Visual Skills Self Evaluation

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?

My final outcomes of the three studio briefs display a diverse range of media and I felt I became more adventurous with my choice of media as the module went on. I felt I needed to push myself to take advantage of the freedom we were given with Studio Brief 3; I had never previously considered wax crayons as an appropriate media for a final piece due to the unruly nature of their finish. However, for this brief, this media worked well with the playfulness of my final images. This module has allowed me to develop my practical skills somewhat through experimenting with media and tools (dip pens were a tool I had not used before), techniques and processes, but I feel it has been more beneficial to my competence in idea generation, development of a concept and refinement of a well considered image. I have kept the focus of this module on the communication of a message or idea which has led to the production of some well thought out conceptual outcomes that I am not necessarily pleased with aesthetically. 

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

Producing roughs has proved invaluable to my idea generation as it has allowed me to get my ideas onto paper quickly and efficiently before progressing onto the selection and development stage. It realised part way through Studio Brief 1 that roughs could in fact be ‘rough’ so I felt I had spent some time during this brief producing detailed images which I later understood was not particularly necessary. Seeing a visual of my initial ideas rather than writing a list helped me to see whether an idea was viable and if not, how I could adapt it so that the image could be understood. Studio Brief 2 required me to work ‘within the frame’; this process really pushed my composition skills which is something I personally felt needed improvement. I think the composition of my landscape piece for this brief has a really effective composition showing how time is dragging and I don’t think I would have been able to think of this idea if I hadn't been working within the frame.  

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

I feel idea generation is a strength of mine, although some of my initial ideas are quite obvious, I work hard to produce a wide range of concepts which is often commented on in peer critiques. Studio Brief 1 displays a complete exhaustion of my initial thoughts before moving on to the development process of my final poster. This tested my competence in the exploration of possible solutions and led to some more interesting concepts as the process continued. I think I also consider a lot of different options in terms of media, tools and techniques for each aspect of my images, pushing my experimentation and exploration as far as possible in the development stages. 

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

One regret I have with this module is that I have not used digital media. I need to improve my confidence with using Photoshop as I feel this will really enhance my work and allow me to present my final pieces in a much more professional way by adding colour to my drawings precisely and removing any unwanted marks on the page. I feel I need to improve my ability to stand back from my work and take an objective view; this would allow me to reflect on my strengths and weaknesses more effectively. I think that future peer reviews and group critiques will help me adapt to this - I have learnt how subjective a piece of work can be and how feedback can raise issues I had not previously considered. In future, I aim to critique my own work in the same way that I look at my peer’s work.

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

This module has got me in the mindset of working to a brief with the intention of finding a solution to a problem in the form of a final outcome or set of images. I have realised that one to one contact time with a tutor is really valuable so I try to make the most of this to iron out any of my concerns or queries. Having strict deadlines to stick to has taught me how important time management is on the course, especially as we have numerous modules running at the same time, each with their own individual demands. The group critiques have introduced me to both giving and receiving criticism of work which has improved my ability to form opinions about visuals. Blogging was also a completely new concept to me and I have had to adapt my way of working to accommodate how my work will be assessed. I have had to get out of the habit of describing what I am doing and focus more on why I have chosen to do things, evaluating the successes and failures of stages of development and recording transformative moments in a project.