end of module evaluation - visual communication

1.  What skills have you developed through this brief and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I hadn’t had any previous experience with illustrator before studio brief 2, so that was a completely new skill I acquired, I don’t feel I completely engaged with the process as I didn’t create my final images completely on illustrator so they weren’t really shaped based imagery. But how I did use it is more in line with how I usually work, and I learnt how to combine my analogue work with illustrator, which was really useful skill. Also, in studio brief 3, I had to think more about format and editing my work to fit into different scales which is an important skill. I think I did well working at the postcard and stamp size but faltered a bit for the A2 poster size as it became too convoluted and didn’t really fit with the compositions and style of the postcards and stamps.
2. What approaches to/methods of image making have you developed and how have they informed your concept development process?
During studio brief 3, I was able to really explore a character, developing work that aims to define who they were. It was an interesting project, as I haven’t done that before. Thinking more about whether styles and content are appropriate for my person – Lewis Carroll. When using illustrator I found I was thinking a lot more about colour and how to work separate images as a set, planning out what colours and styles would link them together well. Found I have been doing a lot more development work for this module than before, as in doing more composition sketches, and constant drawing of the same subject using different materials, which has really helped in finalising ideas and styles. Especially in studio brief 3, where I felt I was really using as a way of gaining an understanding of how I wanted to present Lewis Carroll.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I feel I have experimented a lot throughput this module, playing around with different materials, trying out digital media and seeing how to combine that with analogue, which has really helped to improve my approach to work. I think my postcards that I made for the illustrator brief were my strongest finalised pieces; they worked well together and had a good colour scheme I feel. Although I am not very confident with digital media, I enjoyed making these pieces, as I managed to incorporate my own drawing, which enabled to me to keep it quite personal to my style. Although I think my development work for studio brief 3 was my strongest, as I really enjoyed drawing aspects of his life and working out what style would suit his character best.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I wasn’t happy with my poster that I made for studio brief 3, I think I could have spent more time composing it and making it work better as a set with the postcards and stamps. It looks a bit rushed and messy compared to the others and I don’t feel the style it has been done in works very well on such a big scale. Although I am much happier with the stamps and postcards from that project compared to the poster, I think all of them could have been worked on more. The ideas and research behind them are good, but the actual execution of the finals isn’t very impressive. So in future I will make sure there is a balance between the development work and the final images, as both are important factors.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
-       When put into groups for a project, I will try to make sure everyone has set responsibilities, because for studio brief 1 I feel we all were doing all the jobs which wasn’t very efficient. So having separate jobs will make the work load lighter and get more done. -       I will manage my time better so that I have enough time to make final images that I am pleased with, without falling behind on development work because you need both for a project to be successful. -       If I feel something doesn’t work with a final piece I will go back and try and improve it – if there is time, which I feel I should have done for studio brief 3. -       When learning about a new process; like with illustrator, I will try harder and trying to know everything it can do and how I can use it rather than just using it for how I want my images to look and not knowing the tools very well. -       If I know I will need to print something for the hand-in, I will make sure I book in advance because it was a bit risky going to the drop-in sessions as it was always so busy. It would also give me more of a set deadline to have everything practical finished before the deadline so I can spend more time fixing things on my blog etc.
6.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.

final resolutions

Pleased with how the stamps turned out, think that though the compositions are simple, I think they work well on such a small scale. As it is clear what they are showing, and it isn't too convoluted. 
Though after analysing them I feel they could have been made better if they all had a bit of shadow under the object, like with the pen and ink image. 

Also happy with the postcards, they link in well with the stamps as the stamps are representing elements of what is shown in the postcards. I think the scene with Carroll photographing and him in a boat are the strongest two composition wise. And I feel they fit in with my idea of Carroll the best. 
Again I think these could have benefitted from some more detail with shadowing but I am pleased with the results. 

The poster is the weakest format for this project I think, it did look a lot better once I had printed it out on large format because there is quite a lot going on it seemed too busy when I printed it out A4.
But I do feel it is a bit messy compared to the other formats. And although I had experimented a lot with the image of alice on the do-do's knee, I hadn't thought about composition enough, which has let down this image slightly. 

editing

I went back to my images to edit them slightly

Although on screen the difference on screen isn't that noticeable, it did make a lot of difference when I printed it out again. I think it does look a lot better now, the colours clash less, making it more harmonious. 

final crit

We had our final crit for our hand in on thursday, we had to have all our images printed out to show:

I wasn't too happy with the colour they came out in, the background was much more yellow than it looked on screen.
So will have to go back and edit that before I print them out properly. 










my feedback:
- clear understanding of Lewis Carroll, and have managed to depict his personality
- have clear synthesis between research and visuals
- blog is well documented and presented, can see progression of problem solving that I have gone through with my media testing
- can see how experimentation has lead to final outcomes, and exploring mix of digital and analogue has strengthened this
- but do not feel that final outcomes really depict him as a person, and that the more colourful work I played around with represents him better

It was all pretty positive feedback which it encouraging, I don't know if I agree about changing the colour scheme as I feel the colours I have gone with work well as a set but are also quite bright and engaging. 

poster development

I have been focusing a lot on the style to draw my poster, and have been continuously drawing alice sat on the dodos knee, but haven't actually thought about the composition of the poster.
I tried seeing how the sketch I've been working from looks on a page, and it seems rather empty, just floating on the page with nothing surrounding it.
So I've started thinking about how to compose it

Like idea of having elements of the Alice in Wonderland stories come into the poster, as so far it isn't too clear who the person I'm depicting is, as he is most famous for his Alice books. 
It would also give the sense of him actually in the process of telling a story to Alice, which is something he apparently enjoyed doing. 

I feel the style of the pen work and the loose watercolour makes the scene quite dreamlike, which relates to Alice in Wonderland as much of it is very surreal.

postcard development

I liked how the stamps turned out, so used the same method for the postcards:

then used the lightbox to draw out fine pen lines separately:

I do like how these have turned out, the beige background fits with the blue, makes it look quite romantic and dreamy. 
I think the compositions for these also work quite well, they are rather voyeuristic, as if the viewer is getting a peak into Carroll's life. 

stamp development

the combination of the imprecise ink and the loosely applied line work, works well I think; I feel the naive style of it fits well with the theme of Lewis Carroll who was thought of as rather playful and whimsical in his writings.
I played around on photoshop placing the ink and the line work, which I drew separately, and I like how it has turned out, will try using this style for the finished formats. 

I initially painted the watercolour, then added the loose line work. When scanning into photoshop, I really liked the texture of the watercolour paper that showed through as well, it makes it look like its been printed onto some sort of parchment, which I hope will still be translated when actually printed.  

Am pleased with the final turnouts of the stamps, they go well together as a set. I feel the clearly give an idea of different aspects in Carroll's life. 
I decided for the colour scheme, that I would have different colour for each format, and have gone for the 3 primary colours so they will still fit together aesthetically. Stamps being yellow, postcards greeny/blue and the poster a pinky/red. 

visual research

Saw these lovely screen prints by Liam Golden, I really like the placement of the block colour and the thin, detailed lines; how they overlap and don't quite fit together perfectly. His muted colour palette also works nicely. 
I think it could work well to use a similar style for my pieces, maybe not using screen printings but with watercolour and fine pen work. 

poster development

like this composition of alice on carrolls knee, and carroll with a dodo's head

unsure of the material to use for it though, tied between using watercolour or drawing it out with pen and adding colour on photoshop.













scanned  one of my test drawings to see what i could do on photoshop

quite like idea of using a limited colour palette, so that piece doesnt become too convoluted

tried using full colour, i think this has come out alright, although it seems a bit dull to me. i dont feel very personal to me as its not the style i would usually do work.

i did another drawing with a finer line work which i think works better, seems more characteristic. also the limited colour works well, looks more professional.