Visual Language Final Evaluation

Final Evaluation

Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your practice?

Looking back through my work and reminiscing over my time during this module I really do feel like I have progressed a lot. I can really feel it, not only do I believe that my drawing skills have improved, my knowledge and understanding of analysing working has improved greatly. In addition, I feel my attitude and approach to a brief has changed thanks to this module. Through out the entire course I feel that I have grown up a lot. Before I was very reluctant to use a computer but now I really don't mind blogging my work it has become almost a part of my routine. Also, I am now comfortable with using Illustrator which is a huge thing for me as I would always avoid using any sort of programme. Visual language has helped the way I would approach a piece of work massively. Now I wouldn't even consider creating a final piece of illustration without forming a number of scamps/thumb nail sketches. I feel that it helps me visualise all my ideas and the options for different compositions/colour ways/ format etc...Moreover, Visual Language has helped me actually think about all these aspects of creating an illustration; I couldn't create a piece of illustration without thinking about the composition and the line of sight now, it seems to be coming natural now. Its just been in the last couple of months where I can really feel the change in my attitude, I have become a lot more organised and have been keeping on top of everything. I can feel the difference between the work that I produced in the beginning of the module and the work I have produced at the end. I take more time and care into my work now and clearly see the improvement. And I think that this has reflected in my other more recent modules too. 

Moreover, this module has forced me each week to test and try out different medias and given certain restrictions such as: not using colour in a piece. This has really helped broaden my mind to not just sticking to the same tools as I would usually go for. Yes, using some types of media didn't work out for me too well such as collage. But though some weren't successful I still feel I learnt a lot from them and glad I had a go at them and doesn't mean I wont use them in the future I just need to keep practising. Which is another thing I loved about this module; my work didn't have to look perfect it was mainly about playing around with the medias and formats. I surprisingly really enjoyed the 3D mutant task and had so much fun with it. It really makes you think out side of the box. Before that session I would never of even associated 3D with illustration. 

In addition this module has introduced me to lots of interesting artists that have helped and influenced my work along the way. It really helps me to see the work of others to visualise the kind of work that I should be producing. Such as the 3D brief it really inspired me. Without seeing the work of other artists I wouldn't of really known where to go with the task as it helps me to understand what I am doing by seeing the work of others as examples. Also, it has helped being shown work to analyse as it really has built on my understanding of an illustration or a piece of art in general. Visual Language has forced me to break down a piece of work and look at the different aspects separately to analyse and when discussing a piece of work.   

Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?

I've learnt that I need to consider so many aspects of an illustration that I produce before creating a final piece. There are so many possibilities that it could become just by changing the media. I think the theory side of the module has helped a lot for me in trying to make finished pieces. A principle that has really stuck with me is considering the foreground, mid ground and background and having a line of sight. It may sound simple now but I never thought about it before. I think that it help

 I have always struggled to make final images and stay in the comfort zone of drawing randomly on the page and not considering the frame, composition etc. But now after learning about these theories and principles I feel more confident in making final images and the last few tasks have enforced that more by making me come to class with a final image. I am happy with the final images that I have created and have actually been doing some of my own work at home and have taken in all the advice and read the hand outs which has really helped me. I never really have that much confidence in my own work but I do feel I am gradually getting more confident by presenting my work to other people. In addition, I find that I can now help give better and more informed opinions on other peoples work and helped me be able to criticise my own work better. And I can back myself up when talking about why I do/don't like a piece of work.  

What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission you capitalise on these?

I really believe that this module especially studio brief 2 has improved me greatly. Studio brief 2 really made me think about how to make my work look better by using simple theories and principles like changing the composition of the image. Thinking about the line of sight within a piece is important as it can really help with the flow of a piece and makes it a lot more visually appealing to an audience. Now when I look at work I cannot help but see all all these aspects and things like foreground mid ground and background it come almost automatic to me now. Which therefore I considerate when making my own final images. Another strength is that I am really good at thumb nailing all my ideas down I feel that it really helps me just let all my ideas down out of my head without having to draw it out properly, its just so I can get the idea and then improve and develop on the thumb nails that I like best. From the second week I discovered I definitely work better when working from reference, it just helps me get my proportions better and know when everything should be. In general this is module has really taught me that I just need to play more with my work and ideas and that there isn't a limit to the possibilities. 
  

What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future? 

There is definitely work that I have produced within this module that I don't like especially the work I created before christmas. Before christmas I was terrible at managing my time and would put other projects first before this therefore the work that I created for this module suffered. Also, I often went off task and and forget key instructions, such as: only work in monochrome and then I would go and create a colourful jellyfish.  

I understand what was being taught and once I got started on the work I really enjoyed trying out different ways of illustrating but I often didn't leave myself enough time to put my all into it and for fill it to my best. I especially thought that my collage and work with textures is quite poor and definitely need to improve on that as I can really see the benefits it can bring to some pieces of work. This module made me open up to new ways of creating even if I wasn't too good at it but made me realise that you don't necessarily have to draw to create a great piece of illustration. 

In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)? 

Each week we have focused on different principles/theories of illustration so each week we are forced to look at how artists have used these particular aspects within their work. And because each week we have just focused on one area at a time it gave us the opportunity to really gain an understanding. So now when I look at an image I can bring all of that knowledge together and analyse and deconstruct the piece into parts and know what I am talking about. Also after this module I am not afraid to have my own opinion as I will be able to back it up as to why I don't think something works or why I don't think it is ascetically pleasing.   

                                                                                                                                                                          

6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance				x
Punctuality				x
Motivation			x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced		x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group		x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.