OUIL501 End of Module Evaluation

End of Module Student Evaluation BA (Hons) Illustration Module Code: OUIL501 Context of Practice Name: Student ID:

Kat Williams 255015

Please identify where the evidence for each of the learning outcomes is within your submission and how well you feel you have met the learning outcomes. Please also grade yourself in relation to the learning outcomes using terms: poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent (Note - This is so that the team have an understanding of how well you feel you have done. It is not an indication of the actual grade you may receive.)

Learning Outcome

Evidenced where?

Blog, Visual Journal, Roughs, Final Illustrations, Storyboards, Development Sheets etc. (No more than 75 words)

5A1 Demonstrate a critical understanding of the aesthetic, cultural, historical, technological, social, political or other contexts relevant to individual subject disciplines.

(Knowledge and understanding) (Research / critical awareness)

Blog research, lecture notes and responses, study good tasks, essay

5A2 Demonstrate an awareness of the relationship between the theoretical and practical contexts of their own creative concerns. (Knowledge and understanding) (problem analysis/definition)

Blog, lecture notes and responses, practical work in visual journal, study tasks re. synthesis

very good

5B1 Evidence the ability to use logic, reasoning and critical judgement to analyse ideas from a range of primary and secondary sources.

(Cognitive skills) (Critical awareness)

Blog research, study tasks, lecture notes and responses, essay, visual journal experimentation

very good

Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent

5C1 Evidence the capacity for undertaking practical and theoretical research that demonstrates an informed application of critical, effective and testable processes. (Practical and professional skills) (research)

Visual journal experimentation, blog research, essay reflective practice

5D1 Essay, visual journal, blog research, study tasks Organise and carry out selfdirected projects and communicate outcomes through written and other appropriate forms. (Key transferable skills) (professionalism / technical competence / visual quality)

very good

good

Summative Evaluation (See Evaluation Guidance on next page for more information) You are required to write a 750 word Summative Evaluation of this module.

Please type up your Summative Evaluation in the box below. Make a PDF of the document and post the PDF as your final post on your OUIL501 blog.

Although my COP2 module got off to a shaky start, once I decided on a research question I hit the ground running with my research. My aim for this year was to use more reliable and academic sources for the information in my essay, in response to the feedback from COP1. I used a lot of online articles in COP1, so this time I tried to expand my bibliography to include a range of interesting and credible sources. I started with early 20th century psychology of the uncanny (Sigmund Freud, Ernst Jentsch) which was interesting to compare with a 1970s article on robotics design (Masahiro Mori) and a contemporary study into comic book characters (Scott McCloud). I also looked at the work of sculptor Mike Kelley and analysed images from classical art history and contemporary visual culture. While researching the project, I came across some informal tweets from movie director Wes Craven describing his choices in the design of a character, which provided an interesting point to discuss in my essay. I’m pleased with the sources I chose as I put a lot of thought into their relevance and made sure I collected and read the texts thoroughly before writing the essay - something I struggled with last year.

As a result of this confidence in my research, the essay was easier to write. I’m the first to admit I really struggle with the essay part of COP and my first draft was awful! However I took on board the feedback from the draft submission and really cut down my essay, editing out the parts that weren’t absolutely necessary. This helped me to stay focus on what I was trying to say and not get caught up in trying to use fancy language. I also made the decision to treat the essay a discussion around my research investigation instead of an argument, which suddenly made the process much clearer as I wasn’t worried about finding a specific yes-or-no answer, and instead spent time analysing and comparing my research.

I used my visual journal to explore the themes discussed in my essay. The first part involved creating a series of character designs, for which I used existing characters from well-known stories. I then applied different colours to the designs to see whether this affected how the character was perceived (it did!). I learnt how to paint with Photoshop and really focused on getting simplified shadows and block fills to make the image clean and bold without being overcomplicated, or flat. Some of these were more successful than others, but using the same process for all of them meant that I developed my digital colouring and I’m confident to use it again in another module.

I also experimented with a new drawing style which is much more figurative and detailed than usual. It felt quite natural to draw in this way, although each drawing took much longer. It was interesting to try out, but it felt quite stiff and formal, and I think I’ll go back to more gestural drawings in the future.

Part two of my visual journal linked directly with the ideas of McCloud, Mori, Freud and Jentsch as I used style, simplification, automation, masks, eyes and the doppelgänger as themes for the investigation. I enjoyed this less than the first part as it forced me to work in ways I wouldn’t have normally chosen and it felt a bit superficial. However I’m pleased with how well it linked to my essay and brought the whole project together. Again, I wouldn’t have been able to do it without all the research earlier on in the project!

When making my COP3 proposal, I realised that a lot of my COP2 research was still very relevant, even when the subject matter is fairly different. In COP3 I will be revisiting McCloud and Freud as well as bringing in some ideas from Laura Mulvey about the male gaze.

My goals for COP3 are to improve my essay-writing and write a really strong dissertation, keep my motivation up throughout the project and to keep my research focussed and specific, as I think I tried to squeeze too many ideas into COP2. I also want to link COP3 with my studio practice to inform my own understanding of contemporary Illustration and put my research and ideas to practical use.

Evaluation Guidance This should be a reflective summary of your experience across the module.

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How did it go? Where did your journey start, where did it end?

I knew very little at the start of this module. At the end of the module I feel that…

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What learning took place? What was useful to you?

Be specific. New skills? New methods? New processes or approaches? Did you use the blog to reflect on your project development?

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What went well and why? What did you enjoy? What were you happy with as an outcome?

Be critical and analytical. Why did you enjoy it? Perhaps identify particular sessions?

This could be ideas, solutions to problems, studentship or research. How well did you use the studio? Did you invest enough time in the development and testing of your outcomes?

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What could you have done better?

What were the problems you faced? What did you do to try to overcome them? This could be in reference to studentship, organization or blogging as much as studio practice.

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How can you apply what you have learned here for future modules and projects?

Application and future thinking. Things you would do differently next time? What useful methods, processes and ideas will you take forward into the next module?

You may also want to consider: Self-questioning: How did your thoughts and opinions change as you progressed through the module?

Feedback: What other people (tutors and peers) thought of work and how you responded to that feedback?

Research: Did you use contextual research to inform your ideas, ways of thinking or understanding of the challenges set. This may include further research of your subject matter, slides from the presentations or use of the library.