End of Module Evaluation

1. What learning have you inherited through this module and how has it impacted on your own understanding of professional practice? Consider yourself as a student at University as much as an illustrator

I think towards the end of this module I have really learnt the value of honest and true self-reflection. At the beginning of the year I think I felt a bit lost in terms of PPP and what it meant, and I think that was largely in part to me not reflecting on myself and my practice deep enough or with enough context. With the last two briefs however (SB2 & SB3) I’ve found that a lot of what I’ve learnt through PPP has all come together. I’m starting to really understand why I like the work that I like and how that affects me as a practitioner. I’m also finally starting to really think about where my own work fits within this huge ‘illustrationsphere’ and it feels good to start figuring that out.


2. What approaches/ types of research have you found most valuable over this module? Why did they have such an impact?

I’ve really found looking at other artists and illustrators to be valuable this year, not only in PPP but in other modules as well. By looking at existing practitioners work and understanding why it is successful in both a professional sense and a personal sense, I’ve found my own work develops and grows more. Through better understanding the professional illustrating world I can better understand my place in it and where to push my work next.

As previously mentioned self reflecting and blogging through issues and concerns in my illustration has also proved extremely helpful recently and it something I want to take with me and continue into next year. 

3. In what way has PPP informed the way your work in other modules and your illustration practice as a whole?
PPP has recently become very useful to me, I feel that I started the year with good intentions and regular blogging, however this waned when SP and COP really kicked into swing. This is a shame as recently PPP has been hugely useful in understanding my own practice and my struggles within it. Next year I wish to consistently blog PPP, as it’s useful for not only the aforementioned reasons but also because I think it’s good to look at artists, illustrators, events happens ect outside of SP briefs and modules. I would also like to get into the habit of blogging regularly about non-illustration related things that impact me as I feel they too have a role to play in how I’ve developed and grown this year overall.


4. What weaknesses can you identify in your PPP submission and how will you address this in the future?

As mentioned before, during the beginning of the second term my PPP blogging did suffer; it was something I put off as I thought the more immediate deadlines needed more attention than PPP, however if I had blogged and reflected as regular on PPP as I have recently maybe I wouldn’t have had the struggles I had later on in other briefs, or would have come to conclusions quicker.

In this same vain I also didn’t blog things like exhibitions I went to, films I watched or non-illustration related things, which would have been extremely helpful. I feel as though they did shape a lot in the way I’ve worked or things I’ve thought about or considered and not taking the time to truly reflect on this may have lead to me not learning as much//taking as much from experiences or influences.


5. What communities of practice and professional contexts do you intend to investigate further as you approach level 5? Why do they appeal to you?

I really want to look at more lo-fi and loose illustration within the future. I feel like one of the things I’m really interested in is recording authentic feelings, experiences, emotions ect and I feel I do this best when things are stripped back a little bit, and a little looser too. I want to look into ceramic illustrators like Laura Bird, Jen Collins, Eleonor Bostrom, Charlotte Mei and Leah Reena. I’ve found a few other illustrators such as Joohee Yoon who work quite texturally with shape and the landscapes of Marcus Oakley have also currently caught my eye. I’d like to look more into reportage illustration as well as zines, as they’re something I’d like to try more of but haven’t really experimented with this year.

I’m still a little unsure of how my work will develop or where it will sit exactly by the time I’m finished at LCA, but for the first time I feel quite comfortable in what I want to explore, what I want to push and what I want my illustration to express, and that is primarily in part to PPP.

Final Images

Final photos

Poster

EVALUATION OF FINAL PIECES

I feel that through this final project, although short, I've learnt a lot. The process of transferring my 2D illustrations into a 3D setting has been something that I've really enjoyed and I feel has pushed me to think about my illustrations in a new way. I also feel as though stylistically my work has started to take shape, though this is something I'm really hoping to practice and expand upon even further through the next few months and even years ahead.

I'm also quite proud of the way the end poster has come together and would like to get it printed professionally at the print dungeon ready for the final year show. The photo's themselves act as a sort of summary of my year as a whole and I think overall they show a lot about how my work has developed and what I've learnt. I also think in a practical sense, that keeping the photographs to a similar brown//grey//cream colour palette they work well together as a set; though I feel if I were to do this again I would retake the vector photograph so it fit in better with the hue of the other photos, and while the digital glare does at a sense of tension to the piece I feel this is a little off putting and perhaps the photo would have worked better if I had placed my cut out over a print of my vector or had scanned in my cut out and placed it on the vector digitally instead.

The self reflections I've undertaken in this brief have also helped me to grow in confidence and awareness of my own practice. I finally have an idea of what I want from my work and what to push further. I'm very much excited for the next few months and what it holds ahead.

Final Presentation

Slide 1

Introduction, little bit of a bio, how year has been as a whole; short and sweet - get to the juicy bits quickly, don't bore with entire life story

Slide 2

Character; always been an integral part of my practice. Something that's hard to fully analyse as it's something that comes quite intuitively. How GIF project really helped understand character in more depth and rekindled love for it, how believability is key in character. Have to make audience think that it's real so they can empathise or understand it. Gesture and media also important in describing characters. Analog vs digital give very different vibes. Digital very structured, perhaps prefer analog as it feels more hand crafted and personal, makes characters feel well crafted and loved

Slide 3

New illustration; since starting being introduced to whole new spectrum of illustration I didn't know existed. Nobrow is like WHOOAA. Didn't know this sort of shape and character driven work existed. Made me consider importance of colour palettes, media, tone of voice. Enjoyed reading new things, humour in Luke Pearson The midnight Giant, the scenery and characters working v.harmoniously. The subtle illustration of Jane the Fox and Me and how powerful selective colour and story can be.  

Slide 4

Another new thing; reportage illustration. The chevin brief, how it intertwined my love for adventure and travel with illustration. Going somewhere new and soaking it. Taking disposable camera, digital camera, sketchbook. Taking lots of photos first visit to draw from. Interlocking of personal experience with secondary research really informed final pieces. Going back with just a sketchbook and really seeing things. Becoming emotionally invested. Making a final piece I was really proud of. Pursuing deeper meanings.

Slide 5

Deepening of my intents. Throughout year have developed and reflected more upon what I want my illustrations to say, not just what they are//format. Want my illustrations to say something, to evoke or capture something. Persons of note, chevin, sad fawn gif. All had intents more than just making a pretty picture. Sometimes these worked and other times they didn't but the bravery to attempt more complex and difficult subject matter and intentions is growing.

Slide 6

Struggle with tone of voice; look tiny me struggling in the corner and getting really stressed out. Tried so many different styles this year, feel like every project it changes and evolves but don't really have own tone of voice. Being inspired by different things each project makes it harder to decide on one authentic thing. Have learnt so much this year that it has become a little overwhelming and has complicated own method of naturally sketching and working

Slide 7

Confusion largely in part to Vis Lang week on shape, seeing illustration in a way I've never seen it before. Have liked other illustrations and not known why and this shape thing made sense of it. Seeing work as a silhouette then putting the shapes into it. Felt that during this week the process felt less like transcribing and image and more like translating it through my own tone of voice. Style different to that in which I'd normally work but really enjoyed it and felt the results were very much my own interpretations of things. However this caused the conflict in my own tone of voice. This way a lot looser and immediate, less sketchy and working towards one final tight image. Confusion!!

Slide 8

Cared about my tone of voice as one of my strengths is GIVING A SHIT ABOUT THINGS. Am naturally very passionate about things, about forming opinions and having something to say. Get emotionally invested like chevin and persons of note. Can empathise and want work to make people FEEL SOMETHING!! Felt very deflated about current situation with tone of voice. Seeing peers really start to understand the way their illustrations were working whereas mine felt all over the place and not really mine at all. Very lost and disheartened. Sad times for Jazz; the stress is real

Slide 9

That's when I did the blogpost that saved my life!!! Last monday, sat down with my PPP blog and just wrote about how I was feeling. The conflict I was facing with tone of voice and how I felt about it. How lost I was and how I didn't really know how to choose between this old style of drawing I was used to and this new thing I'd started to uncover. Found that through blogging and self reflection I was actually able to kind of make sense of it. Was able to analyse what was important to me in my illustrations and that thing is capturing a moment. It's making people feel things. It's recording emotions or events or experiences and it's largely about being human. It's uncovering old stories and making people feel sad or happy or in love. About capturing tiny snippets of authentic stories. And that the best way to do all of this was with my own tone of voice. Because the things I am trying to say are personal and real and human and it's the way I see things so they should be told in a way that I transcribe them. And while tighter, more anatomically correct drawings have impacted my illustration craft that doesn't make them better than my loose sketches and drawings. And that rather than shy away from my looseness and immediacy that I so often love in my sketchbooks and loose in my rigid final pieces I should embrace them. Look at more artists like Lizzy Stewart, Laura Carlin, understand how they make rawer pieces of work that still feel very finalised and refined. 

Slide 10

Building on this next year I feel like I finally have a direction with where I want to go. Looking forward to summer to be able to dive back into my own sketchbook and really push my drawings further and understand them better. To try new things like ceramics and 3D. Try more GIFs? Different medias? Working bigger and smaller but most importantly having something to say, something to evoke and some sense of humanity to my illustrations. Embrace looseness, be bolder, experiment and be brave.

PPP Presentation Prep

Notes on what to consider in presentation

I feel as though I have a lot to say in my final year presentation for PPP given my recent reflection on my practice and my year as a whole. I know there have been a few transformative moments in the year I want to talk about, and my struggles with tone of voice recently will also provide some things to discuss within my work.

Before beginning the presentation I visited all of my blogs from this year so far, re-read final evaluations and looked at final work and pieces I've enjoyed. I picked out the things that I felt had meant the most to me this year; the things I had learnt and grown the most from.

I then tried to compile these things into a list and began pulling imagery from my blogs, sketchbooks, instagram, pinterest ect to highlight what I wanted to say on each slide. I changed around the slide order a few times so that my presentation would flow better as a whole. I wanted the slides to be made up primarily of images without type. I feel more confident presenting when I'm not reading from slides or a very structured script but rather a few notes. I think this allows me to speak more honestly and forces me to actually know what I'm talking about and what I'm trying to say. I'll practice presenting to myself a lot before the actual presentation so I know that what I'm presenting is organised and makes sense as opposed to me just rambling on however.

Personal notes on what I'm including in my presentation//the structure of slides

Development for Final Illustrations

Revisions to '10 things I've learnt at uni' and initial scamps for 'mini Jazz'

After my reflections on tone of voice and my illustration practice as a whole I went back and narrowed down my list of 'new experiences at uni' to 'things I've learnt at uni'. I also thought more about how these things could be represented as illustrations and reflected on past personal experiences for possible solutions.

 I started scamping out some ideas for a mini cut out version of myself, trying out a few different medias and variations of style//how much detail I wanted to include. I wanted the mini versions of myself to be analog and include some form of texture, I decided on pencil crayon and brush pen as it created a strong sense of contrast which would be important while photographing them to make sure the details were seen. I also felt these medias allowed me to work more with shape (the pencil crayon) and be a little looser in my line work (brush pen). I wanted a selective colour palette within the figures too so they worked well as a set and would stand out and feel different to the world I was photographing them in. 

While initially scamping I decided I wanted to work with yellow, as it's a personal favourite colour of mine, reflects my sunny personality and is light enough to contrast with the black ink. My only worry is that people will think it looks a little bit Simpson like! But hopefully my style will deter that from happening.

Cut out tests for final

I had an idea of how I wanted each of my final images to work and made a few notes on possible locations//layouts. Throughout this process I found a way of working which I felt helped me to retain the immediateness of my sketches in my final work. I'd start with a pencil sketch from either imagination or reference, then redraw it using a coloured pencil to block out the colour//silhouette of the image, drawing the details in with the brush pen. I'd do this until I felt I had a figure that worked well, I then took this image to the light box with some heavy-weight card and traced over it. This allowed me to get in the yellow shape (and proportions) of my figure accurately whilst still allowing for some looseness and expressive line quality in the brush lines. Not having pencil sketches underneath the final cut outs was also a big plus craft-wise.

Scamps for finals (process of drawing the image)

Final images to be traced onto good card

Process photo

So far I'm really pleased with how these final cut out illustrations have turned out. I feel as though I'm finally starting to push my own way of image making and exploring it more thoroughly. The experience of placing these 2D illustrations into a 3D setting is also quite fun and exciting, and the process of 3D and lens is becoming something I'm growing more interested in. I think by applying my illustration to new settings and formats I'm learning more about it as a whole; where it can exist, what mood//atmosphere I can get from it.

Project-wise I've made a timetable of when I need to have certain practical elements done by so I can photograph them, edit them and have them ready by the hand in.

TIMETABLE

Tuesday//Wednesday - Have all final cut out illustrations done and finished

Thursday - Presentation work//Finish any illustrations that might not be complete

Friday - Take photos//blog project

Saturday - Edit photos ready for print//blog project

Sunday - Blog rest of project//blog presentation prep//final evaluation

Test photos of first finished cut outs

The Blog Post that Saved My Soul & Reflecting (ft Lizzy Stewart)

LINK TO BLOGPOST HERE

(the one that saved my soul)

Yesterday night I sat down at my laptop and wrote 700+ words on a blog post because I felt utterly lost and defeated with my tone of voice, what my illustration meant, where it was going, basically all of the things I felt that PPP was asking of me that I didn't know the answer to.

AND IT WAS THE MOST HELPFUL AND TRANSFORMATIVE BLOGPOST I HAVE EVER WRITTEN.

For someone else to read it may not seem like I'm saying a lot; or that what a lot of what I was saying made sense, but for me, personally, it was so incredibly helpful for so many reasons. It's hard to put it into words but what I felt I was doing during the writing of this blogpost was actually sitting down and really, truly reflecting on myself and my practice. What illustration is TO ME.

Recently I've felt very torn between these two styles of drawing that I primarily use, that of a predetermined nature and that which I'm beginning to discover. And given that PPP is very self reflective, I was worrying myself because I didn't know which of these 'styles' of illustration I liked most or wanted to pursue further. The above mentioned blogpost however, really helped me to solve this. To solve a lot of questions that I didn't know the answers to, but I think that was largely in part to me not really asking the right questions or reflecting in the right way. 

What I relish in my image making, my sketchbooks and my personal work, is that idea of recording something authentic and honest and true. Recording feelings and emotions and experiences, THAT is what illustration is TO ME and that's when it makes me excited or emotional or invested. And maybe my Person's of Note project didn't work because I was trying to force a style that wasn't mine, and maybe I prefer my sketchbook pages because they're immediate and expressive and it doesn't matter if they go wrong because they're experimenting and challenging and they're trying to do or say something. And so in respects to my 'tone of voice' crisis maybe the answer lies in not seeing it as trying to replicate any particular style but just DRAWING IN A WAY THAT I LIKE. In a way that is MINE and PERSONAL and EXPRESSIVE. And though I understand the importance of how I've drawn in the past and how that's shaped my craft I'm really excited to let go of that tightness and really explore looseness and my own way of working. I think that out of these 'two tone of voice styles' I'm struggling with, the one I should be pushing and pursuing is MY OWN. 

In regards to the SB2 brief I'm really excited to try something looser and more immediate. I think that due to past experiences, I've maybe felt that 'loose work can't be final work' and it's that struggle between my authentic sketches and final pieces that makes them lose what I love about them in the first place. However loose work can be final work!! As long as it is well crafted and presented and has something to say; and looking at the way artists such as Lizzy Stewart, Amelia Flechais, Laura Carlin ect produce work that could be consider looser and rougher and rawer but still beautifully crafted and finalised has made me realise that. And it's taken a long time to get to this point where I'm actually starting to make sense of what ties all these illustrations that I love together and I think it's primarily this notion of expressing something, and of being loose and not afraid to make mistakes and try new things. I'm aware that this SB2 project is on a very short timescale and therefore the work I make for it won't be able to experiment and try a lot of the things I'm excited about, but I feel like I've actually got an idea of what I want to try and where I want to push my illustrations further in the future, and that's a very good feeling.

Marcus Oakley (Big Heads)

Marcus Oakley

Today's Big Head's featured the illustrator, artist and textiles designer Marcus Oakley. I've found a lot of the big heads' we've had this year to be very inspirational, but Marcus in particular struck on a very personal note for me. 

Hearing him discuss how line informs all of his work, and his desire to put his illustration on as many surfaces as possible was really interesting to hear and something I've also been considering and thinking a lot about recently. I found his general perky, positive vibes infectious, and his belief in working hard and drawing a lot is something I also strongly believe in. 

Although it may seem a little off the point, given the recent political switch over leaving Tories with a majority in our government, I'm aware that creative opportunities in the next five years may be fewer than they've been previously, and I think that makes it even more important that people like Marcus continue to spread their cheeriness, determination and belief in young creative people. Working hard is important and being inspired, creative and measuring your own success is vital. Optimism is a weapon! Use it to have a voice!

Lizzy Stewart (And my struggle with Tone of Voice)

Lizzy Stewart - Hard Wood & Heavy Water

Another artist I visited in a previous project, (Vis Narr) I've found myself drawn back to Lizzy's work when thinking about my SB3 PPP presentation. I feel as though recently I've been feeling very unsure and conflicted about my tone of voice. More often than not I prefer my sketchbook work in a project to the final outcomes; I felt this was very much the case with my latest submission hand in 'Persons of Note'; the final poster piece lacked the looseness and subtly in application of media that I felt had worked well in my sketchbook.  

I've also been dabbling in multiple different 'styles' of drawing. I feel that when I started this course in September I had a pre-set way of drawing that was largely informed through my interest in artists and animators that largely worked in a very similar 'concept art for Disney films' kind of way. And though I do feel I have developed this style a lot since September, and in a much more personal way, it's thrown up a lot of conflict in my work. After being introduced to illustration through shape, and publishing companies such as Nobrow and artist's such as Luke Pearson and Ping Zhu my eyes have been opened up to this world of illustration I didn't even really know existed before starting this course. And it's got me excited and willing to experiment and try new things, however now when I come to starting a project, I'm a little lost at where to start. 

I feel like I want to try so many different things and that's where it becomes complicated; I enjoy drawing in a similar way to how I've always worked because it's something I know and something comfortable. It's like putting on a favourite jumper that you know suits you and fits you well, but then you've got all these funky new shorts and they're really exciting and sometimes you put them on and they look great but other times you're not really sure what to wear them with and so they don't quite look at good as you know they could. And so I'm stuck this limbo and sometimes I wear my favourite jumper with a strong pair of shorts, and other times I run around in completely new shorts and t-shirts but then when I'm just spending time with myself and my own sketchbook I like to just put my comfy old jumper on again.

Bad analogies aside, today when dealing with this current identity crisis I decided I needed to look at some work that I think is lovely and sincere and beautiful. So I went on Lizzy Stewart's website and felt considerably less pressured and stressed. When I first visited Lizzy's website, I did so to look at her wonderfully instinctive and immediate travel diaries. Not only are her sketchbooks beautiful and intimate, but the idea of travel and illustration is something I've always wanted to persure. Travelling and discovering new and real cultures and places and having experiences is something I'm in love with. When I think back to Chevin, the feeling of taking somewhere in with a sketchbook in your hand is truly wonderful. Not looking at things through a lens or a mobile phone but to really observe with your eyes. To take note of the way the light goes through the trees and the crunch of the then frosty leaves under your feet. These are REAL, AUTHENTIC THINGS! These are things that I relish illustrating; these are things I fall in love with. And while my comfortable jumper is nice and the way it has developed and the things it's been through with me, the ways it's stretched and shrunk and changed has been vital to the way I look at myself and my craft, I think it's important to step out of this safety net and try new things.

I'm really glad that I've taken the time to reflect on all of this now at the end of the year. I feel like I've really learnt a lot about my practice and who I am as an illustrator. I'm also very excited to have some months holiday to really refresh and try new things within my personal sketchbooks. Play is key. Experimentation is good. Take risks and FEEL THINGS.

Lizzy Stewart - Hard Wood & Heavy Water

248 Drawings in 2 Days?!

For a recent COP task, creating an A2 poster, I sat down on Bank Holiday weekend and did 248 drawings in two days (as well as finishing all my COP blogging and essay on the Monday). I feel after coming out the other side of this experience I've learnt a lot about myself.

Firstly, that I'm a lot faster as my craft than I was at the beginning of the year. I remember being daunted and shocked during the first week of term in which we were required to do 260 drawings in a week. 260 in a week!? That was crazy! It was exhausting and difficult and I think I still fell about 30 drawings short. However last weekend proved how not only faster I've become at drawing, but how much more efficient and organised. I had to plan out my weekend so that I would have all my practical work done by the Tuesday morning, ready to then scan in and organise ready to then print on Wednesday morning.

And so on Saturday and Sunday I worked twelve hour days with minimal breaks (for things like food, water, toilet) and completed 90 drawings on Saturday (80 scamps and 10 final images) and 158 drawings on Sunday (120 scamps and 38 final images). This task was self initiated. For my final poster I need 48 images in total, and I didn't want these images to just be the first things that I thought of, so I started doing scamps for each of these images. On the Saturday I was doing about 7-10 scamps per image; on Sunday I knew I had to streamline this process in order to get it all finished and so limited myself to 3 scamps in frames for each image. I wanted to do this because I wanted my final images to reflect what I wanted to say about my subject matter, and while sometimes the first idea I had did this better than the others, often I found a much more suitable way of communicating what I wanted to say through later scamps and exploration of ideas.

Though this task was hugely exhausting I found that by maintaining a good amount of sleep and eating well I didn't feel burnt out by the end of it; in fact I felt rather accomplished. I believe this self driven mini mega project has shown me what I'm capable of if I just sit down and concentrate on illustrating without distractions.

Some of the scamps done during the two days

Amelie Flechais

Amelie Flechais

I stubbled upon Amelie's work quite a while ago (near the beginning of the year) however recently revisited it for a project in Vis-Com. Usually I would list the things I really like about an illustrator's work, but with Amelie it is simply everything! The story-telling, sense of character and strong tone of voice all speak in volumes on their own, and that's without taking into account the extremely high level of craft, authenticity and skill with which she is able to apply and use media. 

Her work seems to be a merging of analog methods with digital enhancements//modifications, skillfully rendered together to create seamless imagery. The results are often whimsical, delicate but believable worlds and characters. To be able to take my own analog work and render it to such a high level as Amelie would be wonderful.