On paper, there should've been absolutely no chance of me not enjoying what i was doing in this module, because i more-or-less controlled the brief's content. I was able to give myself the task of making a collection of designs, based slap-bang within my field of interest (classic 80's cult films,what else), in any method of my choosing, then apply these images to products making 'virtual merch' - which is something i'm familiar with and love doing.
But i finish the module with a massive sense of underachievement & disappointment in my own efforts and the relatively meagre offerings i have, considering the amount of time I've been working on it. I've only completed 2/3rd's of my task.
My image research skills have probably peaked during this module,with the majority of the time spent either looking for existing examples of artist works to inspire me or to make sure i don't end up making something that looks the same as those examples i found. Making something original looking was what i was striving for, and to create something that had my 'tone', if i could actually settle on what my 'tone' actually looks like. The constant image searching and referencing is something that i've wanted to cut out of my practice as it's so time consuming, and hampered any real spontaneity i might've had, because i'd always have to check what i was drawing was 'true to life' (As true as a cyborg cop or a 7ft man-hunting alien can be).
I'm still making sure i don't try and execute any final artwork (analogue or digital) without having thoroughly developed my sketches- but towards the end of the project did find myself slipping into old habits when designing too much on screen & 'on the fly'. The digital aspect of my practice, although yielding visually satisfying results, is eating up so much of my time its untrue, but i can't see any other way around it. I have some insatiable need to create razor sharp graphics that i could blow up and put on the side of a building without losing any image quality, no matter how many hours i lose or how much other work gets pushed to the side because of it I've found in recent weeks there literally isn't enough hours in the day to get done what i need. Bottom line, I'm just too slow & indecisive- I'm constantly doubting what I'm producing,and rarely have any confidence in the final results.
It's not all doom & gloom - i'm still enjoying the process inbetween the endless image sifting and the vector indecision hell. I've been freely filling up sketchbooks with layout ideas etc and any chance i get to use a real-life pen or pencil is a relief. I've just become fearful of making 'finished' work because i know once i start it won't be able to wrap it up until I'm totally satisfied with it, or i run out of time before submission (usually the latter). CUE all night mouse clicking sessions.
After drag gin myself through 2 of my 3 alternative movie poster designs it struck me that i wasn't going to complete my own self initiated brief & how i'd lost total focus on what this module is about - the application of illustration on the 'outside world'. It wasn't so much about producing excellent looking work, but abut how you apply it, and i hadn't applied it anywhere yet, or even really considered my product range at any length.
Due to the particular digital techniques i regularly choose to produce my work with, large scale prints, movie posters, billboards and the sides of buildings are well suited canvases for the designs i created, which i demonstrated in my mocks. The PSD 'auto mock-ups' from sites like Graphic Burger are amazingly useful, and i can't get my head around how they are created - but i did also try and source my own product images to apply my imagery to, namely the giant horizontal billboards and building exteriors. I wasn't content to just do a basic mock-up- i wanted to ad my own elements to the backdrops of the templates in order to make them more realistic & appear to be a genuine range of purchasable products.In fact, most my product designs came from me extracting elements from the poster artwork in order to create something new. Even though i'd heavily overlooked this aspect of he module until the closing stages, it was the most enjoyable part. for me- making my art 'real'
Going forward then,i need to go backward.Stop over-thinking,which I'm sure i put in every evaluation i write these days. I'm turing seemingly enjoyable tasks, that i want to do, into long drawn-out affairs by failing to make simple straight-forward decisions about my practice and i who exactly i should be trying to please with it.
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