Illustration Personal Statement Example 2

Creative activities have always drawn my attention, from a young age I would draw, colour, cut and create! I'm still very much like this, I find myself losing track of time and working into the small hours. I enjoy the challenges which design presents and communicating my ideas as solutions. Being involved in extreme sports when I was younger helped to feed my creative cravings, it gave me a focus and allowed me to express myself freely. I wanted to represent these hobbies, that's when I decided to design t-shirts that would display a connection with my friends and our common interests.

Prior to applying to study illustration, I have worked in job roles where I have learnt valuable skills. The majority of my experience being within the retail industry. I have learnt the values of team work, meeting deadlines, being pro active and working to ones own iniative. Working for high fashion retailers has also allowed me to keep my creative edge. I have personally made displays, dressed windows and mannequins, remerchandised walls, even down to placing fixtures requires industry knowledge and creativeness. It was at this point I realised I would really enjoy working within a more creative industry.

In my free time I enjoy playing guitar, writing music, discovering new bands, attending gigs, reading, photography, watching films and playing chess. A big desire of mine is to travel, I believe it is an important part of life. I know the places I have visited so far have left an impression on me, I am always keen to discover and explore. Without visiting new places and meeting different people, I would not have as much awareness of the world, I view this as an essential part of design. I also consider design to be a hobby which I am passionate about and enjoy thoroughly. It seems natural for me to take this to the next level as I see design being more than just a hobby.

Studying at degree level will give me the opportunity to respond to briefs, rather than self-initiating my work. Though more importantly I will also be given the opportunity to work with other designers, be it my tutors or fellow students. Working in a creative atmosphere amongst others who are able to give critique and advice, will be the most valuable area to me. I would also like to use university as a stepping-stone to gain work, through exhibitions, opportunities within the university and through industry links.

Some of my favourite artists would include David Shrigley for his bazaar humour, Banksy for his satire and directness and Frank Sheppard Fairey for his 'phenomenology' experiment.

Illustration has recently become a bit of an obsession to me and I can't remember a day when I wasn't drawing or doodling an idea. There's something satisfying about spending hours rendering an idea, only to realise something is slightly out of place and deciding to spend a night in perfecting it.