A Visual Evaluation
OUIL 404 Personal & Professional Practice
Jay Stelling
1.
Image Making
When I embarked upon a degree of Illustration, I expected to use my whole time drawing and that the tutors would place value on drawing abilities alone. This was not the case and although I have learned a lot more about drawing and I have done more drawing this semester than I had before in my whole life, I have also begun to explore alternative ways of making pictures. My interests in model making were apparent in the Summer brief I completed before even starting the course, in which I constructed posable dolls that I then photographed in various scenarios. The peer feedback I received told me that this method was inventive and interesting. During the course, this love of model-making has grown and I have continued to challenge the conventional form of illustration by sculpting and fabricating images rather than just drawing them. In Visual Narratives, the scene of How Hill within my picture book was made by a process called needle-felting, a practical skill that I taught myself in search of a medium that would reflect the ethereal landscape. I don’t want to be tied down to one standardised way of making and I intend to continue experimenting with three-dimensional construction.
2. DIGITAL SKILLS InDesign and Photoshop are a part of a vital skill that is required by professional designers and illustrators; digital competence is expected of modern creatives and is necessary for a huge number of jobs. I have developed my practical skills Adobe software this semester. Although I already had some experience of using these programmes, my digital process has improved a lot since the basics I came to this course equipped with, as a result of attending digital workshops. Using Adobe programmes more frequently and becoming familiar with the shortcuts, I am getting much quicker and more efficient at using digital software. These skills were particularly useful in the book cover brief (Visual Skills) in which I used Photoshop to compose the jacket. There is still a lot about these programmes that I don’t know about, but I am learning every time I use them.
3.
PRINTING & PRODUCTION
I have learned how to screen-print and use the digital print resource. Having access to these resources, I was able to print my concertina book for visual narratives to a professional standard and to produce a two-colour screenprinted zine as part of a collaborative one-week brief. I’m really proud of the end products and I will use these facilities again. I need to practise my production finishing skills in trimming and binding. I found the task of trimming my concertina book very difficult and I struggled to achieve straight, crisp cuts. These issues should be resolved through practise and intervention.
4. PERSONAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS Feeling overwhelmed by the mass of impending deadlines, I’ve used my blog regularly to organise my time and reflect on my own progress on a regular basis. My blog has been a very personal space and an incredibly useful tool throughout this course so far. I’ve made posts to remind, plan and question. Most importantly, my blog has provided me with a chance to express any concerns or issues I’m having, to track my inner dialogue and then move forward with a considered, sensible solution.
5. STUDY SKILLS One of the most important study skills I have learned this semester is about RESEARCH. The Visual Narratives brief required me to be a ‘flaneur’ of my subject and I adopted this role very seriously. I thoroughly enjoyed researching my topic and I approached this from various different viewpoints: collecting memorabilia, taking photos, interviewing people and investigating the Ripon Archives. I didn’t know that collecting objects could be accepted as research, but it enabled me to understand and interrogate my subject further.
6. PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT I have developed more personal interests and hobbies this semester through branching out into different disciplines and exposing myself to different types of visual creatives. By using the Library to investigate subjects from Fashion to Nature, I’ve gained knowledge and passions that I didn’t have before. I didn’t use the Library much at the start, and I only kept to the Illustration section, but in the past few months I’ve ventured out of my comfort zone and taken out several books a week. I’ve been dealing with Generalised Anxiety Disorder for several years, which affects both my confidence and emotional stability. I’ve tried not to let these personal issues get in the way of my studies, and I think that by joining the course I made a huge leap into conquering these anxieties. I have also gained some fantastic friends on the course.
7. PROFESSIONAL PR ACTICE Prior to this course, I’d set up a Facebook page to promote my artwork and I’ve tried to keep it up-to-date with content. Though I’ve been busy working on University projects, I wanted to continue building a professional practice of my own. I’ve also made an Etsy page to sell my ‘Pixie Dolls’ for profit. I’ve had success with this and sold several dolls this year. I want to continue networking and building a stronger portfolio of commissioned work, but this will also rely on me balancing my time to commit myself to University modules too.
8.
TYPES OF ILLUSTR ATION
I called myself a ‘Children’s Book’ illustrator at the start of the year, but I’d not really explored any other types of illustration. I was naïve and oblivious to the broad spectrum of illustration that exists. The ‘A Day in the Life’ brief for Visual Skills presented me with a challenge as I had to force myself into a completely new type of illustration to what I was familiar with. Responding to a news article, I produced a series of Editorial illustrations. In order to understand this type of illustration, I looked at examples of existing work on Pinterest. This investigation of professional practice helped me to understand this unfamiliar type of illustration. http://www.inspirationde.com/image/10087/
http://weandthecolor.com/editorial-illustrations-john-holcroft/31712
9.
THE PURPOSE OF ILLUSTR ATION
The essay I am writing for my Context of Practice investigation is about the purpose of children’s book illustration as a form of propaganda during WWII. I’ve developed a particular interest in how children’s books can promote or highlight the need to change dominant social ideologies. I was interested in this topic before I started the course, but the in-depth study that I am conducting through COP has encouraged me to explore these issues further. I want to ensure that I am channelling this understanding of purpose into the work I produce. Having a purpose in my work will also help me to assess how successful it is in achieving its intentions.
7. THE CONTEXT OF ILLUSTR ATION I’ve attended Big Heads interviews with professionals in the industry, including Glyn Dillon, Kate Gibb and Eleni Kalorkoti. I found it interesting how these professionals deal with illustration as ‘jobs’ and ‘clients’. Kalorkoti mentioned how she produces work for various contexts, such as magazines, newspapers, zines and website graphics. Her illustrations exist in various media and on different platforms, and she has to accommodate for these intended contexts. I’ve developed an understanding and awareness of context, but seeing the diversity of work that these professionals are asked to do, I think it would be beneficial to my future practise if I was to challenge myself now and have a go at producing work for these different contexts (I’m currently making illustrations for a GIF animation, which would exist online in a different dimension to how it would on printed paper).
ELENI KALORKOTI