This is a detailed plan of what is going to be in my presentation, I have spent a long time figuring out the best order for these points to go in and how I can group multiple points together into one slide. I am trying to keep text to a minimum in my presentation but there will be some. I am using my images from the illustrated self brief which means that my slides will be visually in sync with each other. I am struggling to think of what to put on my first slide because it needs to communicate 'me' more than anything else.
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PLAN
Slide 1
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Slide 2
Purpose IMAGE
Illustration should have a purpose. Learning the difference between doing a drawing and making an illustration has been key to the development of my work. I ask myself, now, what is the purpose of the drawings I am doing? What am I trying to achieve? Is this image getting across the point I am trying to make?
I don’t think I have done particularly well at developing strong concepts within my work and this is an area I will need to improve on as I now understand that the concept behind a drawing is what makes it an illustration.
Translation
I have tried to move away from using reference imagery as something to copy from and instead, using it to help me do my own thing with an image. I think this has been beneficial to my work because it has given me more freedom and helped me to discover new media and methods of working which were outside my comfort zone. I think this has been helped by drawing the same thing over and over again in different ways and seeing how an image can develop through different stages.
Slide 3
Listening to advice IMAGE
Receiving advice from tutors is really valuable and I also tried to take note of what we were being told in the big heads sessions.
Roughs
Using roughs was relatively new to me and I had never really considered composition this much before in my own work. I was still making my roughs more labour intensive than they needed to be and it was only until the big heads session with Josh Cochran where he showed us some of his initial scamps that I realised that even the professionals produce really scribbly drawings to get an idea straight in their head before progressing onto refining their idea.
Bad drawings
I think one of the most important realisations I have had this year is that its okay to make bad drawings. Its a good thing to make mistakes because it gives you the opportunity to identify where things have gone wrong and work to try and solve it. I had it drilled into my head that the images I make must be successful because that is what makes me a good at drawing but the reality is that unsuccessful drawings will probably be more useful to me in the long run. This realisation made me more confident about working freely in my sketchbook because I wasn't thinking that everything had to be a refined drawing. I think I still have a long way to go with my sketchbook work and using it as a thinking process but I’m starting to get there.
Learning to evaluate my own progress
The group crits and tutorials we have has really helped me to evaluate how my own and other people’s work is going. I think this is something I need to do more often by myself because I need to learn when its time to take a break, step back and look at what I am doing and decide what needs to happen next.
Slide 4
Lucinda Rogers (use found images)
Made me think about my use of line and how varying the weight of my lines could have drastic effects on my work. It gives an image a lot more depth and helps highlight focal points to the viewer.
Slide 5
Reportage (use found images)
I have taken an interest in reportage illustration and have been reading through a few blogs about illustrators who specialise in this. One who particularly stood out to me was George Butler who has been to Syria, Afghanistan and other significant places in the news right now to document what is going on there first hand. Looking through his illustrations from his visits have really inspired me to spend more time doing observational drawing. It has made me more keen than ever to go and visit different places and explore new environments and cultures. DRAW MORE.
Slide 6
Holly Sharpe (use found images)
I admire her bravery with media and colour and how she manages to capture movement and drama in her illustrations. It made me realise that to get these results I need to experiment more and understand that it is okay for things to go drastically wrong because you can pick up a fresh piece of paper and try again. This leads me to my next point of bad drawings.
Slide 7
World knowledge IMAGE
I have been saying for a long time that I need to keep up with current affairs but I have never really had the motivation to sit down and read about it. However, being at home over Easter I have made more of an effort to watch the news and have actually taken an interest in the general election which is something I never thought I would pay attention to. Staying up to date with this kind of information will be key to my future practice because I will need to know what’s going on in the world for my work to be relevant and relatable. Meeting new people at university made me realise how little I knew about world issues and it highlighted that I find it difficult to form my own opinions because of this. I have watched a lot of films this year as a way to unwind, I have realised that I'm really into films based in early 20th century deep south america, I have found Wes Anderson’s movies really interesting and inspiring to watch, and I've started listening to jazz music.
Slide 8
Meeting new people and being inspired IMAGE
Socialising with new people both in halls and at college has helped me to expand my knowledge of other peoples opinions and beliefs. I have been introduced to new genres of film and music, different foods, cultures and religions. Its always a worry turning up to university in a city you barely know and not knowing anyone so its nice to have made a group of friends I can feel comfortable around.
See more of Yorkshire, England and the world IMAGE
Yorkshire has some amazing landscapes, beautiful historic cities and traditional villages that I don’t think I am currently taking advantage of. I have explored Leeds but not as much as I would like to and aside from one day trip to Saltaire, I haven't really left the city. My aim for summer and next year is to explore more and be inspired by where I am living.
Slide 9
Photoshop
I was quite stubborn at the beginning of the course as I wanted to battle against digital media and stick to analogue image making techniques. I feel I really broke through with Photoshop during the visual narratives picture book brief and I learned that even though you are using Photoshop, your work can still have a handmade feel to it. Also, it helps to make life a lot easier with editing and correcting little mistakes and generally makes my work look more professional. Before, I saw it as the enemy and now I see it as a necessity for an illustrator.
Illustrator
Illustrator is something I have been battling with since the illustrator workshops. I don’t feel that this program is one of my strong points because I find it difficult to think in a way that makes you work with shape rather than line but I think this is something I will become more used to as I keep experimenting with it.
Slide 10
Played it safe IMAGE
I wish I had taken more risks with my work as I don’t think I have taken full advantage of the experimental nature of first year. I feel like I need to be more emotive with my work and put my personality into it more. I found this challenging because I didn't really know what my personality was and what my interests were, its sounds boring but its true. But as I start to discover new things I like and dislike, I am hoping my personality will be more evident in my work. I need to stop seeing the brief as someone else's problem that I am solving for them and see it as a brief that I can make my own.
I think I could set my own restrictions for my work to force myself to be more creative and push against the boundaries.
Most of my media experimentation was triggered by the brief rather than being self initiated.
Concept
I need to be less literal with my ideas and imbue more of my personality and feelings about a subject into my work. I seem to get my idea across through what I choose to draw and my media choices but not with the strength and emotion that is possible with more careful consideration.
Slide 11
Sleep IMAGE
My idea of making the most of the day was to stay up as late as possible to try and cram as much in as I could. As a result of this, along with poor diet and putting too much pressure on myself resulted in me wearing myself out. I realise now how ridiculous it is to go to bed at 4am for nights in a row and that if I organise myself effectively and avoid procrastinating, I will be able to allow myself enough sleep to actually be able to function the next day.
Looking after myself IMAGE
I am looking after myself better in general - I've come a long way from fish fingers, potato waffles and frozen pizza. My cooking skills have improved a lot, I have tried new things and I can now cook healthy meals for myself. It turns out vegetables aren't that bad. I have also learnt when to take a break from work to refresh my mind before the stress gets of top of me and I occasionally even exercise.
Slide 12
Blogging IMAGE
Being organised will hopefully help me to stay on top of my blogging.
At first I struggled to understand the importance of blogging, it felt like I was doing my work and then doing it again but on a computer. When I have been on top of my workload and have blogged in parallel to my sketchbook work, it really started to help me clarify my thought processes in my own head and blogging actually became less of a chore. I have realised that although I love to draw, I find it easier and quicker to get my ideas and thoughts down through writing. I can then look through this and see how it can be developed into image. I have to admit I have been guilty of blogging retrospectively for a few briefs and this is when it has really felt like a chore - it doesn't help my development or inform my work because it is already complete so I really want to avoid doing this next year.
Slide 13
Lists
I write a list of things I need to do almost every day, even non work related and this helps me to stay on track with my workload and other tasks in life that need to be completed. Towards the end of the academic year, I feel I have got better with managing my time as the pressure of multiple modules has crept up on me. Spacing my workload out over the week encourages me not to avoid certain modules and then writing a list each day breaks down the workload into manageable individual tasks.
Folders
Keeping my work organised in folders has helped me to structure my workload and has definitely cut down on stress levels when it comes to assessment because I now know that everything for a certain module is together. It also helps me to keep my workspace tidier which is more helpful for thinking clearly and not getting distracted by other pieces of work.
Work better under pressure.
Second year will be more challenging IMAGE
The prospect of second year being even more challenging is a scary thought. I feel like I have only just survived first year but I know that I need to conduct myself in a more organised and professional way next year to be more efficient with my work and get the most out of the course. I hope to learn from the mistakes I have made in first year.
Slide 14
End
Aims for next year
Organise
Read more
Blog honestly
Find out more about myself
Put my personality into my work
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My next steps with this presentation are to finalise the order of my slides and cut down the amount of text and rewrite the content so it is appropriate for speaking rather than reading. I also need to consider the final few images in my presentation, my images so far are from my illustrated self brief or found online.
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| Slide 3 - Listening to Advice |
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| Slide 6 - Holly Sharpe |
I am keeping the layout of my slides very simple so it doesn't distract from the verbal content of my presentation.
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