Final MATS Bootcamp assignment
Wow, this was a great experience. I feel I created a few really good pieces over the past few months for MATS Bootcamp. July's theme was create a piece of art based on your favorite drink. I love coffee even though you could also assume from my piece I also enjoy tea.
A few thoughts on my MATS Bootcamp experience:
I realized I really love illustration. It brings me a great deal of joy. Of course it probably depends on the subject matter but it is just so fun taking an idea, to a sketch, into Illustrator and finishing up with special details and touches in Photoshop. Even though I work full time and have two young kids to care for, I found I didn't mind giving up my preciously scant free time to work on my assignments.
I was inspired to try a different medium, the brush pen. OK, so it may not seem like such a far deviation from the usual ballpoint/gel pens I usually use but the technique is different and I found it really challenging to get the hang of it at first. Also there is much more room for errors and little blips and blops, a lot less control. This was actually very freeing. I was so used to having full control over my lines and making them with precision but the brush pen has such a fluid feel.
I was able to connect with so many talented artists in the MATS Bootcamp class. I feel that I pushed my work even further after seeing everyone else's great pieces.
My artwork received a lot more exposure than I had anticipated. My Behance stats really sky rocketed up and I also was contacted for a couple local freelance illustration jobs.
Overall, I'd recommend the class to anyone who wants to:
build their porftolio
network with many wonderful artists
is interested in freelancing but not sure if you're ready
wants to have lots of fun without too much pressure or financial investment
I also entered the Global Talent Search. We'll be getting our first assignment in August. I'm really excited. I'm a little pessimistic about making it to the top 50 only because I've seen the quality of artists that were in MATS Bootcamp but I welcome the challenge.