Summative Evaluation

Summative Evaluation

During this module I think organization has really been a key factor as all of the competitions had different deadlines and I had to be careful with how much I spent on each one. I think my time keeping has definitely been much better with module. My Photoshop skills have also improved during this module as I learnt how to apply my work to templates that were given to be (particularly during the Penguin Random House Design competition) and also improved my skills of bringing in analogue work and changing it without losing that hand drawn feel to it. My team work skills were also improved during this brief, I learnt that the best way to keep everyone on the same level is to have a group chat or group email sent round rather than just assuming others would hear from another person.

This module was really great to expand on my image making with as each competition asked for something different. In this module I have experimented more with gouache than previous modules and have also played around with collage (particularly in the John Lewis Brief). I’ve learnt that gouache carries across really well into Photoshop and doesn’t lose its hand made feel if you edit it properly, I also learnt that I’m beginning to find collage a great way to organize my thoughts before starting a purely digital piece of work (which is good because I’ve always thought I hated collage). 

I feel like the main strength my work this module is my concept work. Normally I come up with one concept and tend to stick with it, but for this module having criticism and feedback really helped me home in on better ideas, particularly in the John Lewis brief where I was constantly evolving my ideas to fit the brief as we progressed with it. I will capitalize on this in the future by ensuring that I continually exhaust my concept ideas before picking one, as during this module that worked well for me.

I think weaknesses in my work this module is the lack of research into other artists and what else is out there. It was something I really didn’t give much thought too until I would be designing colour palettes and start to wonder what else was out there. I realised I was doing this towards the end so in the last brief (John Lewis) I made sure to double check existing things. I feel like not doing my research properly has hindered some of my submissions, in particular, A Clockwork Orange, I think that more could have been done to push the concept in a more alternative direction if I had seen more preexisting book covers. In the future, I think I need to start delegating more time to research (rather than just a day or two) and make sure I have a rounded view of what exists and what doesn’t in the illustration world before setting off to complete a brief.

Overall I enjoyed this module, It challenged me in a different way to previous ones as it was so time sensitive but it also gave me an insight into what being a illustrator in the real world is like. There isn’t too much I’d do differently next time, other than perhaps try out more mediums and create a time table right at the start of each brief so I could allocate myself enough time for research, development and feedback on concept ideas before starting on a final idea.