scholarship essay

My name is Carter Doody. I am a first year graphic design student at NBCCD in Fredericton New-Brunswick.  My reasons for writing this paper are to apply for your community college foundation scholarship, and cover why I think I am eligible.

Throughout high school I did my best to hold a high average as well as maintain a decent amount of hours at work. I had attained the position of a senior clerk at Sobeys and was even offered the position as a second to the grocery manager as well as full time hours, which I turned down to come attend college.

Often complimented on my work ethic, product knowledge, showing up early, and aiding of training new employees, as well as quick learning skills, multi-tasking, and on the spot judgment calls and all around customer service.  Showing good leadership in the absence of my superiors.  Other then Sobeys, I have had some experience in the construction trade with my father aiding in my ability to think in 3d forms, as well as some knowledge of different plants and flowers I gained while working in a green house wen I was younger.

I have also tried the entrepreneur road, helping to run a small paintball course during high school.  And currently taking part time hours in the fast food industry as a server at Quiznos.

As for my future prospects, I hope to possibly continue schooling in Singapore after I graduate from NBCCD and work my way into the illustration/concept art department for the video game and media industry, working for kingpins such as Blizzard Entertainment, Bethesda, and Wizards of the Coast, as my talent lays in drawing the surreal, and complete fiction with mainly dealing with a fantasy themed artwork and design.

goals

What are my goals? well in the future after graduating from NBCCD i would like to maybe g to do farther studying in Singapore at the school ran by fang zhu, an artist i watch online whose tutorials are very helpful and insightful into the industry. which fallowing after that maybe trek my way back home on foot as much as possible by foot as to see some of the world and then find myself a stable position at a studio for video game production as part of a concept art team, and see if i can do my part in the media pipeline. most of for a company like Blizzard, Bethesda, Wizards of the Coast, and so on, which are some of my favorite fantasy and fiction based media companies. but i would settle for something else as long as i am doing what i love which is to create characters, creatures, worlds, and story-lines.     

Listening and what not and what kind of listener am I?

Comparing, mind reading, rehearsing, filtering, judging, dreaming, identifying, advising, sparring, being right, derailing, and placating, all of which are types that all have to to do with how you intake when someone is talking to you.

As to what type I would label myself, I don’t think I can go under one label. I have caught myself in many circumstances ignoring, derailing,, trying to be right, giving advice, doing the weird  mind reading thing ?!? as well as judging someone before even starting a conversation.  I have filtered in and out of so many conversations when I’m on my computer and someone is talking to me.

And when it comes to day dreaming in the middle of a convo….oh man do I ever, completely loose myself in lala land.  But if I had to choose just the one I would probably choose the advice.  I always try and pass along things I have experienced to help others if I can, seeing someone get hurt in the same kind of situation you have gone threw seems so avoidable. And leaves a pain in your gut if you don’t at least try to put in your two sense

Cats…..the preppy snobby animal that is in just about everyone’s home at least once in the run of your life. They somehow work there way into your home with their cute little eyes, making it hard to throw them out, even after they have just ripped into a bag of garbage on your front deck, for the thirtieth time.

            They can be quick and agile with extreme balance, but choose to be lazy, and get away with it too, living the life as we buy them food lol, they have nine lives so they say but they also seem to need them as they like the headlights on cars, unfortunately up close, that is what I think of cats, even though in ll fairness they are nice to have round :P

Growing up and beginning to show an interest and talent in artistic mediums, my parents decided to encourage me to push it farther, getting me to try everything from drawing, painting, airbrushing, carving wood, working with metal, sculpting with clay and currently now graphic design with computer software.

            I like drawing and sculpting the most as they are the two that I have worked at for the longest, with the graphic design course I am able to farther my drawing skills and use it in a future career doing signage concept art, etc.  But I would have to say that one of my favorite mediums is working with polymer-based clays. Sculpting small busts, figurine, or items like pieces. But where I did not think I could ever really go farther then a hobby with it I stuck to drawing. I find being good at both compliments one another, being able to think in 3d when sculpting something allows for an improvement in my drawing skills seeing shadows and form in my head.  

In a six-8 words

I like sculpting but draw more often.

read and react#1

The reading of “ The Practices of Looking” has for the use of a pun opened my eyes in a small way.  The overall point of the piece suggests that every single image has its own significant purpose or meaning, whether deliberate or not, which I already knew, not that I always go as deep into the meaning behind a composition personally, but understood the author’s point none the less.

The idea that an image can be viewed as an almost magical thing, holding a piece of time and history, I thought was a cool concept, and in a way true minus the magic part, as well as comparing a photograph to a painting in this manner, with the difference perhaps being that a painting or drawing could be of an idea from a certain time in your life, compared to a photograph showing the literal or “truth” as was mentioned in the writing.

The arguments of photographs not telling the “truth” in this modern day is also a good point.  Does a photograph really supply quality evidence in current times?  Awesome question, ad one I’m sure lots of people bring this up in court rooms etc., but I have always preferred my own two eyes for finding the truth in something, images can be distorted and altered as stated, and very easily I might add as a current graphic design student. The truth-value to a photograph just does not seem to exist in the modern society.

These kinds of statements makes it so one has to take in what they see in a picture as what it is and try to compare it to what they might already know about its subject matter and content and then make the choice as to whether or not they believe what they see.   In context to politics a poster of a starving child with a sad face, as a black and white image might stir emotions, but in this case its not just a ploy, you know from experience that there is poverty etc. even though the image is altered in whatever way its message is believable, where as if you see a “vote for this guy” kind of poster from some kind of political campaign you might have to think twice about the imagery used and if it is all true or simply used to make you think this person is an upstanding citizen.

Some things are just not as simple as they used to be, but it also opens a door to the wide variety of artistic methods of communication, which the world is in constant use of and need. Things that stimulate the mind and make you believe in something, is something I think is safe to assume every artist no matter the medium strives for.    

 Enjoy the visual world we live in, but be weary of it.  Whether or not you trust the next image of a ufo, or ghost siting is up to you :P.

read and react #2

After reading this chapter, my views on art and the fears that surround it seemed put to ease, but at the same time, if you are doing it as a career, then what they think of your work is very important and thus making a fear that you might run out of original ideas or mess up a piece, for example… what I want to do in the future is concept art for the video game and film industries.  My career and success will depend on how well I can communicate ideas threw art and at what rate.

If you produce one fine piece of work while the person next to you dishes out three pieces that are not as rendered but get the job done, there is a good chance the customer would go with the faster person over you. 

But I do agree that you should always try to relieve yourself of that doubt and make the art because you like to and want to farther your skills.

As far as your art being your identification, yes you would still be who you are without producing piece after piece, and not all of your art is going to reflect who you are.  But you can also put your mark into your work, your style or twist on things that makes your work different from all others, and sometimes people worry about how their work portrays them. This should not be an issue, if you enjoyed doing it, then what someone else sees you as should not matter.

Not to say that you should not listen to what others have to say about your work, being humble, and practicing humility is good. Take in critiques and let them help you to do better your work. You just have to know what to listen for.