HondaFoo
March 8th, 2010, 05:02 AM
Alright, so I'm at a serious crossroad right now. I'm a sophomore in both Graphic Design and Illustration, but I don't know whether I should drop one.
Lately I've been having a lot of problems getting work done. I'm kind of a slow, methodical worker, and it just seems to take me a long time to get stuff finished. Some of the difficulty may be poor time management skills, but I also think that there are just not enough hours in the day for me to get work done the right way. I mean, I've survived this long by just barely scraping by, but I know that's not going to cut it if I want to be exceptional
So I'm considering dropping Graphic Design and just being an Illustration major. The problem is this: I don't know if this is just a sporadic decision that I will regret later, or if it's my inner self guiding me to what I really want. I guess only I can figure that out in the end, but I'd like some advice or personal experiences regarding what I'm going through, since I'm sure at least a handful of people here have gone through the same thing.
I'd say I'm definitely one of the stronger students in class for either major right now, but traditionally I've always been an illustrator. I also feel differently about the two subjects. The prospect of getting better at drawing, overcoming challenges, and shooting to the top is just a thrilling thought for me when it comes to illustration. I have a lot more motivation for it, due in large part because I was a 'good at art' kid growing up, but regardless I want to just work my ass off in college and get ridiculous or die trying. That's how I feel about Illustration right now.
Meanwhile, for graphics...thinking about trying to improve at it, doing logos and branding, I almost feel sick thinking about doing this for the next 2-3 years. Granted, I'm still decent at it in my eyes and could probably make a living with a few more years of education, but...should I force it? I know the outlook for jobs is generally better for someone with a Graphic Design background, and that's one of the reasons I won't just drop it.
Another reason is something interesting that my classmate told me, from what one of his instructors said, who also happened to double-major in illustration and graphics. You can learn drawing and illustration on your own. For graphics, you really need that instructor there for theory, critique, etc.
He also said that his illustration style didn't even come about until way after he graduated. And I know of several artists who never even attended an art school, and are now some of the best in their field. So this all has been pulling mein every direction, and I really need some guidance.
I think at this point I can either:
A) suck it up and just get better time management skills (because I really do need to improve in that department) since having a background in both is definitely not a bad thing
or
B) drop graphics and go illustration, and use all that extra time to push it to the max (which is not guaranteed, as I may begin procrastinating on work)
or even...
C) drop illustration, since all the instruction and feedback (CA.org!) you could need are available outside the classroom, and get that degree in graphics for solid job opportunities
Please help me out with this guys, I've been up all night thinking about it
Lately I've been having a lot of problems getting work done. I'm kind of a slow, methodical worker, and it just seems to take me a long time to get stuff finished. Some of the difficulty may be poor time management skills, but I also think that there are just not enough hours in the day for me to get work done the right way. I mean, I've survived this long by just barely scraping by, but I know that's not going to cut it if I want to be exceptional
So I'm considering dropping Graphic Design and just being an Illustration major. The problem is this: I don't know if this is just a sporadic decision that I will regret later, or if it's my inner self guiding me to what I really want. I guess only I can figure that out in the end, but I'd like some advice or personal experiences regarding what I'm going through, since I'm sure at least a handful of people here have gone through the same thing.
I'd say I'm definitely one of the stronger students in class for either major right now, but traditionally I've always been an illustrator. I also feel differently about the two subjects. The prospect of getting better at drawing, overcoming challenges, and shooting to the top is just a thrilling thought for me when it comes to illustration. I have a lot more motivation for it, due in large part because I was a 'good at art' kid growing up, but regardless I want to just work my ass off in college and get ridiculous or die trying. That's how I feel about Illustration right now.
Meanwhile, for graphics...thinking about trying to improve at it, doing logos and branding, I almost feel sick thinking about doing this for the next 2-3 years. Granted, I'm still decent at it in my eyes and could probably make a living with a few more years of education, but...should I force it? I know the outlook for jobs is generally better for someone with a Graphic Design background, and that's one of the reasons I won't just drop it.
Another reason is something interesting that my classmate told me, from what one of his instructors said, who also happened to double-major in illustration and graphics. You can learn drawing and illustration on your own. For graphics, you really need that instructor there for theory, critique, etc.
He also said that his illustration style didn't even come about until way after he graduated. And I know of several artists who never even attended an art school, and are now some of the best in their field. So this all has been pulling mein every direction, and I really need some guidance.
I think at this point I can either:
A) suck it up and just get better time management skills (because I really do need to improve in that department) since having a background in both is definitely not a bad thing
or
B) drop graphics and go illustration, and use all that extra time to push it to the max (which is not guaranteed, as I may begin procrastinating on work)
or even...
C) drop illustration, since all the instruction and feedback (CA.org!) you could need are available outside the classroom, and get that degree in graphics for solid job opportunities
Please help me out with this guys, I've been up all night thinking about it