hampered by my abilities to the point that I had to abandon the idea altogether. In retrospect I wish I could have had more to show as a final product, but such is the nature of a developmental project like this one.

Going forward, as I continue to develop my skills in this area, I will self-promote in the standard ways: make a deviantART page and populate it with plenty of good work. This may not particularly seem like a very proactive method, but it works. A lot of artists have been picked up this way, and while a resume and a CV are important, a strong portfolio easily available online is even better, and can sway a decision in your favour in the highly competitive job market.