1. What skills have you developed through this brief and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
I have learnt a lot throughout this module and developed many new skills, mainly using digital media. I have always been more inclined to use analogue methods in my work, therefore this whole module was a real eye-opener for me, to see what I personally can achieve using digital methods.
During Studio Brief 1 – ‘I See Faces’, I was introduced to the Adobe Photoshop ‘Motion’ template and shown how to make my very first GIF. This is something that was completely new to me at the time, and having only a very brief history of flip book animation (just doodles mainly) – learning this process was difficult to get my head around but hugely beneficial as I would love to make more GIFs now that I know how. It was also so great to finally understand how this area of animation works and what it can bring to my illustrations, as I really feel what I have created is successful and I enjoyed seeing my illustrations come to life.
For Studio Brief 2 – ‘Greetings From…’ I really pushed the boat out in terms of attempting to learn Adobe Illustrator in depth. Again using vectors and creating vector based artwork is something I have never attempted before, and whilst having a little play with the software a few years ago to understand what a vector is, I have always been a little scared of actually using it in my practice. The illustrator workshops really helped me to overcome this fear, and having someone explain the basics really did push me to just jump in and get started. I overcame a lot of problems whilst using Illustrator, with the aid of YouTube tutorials and asking people for help. It is because of this I feel I was able to expand on this knowledge, push it further and in the end I created high quality vector-based artwork that I am really proud of. Something that I previously hadn’t thought I would be able to do whilst creating artwork digitally.
I was also able to use digital media for the work produced in Studio Brief 3 – ‘Persons of Note’ and again the approach I took was one unfamiliar to me. As I am used to analogue techniques, it is rare I draw artwork and scan it in with the aim of it to be coloured and finished digitally. Using Photoshop for my final artwork definitely did speed up the process compared to if I had had to paint the work for example, and I enjoyed being able to edit the work again and again until I was happy with it. I want to try and create more complex work like this (both vector and raster), as a lot can be achieved and I feel I have an increased amount of control over how my final artwork is going to turn out which is refreshing.
2. What approaches to/methods of image making have you developed and how have they informed your concept development process?
As well as the new software used to create the artwork, I feel I have really improved in a number of ways in which I went about the final work throughout this module.
During Studio Brief 1 – ‘I See Faces’, the use of storyboarding and in depth character development really informed how my GIF’s were going to turn out. Timing and the amount of frames were key to getting the most from my overall animation and without planning these stages, the whole digital process would have been even more complicated.
Being methodical in the early stages of creating my GIF’s really helped me to learn how to use Photoshop’s ‘motion’ template well and informed my final work because of this.
In Studio Brief 2 – ‘Greetings From...’ I was really able to test and develop my skills in using roughs. This is something I have wanted to take more time with in the previous modules this year, and for this specific brief – it was really important to have a good rough in place to work from when in Adobe Illustrator. Without this structure and something to work from, it would have been easy to spend weeks drawing on screen – with no limits to what can be created and no set ideas to guide my work.
Also in this brief, stripping down detail and focusing primarily on shape to start with was extremely beneficial when creating my final work. Once I had got my head around how my artwork and all its elements could work as shapes and come together in an actual image, it was fun and a lot easier to manipulate each area of vector.
I feel one of the techniques I have really enjoyed and developed in the process was using mapping pens and my line work. Although ill at the time of creating my final designs for Studio Brief 3 – ‘Persons of Note’, I am surprised how well the artwork came out. I invested in some great new Rotring pens and put them to the test for this piece. Throughout this first year of university, I have tried hard to stray away from fine liner drawings, therefore I think this series of work was the first I had created using pen and ink. I thought it was about time to see what I could achieve and I wanted this work to be high detail, and this media enabled it to be so.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
I feel the strongest part of my submission is the work I have created for Studio Brief 2 using Adobe Illustrator. Starting out knowing nothing about the software, to being able to create 4 final pieces of illustration that I was personally really proud of (with my high standards) was such a personal achievement for me and I look forward to expanding my knowledge of the software further and creating more personal work this way.
I also feel my character based work for Studio Brief 1 is a strength, as I don’t have a set style/approach to artwork and have not felt very confident in creating characters in the past. Character design has always been a challenge for me, and a personal goal of mine to improve upon, therefore getting to experience how far characters can be pushed - even getting to animate - was important for me. Despite being a little frightened of rubbish results, I feel I was able to generate a wide variety of characters that I would like to use in my future work and enjoyed the process of creating simple yet effective designs. – Maybe this is the start of something!
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
I feel could have produced more in depth research for each brief across the whole module. I really like the ideas I had managed to produce, but I know each final piece of work could have had a lot more strength conceptually if the research had been more thorough. Saying that, I feel I did do a lot of research for Studio Brief 3 into Bruce Lee, as I really enjoyed discovering about this chosen person of note and this informed my final work and the elements with in it, greatly.
I am still struggling to find my own style and voice within my work. Throughout the briefs in this submission each task has been extremely daunting because I never feel like I have the advantage of a starting point, a style I am already familiar with, unlike other students on the course. This is something I would really like to develop in my personal time over the summer. I would like to develop not only my overall style, but also my ability to draw people and characters. I feel character is really important to an illustrator as styles are usually represented in a character of some sort, or an approach to drawing people/animals etc.
My overall development of ideas is also something I need to improve upon. I have a habit of generating an idea and sticking with it early on. Although this hasn’t necessarily hindered me in anyway and my final work is produced to a standard I am happy with, it is always beneficial to explore a wider variety of ideas and avenues, to have more to play with when it comes to the final work. I also feel my time management is something I can always improve upon as I have really felt the pressure during this module, with other modules running tightly alongside it. More to-do lists and calendars/diaries are needed to stay on top of everything and reduce the stress levels I feel when the submission date is looming.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
I would definitely like to spend more time on my scamps/roughs. I have seen how important this is when creating work digitally (Studio Brief 2) and I think this process develops skills in a variety of areas, from improving my drawing skills to developing a more considered idea.
I would like to give myself the time to explore a wider variety of media in my work. It is easy to stick to what you know which I always feel to be really limiting. Facing fears and attempting media processes which are not so familiar expands my practice and will help me to find the voice I am looking for within my own work.
Research, as mentioned before, is something I will do in depth for the next brief. It is the basis of many final ideas and enables me to really get to know all aspects of the brief in depth to produce a stronger concept and one with more meaning.
From the get go I need to organise my time effectively across the whole duration of the module. This is important for me as I feel I have not given myself much personal time or breaks throughout this module and as a result, I have felt very bogged down and overwhelmed with the workload. I still really need to blog on the go, as this helps to get my ideas and processes down when they are still at the forefront of my mind, and this obviously also helps when it comes to final submission.
Successful time management works hand in hand with needing to simplify my processes and be more innovative with my ideas. I think I struggle with faith in my ability to produce work to a high standard, without having a style/voice already developed in my practice. It is because of this that I feel the need to spend every waking minute on a final piece of work, worrying it wont be up to scratch if I don’t. Stripping back my ideas is something I need to do in future briefs to come, to reduce stress and hopefully improve how I feel about my own ability to create work well in the time given.
Note to self: Take risks and be comfortable in making mistakes and what new paths these can lead too. Don’t overwork yourself and strip back ideas, hopefully helping to be happier and create more simple/bold concepts.