Feedback from peers:
As I didn't do foundation, I expected that going straight to do a degree would be a challenge - The past 8 weeks have been tough for me as I wasn't used to the workload and tight deadlines. However during the last few weeks that I've spent studying illustration, I feel that I have further developed my understanding of what illustration is - that it isn't just about making pretty looking pictures. For example, the editorial brief has taught me how images can help to communicate and highlight a particular aspect or theme that the editorial is trying to get across to the reader; and when the content, scale and format is used to the absolute best, these images can become something more - a really powerful visual tool that can provoke a reaction, inform, persuade, educate, aggravate etc.
In this first module, I have been introduced to doing crit sessions. This is something that I have not done before and so the lack of experience of looking into the work of others and understanding them meant that I personally found giving useful/helpful feedback/constructive criticism to my classmates about their work quite challenging. I still feel that my critical skills could be improved further however after a couple of sessions, I feel that I am slightly better at doing this if compared to when I first started.
The skills I also believe I have developed throughout this module would be the idea generation. I think this is more evident in studio briefs 1 and 3, where I feel I have produced far more ideas than in brief 4. I found that brief 4 was more open for opportunities which meant I found it more difficult to find a starting point. The Photoshop induction has further developed my skill and understanding of the software; I now know how the levels and curves adjustments work and how this can be used as a way to enhance the aesthetic of hand generated work.
I feel that my strength lies in my Photoshop skills and my ability to keep the quality of my work consistent throughout this module. This is evident in the final resolutions that I've produced for the briefs that I have been given and also from the feedback that I've received from my peers about my work as a whole.
On the downside, I feel that throughout this module I haven't really explored that many ways to image making. Although I have used line work with pen, watercolour, ink and bleach and collage, my final resolutions always end up being digitally produced and therefore loosing the more enticing handmade quality. I also feel that I haven't really developed my work enough as I have a habit of being too fond with the first idea that comes into my head and taking it with me as a final. Both of this is again, evident throughout the feedback I've received and the lack of development and media usage/experiment pages in my work.
It has been said repeatedly in the feedback throughout this module that although my digital final resolutions work, I could try stepping away from photoshop for a couple of projects and not be afraid with using hand generated work as a final outcome. Experimenting with different mediums and tools and combining different ones together is something that I want to do more of and improve on as I feel that this will give my work a richer aesthetic and give some variety in my work. I will try to manage my time better in order to do this.
