Practice and Research - Feedback Point 5 Reflections

Project 3 - Worldbuilding: Checkpoint

I had a really useful session with my tutor about my progress to date. My second map has also been successful, and it was useful to realise that a map doesn't always have to be accurate or to scale in order to feel real. What is important is the job the map is doing, and having a strong and appropriate visual language in order to carry out that role. I am thrilled that the map allowed me to bring together lots of disparate elements into a cohesive whole that is starting to define a distinct visual language for me.

I have been able to cover a lot of ground over the past few months, and my tutor noted that even if this was feedback point five - the level of progress for the project could be considered more like seven or eight! This was reassuring to hear, but also highlights one of the hardest aspects of the project - documenting progress. I have managed to do a lot of work, which only came apparent to me when I had to talk my tutor through it!

I wanted to take on board the feedback from part four, and my learning logs to accurately cover the amount of work completed. However, this compounded the planning I needed to do to plan out the learning log posts, and exacerbated my ADHD. I was meant to have submitted this work over a week ago so I had time to finish the illustrations ahead of my next feedback point tomorrow. The reality is I am just about managing to finish the write up alone, and none of my illustration work has had any attention because of how difficult the write up process has been for me (whilst also juggling the stress of job hunting).

I continue to struggle with the need to write up (which I can do very well once there is structure), with the fact that there are no distinct exercise or research tasks by which I can organise and gain structure. The way I have created my work to date has been spontaneous and (to my mind) perfectly natural - however it is not conducive to the requirements of a degree which needs things documented!

That all being said, I am pleased that this section is now written up, and the project itself it close to completion. My plan is to get it published into the world, and see what feedback I get. In my tutorial tomorrow I have one area which I need help on - what needs to go on the inside cover (usually things like legal text, issue, edition, that sort of thing) so I will hopefully get some pointers from my tutor on that.

What comes next?

I have enjoyed the worldbuilding project, but I want to move on - I will still be inhabiting that world as I run live games using the rules, and there is so much more I can do to build out the world. I want the actual play to help drive that - both my planning, and also the stories that my players tell with me. They best way to build this world out is through story.

The next project I want to focus on is starting a comic, based in my world. I want to get back to creating comics regularly and I think starting a webcomic is a good way to help me create consistently at a level of quality that is good enough - and forces me to embrace simplicity. At the moment I am thinking one every two weeks for a 'page' of the ongoing story, and go from there. I will plan this out more thoroughly when I start that project properly.

It has been good to embrace my desire for things to be a bit sillier. My tutor remarked how being silly doesn't mean it's easy - performers like Les Dawson and Victor Borge could produce musical comedy entirely because he had the skill to do it properly. That buoys me up to feel like my own skills are getting better, and have enabled me to produce good work that I am proud of.

I am a little concerned that I do not have a portfolio to show prospective clients. I had wanted to try and focus on that as a specific project. My tutor advised me that it might be prudent to do that as part of my next unit, which focuses more on my professional practice. I am keen to see how the emerging style that I have demonstrated in the worldbuilding project can translate to more commercial briefs, so perhaps there might be some room for some no-pressure side projects to explore things like packaging? After all it does relate to the tabletop industry so is still in line with my ambitions.