allydsgn

It’s funny to check back in on here and see how things can change so quickly. I’m tempted to not put anything up just so it can be it’s own time capsule, but I figure it’s about time I updated for the sake of whoever I became friends with on here (sorry I faded away).

The last career update I had I opened up my own studio. It was a fun and exciting two years, and then I decided I wanted more experience instead of continuing that venture. So I sold my half of the company to my design partner and became a contractor at Disney instead.

Then, after about a year of contracting at Disney (originally an 18-month contract) I applied for an open role above me to become full-time and now I’m a Designer II at Disney! I’ve been a Designer II for a little over half a year now I believe.

So yeah, that’s my update! I didn’t want my profile to still look like I was running my own thing. Sometimes it’s tempting to go back to being my own boss, but I can’t deny that stability and a team is nice lol. I’ve learned a lot with great people, and I’m continuing to learn more every day :)

In the meantime, I’m now a discord person (sorry tumblr) and do my share of community hopping there. I still give out advice but in a more casual way on servers and I’m spinning up an FAQ as well. A friend helped me name it “What the FAQ is Graphic Design” and you can see how it’s going here:

https://coda.io/@allydsgn/what-the-faq-is-graphic-design

I think that’s pretty much my update at the moment. I’m sure there’s so much more to say, but that’s me at a high level.

Hello everyone! Long time no type.

So I did the big thing and I started up my own branding/design firm 😎

I started it with a partner that has more experience in this sort of thing and that I super trust, so I'm very excited!

This has been going for a few months now and it is empowering to be able to control my life to this degree. It's scary because we have to make sales and handle business things that I haven't had to handle before, but overall it's already such a great experience! And to be doing this when I'm 23 is also crazy. An ego boost on one end to be asked to join in on this but also a push for me to present myself confidently and not feel weird about it, haha.

If you guys want to follow along on this check out our website:

We're also on Instagram @ oathagency

So if any of you guys need design work or know anybody feel free to send our website over!

Love y'all and hope everyone's doing well!

I would say that I highly recommend it. A lot of places have standardized the use of Adobe Creative Cloud, and if not your specific company, then whoever your company works with will also most likely be using Adobe Creative Cloud.

Hello!

Well, I guess it depends on what your prior experience is and what exactly in graphic design you're aiming for. In general, I would say it's possible to switch over! If you learn principles and the programs and make a portfolio you can pretty much sell yourself as a designer. You'll probably have some lower level design positions at first because of your lack of degree or experience but it'll be a step at a time sort of thing. If you aim for an in-house position in a smaller company you could also end up as their only designer, especially if your original background is also helpful to them.

No problem! I’ll try to answer these in a short and sweet way so this answer doesn’t get horribly long, haha!

Can you learn from scratch?

Yes! Everyone starts somewhere. Just make sure that if you’re really starting from the beginning you don’t skip basics, the seemingly pointless exercises, and principles (no matter how tempting it sounds).

Can I start using adobe illustrator CS6 without knowing the ABCs of drawing?

Technically, yes! There are people that build graphics/icons/illustrations with shapes and the pen tool rather than literally drawing. The drawing background helps with anatomy, the idea of space and composition, and so on. You could start with some flat icons of things around you and that you’re familiar with if you just want to get familiar with the program.

Could you recommend sources for learning to draw and graphic design in general?

To be honest, a lot of what I learned was through classes in school so any online courses could be useful (like skillshare). I’m the type of person that learns by doing, so practice and just trying out different things and looking up tutorials/youtube videos when I get stuck is a great help for me! I would suggest finding how you learn best and pursuing that.

Is this really doable? Or if I don't the talent or the gift for it then I am just wasting time?

This is totally doable because, in all honesty, “talent” doesn’t exist probably in the way you’re thinking. No one wakes up and is “naturally” an amazing, anatomically correct, color theory aware, seasoned designer/artist. Everyone starts from the bottom. The dedication and discipline to learn, get up when you fail, and to keep improving are what separates a lot of people. If you are willing to learn and you don’t give up you will improve more than the “naturally” gifted artist that never tries anything.

Although it is more expensive, I would recommend CC. CS6 is several versions (which means a ton of features) behind at this point. With companies most likely working with CC on work computers or providing a subscription to CC to their employees you’ll probably want to be as up to date as possible.

If you’re wanting to use CS6 for yourself, freelance, or to learn the basics of Illustrator then I think that’s a great idea. If you’re going to continually use this in a setting where you’re expecting to interact with other people’s (updated) files or aiming for a job where they will provide CC on their work computers then you may want to invest in CC.

The name “allydsgn” has been my brand for quite some time, but on platforms like Instagram and Tumblr, never really on its own. The time has finally come for it to be my brand as a whole. As a Tumblr blog, I was in the studyblr community (students on Tumblr) and founded the studioblr community (studio/creative students on Tumblr) with the studioblrcollective blog and populating the #studioblr tag…

Thanks so much! <3

I honestly think that you are your best opinion on that. If you think you need the fourth year to push yourself to make the best portfolio and make yourself appealing for employers, then I think it’s worth it! There are people that are able to do really well outside of school and there are people that need that structure to help them build out their portfolio, skills, and work. If you can afford it and want that experience I think the safest bet would be to go for the bachelors (especially since some jobs require a degree). You can make sure it’s “worth it” by pushing yourself and pushing the projects to be the best they can be and asking all the right questions (and taking the right classes if you get to choose). I’m a huge advocate for “it is what you make it out to be”, so either option can work depending on your personal situation, but it’s what you make of it with your own actions and determination that’ll make either direction “worth it”.

(part of this is a copy paste from me answering this before so if it seems familiar that's why haha)

Yes! It’s more like knowing how to draw is a great perk, but it’s not completely necessary. I recommend practicing observational drawing (drawing objects/what you see) and gesture drawing (quick sketches of poses) just so that whenever you’re sketching out ideas it doesn’t take forever and you can show people your sketches and they see what you’re going for. Also, sketches don’t have to be perfect either, but just good enough so the idea is there.