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Lessons Learned: Project 365
Not long after ringing in the New Year, just past midnight, on what was January 1, 2014, I started a project with the following pencil sketch...
This project just popped into my head and I proposed to myself that I would create 365 visual projects for the year 2014. Ideally, a project would be completed every day. It didn't matter what medium or how good or bad the project turned out. The goal was just to do it.
Like Frederick Franck's 5th commandment, "You shall not draw with exhibitions in mind, nor to please any critic but yourself", each project had no audience in mind. Many projects were inspired from current events, news, articles, tweets, and things my friends said or did. Some were, shall I say, "uninspired", yet others were filled with passion and creativity.
"Can of Unknown" is some sort of mystery food from a video game that my friends play online.
There were days that I wanted to quit. Just like most human beings, I might feel overwhelmed, bored or tired. Some days I wondered what I was thinking on January 1st so early in the morning (affected by lack of sleep more than champagne). Then there were days where I was brimming with ideas and creativity, or inspiration inexplicably coursed through my veins. On those days, I might catch up on a week's worth of creative pieces or get ahead of the project entirely.
I'll admit, a few of the projects were design ideas or illustrations that my clients rejected. Being their creator, I had grown fond of them and thought they deserved a life elsewhere, so I went ahead and allowed them to develop. I often thought, if nothing else, it was good practice.
Rook
In the end, I have a project that no one really cares about, but me...a body of work... 365 images, designs, digital and ink illustrations, pencil drawings, and photographs. They are all mine and I made them. They prove to me that I can accomplish something, that I can stick with something (for better or worse) and in the process, learn from my mistakes, improve and learn. I have most certainly honed my skills in planning, design, composition, color, and execution. My knowledge of Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop have grown immensely. By posting many of these projects to social media, I've learned about who "likes" what and where. I've learned about hashtags and I've seen a keen interest in people wanting to get back to the basics (pencils, pens and paintbrushes, rather than pixels and vectors).
Would I recommend such a project? Most definitely! I believe in pushing yourself to see how far you can go. Just like when I'm out riding my bicycle and I hit 15 miles with 10 more left to get home. The thought occurs to me to quit, rest, hitch a ride, but I just can't. I just won't give up (even though, sometimes I probably should).
In the past 6 years I've ridden half of century (50 miles) twice. I've reached the point of exhaustion and feeling like I just couldn't keep going (particularly on the Hilly Hundred), but in the end, it's all worth the endurance (and the hot shower) for there is a certain joy that comes with knowing you can take something on and see it through.
Rolling Rook Studio - Showcased on Pantone® & Adobe Websites
We're proud to announce that Rolling Rook Studio's "Dia De Los Muertos" project was showcased this month in the features section of the Pantone® Canvas website. This showcase also earned our work the honor of being featured on Adobe's Behance portfolio site.
The $5 Logo
Anyone considering the cheap route for design work, should really read this article to see what they're getting into. (And yes, we're confident enough to refer you to a website run by potential competition.)
Portraits - The IT Crowd
Ok, I'll admit. I'm a geek and I absolutely loved the British TV series "IT Crowd". So today I did portraits of the main characters from the IT department, Richard Ayoade and Chris O'Dowd.
Catskill Country Store (An Unintentional Photo Shoot)
While visiting Catskill, NY over the weekend, I came upon the lovely Catskill Country Store, full of local produce, cheeses, coffee and bread. Carol Wilkinson, the proprietor, caught me shooting photographs and inquired about my hobby. I showed her a few that I had just snapped and she was absolutely delighted, so I ended up shooting her shop for her so that she could have photos to use.
Poster Makes it into Papergirl Vancouver Show!
With all the entries for Papergirl Vancouver, I never would have thought that my entry would have made it into the actual show and hang in the gallery. I'm honored and excited to see my poster hanging in the Roundhouse Community Arts & Recreation Centre, in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Poster on the right, hanging on the line in the gallery on the left.
Photograph from Papergirl Vancouver
Poster created by Rolling Rook Studio for Papergirl Vancouver 2014
Getting Greener
Things are getting just a tad greener around the studio! We recently had Circle City Rain Barrels install this lovely new rain barrel so that we can water our plants and herb garden with rain water instead of tap water.
Papergirl Vancouver 2014
I got a notification from one of the bicycle lists that I'm on about "Papergirl Vancouver 2014". It looked like such a cool project I thought I'd send something of mine their way, so I'm having a few copies of the following poster printed (without words on it) and will shipping one of them off to Vancouver as soon as I get them.
Poster for Papergirl Vancouver (right) size 11.25" x 17.3"