Having reached the end of Part 4, I reflected on the Assessment Criteria Points.
Demonstration of technical and visual skills – materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills
The exercises in this part of the Unit certainly tested a wide range of skills and techniques. I felt I performed better in some of these compared to others, although I did attempt to begin each exercise with an open and enthusiastic mind.
I have continued to combine digital with analogue, for example adding colour in Photoshop, and a notable addition in this Section was the inclusion of shadows in Assignment 4, which I felt really enhanced the illustrations. The use and effect of lighting is something that I look to continue learning about and implementing as I proceed.
I felt more confident with my colour usage during this part of the Unit and, I believe, made fairly successful choices that were appropriate to the context of the illustrations.
Due to the copyright issues for photographic references, my observational skills were greatly tested in both the Caricature and Character and World Affairs exercises. I was required to use multiple references to draw the illustrations so I was not copying directly from a single image. This was quite a challenge, which I felt was more successfully resolved in the latter of the two exercises.
It has now become more standard practice for me to work with analogue tools as a first choice rather than going straight to digital, which I think has benefitted the quality of my drawings. I am able to then transfer these into a digital format, which I can manipulate and so on, based on a stronger foundation compared to when I have previously attempted to start in digital form.
I need to focus more on planning the composition at an earlier stage of the creative process as there were a few examples in which this became a last minute consideration, such as in World Affairs and Assignment 4, and there may have been a better way to present the final work.
Quality of outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
I have continued to maintain a clear and concise format on my Learning Log, which has become standardised throughout the Unit, presenting my creative process from initial ideas through to the final artwork.
In this Section I have improved my ability to critically reflect on the positives and negatives of each exercise I undertake, which has been enhanced by the addition of five observations of what went well along with details of what could have been improved upon. This method allows me to form a more balanced view of my artwork, whereas I would generally tend to focus more on the negatives.
Demonstration of creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
I have been quite pleased in my attempts at not focusing on one particular idea from the start of an exercise and instead trying to consider a range of different concepts. This has progressed in combination with an increased usage of my sketchbook to explore different visual ideas. I have become less concerned with the imperfections of these very rough, early drawings and I believe this change in mindset has been a positive change.
A wide range of different illustration genres were covered in this part of the course, and I felt my strongest results were in those that required a narrative and/or character design. These were certainly the exercises that I enjoyed the most. Even those exercises that were perhaps not my favourite in terms of the output, such as Paper Circus and Contemporary Ceramics, I still found to be extremely worthwhile and I learnt a great deal from doing them.
During this Section of the Unit, I was required to experiment with different materials, such as working with paper or ceramics, as well as through my own initiation, such as using oil pastels and working with clay. Some of these were more successful than others, but I felt I benefitted from being pushed outside of my comfort zone and this is something I hope to do more often with my creative work.
As noted previously in this Unit, I tend to allow my imagination to run away with itself at the initial stages of an exercise, before pulling it back together to form more achievable outcomes. This method seems to be producing fairly successful results so far.
Context reflection – research, critical thinking (learning logs and, for second and third level courses, critical reviews and essays).
I really enjoy learning about other practitioners and the range of illustrative work being made, including forms of illustration I was not previously very familiar with, such as paper art. I believe that my ever-increasing awareness of these individuals encourages new ideas and methods that I may not have otherwise considered. I am able to comment on the influence of my research in the write- up of each exercise, as appropriate.