1. Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
Throughout Studio Brief 1 I found it really useful going back to basics, stripping back all of the faffing of creating finalised “finished” work and really focusing on what makes an image successful and how it is made. I found the exploration of line, texture and shape most helpful as I now really consider and explore these simple yet vital elements of image making when approaching a new brief and planning my own work. Instead of resorting to picking up a trusty fine-liner and fine crafting a piece in this media ever time, Studio Brief 1 allowed me to explore other ways (usually more exciting) of achieving results with new media I am not completely used too, which I am now continuing to use in my practise.
The tasks set throughout Studio brief 2 helped opened my eyes to what makes an image successful/unsuccessful and helped me to understand how other practitioners work, by deconstructing their artwork as well as my own. Since learning about the important elements within an image, I really feel confident in this area and enjoy critiquing/breaking down my own work and the work of others. Throughout this module I have also really tried to make use of my roughs/scamps to inform my own final artwork. This is an area I have tried to develop in other modules, but found extremely difficult, therefore I am really glad I have seen an improvement throughout my approach to the Visual Language tasks.
2. 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?
The basic elements I have learnt at the beginning of this module regarding various types of mark making, shape and tone, really helped ground my work and prepare me for the more complicated tasks towards the end.
Studio Brief 2 was all about deconstructing images and thinking about the theories and approaches behind them. This part of the module was the star for me as it really brought to light the tools out there, which can help to create a successful image. Composition isn’t something I have ever thought I was bad at, but learning specifically about frame, viewpoint, line of sight and depth has helped me to bring all of these tools together and really push my work further to new heights.
I have found that the whole module has forced me to create stronger, more considered artwork with a lot more control over my own personal tone of voice and what I want to communicate within an image. Planning an outcome in depth and putting all of the theories I have been taught in this module feels like I have a better understanding of my own work, as well as other practitioners and I feel more engaged with the work I produce instead of creating just any old image, anyway how.
3. What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how have you capitalised on these?
Although the majority of the tasks throughout these modules were quick and varied, I feel that I really tried to complete each task to the best of my ability and some of the finished work, I feel, is too a high standard which I am pleased with. I admit that I have found a lot of the tasks really difficult to get my head around, however despite this I still put a lot of time and consideration into the pieces of work I have created and spent time exploring a variety of new media and approaches throughout the whole module.
Towards the end of the module, I was really attempting to incorporate all we had learnt in our sessions about composition into the work I was creating, enjoying the process and being pleasantly surprised at the outcome, even if the outcome wasn’t always as successful as I had hoped.
Exploring different approaches to how illustration is made and what illustration is, has broadened my idea of the industry and what is acceptable by way of standards and work. Being at university previously, I had been given the idea that illustration was drawing and that was the full scope of the industry. I am so happy to have been shown that illustration as a practice can be so much more than just this, and I have really enjoyed exploring mixed media approaches as well as 3D craft, paper craft and lens to create final images.
4. What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future?
Working within a sketchbook is something I am not used too and I feel this is clearly evident in my submission. Working on loose sheets has helped me to feel more free in creating artwork and responses to the tasks throughout this module, however this lack of commitment to a sketchbook is something I really want to address in the future. I need to become more comfortable with making mistakes as I would love to have a jam packed sketchbook with all my workings, thoughts, mistakes doodles and illustrations in in the future to show for my efforts and look back on/refer too.
As I have mentioned at the beginning of the module, drawing from observation is definitely something I would like to explore further, develop and re-visit. I really enjoyed our “Look, Think and Draw” task and aim to begin a sketchbook just for observational sketching/scrapbooking over the Easter break. I feel this will help me to develop my skills in drawing the human figure (a huge area I need to improve upon/become more confident in), I feel it will help me to develop my own way of working, my own style and tone of voice, and help me overcome this need to create perfect, final imagery every time I pick up a pencil.
In looking back over the work I have created for this module, I feel I need to become a lot looser in my approach to tasks and creating artwork. I need to become more comfortable creating roughs/scamps to inform my final pieces, develop my ideas even further and not be so scared to make mistakes. I definitely feel this module has helped me improve on this aspect of my practice greatly in comparison to my workings at the start of the year, but there is always room for more improvement and development.
5. In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)?
This module has opened my eyes to specific formulas, which some practitioners use as a guide when completing their work successfully. Having weekly sessions based on these formulas/tools, with tasks of my own to complete has helped me to understand and analyse my own work as well as other peoples, with a lot more confidence than I would have been able too at the beginning of the year. This understanding has been strengthened further by having in studio crits to review each others work and we have been able to see for ourselves what makes a successful illustration and how can achieve this.
I feel proud of all of the work I have created throughout this module, as throughout most of it I was pushed completely out of my comfort zone and tried something new as well as learning a lot of extremely useful information. I know throughout my future practice and approaches to future briefs on this course, I will be referring back to these tasks covered on this module so that my final images can have a more considered sense of area, depth, line and value to help my final work become more successful and aesthetically pleasing.