OUIL504 end of module evaluation

End of Module Student Evaluation BA (Hons) Illustration Module Code: OUIL504 Illustration 1: Production & Presentation Name: Polly Vadasz Student ID: 259578 Learning Outcome

Evidenced where?

Blog, Visual Journal, Roughs, Final Illustrations, Stings, storyboards, development sheets etc. (No more than 75 words)

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

5A5: Demonstrate an informed understanding of issues relating to image, media, format and context through the delivery of solutions to identified visual problems.
 (Knowledge & Understanding - Critical Awareness)

Blog - thorough explanation of process & reasonings Learned to deckle edges of paper for a professional finish (blog) Learned to half tone for screen print (blog) Format of my animation Evaluations - detailed critical awareness of final resolutions

Excellent

5A6: Understand the potential and limitations of a range of processes, technologies and techniques involved in the development and production of work for print and screen based delivery.

(Knowledge & Understanding Research)

Evidenced through print & half tone experimentation (blog), Explained in module evaluations (blog), Screen prints adapted for digital animation (blog).

Digitally enhancing print for screen (blog).

Collage and paper cutting experimentation for the zine and Studio brief 1. Paper cutting draw backs evaluated. (blog).

Excellent

5B4: Analyse and critically evaluate primary/secondary source material to inform the development and contextualisation of ideas, concepts and products through individual responses to set briefs.

(Cognitive Skills Problem Analysis, Problem Solving)

Evidenced during print research (blog) Animation research (blog) Audio research (blog) Research into my author through reading his books, listening to radio shows and watching interviews - a wide range of sources.(blog) Wanted to use figures in my prints so explored character design, learning a new skill.

I overcame multiple issues with screen print, using 2 colours and transferring print to digital, taking measures when printing to help separate elements for animation. I utilised the benefits of screen print to produce detailed work, rather than block filled shapes. (blog)

SB2 & SB3 were influenced directly by quotes from my research. SB1 showed my interpretations from his work and his journey to becoming an author.

Very Good

5C4: Select, manipulate and apply appropriate media, processes and technologies in the development, production and presentation of ideas, concepts and products.

(Practical Skills Practical and Conceptual Development)

Evidenced during zine making and studio brief 1 (sketchbook) Evidenced through studio brief 2 screen print & lino (blog) Examples of screen print experiments included in submission.

Thorough development of SB2 & 3 (blog)

Very Good

5C5: Identify, evaluate and apply practical/technical processes, materials and media in order to produce technically competent and conceptually appropriate outcomes. 
 (Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Technical Competence)

Printed Pictures development. Screen printing & lino (blog) Animation development (blog) Learned a new skill in character design, which I practiced outside of the brief in multiple media, and will continue to do so with my emerging practice.

Excellent

5D4: Demonstrate the ability to communicate the development and resolution of ideas through appropriate visual and written presentation of work.
 (Key Transferable Skills Presentation and Evaluation)

Final prints were redone for quality purposes, prints presented professionally for sale, portfolio considered for critique presentation and hand in.

Newspaper mockup for contextual display of Idea Pictures.

Blog regularly and substantially updated with pivotal moments, displaying critical awareness and continued project progression. I have shown awareness for a wide range of considerations on my blog.

Excellent

Conceptual ways of working became clearer after SB1 - spoken about in all project evaluations.

Summative Evaluation _____________________________________________________________________________________ How my approach changed through the project: At the beginning of this module I had never created conceptual images before, at least within an academic setting. I have always portrayed a concept more through type and branding, so illustrating a message rather than something literal was new to me. It took a while to find my footing in Brief 1, I was focusing on media experimentation for the zine, learning a new skill in paper cutting and collage. However through the group crits and conversations with my tutors I ended with three concepts that were a progression from my initial ideas. Rather than illustrating events in his books, I was talking about the author's personality.

I took this progression through to Brief 2 where I aimed to focus on his personality, and varying forms of it. I expanded my research, through which I found a quote that sparked the whole project "What I would like to be when I'm older is a clone. So one would be a rockstar, one would be an evolutionary biologist, a software engineer and one would probably stay in bed all day, watching movies". This lead me on to exploring the different sides of Douglas Adams, and I used the prints to develop 5 distinct characters, or "clones", through character design.

Although I had made steps to not be so literal, I do want my work to be accessible. I absolutely agree that there should be concepts woven throughout a piece, once unlocked creating a more enjoyable experience for the viewer, however I have found that I like to keep them as small hints. Adding details that can be passed over, or focused upon by viewers who know some context. This makes my work most personal, in my opinion. Therefore I illustrated the characters in their little worlds the way a children's book illustrator might, including the obvious motifs and having them interact to bring the pieces to life.

The animation followed suit, I aimed to illustrate the quote, one that describes Douglas' infamous deadline

missing behaviour. Those who know of him will understand it, and I would hope that even new viewers would understand it. Although as I explained in my brief evaluation, it wasn't as successful as I had hoped.

Problems overcome: Studio Brief 2 in particular had its issues. I realised how difficult working with screen print could be, and how time management is extremely important, as this method cannot be left to the last minute because so many variables can go wrong. I did, however, manage to get the prints done every time. Although half tones didn't wash out properly, shadows were left in my prints from past users not washing out their ink properly and screens were stolen and punctured, I utilised the late nights and help available, so now I know how to overcome those issues and will be prepared for future sessions.

I had issues with working in the A2 sketchbook. I didn’t feel comfortable with the size of the pages, I prefer to work on A5/A4, A3 would be the maximum. I feel wasteful trying to experiment on large pages, whereas in a small sketchbook each page can be a new idea. It was also very difficult for me to keep working in the A2 sketchbook during the character design stage as I wanted to be doing it in my spare time, and it wasn’t at all portable. So, I took up the A5 moleskine, which was small enough to carry every day, keeping my development going.

What did I learn through this project? What skills can I take forward?

As mentioned above, through this project I've realised how I like to work from the concept approach. I enjoy working literally, while weaving hidden details into each piece to make them more enjoyable for those who work them out. I like there being lots of places to look, even with simple pieces.

During studio brief 2, I explored character design for the first time, and really love it! I want to take this forward into future projects and develop my initial style in multiple medias. I've already tried vectorising my characters for a PPP project, and lino cutting for this one, but I want to explore guache and digital sketching next. Feeling more confident with characters has opened me up to children's book illustration, which excites me greatly and I will be exploring it further with my Responsive module.

The animation brief took my work to a new level, and I know now how much I want to utilise moving images from now on. I work a great deal with social media, where videos and GIFs are the most interacted with. My general way of working is small, simple graphics, but these can be taken so much further with movement.

As previously mentioned, I like to include lots of little details that interact, so movement is a great way to draw attention to these, complexing the initial image and boosting the viewer experience.

A small but long sought after skill I've learned is how to change the colours of work on photoshop, using Channels. This is revolutionary to me, as now prints can be made in black, scanned, and become any colour I need. This will advance my practice greatly as I enjoy mixing old and new media to sustain the handmade element.

What would I have done better?

Close to the deadline, issues were picked up on in my animation where details like the stack of paper weren't clear enough. I definitely would have drawn it in more detail if I had gotten this feedback earlier on, so in future crits I'm going to ask for detailed feedback about the drawings themselves.

I also would have taken the animation much further, being more ambitious with transitions. A walking cycle could have looked impressive and brought the animation to life, as well as folding the calendar into the paper plane, which would have helped with communicating the concept. These were things I was actually told to stay away from, however, looking back, I'm confident I could have achieved them with the great support we had from technicians. I saw some amazing work from my classmates, which has only encouraged me to explore After Effects more within future briefs. Specifically, lines drawing themselves, flickering images (which I included at the end of my short), panning across multiple backgrounds and utilising sound effects in a more interesting way. I was particularly impressed with the animations that panned, following a moving element that seemed to glide behind and in front of different layers. This addition of dimension, a world outside of the frame, was something I touched on with the paper plane, which came in and out of sight, but could have been taken so much further.

I have the tendency to stop brainstorming ideas once I've found one I'm interested in. This means that even when I do push myself to explore more, it's half hearted and I end up going with my first option anyway.

Roughs did help me to some degree, however I didn't experiment as much as I should have. I know this was because my rocky start scared me, where I couldn't choose between authors as I had too many

different ideas, so when I did have an idea I was reluctant to give it competition. This is something I need to constantly work on, as I usually get to the end of a brief and realise more clever concepts that I wish I'd thought of earlier. All I can do is remember this feeling and know the importance of roughs next time! It was my first brief, after all.