End of Module Evaluation

The skills I have developed through this brief have been mainly linked to idea development and the exploration of conceptual ideas. This is because I have previously not put enough into this stage of the process; now I am much more aware of the necessity of coming up with as many potential ideas as possible in order to get the best from your work. In this forth brief in particular I have been developing my skills using media and colour as this is a passion I have not yet carried through with in my other projects. I have felt restricted by the colour constraints and I really enjoyed just using whichever colours and media I wanted for the Brief 4 final pieces. I think I have applied these skills effectively as I really think they convey the emotional connotations with each season that I intended. I also think it was effective in bringing alive the end result and bought attention to the quote and to the line drawings without swamping them; I feel the two elements were complimentary.

I have developed my approach to image making through experimentation with layout and form; considering how the image is positioned on the page, and through understanding how this can correspond to the message I am intending to convey this has informed my concept development process. I have also thought about line work and choice of media and the methods to which I combine the two. For example, in my forth brief I have focused a lot on line work; the simple continuous line that runs across the font of the quote describing characters on a walk on its way; and the direction of and movement in the background; this method of image making informed my concept development process because of its strong link and entwinement to the meaning of the quote. My concept development process was also informed through my approach to colour and media as this imbued a lot of feeling and emotion into my pieces, this is a strength I will capitalise on through experimentation throughout future projects. 

Also experimenting with layout and positioning really informed me as I decided to go with a slight arch; I thought this was successful as it helped to signify the arch along the earth- the cycle of the sun rising and setting along the horizon; and the people across the globe. My approach to creating the characters made them universal or at least relatable through the simplicity of the figures and monotone line. I really like how my concept allowed all of the people in the piece to be connected; even if some appear lonelier than others, this is something I can capitalise on as I learnt how to connect approach with concept.

My weaknesses lie mainly in lack of experimentation in all areas as this is something I can always be improving on and there is always scope to do more and to push myself more. I need to allow myself time to fail and learn from these new ways of working and to do this I must plan my time differently; allowing more time to create experiment with layout, media, line work and concept idea development. I also think I need to think about how the final images are presented in a lot more depth and professionalism, this is something I feel would really effect the outcomes of my project and would give me a lot more pride in my work; thus motivating me to be even more of a perfectionist. 

Five things I will do in future projects and would do with this project were I to do it again would be to; explore all potential ideas, develop my ideas thoroughly, experiment even more with media, experiment with layout and cropping, and presenting work professionally. I expect from doing all these I will gain understanding in creating work to its full potential and learning a more professional way to working.  

	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance					/
Punctuality					/
Motivation					/
Commitment					/
Quantity of Work				/
Quality of Work				/
Contribution to the group					/

Studio Brief 4 - A Matter of Opinion

For this brief I had to produce three non 'A' format illustrations that visually communicate my response to the quote that I selected (my choice was 'A drawing is simply a line going for a walk'). My three illustrations had to explore the relationship between type and image. I thought this quote would work best for this relationship as both the type and the image would be made from line, connecting as a drawing and in so connecting with the meaning of the quote itself.

All of the illustrations had to be distinct in content yet part of a set or series. I decided to tackle this by having a drawing, created with line, of a group of people all going for a walk over the type, yet each piece distinctly different through the activities and poses of the walkers and the scenery and season which they are walking through.
I aimed to capture a year within a walk, as well as capturing a society. Drawings are all formed from line, but what makes them interesting is the walk they go on- whether it's what the line forms or how it is formed. 

I started off by thinking about all of the quotes and how I could respond to them and take them forward. This quote led me to imagine a sense of narrative and because of this it stood out to me and I decided to explore it more within my sketch book. 

I scanned my A3 images into my laptop (as 2 A4s):

Then I attempted to join them together using paint:

However after a long time spent achieving this I then ran out of memory on my computer to even save the image. I overcame this problem by print-screening it instead and then opening that image in paint, cropping it and then opening it on Photoshop to work on. However once I began working on it and zoomed in to work on the details of the piece I discovered it was extremely pixelated. It looked fine on the computer screen but I decided to abandon the digital edit idea as I thought it would be too risky to print it off and it be unreadable. 

So instead of experimenting with colour digitally I printed off some of the above work and decided to work on it with different media such as pen, coloured pencils, collage etc. I wanted to capture the seasons but not overwhelm the image with the background. I will be keeping the pen line simply black to strengthen the connection with the quote; 'simply a line going for a walk.'

Below: pages from my sketchbook. I experimented with ideas and layout and form here:








Peer feedback mid way through: 



Below: Some of my preliminary work where I have been experimenting with colour, media and line work:







I decided to work with masking tape, pro markers and coloured pencil in my final illustrations as I really like the layered effect they produce together. I also found that the pro markers were good for getting a clear even colour while the pencils could be used as well to achieve a more varied tone and mix of colours. Below are some shots of my final pieces:

Overall, I feel this was a successful project as the colours and media work well together to convey the message and emotions of the piece. They represent the seasons in the way I wanted them to and they compliment and contrast the simple line drawings well. I like how all the characters are connected by line as they are in life and how they are relatable as they are so vague. I think in the simplicity of the characters however, you can get a feel of the emotions from their positions which adds to the atmosphere of the piece. I like how I have tied the font in and laid out the image in a slight dome to represent the curve of the earth. I think the pieces are nostalgic but also interesting to look at and I have included as greater range of society as I could within them. If I were to do this piece again and improve it I would definitely re-think presentation and use much larger and wider pieces of paper in order to give it a more professional look.

Below: Feedback from peers;