Summative Evaluation

I had clear goals for this academic year and those were to have a concise body of work that I was proud
of; developed through experimentation of new media and techniques, that then reflected what my hopes
for a future career in illustration involved.

I like to think I let the briefs develop more organically rather than stick to a strict structure.
Regardless, I did have a list of briefs that I intended to complete, briefs that I had chosen
because I thought they would help me achieve those goals.

I did start off with the Alice in Wonderland editions brief, which was in my original list, and
I did stick to my own guidelines which was to let the project be process driven. In the end,
the success lay in the fact that I did, through trial and error, produce at the very least, one
finished screenprint. Through that experience I learned a lot about the dos and don'ts of design,
composition, and the behaviours and effect of the medium. Also to triple check you properly
save your files on photoshop. The successes of the design I ended up producing, in my opinion,
were that the image, though not necessarily a strong screen print item would possibly work better
as a image for product design, possibly as a bag.

I moved on to my Preacher poster design, which was very exciting. I was struggling with Cop
however, at the time, which meant that the deadline would be very hard to meet. I developed
my initial design very quickly but then struggled with the production of it. I spent a lot of time
researching other posters and considering colour schemes. Because as much as I enjoyed
my design, I knew it would be tricky to colour. I was inspired by 70s psychedelia posters and
thought that, because they would have most likely been screen printed themselves they would
be good images to sample colours from and experiment in Photoshop. Through Cop, and these
projects, I have improved my photoshop skills considerably. I find that to be a great achievement
this year. I really dreaded coming to university know how to draw, and leaving university still just
knowing how to draw. By nature, I shy away from unknown techniques and processes, and feel
comfortable with what i know, so I have found this year to be a confidence booster in that department.

I tried to do Folio Society Sherlock Holmes brief. I do want to try book publishing as a career
in the future so I thought it was crucial that I focus a lot of energy on that project, which I did do.
Unfortunately, I had a lot of outside pressures, including Cop, that affected me. Ultimately I had to
drop that brief. I think out of all my mishaps this year, that was my biggest missed opportunity.
Although I am not huge fan of Sherlock, I did the research and developed images that I was really
set on expanding on. I will keep an eye out for Folio Society briefs in the future.

My pride and joy this year has been the self initiated brief I wrote. After designing the proposal,
it felt as if I had clear direction, motivation and time to really dive into this project. It began with
lots of research. One of the best parts of any brief to me is the research. I find I need and enjoy
the confidence of knowing that I am approaching a project knowledgeably and correctly.
It gave me the chance to really consider what I wanted the outcome to be like and what I thought
was most important to my practice and to my portfolio. I really wanted to build some watercolour
skills, and I did do quick tests and sketches, but I decided in the end that I had done a lot that was
out of the norm for me, and I really wanted to present work that was in a fashion that has been a
staple throughout my years drawing. Fineliner has always been one of the key ways I work. I did
not manage to complete all the illustrations, but they will be an ongoing project, ready in time for
Hanbury exhibition.  Looking back to when I began the course, I don't think I could’ve made
compositions as successfully as I did for this project. And i think my attention to detail has gone
up as well. The only thing that has been a constant since I started university, has been time
management. This year I feel I let myself down with the way I managed my time. I hope that these
skills that I have improved on will only keep improving and that I have produced work, and will
continue to produce work, that will facilitate my chances of employment in the future