Computer Arts - UK (2019-06)

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SPECIAL REPORT

have. And yet even when we do run retros, often

that’s it: nothing else happens, nothing gets put

into that positive feedback loop to say: okay, now

we know what happened last time, that’s not

going to happen again. So that’s something which

needs to change.”

MISTAKES MAKE YOU STRONGER

In the meantime, we urge you to carry on owning

your mistakes, learning from them and sharing

them where appropriate. But at the same time,

don’t have nightmares. Because while you’ll

inevitably make mistakes, that doesn’t mean

you’ll necessarily make huge ones.

“I think avoiding big, monumental mistakes

throughout your career is completely possible,”

says Powell. “And I think you achieve that

by learning from small mistakes, and being

constantly able to readjust your path as a result.

But is it possible to have a career without learning

from mistakes at all? I’d say that’s pretty much

impossible, and if someone says they’re doing

that, I’d be very wary of them. Because that

actually just signifies that you’re not being honest,

with yourself or others. And if you’re not being

honest about mistakes, then you’re not able to

learn or grow.”

Black takes a similar view. “When I’ve made

mistakes, it’s made my makeup as a person much

stronger and more resilient,” he says. “The way

I look at my career, I’ll never get to a definitive,

finished point where I say: ‘That’s me, I’m perfect’.

Instead, it’s a constantly evolving, learning

process. That’s precisely the way I’ve built my

career, stumbling along and making mistakes,

then learning from it, and growing and growing

and growing. And I don’t think it’s a bad example

for others to follow, too.”

“My error led me to discover

a new technique”

TECHNICAL

MISTAKE

Seven years ago,

Birmingham-based

freelance illustrator

Tahga s a B er tr am, ak a

Sweaty Eskimo, got a

commission to paint a mural at Twitter’s

central London office. He’d already done

two murals for the PR agency Pretty

Green and one for Cadbury, and had

his process down to a tee. It involved

creating a digital version of the artwork

first, then projecting it onto the wall, and

painting over it. “But at the Twitter HQ,

the wall was curved, and let’s just say it

didn’t go to plan,” he says.

Now seriously behind schedule,

Bertram hit upon the idea of using a vinyl

sticker. “Once the client had agreed

to this, I got the vector artwork done

quickly, and it was a success,” he says.

It proved a turning point in Bertram’s

career. “Fast forward seven years and

I’d say 90 per cent of the work I’ve done

since have been vinyl murals for office

walls, with about 60/70 per cent of

those all stemming from the Twitter

commission,” he says.

“Using vinyls works better for me, as

I can complete work on the move and

work on several projects at once. While

I wait for feedback from one client, I can

switch to another project. It’s also more

cost effective for the client: it can see

the art before it touches the wall and can

therefore ask for any changes, plus the

artwork can be repurposed. But I might

never have hit on this technique had I not

made my initial mistake.”

‘The only way

you get that

confidence is

by making

those mistakes’

TOM REDFERN

Above: illustration by Tom Redfern.

Below: while painting a mural for Twitter,

an error led Tahgasa Bertram to try a new

approach in his creative workflow.

JUNE 2019