End of Module Student Evaluation BA (Hons) Illustration Module Code: OUIL504 Illustration 1: Production & Presentation Name: Jay Stelling Student ID: 254607 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, Stings, storyboards, development sheets etc. (No more than 75 words)
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)
The editorial brief challenged me to produce images that would fit in three different size formats. From digital animation to printed pictures, I have investigated different contexts in which illustration can exist and delivered solutions fit for them. I have used my blog to gather and analyze examples of existing illustrations by successful practitioners, understanding the context and format of their work.
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)
I attended the induction workshops for each of the printing processes in Studio Brief 2 and my blog discusses my experience with each. I also researched artists who work with these processes and analyzed their aesthetic qualities on my blog. Collecting feedback in tutorials informed me of my most successful techniques, feeding into the decisions I made about what work to take forward.
Good
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)
I collected research about Poe in the initial stages of this project, which informed my response as documented on the blog, including: reading his books, reading biographies, finding information online. I visited the Ryedale Folk Museum and the Bronte Museum Gift shop as well as looking at existing prints and illustrators, informing my contextualization of the printed product. Decision-making is evidenced in the selecting of ideas from rough – final outcome in my sketchbooks.
Very Good
Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent
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)
The development work in my visual journals contain multiple tests, thumbnails and draft versions, showing the streamlining of process and ideas before I arrived at the final image. The blog also displays issuu presentations of my development work. Storyboards demonstrate the process and production of visual sequences for moving image.
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)
Processes and developmental work are identified and evaluated on the blog (e.g. posts about print workshops, after effects tutorials etc), where I chose the best concepts/drawings to take forward. The final outcomes – prints and sting, are examples of refined work, applying the skills practiced throughout the module in competent resolutions. This is work finished and presented to a professional, highly crafted standard.
Good
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)
Developmental work and key moments are documented on my blog, with personal evaluations and reflections. My portfolio contains responses to each of the briefs, presented professionally, including paper work, labels and annotated sketchbooks. My end of module evaluation is a critically written summary of my development through the module. Delivering roughs in tutorials provided me with feedback from peers and tutors.
Good
Evaluation (See guidance below for more information) You are required to write a 750 word evaluation of this module. My initial reaction to this module was one of excitement; discovering that this module was all about authors, I was enthusiastic about researching and reading over Summer, since this is what I’d relished in Level 4 Visual Narratives. My journey began with the choice to study Edgar Allan Poe. I had considered several other authors but I felt an attraction and connection with Poe’s gothic romanticism. I was drawn to Edgar Allan Poe’s writing and pushed past my early fears that his themes might be too dark for my practice. My outcomes for this module have all revolved around Poe’s sense of atmosphere. Over the course of this degree, I have discovered that my outcomes are always strongest, most natural when responding to something I am passionate about. I developed a very strong passion for Edgar Allan Poe which I think is evident in the work I produced. I invested a lot of time over the Summer collecting research and information, which informed my practical work right up to the end of the module. Research helps my concepts to grow legs and develop into something bigger, more real. Since research has been so vital in this module, I should allocate time for that in future modules and in the more independent study of Level 6. I was very wary of the restriction to only use print for Studio Brief 2. I tried to approach the brief with an open mind, putting aside my reservations and tackling the brief head-on. By approaching the brief in this way and embracing this unfamiliar territory, I learned new skills, especially in mono print (such as applying talc to
reduce contact print in monotype or using it to achieve white powdery flecks in the print). I was required to work outside of my comfort zone, thus surprising myself with the outcomes I produced. A transformative moment was when I found a way to make printing suit me and my way of working - cutting up the mono prints and 'building' with them. Feedback given in peer tutorials suggested that working with printed textures has enhanced my illustrations and brought a lot more atmosphere to them, making me reconsider my attitude towards printing. Last year I really struggled with my anxiety in peer tutorials, but I this year I have endeavored to get the most out of these experiences, preparing questions in advance to access the feedback I want. I believe I have taken several risks in this module. I planned to make a book for Studio Brief 2, but Louise Lockhart, who presented her printed products, made me think about how a printed product doesn’t necessarily have to be a print. I made a product that was neither conventional print or publication. The house format I constructed was made several times, tested and trialed in the studio until I was completely happy with the format. I need to improve the quality of my product photography, especially for the next module. I need to be able to document 2D and 3D pieces in clean, sharp photographs. I think my publication could have been more successful in telling Poe’s stories if I’d followed the conventional approach and made a pamphlet fold book since it would follow a linear narrative, and it would probably have answered the brief more directly, but I am proud of the house publication because I managed to find a way that combined my love of physicality with print, I made something that was unexpected and relevant to my author. Studio Brief 3 necessitated use of After Effects which I have never used before. I know this will be useful to my practice in the future, since animation is an area I am majorly interested in. I would like to revisit this software and make more animated shorts, building my show reel and working with musicians and/or animators. Having more skills makes me a more versatile practitioner. The storyboarding session exposed me to the process of developing and constructing a narrative for screen. My interest in animation proved useful in understanding the context of storyboarding. I could see the benefits of working with storyboards and how they’re utilized in the industry. My blog has been a consistently reflective tool on which I have documented and evaluated my progress. Whenever I’ve received feedback, I have taken it very seriously and tried to respond to it on my blog, taking time to make changes/test the suggestions given. The blog is also full of contextual research, surrounding myself with similarly-themed work or similar contexts to that proposed by myself. The more contextual research I do, the more knowledge I have of the industry and the better I can place myself within it which is why I need to continue analyzing and evaluating existing work. Being able to deconstruct what makes an illustration successful gives me insight into what I need to do to make mine successful. I tried to conduct myself in a more professional manner than I did last year on my blog, when it had become too informal. I’ve planned and used my time well. I booked in to print early and although this left me with no chance to make post-crit amendments, it did mean that I could focus the rest of my time on Studio Brief 3. I know how I work best, starting early and not finishing too late, so I have managed my time to suit my working pattern. I feel that I have finished this module with more skills and more work to showcase. Moving forward, I want to use the studio more (coming in, using the space in studio development time). I appreciated the new skills learned through workshops so I want to make the most of my time in the college with resources to learn more about different processes and materials.