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Helen Capewell
OCA Learning Log
Student Number: 522802
Degree: Illustration
Current Level: 2

Exercise 2: Good working habits

● What do you need to be creative?


Time, a prompt of some kind, focus and a clear mind (no other tasks disturbing), I also work better late at night as there are no distractions and everything generally feels peaceful. Sometimes soft music in the background such as lo-fi beats or piano help the creativity.


● Are there certain factors that are important for you to develop your work?


a window in the day that is focused, and being inspired.


● When, where, and how do you work? How might you develop this

approach further?


I work at my desk most of the time, evenings are definitely better!


● Given your creative process, how do you best document your work?


As much as I would love to be a sketchbook person for the initial developments, I tend to work better on pieces of paper or sketching ideas on the iPad. The no waste, undo button and ability to adjust the sketch using distort, warp or scale help massively with fixing sketches.


● What kinds of questions do you use to reflect on your work?


Could this be done differently? Could this be done better? How can I expand the idea? Can it go through another stage of development? What if I try it in a different medium. Is this even a good idea, what other direction can I take this in.


● How important is reflection to your process?


I do like to reflect on the work I have done, however I also feel good with moving forward. Everything holds a space within a time, so reflecting on the piece for that time is nice, but moving forward is good.


● Can you develop new questions or prompts?


Absolutely, starting with one idea can spark many others! It can be quite overwhelming sometimes if you're like me and want to do everything.


● How does this reflection help feed back into your making?


It helps to identify style, themes that interest me and themes that don't.


● How would you describe your creative process?


Consistent in its method, but not very consistent in practise. So many ideas come to me for projects that often feel ambitious, yet doable. I think I like to aim big, to push my making into whatever feels right for that idea. So in this sense I am consistent. I also know when I have good days and bad days for when the creative process flows right.


I begin with an idea, I sit with the idea for a while and let it grow in my thoughts to the point I can already visualise the end result. I write lists for the ideas and keep the list visible on my table with a pen or pencil next to it so that I can add to it at any time (depending the project). If it's an immediate illustration I want to draw then I will have spoke the idea out loud to myself and then sketch it in the iPad. I will try several different attempts of sketching the idea, until one feels right. I'll develop this idea into a "clean" drawing, further cementing the concept piece with any changes that I wanted to make to improve it. Once happy I will outline it, then bring colour, along with any texture or colour enhancing that I would want or feel needs doing. If it is an idea for a full project (a body of work for example) then similar process happens but this might involve other disciplines such as design, photography etc. I would get on with building the frame of the project, putting certain things in place before finalising.


● What sort of stages do you go through to initiate and develop your ideas

and work?


I do a lot of thinking. My thoughts often play out the process, with a deep focus on the final piece which already feels to have been completed. I get a sense of what I would like to achieve without knowing exactly what that would look like. I always start with sketching, the first sketch is often a warm up and is never right first round. I usually go through a number of sketches before landing on something that works.


● How important are restrictions to the process?


I mean, sure restrictions have their benefits.


● Do you start with an idea or proposal, start making and see where it takes

you, or work in a different way?


Essentially this is the way I work yes. However sometimes one proposal might not be the proposal I end up with, the idea might change during the making.


● Do you have any strategies to deal with creative blocks or obstacles?


I've faced many blocks during this course and for many reasons. Taking a break and doing something else in the meantime usually does the trick. Or simply being strict by saying there is no choice, deadline is approaching, get on with it. Deadlines are the perfect trick, and the closer I am to the deadline the better I am at getting over creative block!


● What does experimentation look like to you?


Playing.


Not having an end result in mind, but a goal to explore medium, themes or techniques. Enjoying the process and being open to the direction.


It might also mean trying to reverse a style, to unstuck yourself if you feel disconnected from your work.


● Where do you work, what kind of physical spaces do you need?


I work in a dedicated room at home which I spend most of my week day and night in.


● When do you work, and how best can you structure your time?


As I work full-time during the day, I find I work better at night with anything outside of work. I'm definitely a night owl. I think over the years I have found that this structure works best for me. If I were to make a change it would be to not spend as much time on things that don't need it. Prioritising my time and energy on certain projects, something I had learnt during Responding to a Brief.


● How do you draw on inspiration to feed your creativity?


I can find inspiration in many things for my creativity. I work in design, study illustration and enjoy art, all of these disciplines feed each other and can help inspire the creative process. I travel a lot and always find inspiration here, I visit art exhibitions and browse hundreds of illustrations and design daily. Industries inspire me, photography and video inspire me, games and graphic novels are inspiring, web design is inspiring. My own experiences and other peoples ideas or experiences inspire me. How I would improve designs inspire me. Stories inspire!

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