Notices by Rob Turpin (thisnorthernboy@mstdn.social)

A while ago I posted… "I don't know what I'm doing"

And I meant it in a couple of ways, and most people responded with something along the lines of "You and me both". Which is fine. But actually, I was serious.

I don't know what I'm doing...

1/n

I trained to be a graphic designer at college. Mainly because nobody ever suggested something more creative than that - despite probably being the best at drawing and painting throughout my school years, nobody ever suggested I take up art, or illustration…

2/n

In fact the only teacher I ever mentioned wanting to do book covers for a living, said I was 'a dreamer'.

A bit harsh.

So I ended up studying graphic design. Full disclaimer here - I was a terrible student. Lazy, a bit stubborn, and really bad at self-motivating and staying disciplined.

3/n

I got kicked out of two different art colleges. Mainly for simply not completing the work.

After five or six years managing bars in York and then London, I finally got back in to graphics through a friend who was a designer on magazines.

4/n

I worked in graphics, for a range of small agencies for twenty odd years. My role gradually evolved, particularly when I started freelancing, in to production design, or creative art working - an eye for detail useful for prepping stuff for print.

5/n

I did not love it.

I started to draw again, after a 20 year gap, simply for something to keep me sane. And very soon, after posting some stuff on Instagram, I got asked to illustrate a book. That was entirely unexpected.

I gradually moved from freelance designer, to freelance illustrator.

6/n

And I got work. I worked on some cool projects, with some lovely people, and I started to produce stuff of my own - prints, postcards, eventually a sci-fi book.

But… it never really seems to have taken off. And that's on me. I have never had a plan, and I still struggle with self-motivation.

7/n

The amount I've earned in the last few years would make you weep. I'm aware also, that I've left a lot of money on the table because I haven't been organised enough, or sometimes confident enough, as well as not good enough, to take certain jobs or complete certain projects.

8/n

And now, I'm dipping my feet in to 3D. Initially the idea was to learn enough to block things out, so it could help my traditional drawing skills. I've definitely been seduced though, by the excitement of building and modelling things and seeing my ideas in 3D.

9/n

But I still don't have a plan. I have no idea what I'm doing, or more importantly 'why'. I love building sci-fi stuff in Blender. Really. I find it incredibly enjoyable. But is there any point to it? I don't know. I have zero idea of what it could be used for.

10/n

Even if I get 'better' is what I do of any use professionally? One problem is I know so little about 3D - what's the difference between game assets, world building, making stuff to 3D print… I know there are a huge range of specialties, but I don't really know what they are.

11/n

I definitely suffer from the 'unknown unknown' thing. I don't have a clue what I'm doing, or what I should be doing, or what questions to ask - because I know so little. I came to Blender with absolutely zero 3D experience, and working on my own, that's quite a big gap to bridge.

12/n

Maybe my 3D stuff is the basis for illustrations still? Maybe I need to go back to the reason I started learning in the first place.

I have many more questions than answers. And I know there are a lot more questions I don't even know about yet.

13/n

Anyway, that's probably that little outpouring over with for today.

Sometimes you just need to get stuff out there don't you? Especially when you work alone.

Lonely business sometimes.

14/14

Adding a little docking tube to this space tug, figure I might as well build a big modular space station to go with it.

#SciFi #Spaceship #Blender #B3D

Progress…

#SciFi #Spaceship #Blender #B3D

A few months ago, after some failed attempts, I started trying to learn 3D seriously. Not to become a 3D artist or expert, but so I could make use of 3D in my other artwork.

After completing a short online course in Blender, this is where I'm up to…

#Blender

#3D

#ScienceFiction

#B3D

This is labelled as a photograph of comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS on The Guardian, and elsewhere on the web. But that's just a plane vapour trail right?

Credited to Martial Trezzini, who isn't an astrophotographer.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2024/oct/11/comet-a3-last-seen-in-neanderthal-times-could-be-sighted-from-uk-this-weekend

cc @markmccaughrean

I like the Foundation TV series. (Regardless of how much it bears a relation to the books).

I like it because it feels like modern 'Space Opera' science fiction and, it makes me feel the same thing that reading good sci fi makes me feel…

Wonder.

#Foundation #SciFi

OK. Writers of Mastodon. How the hell do you keep your info for your books / story/ game organised?

At the moment I have a document with ideas, a document with actual writing progress, and a separate document with descriptions of characters and places. It seems clumsy, but I can't think of anything better. I don't have any wall space for a bunch of post-it notes.

#Writing #Fiction