SMART TARGETS - WEEK OF 24/04/2017

SMART TARGETS FOR THE WEEK OF 24/04/2017

• Finish all paperwork for previous projects
• Create idea for next WBL project
• Start artist research before creating rough sketches
• Plan this project thoroughly
• Manage time for college and personal work

REFLECTIONS - 19/04/2017

REFLECTION FOR 19/04/2017

I am currently working on my PPD module and planning my idea for my next Work Based Learning brief, which is to create a series of characters within a page, these designs will be very simplistic and minimal for several reasons, to maintain and keep an effective time flow and management while I work with PPD alongside this project there I won't have to spend as much time in the project and I can divide my time equally also I would like to experiment with another art style and within the WBL project, show as many different styles, methods and production methods. So car I have my comic strip and my 3D environment for Air Max Day. I would like my theme to be based around mechs(mecha) and essentially to create a page full of robotic characters with a slight cartoon-like appearance. I will keep the shapes and colour to a minimal so I can use the designs for vinyl cut that can also be submitted for the project as well as be used with my final show. I have also recently used a character illustration from my comic strip and had that design cut out in vinyl, I haven't had time to transfer the design onto wood so I created a Photoshop version to use until the main design is complete.

EVALUATION FOR PRINTMAKIG

EVALUATION - PRINTMAKING 

This project was entirely based creating relief prints, using a previous illustration to then alter for the plate design or create a new illustration to use. I recycled the illustration of the previous project, character design and took the design of the character Anansi and altered it to fit in the 25cm by 25cm document to then get it laser cut on a materiel of your choice, whether its plastic or wood to create a texture then the design was the pressed and rolled with ink to create a relief print. This project was purely experimental and didn't require any research or previous planning; just documenting the process of creating these relief prints and experiment with different coloured inks and even blind embossed the design without using any ink, having the design press into the paper. I enjoyed this short and easy project as it didn't require weeks of planning, refining ideas adn designs to then be developed. Simply create a design for the plate adn produce prints within you own time. 

I then documented the process of altering the original illustration to create the design for the plate and explained the pros and cons of my relief prints I produced, wherever they weren't successful and consisted of mistakes or explaining how I applied a base coat of red ink then layered the black ink above. There are many different ways and methods you can use when creating prints.I used 2 additional designs that I created in my own personal time and produced additional prints to then hand in with this project, having a series of different designs and different medias/methods showed the experimenting that I produced. Overall I really enjoyed this project adn I would like to have more projects that are quick and don't require planning or research, just the process and creation for the final pieces.

SWOT ANALYSIS FOR CONTEXTUAL STUDIES 2

SWOT ANALYSIS - CONTEXTUAL STUDIES 2

STRENGTHS:

• Chosen topic
• Imagery and references used
• Word count
• Using timetable to organise when to produce work
• Being intrigued int the essay and research
• Asking classmates for their opinion

WEAKNESSES:

• Balancing multiple projects at once
• Meeting all requirements of the brief
• Time spent on essay

OPPORTUNITIES:

• Learning new ways of creating artwork, leading to a wider knowledge of programs and software

THREATS:

• Not spending enough time on the essay
• Balancing multiple projects
• Time management 

EVALUATION FOR CONTEXTUAL STUDIES 2

EVALUATION - CONTEXTUAL STUDIES 2

This evaluation takes place after receiving my formative grade for this project, personally I am disappointed in the grade I was given, I believe that the assessment of not only this but previous projects are very harsh and are marked on the tutor's standard and not the brief/college standard. I actually enjoyed researching and learning about this essay and due to the chosen theme which was the evolution of comics within the past 10 years, there were no local primary sources, like books and magazines that I could use that explains my theory, so I strongly disagree with the reasoning why I was given a poor grade. I think that because how specific my chosen topic was you would have to understand that secondary (internet) sources are essentially primary sources for this topic as I used a selection of quotes and information from conferences and interviews, all of which are shared across the internet and not in books. 

Negative views aside, I actually enjoyed this project, especially the research part and learning new facts about a topic that I am very interested in. Personally I would like to produce another piece of work based on the theme of comic books and graphic novels. Due to the essay having a strict word count of 10% above or under 2500 words, I would of added more detail within the different sections adn spent more time connecting them together and creating a nice flow between different sections of the essay. If the time spent on this was extended as well as the word count I would try to find convention newsletters or subscription books that may possibly show quotes based on comics or explaining a situation about comic-books.

Overall as a whole project, I enjoyed writing this essay and learning the information that was placed into it, although I disagree with my grade I do believe I could of improved the essay if the terms adn requirements of the project weren't as strict and specific. 

EVALUATION FOR CHARACTER DESIGN (ANANSI MODEL SHEET)

EVALUATION - CHARACTER DESIGN (ANANSI MODEL SHEET)

This project is called Character Design and the aim/requirements of the brief was to create a character and apply this design to a model sheet specifically for this character. The requirements were that the design has to be produced, or at least the final outcome has to be digital and be printed and mounted on A2 paper. Despite these, the brief wasn't too strict and allowed a wide range of freedom within the production of this character. The model sheet required a background story, several dynamic poses and/or expressions.

My chosen theme of this character was based on Gods, more specifically African Gods; while researching I came across a story about this African Deity known as 'Anansi', I then used this myth and revolved my design around this and re created my representation of this African God. The appearance of this character was inspired by Alex Pardee's work and several other artists from the illustration book called 'Zero Friends'. I deiced to approach this design with a style that I wasn't comfortable with, using silhouettes to create this character and having the highlights and detail show with minimal white. I tend to use both colour and detail without my illustrations so staying simplistic was a struggle but I am happy with the outcome and appearance of the character. I created these illustrations for the model sheet by using Illustrator and the pen tool to create the shapes for the body and limbs. The model sheet background consisted of a texture I created using stained tea that I then scanned and placed into Photoshop to then apply the illustrations and text to the document.

The positives of this project was the appearance of the character that I created, I was happy with the outcome due to the amount of times I constantly changed the design as I struggled to think of a theme at the beginning of the project. I am also proud and pleased with the outcome of the model sheet, the layout an positioning of the elements work well, they aren't too cramped onto the page and the font is readable. I did encounter a few issues throughout the process of creating this design and before this concept was created, a main issues was time management but to solve that in future projects I will constantly create and update my timetable and write lists on my current progress and what needs to be done.

Overall I am please with the outcome of this project and believe that I have done a good job considering I decided to use a unfamiliar art style to help broaden my horizon  and to get used to theses situations where I may not be able to use my preferred art styles when working with clients.

SWOT ANALYSIS FOR CHARACTER DESIGN (ANANSI MODEL SHEET)

SWOT ANALYSIS - CHARACTER DESIGN (ANANSI MODEL SHEET)

STRENGTHS:

• Outcome and appearance of final character
• Appearance of model sheet
• New art style and simplicity of character
• Using custom typefaces and the use of typography within final design
• Character design can be used for further designs like relief printing

WEAKNESSES:

• Constant change of idea/theme throughout the beginning of this project
• Struggled to create an initial idea to develop
• Development of idea changed dramatically 
• Time management was poor due to constant new ideas

OPPORTUNITIES:

• Share design and progress across social media, make it become noticeable 
• Enter design into competitions and exhibitions
• Add commercial values to final pieces and acknowledge that purpose
• Communicate with fellow illustrators for assistance and opinions

THREAT:

• Wasn't satisfied with the marks I was given
• I believe the reasoning for a low grade was very unfair and unjustified 
• Time management could of been improved
• Update timetables and plans