OUIL504 Evaluation

End of Module Student Evaluation

BA (Hons) Illustration

Module Code: OUIL504 Illustration 1: Production & Presentation

Name: Sophia Watts

Student ID: sw255328

Please identify where the evidence for each of the learning outcomes is within your submission and how well you feel you have met the learning outcomes. Please also grade yourself in relation to the learning outcomes using terms:

> poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent (Note- This is so that the team have an understanding of how well you feel you have done. It is not an indication of the actual grade you may receive.)

Learning Outcome	Evidenced where? Blog, Visual Journal, Roughs, Final Illustrations, Stings, storyboards, development sheets etc.  (No more than 75 words)	Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent
5A5:  Demonstrate an informed understanding of issues relating to image, media, format and context through the delivery of solutions to identified visual problems. (Knowledge & Understanding -  Critical Awareness)	Roughing and story boarding is where I began to distinguish where the issues within my work were going to arise. Drawing through my ideas helped me to modify and develop the content until I was satisfied with my own plan of action. Blogging became a tool for me to express the way I was feeling about the project and reflect on changes I made along the way.	Very Good
5A6: Understand the potential and limitations of a range of processes, technologies and techniques involved in the development and production of work for print and screen based delivery. (Knowledge & Understanding -  Research)	Experimentation with all print methods and deciding on the most appropriate one to use in accordance with my practice, based on the aesthetic of each. Researching contextual references, in the library/ online, and through study tasks to see how other practitioners have utilised print within their work. This informed me of the potential variety of each print medium. Feedback from my peers also helped me to pick out the strengths and weaknesses within my work.	Excellent
5B4: Analyse and critically evaluate primary/secondary source material to inform the development and contextualisation of ideas, concepts and products through individual responses to set briefs. (Cognitive Skills - Problem Analysis, Problem Solving)	Researching Shakespeare, the Globe theatre and the Italian connections of his work (primary sources) over summer gave me a great starting point for the rest of the project. I could go back to different parts of my research when I got a bit bored with the content and start from a new place. This fed in to my blogging habits and the ideas I acquired through roughing/story boarding.	Excellent
5C4: Select, manipulate and apply appropriate media, processes and technologies in the development, production and presentation of ideas, concepts and products. (Practical Skills -  Practical and Conceptual Development)	Learning about and experimenting with different print processes was a big turning point for my practice. It made me think about the way in which I want my work to be seen and how the qualities of print textures can impact the conceptual ideas within my work (roughing & blogging). Taking my prints in to digital media then influenced my ideas when working with After Effects and moving image.	Very Good
5C5: Identify, evaluate and apply practical/technical processes, materials and media in order to produce technically competent and conceptually appropriate outcomes. (Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Technical Competence)	I identify craftsmanship as a strength within my practice and in particular I think my book demonstrates this, which exhibits both analog and digital media. Processes where I cut onto/into things tend to be the ones I enjoy most (without sounding crazy), starting with paper cuts (editorial images), then finding a real passion for Lino printing. I enjoyed carefully cutting the Lino and taking my time over the quality of line (print tests).	Excellent
5D4: Demonstrate the ability to communicate the development and resolution of ideas through appropriate visual and written presentation of work. (Key Transferable Skills - Presentation and Evaluation)	The photography and presentation of my outcomes display the growing professionalism of my work during this module. I interpreted the lead up work and context of my final resolution mostly within my blog posts, I found this the easiest way to jot down my thoughts and ideas consistently and effectively.	Excellent

Summative Evaluation (See Evaluation Guidance on next page for more information)

You are required to write a 750-word Summative Evaluation of this module.

Please type up your Summative Evaluation in the box below. Make a PDF of the document, print out a copy to submit with your portfolio of work and post the PDF as your final post on your OUIL504 blog.

At the beginning of the module I had barely used traditional print methods and was a bit wary of experimenting with techniques I was so unfamiliar with. The most transformative moment for me during this module was learning how to Lino print. I had never used this method until our induction and since then I have really embraced the process and plan to enhance my skills using this technique in future projects. Refining my digital skills was something I really wanted to work on this year and I feel a lot more confident using Photoshop and the Adobe suite in general after this module. Taking my analog prints into digital programs is where I gained an understanding of different shortcuts (thanks to Ben) and how to overlay mono-print textures. Learning these skills has influenced my work in all modules and become an integral part of the way I want to continue to develop my practice. Another key part of this module that has contributed to my creative evolution was learning how to use Adobe After Effects. The process of utlising my illustrations, story boarding and bringing them to life was alien to me and at first I was afraid to delve into a world I felt completely separate from. All my previous experiences of attempting to animate only frustrated me and I became very impatient. However, overcoming my initial fear of the unknown showed me how just much I can achieve if I keep an open mind and let myself take those risks. Using After Effects is nothing like anything else I have used before and a much quicker and productive way of making simple animation. The story boarding session with Fred is where I first started to think differently about how I can tackle this kind of brief. I have really enjoyed having the opportunity to learn so many new skills so quickly. Without a doubt, I have discovered many more things and taken more risks than any other module so far. Because the module ran for so long, I really had time to experiment and work out what it is that I like and don't like within my work. It was really useful for me to pinpoint areas of my practice that I want to hone in on and explore further. Detail, roughing, ideas, shape, texture and craft are all things that are very important to me. Blogging and constantly reflecting on my work, along with experimentation helped to realise this. Having the time to research authors over the summer helped to inform my work over the course of the entire module. After changing my mind from initially choosing Oliver Sacks, I really got in to the works of Shakespeare and wanted to reflect the tone of that diversity/mystery in my own specific way, still trying to be original and hopefully not just replicating art surrounding the subject that we have seen before. I feel like my ideas, especially for Printed Pictures, took a different form to that which we immediately associate with the Shakespeare. I was inspired greatly by the actual textures and shapes I created using the print methods themselves, this helped me to think about how I could most effectively utilise these in relation to my author. Having frequent crits and feedback sessions helped me to identify the successes within my work, sometimes I find it difficult to do this when I have been sat with a project for too long so having someone else look at it with fresh eyes means that they can give me some input and advice that is intrinsically more valuable than my own. Ideally, I would like to have experimented more with After Effects. Because the trial didn't work very well on my own laptop, I waited until after Christmas to complete my sting on the University computers. I think if I had spent more time on the individual movements of my images I could have created more of a seamless series of actions, which overall may have been more effective. Having said this, I am very happy with what I managed to produce and actually quite enjoyed the process. Also, I would have liked to have dedicated more time to screen printing. Instead I had to prioritise Lino cutting, planning out compositions by roughing in my sketchbook and experimenting with colour schemes for my book.                                                                         I am very pleased with the rate at which I have progressed since the start of the year. Although my visual signature is probably still recognisable, I now have the skills I need to actually produce work at the quality I envisage in my head, which is a very exciting prospect. My practice feels like it’s really getting somewhere now and I look forward to seeing how it can evolve in future modules.