I've been thinking a lot about my career the past months. It usually stems from cramming in time to draw, lamenting over how I'm not good enough yet, wondering how I can make it all work, what blog I can start to showcase my yet to be revealed talent, how I want to write more, etc etc etc.
The other day, I thought about design. Like the fifth or seventh kid of an over-crowded family, it hasn't been getting much attention lately. And, well, my parents paid a lot of money for me to go to school for 5 years for it. And I've been doing it for about 11 years...maybe I should look again at this career of mine.
I began thinking about what I really like to do in design, benchmarking those thoughts and feelings off of what I really like to do with drawing. A bit how they compare:
1. I like clever ideas/subjects with drawing --- I suck at anything clever with design. No really, I despise coming up with concepts and very much enjoy the work-horse part of projects over conceptualizing.
2. I like silly subjects with drawing --- There is nothing silly in design. Unless you get to use an illustrator.
3. I like to use color, form, space, texture and especially line weights in my drawings to communicate and get things just how I want them to be --- I took color, form, and space in college for design.
4. I like to organize things a LOT...charts, tables, clean and clear layouts...think of a redesign of a voting ballot. That's weird. It's the most non-glamorous design job out there. But I think it's important and needed. --- There isn't much organizing in illustration except with files. However I do notice I work very systematically, which is probably because of my design roots, and which could probably be pretty helpful for an illustration career.
5. I am not an artist as much as I am a communicator. --- I am not an artist as much as I am a communicator.
6. I feel my self and uniqueness and true me come out through what I draw. --- There is nothing of me in my designs. I'm not sure if this is just the nature of the trade or if I'm doing it wrong or I am just bad or if it even matters. I just really enjoy projecting myself the way drawing allows. I feel like I'm contributing rather than just being another monkey.
Then there's the partner thing. I'm stuck with a controlling, moody partner. I regret ever having done this partnership, except that, well, you always learn from your mistakes. However, I don't know how to get out of it.
Money is always a motivator, unfortunately. We make good money. I like that, but know that I am not afraid to take a pay cut. I am not sure what would happen if I were to leave. I think I'd lose out and it would be bad for me. So, the only thing I can think of to do is work part time and make my fortunes elsewhere.
This has been consuming me for quite a while. But I finally think I have some ideas on what I want to do. I still need to learn how one makes a living in illustration. That is a mystery to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment