Final uni year illustration student + final art project: HELP?

Question

i'm a final year illustration student doing my final major project on 'imaginary friends'

i have to consider a few key points:

- what do i want to communicate

- what do i want people to feel

- why would it be interesting?

my answers to those are:

- i want to communicate how and why children indulge in imaginary friends

- i want people to recollect their own childhood imagination, perhaps to reminisce.

- the interest will lie in the recollection and also in seeing the depth & resource of the child's imagination

what i want to know is... is this idea clear enough? my tutors often tell me my idea isn;t clear enough or isn't good enough to research in depth.

is this a good idea? i'm not interested in doing children's books, i just love children's drawings and their imaginations, and i want my final project to be really enjoyable, and complement my drawing style, which is often childlike in nature.

Answer 1

The exploration of Imaginary friends could lead you anywhere. Children have such diverse and creative thought processes. My guess is you'll probably find characters from Monsters Inc. somewhere on the list.

I think it is a good idea if you can approach the subject in a creative way. Show your tutors that there is a method to your 'madness'. I wish I was back studying art....

Answer 2

I would choose another question if I were you. I would pick one that will question something relevant to the work you wish to get when you leave University. Do something commercial and build up your portfolio of work to prove the answer.

Answer 3

Your basic idea is really interesting, but I think you could refine it a bit more, make it more personal.  Communicating *how and why children indulge in imaginary friends* is very broad, and almost sounds like a psychology project.

What if you did drawings of your own *imaginary friends* from your own imagination?  Communicate your fascination with them, why/how you find them so enjoyable, etc.  

Wanting *people to recollect their own childhood imagination*

is also a bit broad - and maybe not such a good idea, considering that many people had lousy childhoods and don't want to revisit it.  Perhaps *connecting people to their own child-like imaginations*  would be more to the point.

The interest, then would lie in the experiential - i.e., the experience of viewing your art - which, in this case, is getting a glimpse into your imagination.

OR... you could involve children into your project, but the emphasis would have to be on your own work, since you're the one getting the grade, lol.

Good Luck, stay inspired!

Answer 4

Sounds great to me, maybe a bit abstract, but that in itself sounds good..

- - - anything visual/sketches to show us???

=))

EDIT::: just read mediadiv's comments - and I think this advice is spot on!! ;)