I don’t know if there were any major personal obstacles I overcame (because my biggest obstacles were/are technical/foundation ones; and it’s all a matter of long-term practice! So I’m still working on those things lol), but if there was one thing at all, it was changing my views on what made ‘good’ illustration.
As someone who was heavily biased on painting and ‘skill’ based things such as completely accurate and realistic rendering, lighting, and anatomy = good art/illustration, I learned that many people who create work in styles that I find very appealing aren’t always masters of those things (learning foundation is still important though!). And that’s fine! Learning that everyone doesn’t always possess the exact same skill set was pretty important for me. I think as a result, it’s lead me to appreciate lots of different styles, drawn or painted, exaggerated or realistic, flat or rendered, etc. I wouldn’t say my school was entirely responsible for that, but having the school as a venue for meeting some great peers was likely an influence.
