Vis Lang; Evalution

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?

This module has really helped me to grow practically as an illustrator; it has opened my eyes to new ways of working whilst giving me the independance to try and test these new methodologies in accordance to my own personal practice. I think what has really helpful within this module was the way that it broke down into a good mixture of both practical and theoretical work. Whilst SB1 pushed me to really engage and analyse the way I was making images, SB2 showed me how to tackle composition (something I have found to be quite difficult) in a manageable way that made it easier to translate into my own work. Overall this module has just really helped me to sharpen my visual analytical skills whilst opening my mind to new ways of practically creating images.

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?

I found the week on shape really impacted on my work and the way I see images and illustration. Shape as a form of image making was something I'd never come across before, and while I had made similar images to shape driven ones in the past I had never understood what I really liked about them or how to duplicate them. Shape changed the way I looked at reference images, and I feel as though it stopped me from purely trying to draw what was in front of me and instead translate it through my own tone of voice. The whole of SB2 was also very useful in the way it broke down composition into easily manageable pieces as well as drawing attention to how important composition is to illustration as a practice. It is definitely something I will be keeping in mind when making new illustrations.

3. What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission, how have you capitalised on these?

Because I found the tasks enjoyable and interesting in the way they opened up new pathways of image making, I completed them on time and usually to a good standard. Some weeks I would do more than what was asked purely because I was relishing the task or wanted to push it further to see what else I could achieve by just looking at image making from one particular angle.

4. What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future? 

Whilst I feel as though my sketchbook really pushed ideas on, I feel as though my final outcomes, for SB2 in particular, could have been pushed further and demanded even higher results. I would have liked to have spent more time on my 3D and Lens final images and would have also like to have pushed some of my scamps for final compositional pieces even further. A few of the tasks I didn't blog until a week or so afterwards too, which I feel may have impacted upon the reflection of the pieces; something I want to get on top of.


5. In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)?

I feel that because we were allowed a week or so on each separate methodology I really got an understanding for what each was, and how to recognise it. Furthermore, because of a good understanding, I was able to then analysis it in not only my own work but the work of others. This also has helped me in being more analytical of others work and WHY I like it, WHAT makes it interesting and what do I want to try and take from it and put into my own work. By being able to recognise the techniques used by other notable illustrators I am able to look at my own work and think "what is THIS lacking that THAT has? How can I push my work FURTHER? Would the consideration of this or that methodology make my work STRONGER? How can I make this even BETTER?"