Craftsmanship – Exploring Media
Looking at my work now compared to the beginning of the course I have noticed a massive difference in the way I have started to experiment with a variety of ways to approach image making and the relevance of this in comparison to the tone of the content.
Especially during the 'Untold Story' brief, I found that I was trying out processes like collage and texture rather than just reaching for the pen straight away. At the start of the year I would have been a bit reluctant to experiment with things I hadn't mastered the use of. Now I am able to throw all uncertainty to the way-side and focus on my own personal growth as an illustrator. Learning things like screen printing has helped me in this development.
Blogging – Reflection of Practice At the start of the year I was very unsure of what was expected from my blog. Just because I had never written one before. I was very much just listing things I had done in the day.
I now use my blog as a part of my creative process, to develop and reflect on ideas I may have had as well as drawing a line under particular parts of a project. I realise that the point of the blog was more for my own use rather than purely for academic purposes.
Research
I am now a lot more confident experimenting in my sketchbook even during the initial research period of a project. This helps to create a tone and atmosphere in the final stages, as I can narrow down what works and what doesn't work for an overall image. A few months ago I was very weary of doing this and I would stick to simple line drawings when researching, it has been liberating to step away from my comfort zone of what I know I can do to try something different.
Storyboarding Developing my work through the use of storyboards has been extremely helpful in being able to visualise my ideas. I find it very difficult to picture what the final outcome will end up looking like without the inclusion of this stage. Before storyboarding was included as a part of the brief I had never really embraced how useful they can be. Towards the start of the course I would have never even thought to draw out so many storyboards, even at the very initial stage of developing ideas/narratives. Getting used to taking into account the scale and composition within an image straight away makes the last part of creating imagery a lot easier.
Drawing through Thinking Drawing one thing over and over again is something we have been encouraged to do from the start of the course. This has been a huge benefit to me, especially in regards to characterisation and my drawing skills as a whole.
Photoshop Skills Although before the course I had used Photoshop many times, there are things I have learnt, especially in the inductions, that I did not know before hand. Using layers to try out different effects and the Multiply key has been a life saver! I am excited to try out Photoshop a bit more in regards to layering and using a Wacom Tablet. My favourite method so far is to merge technical skills with practical. This way you can still feel the hand of the maker.
InDesign Skills During the last project was the first time I had ever used InDesign to create a book. I am happy I am learning skills that will be useful in a professional capacity. Learning the ins and outs of a program like InDesign was a bit tricky at first but I am sure once I use it a few more times I will get the hang of it.
Communication
The course so far has taught me a lot about the communication of an image. Particularly the way in which characterisation can be an important part of being able to say something in an image and describing an overall tone.