Late for the party

by Karol Tylke, IID

^That could sum up the last few years of my life. In the second year of uni, I felt like that’s how my first year was supposed to look like. Now I feel like that’s the point I should have been in a few months ago.

I haven’t started any internship yet, which, from an outsider point of view, puts me behind a lot of people. Which doesn’t change the fact that personally, I have made huge steps towards developing my practice - I finished my portfolio and started applying for work

Yay! Sounds ridiculous at this point, but it took me forever to get there. When I look at it now, all my work that’s presentable was created since March 2019. Comparing myself to this time of last year, I have infinitely more work to show, and finally, I can explain what I do and what my skills are. 

I could say that it’s a shame that I haven’t had any professional practice yet, or that all this time went to waste, but really - whatever. I have never pushed myself as hard as now to create, and if it wasn’t for DPS, I don’t know if I would have had this motivation. Also, there’s still plenty of time in the year, and I’m gonna make sure to make the most of it.

I’m currently working on a live brief with MA Screenwriting from LCC which involves creating a poster for a movie. And even though it has been a huge step out of my comfort zone, I’m really glad I took it. It’s one of the first times when someone actually depends on my work, and I can’t let them down, and this experience had taught me how to fight a creative block and not give in to stress. 

The screenwriting project has also given me the motivation to explore drawing and illustration - something that I’ve been trying to do for a long time, but what was always replaced in my schedule with activities that I deemed more valuable. It’s been really fun to do this, and nothing motivates more to learn new skills than deadlines. After this project is done, I’m planning on starting to work on my Self Initiated Project and engaging in more live briefs, to gain more experience while applying for internships.

Another thing that I’ve started learning recently and is giving me a lot of fun is 3D modelling in Cinema4D. 3D graphics is something that fascinated me for a long time. I used to stare at renders created by the likes of Peter Tarka and scratched my head while trying to figure out how they were created. Having the insight into the world that has seemed so distant and difficult to enter has proven to be really satisfying, and I’m hoping that those skills will greatly improve my practice and my ability to execute ideas.

It’s the middle of November now - 2.5 months into DPS. I didn’t expect them to pass so quickly, which makes it more important than ever to seize the moment and opportunity. I’m hoping that to the next party, I will finally arrive on time.