Loan Stoat

Well I’m back at Uni, things are pretty hectic. There’s certainly more work this year than we had to contend with in year one but I finally feel as though I have a pretty firm grasp on the techniques involved.  It’s great to finally begin to feel like I know what I’m doing.  On the other hand, as the fog of “what the fuck is going on” clears it reveals the bright and sunny question “Am I any good at this?” shining on the horizon.

Being at university at 30 is a whole different kettle of fish than it was when I was 18.  I see my fellow student’s nonchalantly scraping by on the bare minimum of work, while they confidently cry “Hey! It’s cool! We’ve got three whole years here!”  While I pile on as much work as I can possibly stand, screaming “Oh my god! I’ve only got three years to learn this!!!!”  I’m sure they think I’m crazy. But with a family to support the question of “am I doing the right thing” is one that keeps flashing above my head like a buzzing neon sign.

So it is at times like these I feel compelled to heed a little of my own advice. As I keep on telling everyone around me after all I’m pretty much always right!  And I look to a certain image that I have pinned above my pc, named “Chav Stoat”.

Ain’t he a cheeky little chappy? This delightful picture was taken by my wonderful mother, and was immediately singled out amongst her extensive and gorgeous collection of works as one of our favourite pieces.  So it was, when we were sat around the television watching a feature on the Countryfile Calendar Competition that “Chav Stoat” immediately sprang to mind.  I turned to my pensive parent, and insisted she send the picture in.  To which she replied that it wouldn’t possibly be good enough.  A week later I asked again weather she had sent off her work yet, and again was rebuffed with the claim that “they have THOUSANDS of entries! Mine will NEVER be good enough to be chosen!”

So we continued for another couple of weeks until the deadline had passed and we forgot all about it.  So much was our horror when, once again curled up in front of Countryfile, they began listing the winners of the competition and THIS was shown!

Look familiar?

Deadly silence followed for a few seconds, which then exploded into expletives from my mother, duly drowned out by my screaming “I told you so!” at the top of my voice.  (As you can tell I’m very benevolent in victory)

So what is the moral to be learnt in this tale?  What is the reason that Chav stoat now sits above my PC and grins cheekily down at me every time I’m thinking “god I’m never going to be good enough to make a living at this”?  Simply that if you don’t try, you’ll NEVER get there.  And you might just find out your better than you think!

Finding your Feet

So it’s been awhile since I posted on my blog, and I’m feeling a little neglectful of all my lovely followers. I can only hope you forgive me as I’ve been caught up in the beginning of my second year at the wonderful Institute of arts in Carlisle. It’s been an interesting couple of months getting back into the swing of things. Having been there a year already I somewhat expected to fall right back into this pattern of study with ease.

It’s not quite that easy, although just as enjoyable as ever. Relationship seems to have changed at uni. And I’m surprised to find people who are best friends last year a little colder towards one another after the holidays. Also our friendly and open class seem to have separated off into little friendship groups. This is not entirely unexpected as people obviously have been socialising over the holidays, but it does present a different feel that took a little getting used to.

I’ve got two assignments on the go, and have finally been allowed to dive into Z-Brush which is awesome. We were given the task of designing a character and a weapon which we will build in 3DS Max, add to in Z-Brush, and finally texture in photo shop. I chose to create a little dwarf who surprisingly enough looks a lot like my lecturer. I did have the idea for a granny with machine gun Zimmer frame. But that came when I was already halfway through this one.

Ross are working on a group project, where we take the work we did over the summer and develop it into a full game level. I was a little disappointed that my idea was chosen, however we’ve worked on creating something as a group that I’m quite excited about. I’ll give you more details on that later on. But for now I’ll leave you with a promise that I will blog more often, and a look at my little dwarf guy. Ain’t he cute!