Having reached end of this section, I reflected on the Assessment Criteria Points.
Demonstration of technical and visual skills – materials, techniques, observational skills, visual awareness, design and compositional skills.
I am very aware that I need to experiment much more with different materials and techniques. However, I was pleased that I persevered with two particularly challenging areas – colour and perspective – in the exercises Less is More and Visual Depth. I feel that my observational skills are improving both in terms of reference from ‘real life’ and photographs, as demonstrated in the exercises Less is More and Draw, Draw and Draw Again respectively.
As I become more informed and therefore familiar with a range of illustrators/artists and visual trends, my visual awareness is steadily increasing. I think this is gradually becoming more evident in my work and in turn influences my design and compositional choices, whether consciously or subconsciously.
Quality of outcome – content, application of knowledge, presentation of work in coherent manner, discernment, conceptualisation of thoughts, communication of ideas.
I generally feel that my ability to communicate my process and ideas from initial thoughts through to final pieces and evaluative reflections is coherent. This is demonstrated in the systematic structure I have developed for recording the process on my learning log for both the exercises and assignments.
Demonstration of creativity – imagination, experimentation, invention, development of a personal voice.
I realise that often my (genuine or perceived) lack of ability and/or courage to experiment limits how well I am able to make the creative leap from my sometimes vivid and inventive imagination to reality, which I find extremely frustrating. I do always try to consider the less cliche possibilities for each brief.
I feel that as I work through the course I am becoming more aware of the development of a personal voice and I hope this will become more apparent as a I progress through this unit.
Context reflection – research, critical thinking (learning logs and, for second and third level courses, critical reviews and essays).
I am aware that at Level 2 research becomes increasingly more important. I always start each exercise/assignment with research, usually online or in reference books. I am determined to expand my sources of primary research to include museums and galleries. Another obvious source of primary research is observational drawing, which is something I am making into a regular activity – the next section of this unit will force me to undertake this as well!
I strive to consider both my work and that of others in a critical manner and I am looking forward to developing a more structured approach to critical thinking as I make a start on the critical essay section of this unit.