HIII I was just wondering, your lighting technique is amazing!! Do you use photo references? And if so, do you reference the same pose AND lighting? I hope you don’t mind the questions, I love your art!

first, thank you so much, that means a lot ^^ and while i absolutely do not mind questions, i cannot promise my answers will be any good

to your question: i do use photo reference sometimes! here's an example of a piece i did vs the references i used:

i'll almost never use the exact same pose as a lighting reference; most of the time, an idea for a piece will come first, then i'll seek out references similar to what i have in my mind's eye to help figure out what elements i'm Not sure about (in this case, the colours and values to make an appealing overall composition)

with particularly unfamiliar angles and lighting on faces, i've sometimes used this neat tool

however, majority of the time, i'll usually either be drawing from knowledge i've collected (some of which you can see in this lil tag) or built up in the past (ie: using similar lighting techniques from piece to piece because if it ain't broke etc etc)

5 Reasons You Need to Upskill to be a Better Designer (Be Future Ready)

With the multidisciplinary field that design is, no amount of skills are too many. It is now an established practice to gain knowledge by taking up online design courses or doing individual research. To define this phenomenon, the term ‘Upskilling’ has been frequently used in recent times, but what exactly is it?

 To put it simply, Upskilling is getting better at what you do. It is upgrading your knowledge (both theoretical and practical) of the subjects that may be directly or indirectly related to the field you’re working in.

 Let’s look back at the past!

The design field is diversifying and merging indistinguishably with other fields, demanding more multi-talented professionals. Looking back at history, the greatest of designers were popular in their times and even now for being skilled in numerous fields and contributing to society at large. Leonardo Da Vinci, one of the most multi-talented people to walk on earth, was a skilful artist, mathematician, sculptor, architect, scientist, and astronomer. His works turned to be an inspiration for the later generation of polymaths, rivalled only by Michelangelo, his contemporary. These figures gave rise to the term ‘Renaissance Men’, with the ideal that said “a man can do all things if he will.” 

Even apart from design, there have been several such personnel with an eagerness to be everything at once. Aristotle, the famous Greek Philosopher, was a brilliant writer. His works covered subjects like poetry, music, theatre, rhetoric, politics, ethics and even biology. He was also the teacher of Alexander the Great, who, as we all know, was one of the biggest conquerors of all times.

 Issac Newton is not a foreign name to anyone in the field of science. Celebrated for his contributions to physics (theory of gravity and laws of motions), this English scientist was also an astronomer, alchemist, philosopher and theologian. His works laid the foundation for the progress of later generations of scientists, particularly Sir Stephen Hawking.

What’s happening now?

 Increasing technology and resources have brought about specialisations in various fields of study. With specialists coming up in every sector, the number of all-rounders have been gradually decreasing.

 But we know that history has always admired and valued multi-skilled people. Despite the revolutions taking place, traces of this admiration can still be seen, especially in the field of Film-making and Design. Actors are no longer expected to just act and film-makers are no longer expected to just direct. The best of the rest are those who are not only great at their primary skills but also good at other 21st century skills required in the field. A good example from the modern-day is FarhanAkhtar, an Indian actor, film-maker, producer, playback singer, screenwriter and television host. He is celebrated by the Indian audience for having proved his versatility time and again.

Similarly, design practices that do not adhere to just one type of product are more popular than the rest as they have a wider clientele and user base and strive for continuous experimentation and upgrade. With a complex network of professionals worldwide, multipotentiality is appreciated.

 Thus, the need for all-rounders and design upskilling is emerging again.

 [Read: The Assets of Success: 13 Golden Skills in Design to Master]

 Multipotentiality

 Now, what exactly does it mean to have multipotentiality?

It is the trait of a person

having interests in two or more fields of study

and curiosity to learn and excel at them. Such people are called ‘multipotentialites’ which is the opposite of

‘specialists’ and is used interchangeably with ‘polymaths’. They are required in almost every field; science, art, technology, medicine, business, commerce, etc.

 Multipotentialites are valued for their fast learning skills and adaptability. Organisations are always keen to acquire individuals who can bring dynamism, novelty, enthusiasm and variety to work-places. Such professionals are also favoured to undertake leadership roles as they are better at empathising and understanding a broader set of situations, people and their perspectives.

 It is great to be a specialist, but even better to be good at many other skills along with one. It is time to be the Jack of all trades AND master of one! 

The changing times demand multi-faceted individuals to bring in innovative design solutions. Gradually, the need for regular upskilling comes up, whether through online design courses or through experiential learning.

 Here are 5 reasons designers needs to upskill themselves:

 1.      To Fill the Skill Gap

As fellow designers, most of us can collectively agree that there is still a huge gap between our design education system and the practice. The system lacks the capacity to make students industry-ready, leaving them with little to no practical knowledge.

In the current scenario, students opting fordesign upskilling are constantly at an advantage compared to the rest, be it academically or professionally.

  A lot of independent platforms have emerged that have recognised this gap and aim to fill it by offering learning to interested individuals, especially in the field of architecture with

1.      To Have a Better Career and Job Prospects

 It is no mystery that design establishments tend to hire aspirants with a broader range of skills. It is good to master one skill, but is it good enough?

  With the increasing competition in the design field, there is more demand for

professionals who are adept at handling a variety of tasks

. For example, someone who is great at 3D modelling should also be able to manage an entire project if needed. The design industry has become experimental and welcomes multi-talented people with open arms. InitiativesWith the increasing competition in the design field, there is more demand for professionals who are adept at handling a variety of tasks. For example, someone who is great at 3D modelling should also be able to manage an entire project if needed. The design industry has become experimental and welcomes multi-talented people with open arms. Initiatives are being taken across the globe to recruit individuals who can perform multiple tasks instead of hiring someone just to perform one task. Naturally, such versatile individuals bring more to the organisation while making more for themselves. 1.      To Progress in the Field A broader skill-set gets you better job opportunities, but what happens once you are into the field? Design Upskilling doesn’t stop once you’ve earned a job. You need to keep honing your skills and adding to the existing ones for your professional development. In the design industry, multi-skilled professionals are more likely to be given positions of responsibility and develop trust. Moreover, individuals with a zeal to constantly enhance their skills, adding more value to the team, progress faster than others in their career trajectory. Hence, adding more to your design skill plate will give you an upper hand at any point in your career. If you are a working professional, now is the time to upskill, rise and shine!

(Source: www.giphy.com)https://giphy.com/gifs/l1Kua6X2X3t9bSlNK/html5[Alt Text: GIF of a cartoon show, spongebobsquarepants, with the words “I’m ready”] 2.      To Stay Relevant to the Changing Times Modern problems require modern solutions. It is obvious that one cannot run a design practice efficiently with obsolete techniques. Things that were considered awesome in the yesteryears may be completely outdated now. To align with the demands of the current world it is necessary to update,upskill and improve.  Globalisation and digitisation have paved the way for several new domains in the field of design. From UI-UX design to Urban Planning, the good designers always have a fair idea of the advances happening in the field. Even clients are now getting more familiar with design as a profession and its importance, with a wide range of resources to facilitate awareness. Being on par with the rapidly altering world and understanding the contemporary necessities will give designers the kind of expertise needed to meet the requirements of today’s user base. Change is the only constant! 

(Source: www.quotemaster.org)https://www.quotemaster.org/architecture+students[Alt Text: Image of a sketch with a drafting board and two people standing in front of it, one of them saying “I haven’t much experience of such an early version of autocad”] 3.      To Start Out On Your Own It takes a great deal of skill to start practising as an independent designer or going for an entrepreneurial venture. The most difficult part, which is the beginning, can become easier if you have what it takes.  The field of design is connected to and borrows from many others. Starting a design practice not only requires field-related knowledge but also inter-disciplinary skills like business management, automation, digital communication, etc. If you aim to eventually start on your own, acquiring know-how and soft skills is essential. Multi-skilled individuals can then collaborate with many different kinds of people to deliver fantastic results. A skilful leader makes a skilful team! 

(Source: www.codycameron.com)https://codycameron.com/are-you-my-leader/[GIF showing popular animated character buzz lightyear surrounded by alien midgets] From filling the skill-gaps to practising design independently, we have reached full circle. The current pandemic situation has been harsh on us all. On the bright side, a lot of education platforms have come to light, inspiring individuals to make use of their time at home by taking up online design courses. Thanks to digitisation, it is now easier than ever to connect with individuals across the world! Thus, there has been a boom in the past year in the way people learn new skills. The growing give-and-take of knowledge around the world is turning designers into all-rounders with the skills necessary to tackle modern problems. So, if you are keen on trying something new, expanding your skillset and being future-ready, then check out these avenues for design upskilling and online architecture courses by Oneistox! 

KEY BLOG POST- Monday 14th May (Reflection)...

The most unfamiliar scenario I have found within Unit X is the amount of group work that the unit has entailed. My course doesn’t very often require collaboration, so this is something new for me and doing so much of it e.g. “most likely to succeed screening” workshop and “Abraham Moss Primary School” workshop has made me realise that I struggle with it as  it was hard to pin down a time where everybody was free meaning some members of the group knew more than others and we had to do most of the planning over messenger which got quite confusing as some people didn’t see certain messages/ didn’t respond etc. However, despite these group difficulties, it has also made me see that sometimes these complications can be worth it as bouncing ideas off each other was helpful and created a final product that was an accumulation of all our ideas. This was better than any of us could have achieved alone. After reflecting on my primary school placement, I also now appreciate just how much work goes into controlling a class and managing to teach the curriculum whilst also keeping their attention. It’s made me have a new-found awareness of just how committed I need to be if I am to pursue educating going forward.

Within Unit X, Educator the main thing I have found out about myself is the age group that I wish to work with. I went into Unit X thinking that I had an interest in maybe working with primary school children, but have come out the other side of the unit confident that either high school or AS/A level is right for me due to the primary school experience and the various engagements I’ve been to e.g. the PGCE drop in. These things combined made me see that I wouldn’t find primary school fulfilling due to previously mentioned reasons such as me not being able to take pride in the learning there doing as I struggle to identify and appreciate it with a young age group. I also realised just how much I do enjoy making art. It feels strenuous and difficult whilst doing my studio practice but stopping that to do Unit X has made me miss it so much that I know realise it’s something I always want to keep in my life and therefore, I want to undertake a more serious teaching of the subject with an older age group as opposed to it just being a part of what I teach in a Primary school. Engaging with the things that I have during unit X has made me have a wider understanding of the differences between the different kinds of educators as I have had an opportunity to talk to numerous people who have taught from primary through to A level. This has informed the way I see lesson planning and engaging with learners heavily as I now see that the common factor between all of them is ensuring that you always make the learner feel validated and never undermine. I also strongly feel that Unit X will help me in my studio practice too in the sense that realising how much I miss making which encourage me to do it much more passionately and produce much more work and push myself to make the best things I can.

I feel that I committed to most aspects of the unit as education and art’s place within it is something I am very passionate about. I took part in all the initial sessions at Stockport market place (other than the week I was too ill to attend) and have thoroughly engaged with the blogging, ensuring that I took lots of documentative pictures and blogged about the day’s tasks on the night when I got home so it was fresh in my mind and as sincere and helpful to me when reflecting as possible. Writing about things such as the failing workshop and the maker’s palette task helped me to start grasping an understanding of the kind of things I wanted to be as an educator from early in the unit, so this is something I am glad I engaged with. Blogging has also been helpful in helping me decide what I want from this unit and what I want going forward. I also feel that I committed and contributed to both workshop activities I was directly involved in. These being the “most likely to succeed” workshop and the primary school workshop. Both went well, and I contributed plenty of ideas to both, especially the primary school workshop in which I was also the person to organise and provide all the materials as well. Due to this and other aspects of the primary school workshop I feel that in this one especially, I took a leadership role in the collaborative work side of things. This was a learning curve for me as I didn’t realise that I had the confidence in myself to do this and not worry about judgement from others. I’m so proud of myself for this and it’s a skill I will utilise going forward. There were two aspects of the unit I feel I didn’t contribute too well enough. Firstly, the tutorial opportunities with Elle and Clare. I missed a fair few of these chances due to placement but if I had the opportunity to do the Unit again I would ensure that I made time for at least 3 or 4 tutorials before the end of the unit as I feel more of their input would have helped me even more with my reflection and understanding. Secondly, I could have done much more when it came to the Cass Art workshop despite my placement. I couldn’t go and be there on the night as I attended the PGCE drop in and this was more of a priority for me in terms of my personal learning needs, however I wish I’d have made time to go and help set up during the day. Reflecting on how I regret these things has made me realise that in future I need to be taking advantage of all opportunities I must engage as this is the way I will learn the most and gain a wider understanding of educating and what it takes. The more I do in different setting will also serve to further my contextual understanding of educating and the responsibility that comes with it.

I feel that I could have carried out further research in my spare time by doing things like reading ALL the links that Clare and Elle posted to the educator group and trying to find more TED talks about education. This is something I should have been doing throughout the whole course, rather than just at the end of the unit like I did, as it would have taught me more and would have been helpful material to reflect on within my blog. I feel that there should have also been more in-depth research and a higher level of interrogation when it came to planning the two workshops I was involved in. We should have been more organised as groups and spent longer investigating the different options for materials and workshop layout to do something more unique. This way we could have delivered workshops that stuck in people’s minds and maybe encouraged the primary teacher to teach more things with an interdisciplinary aspect of art. If I could go back I would start planning workshops immediately so that I could spend as long as possible amending the idea so that all of it was the best it could be as although both workshops I was involved in were successful, in my opinion they weren’t one of the “WOW” workshops that Clare always talks about. After reflecting on the whole unit I feel that my idea development is quite well rounded and I have come out if the unit knowing what kind of educator I want to be and what key stage I want to do this at, however I feel that if I would have done more experimentation with my workshop planning I would also have a more well rounded idea about how I wished to go about passing on my skills in a memorable way in the future.

I think during Unit X Educator I have done a lot of learning when it comes to knowing how to communicate my ideas clearly and how to get a lot of work done when feeling time pressured e.g. workshop planning. After reflecting on my experience in the primary school and my experiences within the educator class, I also feel that I am now much better at small talk and interacting with people that I don’t know at all which is something I’ve struggled with in the past. I feel that I could improve upon how heavily I interrogate workshop opportunities and how many things I try and achieve in terms of the ambitiousness of the workshop. For example, if I was to have another chance to deliver a workshop I would want to spend longer making sure I had a unique idea that would expose the learners to at least one thing they hadn’t done before. As I previously mentioned, this is something I feel I didn’t achieve and I plan to do further research on ways to make my workshop much more creative. I feel that an aspect of the Educator course that I could develop further in line with my studio practice is the idea of using workshops as a way of researching for my art. In my 10 minute microteach I planned to get people to draw/tell me their perceptions of Brutalist architecture as an aid to understanding my work and reflecting on this has made me realise that would be a really good way to gather research. Since then I have done this over social media sites such as Reddit and have achieved a larger amount of research that is richer in variety than I managed to get throughout the whole course of this year.

Overall, the experiences I have had within this unit and reflecting upon them have shown me how much I value the opportunities to make art and develop my practice that university gives me. I value this greatly and as a result will work harder at it in the future. It has also shown me what path I want to take in the future and given me a clear idea of how I’m going to get there. Unit X had been a really positive learning experience for me and I’d recommend it to anyone interested in educating.