Reflection on Year One, And Ambitions For Year two

After year one studying game art, I really experienced how easy it was to be overwhelmed by a new change of direction with study.... having lots of increasingly difficult projects thrown at you using a program like 3DSMAX that I've never used before, as well as more of a focus on traditional art was all fairly new to me, as even though I come from a higher level of study than most, it was all focused around design, so adjusting I think was my first step in settling into this course.

I found that the constant barrage of difficult 3d work has actually made it sink in though, and even though I tend to struggle with aspects of 3d still, once I realised as much had sunk into my brain than I realised, it felt quote encouraging to know how much I have learnt in such a short space of time.

With the traditional art side of the course, I know its probably my stronger area but at the same time I've come to understand the areas I need to focus more on, such as use of colour, digital painting and speed..... I still spend way too much time on concept stuff, and I look to try and be speedier with getting my ideas down on paper. Making use of materials such as markers and brush pens is something I hope to look at, to help get my ideas down faster... at the same time though I don t want to just take up a certain material because its good for speed, so I'm also going to look into methods with Indian ink and watercolours that are media I'm comfortable at using, and that would benefit my work in the long run. I realise digital work will be looked into in the upcoming year, and its definitely an area I need practice on, as I still feel comfortable in traditional methods...which I still realise is a good think, and think will benefit my steps into digital later on, as its just another medium I want to utilise.

I think as well its important not to get bogged down in what I have felt in the last year has been, quite a competitive atmosphere, especially with a course as focused as this. I felt that it created an unnecessary feeling that you were comparing work to other peoples...and that's an attitude I've wanted to avoid since then, with the focus being entirely on my own work and my own progression. There's nothing wrong with competition as it can help you better yourself in various areas, but at the same time its important not to get bogged down and focus on the reason I'm here, which is for me and my future career.

I think an area id like to focus on in terms of learning is the concepting and imagineering side of the course, both areas in which I chose to study game art in the first place, but ones that because of various reasons haven't been able to focus on so far. I hope to tackle these areas more full on in the second year, as they are the areas in which I think my strengths would be better utilised.