Productivity

 

                  A totally productive day sketching at the arch.

                                 

The not-so-brief introduction to myself

             First and foremost I would like to say Hello! Welcome to the inside of my mind, it is a slightly wacky and nonsensical place, but it suits me just fine.

                          My name is Charlotte and I hail from a little town called Lichfield found in Staffordshire. I am 18 years old, have worked for the co-operative and hold an A level in Art and English literature, as well as an AS level in Maths and Chemistry. 

Growing up I have always believed myself to be more of a "tom boy" as I enjoyed exploring, gadgets and  most of all my video games -With a small amount of golf on the side.  I have never particularly followed the trend which most other girls would, but I have never particularly cared about what others think of me, most likely because I am proud to be who I am now. The first in my family to go to do university and I am studying a course that takes all of my passions and mixes them together in a course fit for me, gaming, traditional art and allowing my imagination to run wild.

I was never particularly motivated at school as I never found a class I fully enjoyed. I didn't even enjoy art which seems slightly crazy as I decided to apply for an art based course. I believed that the A level Art course wouldn't allow me to explore my talents in traditional and observational art as my teacher wanted me to be more abstract, more diverse in my medias rather than my favourite pencil and paper method. I consider myself to be incredibly lucky and honored to have been accepted on my first university course and really, my only wanted choice. I am very much the kind of person who sets her heart on one thing and disregards anything else. I mean, come one! Look at the end result of graduates! This course even has the lovely shiny Skillset accreditation. Employers will love it, even if most people I spoke to about my choice in course believed it was a ridiculous waste of time. I have confidence that the course I picked will lead me to success in later life.

 I haven't actually mentioned yet that I am currently a first year student at De Montfort University studying Game Art Design. I was originally stuck between whether to do an animation or gaming course, but once I visited and listened to the given presentations I was set on getting a place on the  Game Art course. Truth be told my heart sunk when I discovered that I had received a D in my A level art, however that sunken feeling was very quickly replaced when I discovered I had indeed been offered a place regardless. It is also such a nice feeling knowing that two weeks into the course and so far I have loved every second. Although I am sure it won't take me long to get frustrated with the software and repetition of drawings, but hey! How else can I expect to improve? I hope to improve my drawing skills and to be able to create images and scenes in 3D that are good enough for the next generation consoles, I also hope that employers will acknowledge my work and will take me on after the completion of this degree. I know this course is my best chance at completing this goal with some hard work. But my current goal is to simply be confident within the basics of 3D and texturing. 

As for myself, other than gaming, music has always been a critical part in my life, getting me through the darkest times and keeping my happy during my best moments. I believe music can invoke peoples best and worst memories as there is usually a song that will relate to that moment. Some of mine are from bands such as Guns n' Roses and Bon Jovi, yes I admit it, I like Bon Jovi. I also like Green day, even though so many others dislike them. I can remember driving to Okehampton from our caravan with Kaiser Chiefs blaring out the speakers with all the windows down gliding along the country roads. I also remember all the times I have listened to Three Days Grace or Linkin Park after a particularly atrocious day of school. Life will always have its ups and downs, so just grab the bull by the horns and ride with it, whatever your method. It's your life.

I shall always have an obsession over animals, as I have been brought up with dogs and cats throughout my life and knowing you have a companion who will always be there for you really cheers me up.

 My current two cats, "Princess" Puggy on the left (We did not name her) and Tiggi on the right. They may look like they get on but you can definitely tell the hate Puggy has for Tiggi is there.

                                                          

                       A very obvious sense of annoyance.

                                                          

 It seems to be one problem I have had trying to adjust to university life. Waking up without my cat on my pillow or my dog by my side, but it is slowly becoming the regular. I am also particularly fond of birds, something I could never understand why. But my two top spots of animals go to the Fennec Fox and the Kakapo bird. Seriously, how could you not love a fox with ridiculously over the top ears and a  fat bird that falls out of trees? These two definitely took my heart.

Onto a bit more of a serious note.

My dream job? As a child I always believed the "coolest" job to have would be to be able to test games and  be payed for it. Heck, I would still love for this to happen, however it would not be a job I would want for life. I cannot say for sure what job I would want to do after university as I am currently unsure of what part of the course I am strongest in. Currently I would be leaning towards a 3D modeler. I fully understand how difficult and competitive it is to become a concept artist. I believe that spending the three years at university and investing so much money to learn 3D would seem wasted working as just a 2D artist. If I become an able 3D designer I should put those skills into practice more and work towards a job role that includes using 3D as well as 2D design. I am also fully aware that my skills will improve, but it will take patience and hard work. This I am more than willing to do as I know it is a task I will enjoy.

University is a big step to take, yet I already feel like I can relax and be myself around the other "monkeys" who took this course. It is nice to feel like I (mostly) fit in somewhere for once and I plan on enjoying every moment of it. Why not? That's what University is all about.