Long Time Comin'

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. There's a lot that's been going on but I'll give you some cliff notes so as to catch you up quickly.

-first semester at CCS has ended
-I received a 3.925 GPA (booya!)
-I had two pieces of my artwork end up in the year-end student show (pictures soon)
-I am currently away in Chicago at an internship under Erin Sarofsky

Those are like the giant, current bulletins of life.
So! I will most likely touch these topics in later posts, but since I am currently in Chi-town, I shall discuss what I've been learning here.

Bear with me, there is a lot of text here, but it's basically a briefing on what I've learned by being in a professional studio environment. For those of you that have no interest in this...you are more than welcome to check out my much more lighthearted vlog on youtube. Subscribe yo! I'll be posting random things there....DO IT! ;)

http://www.youtube.com/user/hellopengwen



Behold!!! My internship novel...

Recently I asked Erin what it took to choose a client and how she gets paid for the stuff she does. I mean—the creative world is a hard business to be paid for if you don’t know what you’re doing. She basically broke it down into three categories for me; Time, Creativity, and Money. “If you can get two of those, that’s awesome. If you can get three, take it!” What she meant by these three categories is a pretty simple concept. Basically, the decision whether or not to take a job takes balance. You don’t want to waste your time or money on a project that you know will give you nothing in return. On the other hand, there is a level of risk involved in committing to some projects. “If you are thinking about taking a project that you won’t get paid a lot for, but it may open connections later down the road, it’s worth considering.” Erin gave me great advice, “The biggest advice I can give any student thinking of going into this business is this; when you first start out on your own, spend your time on the small projects first. So many times students make the mistake of signing up for a big project they really can’t handle. Stick with the small projects that will keep your interest and you know you can accomplish on your own.” She went on to say that when she was establishing her own studio, she spent more money than she earned. “It was really important that I get a reel, so I’d sign up for these project that I thought might benefit me but it meant I had to hire on a full time, highly paid counterpart to get the project done and done well.” She also mentioned how she has to be careful what projects she signs onto because she can’t sign onto too may. There is a balance in what to commit to, as well. “You don’t want to be sitting around doing nothing, but you don’t want to sign up for too much.” She went on to say how that the level of intensity and stress in the studio can really vary. Not all projects are given notice weeks in advance, especially in today’s economy. A lot of clients need there stuff “right now.” Also, random clients can call in and ask for work. It really just depends on what you take, how busy you predict the season to be, and balancing between the money and time you spend on different projects.

I’ve come to find that there are two important things in this business, connections and a portfolio. A lot of the design world is hired through word of mouth. Someone knows someone who knows someone else that can do a project. It’s really interesting to see how that works here at such a professional level. It’s also important to keep good relations with your connections. Erin does a lot of work for Mccann, an advertising company back home in Detroit. She said, “A lot of times we’ll do their work for free because we know that if they get the gig, they’ll ask us to do the work for them.” It’s honestly been very interesting observing the balancing act.

Aside from the business side of things, I’ve learned a lot about what it takes to have a good work environment in a studio. Erin definitely keeps her coworkers happy. She has an entire kitchen setup (minus a stove) with snacks and drinks available at any point. She buys lunch for everyone each day, and when the days allow, she’ll let her coworkers bring their dog to work along with her giant Saint Bernard, Moose. It’s also become the office tradition to watch Family Feud while indulging in our daily lunch. From what I’ve seen, the environment is a comfortable, hardworking place. They have found the balance between staying relaxed and a high stress, demanding work environment. This is certainly the kind of work environment I will miss.

THE END

(you survived!!!)

7 Weeks Strong

I believe that it has been long enough to begin to celebrate my survival through 1/2 of my first semester at CCS. I have survived these first few weeks of assignments, chaos, and sleepless nights and have turned in my first large projects for a number of my classes. Most of my projects have stretched my artistic ability to the next level. I am learning so much, it's amazing. Sadly, I must confess, I still have incredible difficulty thinking in the "abstract", but I'm working on it. My typography class has been pushing my mind to think beyond "the norm". We've had a number of assignments where you have to take a word and interpret it through both practical and abstract figures. Here are a couple examples so you can see what I'm talking about.

Scatter:

Rhythm:

I've also finished a 5 week photography class that was totally awesome! I learned the proper ways to use a 35mm film camera, develop film, and develop photos in a darkroom. I really had a lot of fun learning the basic in's and out's of photography. Here are my final projects (excuse the poor quality, the scanner was crappy)

I also just finished my first project in my figure illustration class. This took about 4 weeks to finish and lots of baby steps to get to the final project. Keep in mind that I had no exact reference for this image. I took a compilation of different photos of random horses, old woman, and mounted riders, put them all together and made them into what you see. This piece has an intentionally "cartoon-like" appeal. I do like it, but It's not one of my favorite works though it is nice to see the finished product.

Note: This is only a portion of the image. A small amount was cropped because the image was bigger than the scanner. But I think you'll get the idea.

I'm also currently in my second 5 week course, metalshop. I do believe that keeping all of my appendages and hair thus far is quite a feat. I believe my teacher finds humor in my insecurity. It's pretty awesome.

Most recently, People have asked me if I think I made the right decision by going to CCS...the answer? DEFINITELY! I love going here and pursuing a greater level of understanding and talent in both art and design. In the mean time, I've also made some awesome friendships.

It's crazy to think, "Wow-I'm living my dream."

Living My Dream?

I can't believe I've entered into this time of life. As a kid we all dream about "what will we be when we're older?" Granted, when I was six I didn't even know what a graphic designer was, but as I grew, so did my dreams. And, well, here I am!

Over this past week I have begun my attendance as a CCS (College for Creative Studies) student and it has been a whirlwind (to say the least). At orientation, every mentor, advisor, or director that spoke to us mentioned at least one of these three topics: humanity comes before work (basically don't starve yourself, eat), work hard and rest hard, and/or make the most out of your experience at CCS (cause you're payin' a lot of cash). Every speaker made it sound like I will live, breathe, and bleed the school for the duration of my time there. Excellent.

The college is really a great school. It's going to be really intense, but it is going to open a lot of doors and provide a lot of connections. I'm excited to see where it takes me. (hence the commencement of this blog)

On a more personal level, the holidays are now long gone and 2010 has already become a very busy year. My family and I marked the end of the holidays by burning our gingerbread house. It was glorious.

Chris just left for Vermont to pursue his dream of becoming a chef. The distance is hard to deal with, but I'm excited to see how we both grow and change over these next few months. We both love the different environments we're in and are excited about the changes.

But, overall, I'm hangin' tough. It's kind of hard for me to believe that my life has started down this path. So! It's a new year, a new journey, and the next chapter in my life's story.