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.