Week Twenty-one - Who Recons They Can Do It All

I’ve mentioned odd things about this topic in past blogs, especially week nineteen, but that does not mean that it’s done and dusted. In fact that’s mainly what most people do, something new put against something existing, and then that’s it. Whereas there should be an on going learning process of continual evaluation and critique, where you have self realization of how good your work is. This is possible one of the most important things I’ve learnt this year, how to learn. Understanding things like this will make you brain much more ‘fit’ and I know it’s a clesha but the brain is a muscle too and must be exercised.

Chris's infamous picture for lectures!

Pictures like this at the start of the year I automatically just said wow that’s amazing how the hell can you do that. And I’m not saying it’s not damn good, it’s got brilliant skills demostrated but it's not a good understanding of light and colour theory, so I’ve learnt to be more evaluative and have realization of the work in front of me. Which has also led to me describing what’s wrong with all pictures I see now, which comes off as I don’t like them, I do, I just now have found picking out bad points a good learning activity for my self. Also when people say these things about my work I actually listen now and take on board what is said. The best example of this was when I was doing a digital painting in the lab and couldn’t figure out how get the colour right. After some frustrating grunts Dell and Mike gave me some very useful tips and guidance, which I listened to and then noticed a significant improvement in my work.

Two of my later photoshop paintings!

It’s obvious now that with the vast amount of work that goes into games, more and more specialized areas are needed, and after a lecture the other day they made a point that it’s much easier to employ some one who knows what they want to do, that someone who recons they can do it all, because no one could make something as good as someone who is a specialist in the area and dedicated there learning to it. So it was said try and figure out what you want to do early on.

Obviously it’s nice to try everything, and highly encourage at the start to figure this out (start could be any length of time from first week of uni to last week of uni) but the sooner you know the better because you can research and practice in the area you want. Before I came to this course I had the idea in my head that I wanted to be a level designer/environmental artist, and throughout the first year you don’t really model much ‘levels’ so I haven’t nurtured this too well. One thing you do do is environment drawing, which I wasn’t too good at but then realized if I want to be good at this I need to draw it first, something that can’t be stressed enough, and if you can’t draw it you will not make a good model of it.

So now the course is officially finished I can try to venture into this world of level making, and I did, I started small and started to make my flat, and I got so far and then we got this hospital project. But of course we need to make the entire inertia of Coventry hospital, so I jumped straight in to the deep and I have been trying to make rooms and the layout for the hospital, but obviously this is a huge job so there are several of us working on it. I also over the summer plan to make my house at home, inside and out, which should keep me busy for a fair while I think.