Mega-Crit Feedback

Feedback Sheet from Mega-Crit (Morning)

Response to Feedback

There were quite a few comments about my ideas being well thought out and my use of symbols and metaphors to convey meanings and themes. It't nice that people can see the research and thought I have put into my images and I am sure my sketchbook work helped them to understand it better. I just need to make sure that these metaphors are made clear in my final images because my sketchbook won't be there to explain the thought processes behind it. 

I particularly appreciated the comment that said 'delicate imagery with dark feelings' because this is exactly sums up what I am trying to do with my images so I am really pleased that this comes across clearly. 

I found some comments about colour quite confusing, people commented that they liked the colours but I don't know which ones they mean. I have used a lot of different colours so far and haven't made a solid decision on what colour my final images will be. 

I received a lot of positive feedback about my mono prints as well. I do really enjoy mono print as a process and although my tests of combining this with lino were unsuccessful, I still want to use this process towards the end of my project. I have a few ideas, my favourite at the moment is making a small publication like a little book of poisons containing mono printed studies of plants. Obviously this will only be possible if I have time after getting my prints and animation sorted. 

Points raised in Peer Review Crit (Afternoon)

The general feedback on the oval compositions was good, they will work together as a set well. It was suggested that I could make the frame for my animation round in some way. Maybe I could have the oval element included but animate my images beyond this frame so that the movement and spread of the animation fills the entire rectangular frame. I don't want to restrict myself and waste screen space by cropping my frame down too much. 

I'll be able to get a lot more detail into the lino when I increase the size of the images but try not to lose the bold shapes of the chess pieces because it makes them stand out as being important to the image. 

I asked about colour in the crit because of the confusion on my feedback sheet from this morning. I asked for feedback on which colours worked and a few people said that they liked the orange and black that I have used in my most recent roughs. I am not sure about this decision because it immediately gives off a harsh and dangerous vibe because the colours are very strong and contrasting. I think I might opt for some more subtle colours but I will need to do testing before I can make any proper decisions. 

Response to Feedback

I got some good feedback and advice in this peer review. Everyone in the group had a set idea of what they were going to do so it was just a chance to clarify anything we wanted to ask or get an opinion on. There was nothing that was said here that made me want to drastically change anything I was doing but it was good to get clarification of my ideas and a few suggestions for improvement. 

I am starting to become a bit concerned about my animation because most people have clear ideas about what they want to do and some people have already done a lot of testing. I feel like I am behind with this aspect of the brief so I need to do a lot of work over Christmas to catch up. 

Self Evaluation

What do you think works well? How will you capitalise on it?

Thinking metaphorically about the content of my images has definitely worked in my favour. I think that it makes my images broader in their appeal because the visual symbols used can mean different things to different people. However, it is still very closely related to Christie because these are all themes and ideas relevant to her life and work. I am also subtly including a few things taken directly from her books so that there is also that direct link to her stories as well. 

I think the oval compositions work well because it makes a strong connection between all of my images even though they all have different content. By having the chess piece centralised, it looks symmetrical from a distance which makes the image striking and strong, however the little details of the image are not symmetrical and are more intricate and interesting to look at in depth. 

What do you think could be improved? How will you benefit from this?

I have done my roughs too small - they were difficult to show to everyone in the crit and they need to be made a lot bigger to accurately show the level of detail I want to include. I think this is something I have learnt from the sketchbook I have used for this project which was around A5 size. I do like working small a lot of the time but I also need to have a bigger sketchbook or loose sheets on the go to make sure I am not restricting myself. 

What would you do differently next time? What would you achieve from this?

I also wouldn't leave my animation until this late in the brief. It would have been better to work on the prints and the animation in parallel because I think my way of working would have helped them to fluidly work as a set. However, I am now faced with the challenge of designing my animation in the style of my prints and I don't know yet whether this will work or not.