Skills that I have gained from this module came from the first studio brief, working in a group with others that know lots about computers, so through making the gif and processing the photographs together I picked up how to do these things myself, sometimes there is no better way to learn than on the job. I also feel like my own photoshopping skills have come on quite a lot, I am getting much more efficient and neater at processing my artwork, which hopefully has reflected a little bit in the final studio brief three, as they really had to come into play to create my final pieces for that, which are far from very good, but I think they are improvements.
Using the software Adobe Illustrator is a new method of image making that has been introduced to me with this module, and although I was completely terrible at it I feel that it has at least informed my concept development process through the way that I consider shape and what lines I can use, I have had to reconsider the way I create images, by trying to concentrate on using shape and more simple line work. Another slightly different approach to image making for me was the creative approach to creating photographs, it was really fun to create the extra things that we did out of tissue paper for the 'That's Pant's brief', it made much more exciting photographs, it was an interesting and new approach to photography, and it's something that I think could be great to come back to again in the future.
Strengths that I can identify in my work is that I think that my image making (asides from with Illustrator) some of my work is slowly beginning to have a more finished feel to it, and I think that if I just keep continuing to progress and trying to push myself then it will improve all of the time. I love drawing and colouring in my sketchbook, it's always my favourite part, so to keep trying to do a lot more of this can be no bad thing, even in this module I know i should have done a lot better.
Weakness that I can identify within my work are most obviously, Illustrator. In the future I will have to come back to it and rectify this, and the way for me to succeed at it is to be far more confident and organised with my ideas as to what I want to create long before I start to use the computer. I think that I should start off by attempting much smaller things that will be less complicated. I also need to invest a lot to make sure that I get the good results out of it that I want. Another weakness has really been any drawings that I have attempted in my little A5 bound portrait sketchbook, I have learnt an important lesson in this module, and that is that I need to give myself and my drawings the best chance, and I actually find that this inflexible sketchbook has really inhibited me. (I'm not trying to blame the sketchbook for my poor performances, but merely to remember that in the future my drawings are at their best when they have enough room to breath when I am creating them.)
Five things that I will do differently next time are to do much more testing and practising of final ideas, this will help me to come to a much greater final outcome that has been much more thoroughly planned, and gives me more time to make drastic changes to get the results that I would like. Secondly I think that if I try to focus on doing so much more playful drawing and ideas generation in the early stages, I really need to push myself with this one as it is what will make my final solutions much more inventive and exciting. Thirdly I need to drill at creating some really good and strong compositions, it is the thing that can make the difference to taking my artwork to another level. If an opportunity presents itself where using Illustrator would be an ideal solution to a brief I should have a go at using it, and really put lots of focus and time on it, creating less complex shapes, and hopefully this will mean that I can finally get a bit of a grasp on this incredibly useful software. Finally next time I will try my best to continue to keep blogging as it happens, as I started to towards the end of this module, it means that I feel a lot more on top of everything, and it is so important to have that time reflecting on my work as it helps me to keep what I am trying to achieve and the what the brief is in focus. Its such a valuable tool for bettering my work and its beneficial on a number of levels to make the most of it.
Attendance = 4
Punctuality = 4
Motivation = 3.5Commitment = 4
Quantity of Work Produced = 2
Quality of Work Produced = 2
Contribution to the Group = 3.5
