End of Module Student Evaluation BA (Hons) Illustration Module Code: OUIL502 PPP Name: Ben Farr Student ID: 259382 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)
Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent
5A3: Demonstrate an informed understanding of professional context of their practice within the creative industries and cultural environment. (Knowledge & Understanding - Research and Critical Awareness)
Evidence of my critical awareness can be found on my blog, in posts about illustrators that have influenced my work as well as the study tasks showing where I think my practice sits professionally. Also in my creative report and accompanying blog posts.
Very Good
5B2: Identify and analyse the challenges and opportunities offered by future developments within individually appropriate areas of creative practice. (Cognitive Skills - Problem Analysis, Problem Solving)
This is shown on my blog and my investigation of where my work sits within the creative industries. Also on my blog are posts about the commissions I have received this year, I have had to deconstruct the briefs given to me consider what my work is communicating and whether it is meeting the requirements of the briefs.
Very Good
5C2: Develop a body of work in response to a defined brief that effectively demonstrates professional working practices in research, planning and communications. (Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Conceptual Development)
I have blogged about how my work has changed Very good and the skills I have acquired this year. Also on my blog is evidence of the commissions I have responded to, I feel for each one I have demonstrated my practical skills and produced work of I high quality that the clients were happy with.
5D2:Employ a range of appropriate professional communication methods to record and present their own creative practice, concerns and ambitions. (Key Transferable Skills, Organisation,
I have blogged each of the presentations that I have done throughout the year, Life’s a Pitch, the industry research pitch and my final creative strategy presentation. I’ve also documented my experiences of presenting and how I felt each one went. In relation to the creative report have blogged about my communication with a professional.
Good
Communication and Evaluation)
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 OUIL503 blog. Also, please cut and paste the text from this box into the final page(s) of your OUIL502 Project Report. At the start of the year I was a bit unsure about the direction of my work both aesthetically and thematically. My interest in sport has always been a driving force behind my personal work outside of the work I make on the course, but I felt this might be distracting me from exploring other avenues. Study task 2, early on in PPP, made me think about where my practice sits within the creative industries. I would really like to make work based around sport, but I felt that all the work I had made at this point lacked focus and seemed a bit like fan art. As well as sports based illustration, which tended to be more digital I also have a body of more hand-made work and paintings. This diversity in my practice left me undecided about what my work looked like and what my own aesthetic and tone of voice was. During the studio practice modules I was able to experiment more with different media and aesthetics and feel I found a way of working that feels natural and more my own. In 504 I really didn’t like working with print methods. This showed me that I prefer working in a clean and quite working environment like the studio or at home rather than the bustling print room. However, using lino and mono-print for my final book did help me find an aesthetic that I was happier with. Combining shape and texture was something I carried forward in my own personal work and the other modules. The briefs for Responsive made me think about making my work meet a brief and consider the professional context for my work. I had to consider what my work was communicating and how best to convey the message and tone that I wanted to fulfill the briefs. Working on specific briefs like the new statesman brief also made me think about how my work looks to potential clients and what areas of my portfolio need building up in order to get the work I want in the future. I wasn’t very comfortable collaborating. Although our collaboration group worked well together, I don’t really like handing over creative responsibility to other people. This has taught me about how I like to work, I wouldn’t rule out collaborating in the future but maybe with people that have different skill sets to me like an animator. Having to do the creative report made me consider what questions I wanted answered about the industry and how I could get sports based work in the future. I decided to contact Dave Flanagan, a sports illustrator who has worked for huge organisations and established sports teams. I hoped Dave could give me some insight into how he got these commissions and what his experience of working with these clients was like. I was slightly surprised by his response that he has never had an agent or had to contact a team, all of his work comes through social media and his website. This made me contemplate my own website and social media presence and what my outward facing presence is. At this point I made a website and worked on my branding, I had an existing logo combing a B and an F, I tweaked this slightly to make my whole branding look more professional. Contacting a professional like Dave has made me less apprehensive about making contacts in the professional world in the future, Dave was very complimentary about my work, which he’d seen on Instagram, which was also pleasing to read. During the 504 module I didn’t enjoy doing the research and making the work because I wasn’t really invested in the subject. This made me decide to make more light-hearted, fun work for 505. This change of tone combined with making work about football really helped me to build momentum during 505 and make work that I’m really pleased with. Inspired by illustrators like Robert Hunter and Keith Negely, I think I found an aesthetic that I’m happier with and feels my own. Also Being more passionate about the work meant I produced more and this really helped me develop my aesthetic and create more effective images. I really enjoyed making a children’s picture book, this is a completely different direction for me, one I don’t think I
would have considered at the start of the year. For my book I also wrote short poems for each page, writing the words and planning out my own book was a really satisfying process. I definitely want to finish my book at some point either next year or over the summer, I also have another idea for a football based picture book. Making mock-ups for applied illustration helped me think about what my work looks like in a professional context also how I can monetise my practice moving forward. The last few weeks have been really stressful and I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard. Time management has always been a problem for me, but I’ve had to get better this year. I’ve found making lists and timetables really useful in planning my time and meeting deadlines. Although I still had to do a couple of all-nighters I think I’ve definitely improved my time management, especially in the 505 module, I think this is because I was passionate about the work. Moving forward I need to think about what work I want to make so that I am motivated to work and meet deadlines.