Evaluation of my 2nd Year and Modules

Character Design- I looked forward to this module ever since I first began the course and threw myself into the task wholeheartedly. Unfortunately I let myself down due to my lack of broadening the content of the research that was required. I mainly researched characters that I already knew of and had used in my previous research and missed the point that I was supposed to branch out a bit more. I really regret this as character design is one of my strongest skills. But overall I greatly enjoyed working on the various aspects of the module beginning with how to develop a characters personality and how this can be materialised by their appearance. I created a detailed back story for my character and a few secondary characters to compliment him. Looking back I realise that I made his design a bit too complex as I didn't look ahead and realise that I would be using this character for a book. I made 3 character boards consisting of turnarounds, expressions and poses. The primary board which showed the character from 3 angles was the most detailed and demanding in terms of detail and time spent on it. The amount of work I put into it was to the slight detriment of the other boards in my opinion (I can barely stand to look at them now!!) and by extension the time I spent on the written work. This is another factor contributing to me receiving a lower grade than I expected. In future projects that involve a similar task I will be sure to not get carried away with details and the like, but will try to maintain a balance of sticking to goals and working accordingly.

Commercial Illustration-

Work based learning- this module was enjoyable in that I had the freedom to choose my own project to work on whilst working towards a deadline with a specific set of instructions. It gave me a valuable insight into how illustration might be as a job role both within a studio/company setting and freelancing.

Compositing- of all modules that I have had to work on during my time on this course, this was by far the most challenging and difficult. If I'm painfully honest, I didn't have the slightest idea what I was doing. I think the sheer difficulty of this module was not only down to the work I had to undertake but also due to the problems I was experiencing at the time in my personal life in terms of health. The brief was to complete a 10 second ident of our chosen medium for the Rule Britannia series of Vice documentaries. Vice itself centres on the grittier and grim aspects of the world focusing on drugs, poverty, cults, crime and young people. We were first instructed to make a mood board of what we thought represented Britain. Naturally my first thoughts included the likes of the Royal family, tea, red buses and phone boxes and the Union Jack but in order to fit with the image of vice, I realised I had to dig a bit deeper into some of the less prim and proper aspects of the country including council housing and benefits, drinking and drug culture but also the birth of punk and British music and festivals.

When it came to choosing what type of footage to use, I chose to centre on filming dark alleyways, dumps and rubbish as well as the nightlife that is so vibrant in Newcastle. I initially took pictures of the local fish quay and areas of town that were derelict or industrial looking. With my assigned group I took footage in town using a camera and tripod of similar material but this time our goal was to obtain three types of shots which were free motion, pans and tilts and locked off footage which basically involved the camera either being fixed to the tripod to get smooth moving shots or holding the camera in hand to get some shakier looking shots.

This part of the process was fairly straight forward even with my lack of experience actually working with cameras and footage. 

Portfolio- this module was rather easy for me because I got a good head start on it earlier in the year due to preparing for my university interviews. Really the only adjustments I had to make to prepare for hand in was to annotate each picture and evaluate the body of work as a whole. I'm proud of the outcome and if I compare the work I have now to what I had when applying for this course, I am amazed by the improvement both in the amount of work as well as the quality. I have learned so much in two years and have accomplished more than I could have anticipated. My main goal was to become better as an artist in terms of skill and knowledge and I'm pleased to say I feel I have more than met my goal and my portfolio backs me up on this. 

Essay- writing an essay is never something I look forward to with enthusiasm, however, I find I am capable of doing them without too much trouble, it's mainly finding the motivation to start writing that is the hardest part of the whole essay process. Furthermore what made this particular essay more challenging than in my first year was that I could choose to write about essentially anything I wanted to as long as I could justify my opinions with references and met the essays learning outcomes. I chose to focus the topic of my essay on digital art vs traditional art and which was better. It was a fairly tricky and entirely subjective topic and though I feel I could have achieved a better grade for it, I am pleased I passed.

What a year it's been! I feel both accomplished and drained, excited and terrified but also proud of the progress I have made and the friends I have gained over the course of two years. This foundation degree was the best decision I've ever made both in terms of education and personal happiness and I can't wait to see what the future holds.

When I look back to when I first began this course, my knowledge of artists, styles, mediums and processes was extremely limited. For example I thought it was okay to use manga as my primary art style!!! Ohh how naive I was! It's quite comical really when I think about it now but it just goes to show how much this course has benefitted me as an artist and preparing me for the professional world. In addition I was convinced that animation was the way for me to go in terms of career path but upon discovering where my talent really lie I have found my muse and that is illustration. Likewise I have discovered aspects of the course that I really have no desire to peruse again, namely and sort of 3D animation and working with live footage and editing. I would much prefer to have a hand in the pre-production as opposed to post-production. Initially I was a fiend when it came to creative control but I have learned that my way is definitely not always the only or best way, thus now I am far more open to working towards someone else's brief which is vital in a commercial setting at least until I have earned the luxury of working as a successful freelancer. I have always been a good team player that was more than willing to take the reins as the leader which is why when it came to the Skillset task I looked into job roles that would allow me to have a leadership position of sorts such as a creative director. 

As for what the future holds I can only hope that I continue to improve at the rate I seem to be and that I build a fulfilling and rewarding career out of my skills that lets me create something impactful and beautiful which will inspire others to follow the same path am. I want to be there for people like me who needed guidance when they weren't sure what they could do with their talents and passions. A hobby you love enough can be made into a job and that's what I will aim for from here on out.

UCAS Application process and University evaluation

UCAS AND UNI-

Applying to university has always been my goal. Not only so that I can further my education but also to experience living away from home and to force myself to do a bit of "growing up" and allowing myself to become more independent. I felt it was something that I absolutely needed to do which was why I put a lot of time and effort into the application process including my personal statement, my choices and my portfolio. 

(Personal statement)

Once complete I entered my choices as follows:

1. Bristol UWE

2. University of Gloucestershire 

3. University of Brighton

4. University of Sunderland

5. Newcastle College (Top up year)

Personal Statement:

My chosen Career path is influenced by my passion for illustration and it has become apparent to me that I can utilise my skills, enthusiasm and ideas to convert my hobbies into a fulfilling career.  Following a year out to gain work experience and consider potential career opportunities I  started a Foundation Degree in Animation and Illustration at Newcastle College.  I use industry standard software such as Cinema 4D, After Effects, Photoshop and Illustrator. Initially I had an open mind about all aspects of the course but my main aptitude is illustration and I am now intent upon studying illustration alone.

I am influenced by the work of some exceptional artists such as Sakimi Chan and Loish who are digital painters, focusing on character design but who maintain a semi-realistic approach to their work. My own work encapsulates a wide variety of styles and I tend to include a large amount of detail in my illustrations which vary in terms of realism.

Course Modules have been insightful and enjoyable, allowing me to gain new skills.  In my Animation Production module I created a minute long short using Photoshop.  I was required to incorporate sound and using Final Cut Pro I was able to construct a timeline of sound effects to compliment my animation.

Character Design is the aspect of illustration I favour most. I have been required to construct a backstory for a character as well as think about how it would react in certain situations, keeping the personality consistent, reflected through its outward appearance. 

I found the Storyboarding module an enjoyable challenge as I had to consider how to pace the flow of action whilst telling a story and keeping it interesting. 

I have also enjoyed the Life Drawing module which extended my knowledge of anatomy and life drawing techniques.  

I am currently designing a small storybook based on a narrative I have created. I am utilising my skills as an illustrator to develop ideas exploring various styles and storytelling techniques to be condensed in a final product to a professional standard. It will be a graphic novel to my own style using a range of materials to create backgrounds whilst relying on my digital painting skills to clean up panels and add detail. Utilising my character design knowledge I will create an engaging and enjoyable story for my target audience.

Although I am a digital artist at heart, I enjoy a range of creative practices from working with watercolours and inks for colouring to graphite and charcoal for sketching and I'm currently experimenting with a 3D plastics pen. 

My future career plans include studio-based work focusing on concept art and character design but also producing illustrations for my own merchandise from wallpaper to tea sets.

My interests outside of illustration are fashion and make up, writing and blogging as well as cooking and mixology. I attend local exhibitions in locations like the Sage in Gateshead, and the Laing Art Gallery, The Baltic and the Centre for Life in Newcastle. I've also attended Pictoplasma festival in Berlin.

At University, I hope to learn as much as I can about illustration and how to make my work as versatile, visually appealing and commercial as possible. I realise that University requires significantly more self direction and this is something I feel comfortable with. 

I have a vivid imagination and capacity for bringing ideas to life in an engaging way. Whilst I enjoy working independently, the prospect of collaborating with individuals from other disciplines is something I also enjoy as I am an eager contributor to group projects.  I am dedicated to my work and aim to excel.  I am driven and motivated to produce work to the highest standard and with my eye for detail and experience with software such as Photoshop, Illustrator and Corel Paint I feel I have the necessary skills to make me a successful illustrator with the guidance and opportunities this Degree can offer me.

My personal statement turned out well since I was invited to interview from all my choices. However, I chose to withdraw my application from both Brighton and Sunderland as I decided those universities didn't suit me at all. Sunderland was far too close to home and Brighton was simply not me in the slightest. The University of Gloucestershire in Cheltenham was the first to invite me to interview. I had never visited the area before but had heard it was nice and I was very impressed once I got there and saw it for myself. I was impressed with every aspect of the university from the area to the campus and studio. The tutors that I met prior to my interview were very welcoming and offered me a good insight into what the course would be like as did the current students that I chatted to.

The interview itself went very well and I found it easy to talk about my work and what I hoped to gain from the course. To my astonishment I was given an unconditional offer right there and then. An added bonus was that I was accepted onto the second year of the course as I had requested due to the experiences my foundation degree had offered me. I felt I was better suited to the second year both in terms of fees and ability so I was delighted to have been given this option. All in all I couldn't have asked for a better outcome.

My second interview took place at Newcastle College for the 3rd (or top up) year to study digital media meaning I would come out with a creative industries qualification specialising in illustration. The interview itself went very badly in my opinion as I was very nervous and was asked some challenging questions that I wasn't even sure that I answered correctly. To my complete surprise (having convinced myself I had not got a place) I was given an offer the very next day! It was at this point that I withdrew my applications from both Sunderland and Brighton as mentioned previously. 

Nearly two months went by before I heard anything from Bristol UWE as they had requested ages ago that I send them an e-portfolio. Luckily they invited my for an interview and I was amazed by the vibrancy and creative feel Bristol had. It was a lot busier than Cheltenham but an equally if not more interesting place to live. In contrast I wasn't impressed at all by the campus. It was visually uninspiring for an art college and seemed geared towards pushing its students to branch out into other mediums than they originally intended to such as ceramics, metal work and printing. What particularly confused me was that one of the tutors told me they would push me to work in different directions than I wanted to but at the same time I had to remain true to myself. I found this contradicting and extremely off putting. Feeling a little let down and with lost enthusiasm, the interview was difficult. I wasn't offered a place due to limited places and the amount of applicants. In truth I think I didn't have enough material in my portfolio to truly show off my potential and while it would have been nice to get an offer, I am in no way disappointed because in my mind I was already won over completely by Gloucestershire. I made them my firm offer and I am due to attend there in September regardless of my results. Of course this doesn't mean I will stop working to get the best result I can on my current course, it simply means there is less pressure and stress placed on me and I can fully enjoy my last few weeks.