Where am I now? A visual evaluation

During the first week I learned about line quality and how this can make a massive difference to a piece of illustration. Often I would use fine liners and made all the lines in my drawings the same width but now i would go for a brush and ink with varying line weight, making the work look more hand made. I put this method to use first during the article breif .

Something else I have learned are a few new Photoshop skills, such as making my own textures and using the wacom tablets. Some of the skills I will probably need to refresh my memory on but this shouldn't be too hard.

Another programme I have learned to use is in design, I used this whilst making my picture book. During the picture book project I also learned the basics of story boarding and how to create tension and atmosphere within a piece of work.

I have learned a few personal management skills since starting in September. These include time keeping and being more organised, I still have a long way to go in terms of being fully organised and not leaving everything till the last minute but I would say I have definitely improved since I started. The same goes for my motivation to do work. I am also finding it abit easier to wake up on time, although this might not seem like much I found it extremely difficult waking up and getting to college for 9.30 but now its not as bad.

I would also say that I have developed more as a person since starting the course, for example trying to be more talkative around people id never met before which is something ive always found difficult. Whether this be during group crits or just generally in the studio, I also feel much more interested in other peoples work and im more willing to make comment and discuss the quality's than I previously was.

Working professionally still seems a long way off, but I now realise that it will soon come by. This is mainly due to all the big head sessions, especially with those who have not long since graduated. One of the main differences ive noticed since starting uni is my understanding off illustration as a profession and what the purpose of the subject is, for example I now know that the reason for illustration is to communicate soothing through  visual means, whether it be drawing, painting, 3D, print etc. Even if what you are communicating is only small, it is essential for effective and recognisable illustration. I also know that what I would have previously called a 'style', is actually called a visual signature. 

OUIL 405 End of module self evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL405 Visual Narratives	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME

1.  Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
I have developed a few new skills in this module, one being screen printing. I had previously done this at my last college but never with two colours, I found this quite challenging and confusing especially when drawing on the acetate because you can only use black. Also working collaboratively is something new to me, but in the first hotdog book brief we were made to go and explore leeds with people we hadn’t necessarily spoke to before and create a book with them, this is something I quite enjoyed and made me push myself when it came to the drawing because I didn’t want to let the group down. Another skill I have learned is story boarding and building tension within a piece of work. Before this module I have never used in design and now I understand the basics of it and the skills needed to make a book.
2. Which approaches to research have you found most valuable during this module. How have you interrogated your research to identify appropriate ideas?
Artist research has defiantly been most helpful to me, whenever I came across a problem when creating work I would research other artists work and see how they did certain things, e.g. when I was struggling to make puddles look realistic I looked at Jon Mcnaughts work and realised it was much more simple than I thought. Also going out experiencing a place for myself first hand was quite good, and drawing things from observation, I have never been keen on drawing in public but I kind of got used to it after the hotdog book breif. Admittedly my research hasn’t had a massive influence on my final piece, the artist research defiantly has but researching the location wasn’t really much help to me as I struggled creating a narrative based on this. Which is why I ended up doing a story about my day out with the dog rather than the history of the place its self.
3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these? What aspects of your submission are you satisfied with?
I believe one of the strengths within my submission is the time and crafting ive put in to my artwork. I believe my patience helped me a lot during the making of my final piece because it was quite stressful sketching and painting so many pages in so little time. Ive never done that much work in a time scale like this before.
4. What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in the future?
Definitely my experimentation e.g media testing and roughing in my sketchbook. Part way through the module I got incredibly stressed about all my work and the COP essay and thought there was no way I was going to be able to do it all so I lost all my motivation. This massively effected my work out put up until a couple of weeks before the hand in. Next time I am going to try and get started straight away so I am not rushing everything all at the end. Another thing is blogging, I believe my blogging has been satisfactory for this module but it could use some major improvement, even as little as blogging the feelings I had about my work on the day.
5. How effectively are you making decisions about the development of your work? What strategies informs this decision making? I don’t understand the question entirely, but Id say quite effectively. I am starting to understand what works and what doesn’t especially when it comes to making up my own narrative which I have never experienced before
6. How effectively have you managed this project and organised yourself during this module? Not very well to be honest, as I mentioned earlier I was very stressed out before and over the Christmas break and was worrying to much about the work which effected my productiveness. I think one reason for this was because it took me for ever to come up with a story line and ended up changing it multiple times. My motivation got better after Christmas which is why I managed to complete the book and I am quite happy with what I achieved in so little time.
7.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance				x
Punctuality				x
Motivation			x
Commitment			x
Quantity of work produced		x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group		x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.

·       A printed copy of this evaluation should be submitted with your work.

·       A copy of your end of module self evaluation should be posted to your studio practice blog. This should be the last post before the submission of work for this module and will provide the starting point for the assessment process.

·       You should also post a copy of your evaluation to your PPP blog as evidence of your own on going evaluation.

Notes / Comments for the Module Leader

Signature

Date:

OUIL 403 End of Module Final Evaluation

End of Module Self Evaluation

Joe Baker

1. Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?

I have developed a few skills and methods of working during this first module. One of the main skills, which has improved quite a lot that I can think of, is my ability to draw figures from observation. To be honest, I haven’t yet put this to use properly within the visual skills module as I haven’t chosen any themes which involve people, except the book cover brief although I chose to draw them in a cartoon style. I have always been interested in drawing things of an organic nature, such as people and animals, so this skill will defiantly keep getting practiced and will be put to good use. My skills on Photoshop have improved slightly but this is certainly something I need to work on, as there is still a lot I don’t know. My final book cover was predominantly Photoshop work so I believe I could have made it look better if my skills were more advanced.

2. Which principles / theories of images making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice? 

One of the most valuable things I have been taught so far is the importance of line quality and how it can transform a piece of illustration. Another thing I have realised is that more often than not, simplicity can be much more effective than complicated; I have tried to demonstrate this in my work. Maybe not in the Typology brief but in the second two, I tried to make my designs as simple as possible but still making them interesting and eye catching with a sense of narrative.

3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these?

I believe I have demonstrated my ability to work with a range of media. I have shown this by doing my final pieces for each brief in different medias such as pencil drawings, ink with brushes and digitally on Photoshop. Similarly, I have shown that I don’t just work in one style. For the first brief I tried doing detailed yet expressive pencil sketches, where as in the second two, I went for a more cartoon/ characterised approach.

4. What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in future?

There are certainly a few things I need to improve on in my future modules. Two of these are more research, and much more sketchbook development with different medias and ideas. I will try and solve these problems by managing my time better, avoiding procrastination and staying motivated from start to finish of the brief, so I am not rushing everything all at once, days before the deadline. Another thing within my work I want to improve, is putting more of a meaning behind my drawings, I think this will come with time and practice.

5. In what way has this module introduced you to the Ba (Hons) Illustration programme?

This module has given me a taste of what to expect in the coming months. It has made me realise that the quality and quantity of work that is expected is very high. The standard of work amongst my peers is excellent and I now know that there is some real competition within the class. At the same time I have noticed everyone taking great interest in each other’s work and ideas, almost working as a team to complete the tasks. I have also realised how intense the course is, I am aware that this is the first module and that it is only going to get worse. It has made me quite anxious about the future and I am unsure whether I will be able to cope.

6. How would you grade yourself on the following areas:

		1	2	3	4	5
Attendance			x
Punctuality				x
Motivation			x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced					x
Contribution to the group				x

What do I want to know? Why am I going to do?

1.      Is there much emphasis on typography during the course?

-          This is something I have a particular interest in and hope that I will be able to develop and use in my career.

2.      Are there any techniques that are more important or useful than others when looking at future career prospects?

-          This will help me to know which I need to concentrate on.

3.      What are the trends in the different techniques in illustration? What is the trend at the moment and what are future trends looking like?

-          Again this will be helpful when looking forward

4.      What are the opportunities for work placements and what experience can I expect to gain from them?

-          I feel that this would give a true idea of how working as an illustrator would be.

5.      What opportunities exist to visit professional illustrators’ studios to see how they work?

-          Again as above it would help me understand a career in illustration.

6.      What steps do I need to take to become a professional illustrator?

-          Even though this is some time off I do feel that it would be useful to know in order to plan ahead.

7.      What is the best route; employment by an established company or self-employed?

-          This would help me understand the best entry point.

8.      In the future, how will I raise my profile professionally, so that I start to become known as a good illustrator?

-          This will help me make a successful living.

9.      Do I need to be prepared to have a diversified approach to my career e.g. illustrating books, designing logos, teaching, writing articles etc.?

-          This will help me prepare for the various challenges which I could face in a future career.

10.  How successful are LCA students in becoming illustrators.

-          I am interested to know how successful the college is in  producing the right people to take advantage of job opportunities.

How will I find the answers to each question?

-          Tutorial and speaking to my tutors.

-          Check on internet, social media etc

-          Reading relevant articles

Who am I? Why am i here?

5 reasons why I chose Illustration

·         Always had a keen interest in art and design and have spent a lot of time drawing from my imagination to create images.

·         My choice was influenced by my interest in designs and logos on skateboards, clothing, shoes etc.

·         I was very much influenced by artists I studied and admired during my A levels. These included Si Scott and Alex Marcou who have done work for major companies such as Nike and Coca-Cola.

·         Again during my A level studies, I developed a keen interest in typography, illustration and graphics. This was reinforced throughout my foundation diploma and confirmed that this was the career path I wanted to follow.

·         During my foundation studies, I was encouraged by my Tutors to persue a career in Illustration as this is best suited to the talents which I possess.

Why I chose this course programme

·         I looked around several illustration courses and my first impression, when looking around the studios at Leeds College of Art, was that it felt to be a very friendly atmosphere and the students seemed to be happy. I felt that this was the type of environment that would suit me and that I would work well in.

·         I felt that the staff and other students were very motivated and passionate about their topic.

·         I was very impressed by the modern facilities and the fact that it is all contained within one compact building.

·         The course was recommended by my tutor during my foundation diploma.

·         The information on the website was very informative and I also knew of another student on the course who was enjoying the programme.

5 skills that are my strengths

·         I like and prefer to draw images from my imagination.

·         I believe I pay good attention to detail and enjoy producing very detailed and precise images.

·         I feel that I have a lot of patience when drawing and try to make my work the best it can be.

·         I am very keen to explore using a broader range of techniques and learn new skills and feel I can grasp new skills quickly,

·         I really enjoy using typography to produce interesting images.

5 things I want to improve

·         I need to have more confidence in discussing work with my peers.

·         Presenting within a group, as this is something that I have had very little experience of.

·         I feel that I need to improve the speed at which I work as this will be essential to meet deadlines.

·         I need to be more organised with my time and set myself limits of time that can be spent on one task. 

·         I need to have more confidence in my written work as I have had difficulties in being able to start this quickly.

Unfortunately I couldn't save the image I wanted to (the cats). So ive done a print screen instead, showing a few drawings I really like by this particular artist.