Category: evaluation

evaluation, research, SWOT/Target Setting

Reflection – 12.10.18

Chalon Joy

So, I ended up skipping an update last week- it would have been 500 words of me worrywarting over the presentation (glad that’s out the way!)

The presentation didn’t go amazingly, but I suppose it wasn’t exactly bad either. I’m grateful to have patient tutors that helped me through it! I ended up talking for a little over 10 minutes, which is leaning towards the longer side of things, especially since I tried my best to minimise talking by streamlining what I was going to say. In fact, I had a lot more to say that never actually came out of my mouth because of my anxiousness.

I just hope I’ve done enough to earn a First for this module… which is only worth 10 credits. Every little counts!

Friday AM was spent going through the new module (which includes all of the Semester 1 projects for this year). It’s nothing I haven’t done before- I’ll need to make sure I really keep on top of my Harvard Referencing throughout my research though, as this is imperative to passing this module.

We have the opportunity to do some A4 monochromatic screenprints a week today- quite short notice but I’m familiar with the process, preparing imagery etc., so this will be a nice introduction to my Printmaking project (which is mostly going to focus on riso prints).

I actually did quite a lot of screenprinting during my Textile design course, with (usually) successful results. I printed with single and multi colour designs (e.g. using more than one screen on a design), as well as printing with heat-sensitive glue in order to apply gold leaf to certain areas of wallpapers I was working on- that worked especially well.

I’ve learned a lot since then, so I’ll be applying newfound skills (as well as employing old skills that were successful) when I revisit this process next week. As I’ll personally own my printing frames, I’ll be able to continue making prints as often as I like throughout the year. Hopefully this leads to additional runs of prints, either ‘for fun’ or for final show.

Also, since the Proposal was handed in on Monday, I’ve finally been able to start some research into the risograph print process- I really need to educate myself well on the techniques that are available to me, since this is totally new territory for me and I’m determined to make something nice for the first project (to be honest, it’d be great if I could get the hang of the riso enough to be able to make prints to sell at final show… ^^)

Thus far, I’ve looked a little bit into the actual process and what it entails, as well as the process of preparing imagery for printing. I’ll go into more detail in my research file for this project.

Really I think most of my skill learning for the riso will be ‘on the job’, mainly in the form of trial and error/experimentation… that’s the entire point of Semester 1~

So, my targets for the next week include solidifying my workflow and researching deeper into the risograph process. One of my biggest ‘weaknesses’ of this project will be a lack of prior knowledge, but I’m confident I can turn this around into a strength in my skillset as I learn more about how risograph prints are processed and created.

 

More on this in the coming weeks!

 

evaluation, SWOT/Target Setting

Reflection – 28.09.18

Chalon Joy

To say it was a busy week was an understatement- as well as finishing off my Proposal and Treatment (just a few small tweaks to complete over the weekend), I’ve been timetabling out the entire year, making action plans for the skills I want to improve.

A quick overview of my 6 chosen projects for the year:

-Personal Project 1- Printmaking (using the riso and developing specific riso-based and software skills)

-Personal Project 2- Narrative Animation Development (developing the characters, backgrounds, and storyboards/narrative for the animation project in Semester 2)

-Commercial Project 1- Penguin Student Design Award (creating a book cover for a given title- titles announced Oct 16th!)

-Commercial Project 2- Adobe Awards (using all my self-produced material from PP2 to create an animated short… probably looking forward to this one the most!)

-Commercial Project 3- Cheltenham Illustration Awards (I want a really nice ‘stand out’ piece for my portfolio and final show- this is the best opportunity I’ll have within my timetable)

-Personal Project 3- Portfolio, Brand and Merchandising (updating my portfolio with new/improved artwork, as well as making nicer promo materials and some merchandise for final show)

 

So now that all the writing is pretty much finished, I’ll have to adapt this into a presentation (which obviously I am dreading!!) I’ll need to really streamline my project proposal for this, including just the essentials so I can talk as little as possible while still getting the point across~

The presentation is due Friday 5th (a week from today), so I’ll be fiddling with my written work over the weekend, going through the corrections I’ve been given and making sure it’s all right before translating it into visuals and a presentation script.

In addition to these tasks, next week I’m aiming to start thinking a little bit more about what sort of imagery I want to bring into the printmaking project- so far on the shortlist there’s things like flora, fauna, and ‘natural patterns’, e.g. geodes and rock formations. I *love* to include pattern in my work (I’ve got quite a fascination with naturally formed repetition, especially) so this should be a fun one to look forward to after the trauma of having to present my proposal!!

I’ll update again next week once Friday is over and I can relax and think a bit more~

 

 

evaluation, SWOT/Target Setting

Reflection – 21.09.18

Chalon Joy

This week, I began making some good progress with my research file- I expanded upon my artist research, adding some more artists that were especially relevant to my upcoming projects, e.g. Robert Nelson, whose artwork has inspired me to look at similar visuals and techniques when I start the Printmaking project. Using the risograph will be a new experience- I haven’t worked with this medium before, so I’m looking forward to it! I’ll have to carefully consider the imagery I use during this project, as most of the riso colours are much brighter than what I usually use in my work, so I’ll have to keep this in mind when looking at potential subjects for the contact sheets I will be producing. I’ll be able to thoroughly experiment with this beforehand though, as the first semester is all about skill building and improving upon my current knowledge.

I’m finding it a bit more challenging to discover artists and animators that work in the style I’m envisioning for my animation- I think this semester I’ll focus on character and environment design, as that is the premise of my chosen second Personal project (in Semester 2, I’ll develop these ideas into a full animation as part of the Adobe Awards). Ultimately I think it will be more of a ‘moving illustration’ type, with different planes that have small animated components, e.g. flowers blooming, a looped walk cycle for my character, or something similarly simple. In the past I’ve given myself too much of a workload with moderately complex animated projects, so I’d like to avoid this for my final year as I don’t want it to detract from my other projects!

Additionally, I also started to look into self promotion (e.g. promo packs for final show)- I’ll have info on this up on this blog soon! This is something I’m really looking forward to developing as the year goes on- while I’m still pleased with my promo stuff from last year (Summer 2017), I feel that my work will have progressed enough by this year’s final show to be able to re-design my promo pack (including some new items, e.g. stickers, zines, etc)

In terms of my goals for the upcoming week, I’d like to finalise my Treatment and Proposal, so I can start preparing the Presentation I’ll have to do as part of this unit. I’d also like to start pulling together the research I’ve done so far, just to ensure it’s enough- I don’t want it to all pile up as a huge workload near the deadline (which admittedly, I’ve done in the past) so I’m hoping to keep on top of things this year as a good practice!

evaluation

Reflection – 14.09.18

Chalon Joy

Starting a new academic year has been both difficult and exciting for me, particularly as I have come back to Newcastle College after a year studying Illustration for Commercial Application at Cleveland College of Art and Design (now the Northern School of Art). I didn’t really enjoy my time in education last year, so I am eager to fully utilise this year to my advantage and get ‘back on track’ with my artistic skills, hopefully regaining my passion for the subject.

The first week back was quite formal, with most of the lesson content being introductory. Nevertheless, it was nice to start fresh with a blank canvas- in total, we’ll be working on 3 personal projects and 3 commercially based projects towards our final degree. Thus far, I’ve done some research into various illustration competitions to try and gather an idea on which I want to enter as part of the commercially based briefs I’ll work on, as well as looking more insightfully into my own current practice (strengths and weaknesses), which I gathered into a Reflective Report. This has helped me to identify what sort of routes I want to take in terms of the personally based briefs for my degree- I’ll talk about this more than I begin work on these.

Lastly, I have begun to envision the six projects that I will undertake in a quick overview document- naturally this will become my final Project Proposal as I begin to expand upon each project.

about, evaluation

Year 3 Objectives and Learning Plan

Chalon Joy

Before I start working on my Project Proposal treatment, I want to do a quick recap on what I’ve learned thus far, as well as planning out a Learning Guide for new skills throughout the coming year~

Overall Objectives

To summarise my design practice for this year, I’d like to expand upon my already existing skillset while also adopting some new techniques and workflows, such as risograph printing and furthering my digital prowess. To achieve these goals, I want to be able to utilise all the available valuable resources at the college, as well as return back to my roots with traditional and digital illustration.

Furthermore, I want to be able to develop my concepts this year to evoke deeper emotion and meaning- this could be through the usage of symbolism, emotive motifs, and other vehicles for portraying an idea through visuals.

Some of the most important areas I want to develop and improve throughout Year 3 include:

  • Concept Development
  • Visual Aid Research/Figural Drawing Improvement
  • Technique Refinement/Improvement of Rendering and Visualisation
  • Progression of Confidence and Personal Reflection Skills

 

Strengths and Weaknesses

While I anticipate that I’ll be able to help myself achieve these targets as I progress through the year by promoting a positive learning environment, I know there may be areas of weakness, as well as strengths.

For example, timekeeping is always an essential part of success, as bad timekeeping can have a massive impact on the quality of a project. I’ve identified this plenty of times in the past, but this is the big issue for me and I really want to work on improving my timeliness this year.

Another weakness is digital skills in programs such as Cinema4D and After Effects- I intend to produce an animated piece for a project in Semester 2 (STC), and this may very well see me having to make use of these programs. If I undertake the animation project as planned, I’ll endeavour to widen my skillset and broaden my understanding of digital animation programs as much as possible.

Moving onto strengths, I am quite proficient at creating pattern work and characters, as well as drawing upon many different work processes to create digital collages that utilise many different techniques (both digital and traditional). I love working on all of the above, so in order to balance out the struggles I might face during the Animation project, I’ll ensure to work on projects using these skills so I can showcase my most confident work, as well as continuing to build upon my skills and improve further.

 

Professional Development Plan

  • Skills, Knowledge and Experience– I’ve already outlined this above, but I anticipate that I’ll be able to include lots of skill and knowledge building in my projects, both through the revisitation of developed skillsets and by experimenting with new processes and workflows, particularly during Semester 1.
  • Processes and Methods– I am really looking forward to exploring risograph printing during Semester 1, with the possibility of extending this further into Semester 2 for additional project work if the outcome is desirable. Again, as previously mentioned I also want to continue to improve my existing digital skillset, as this is an imperative part of my creative practice and any improvement is welcome. As well as these physical work processes, I also want to improve my mental workflows which link to timekeeping and having a more positive outlook on my artistic journey as an illustrator.
  • Commercial Context– As far as industry progression goes, I’d love to flesh out my portfolio to be more in keeping with a certain art style and aesthetic- at the moment, my work is quite eclectic and while this isn’t really a bad thing, it’s still something that I need to bring together into a more cohesive look. For the future, my goals are to work freelance in various contexts that align with my personal tastes (although I realise this might not always be possible!), as well as continuing to develop my work to become more applicable to a variety of applications; while also maintaining a strong yet adaptable personal style.
  • Possible Collaborators– I already have some competitions/live briefs in mind that I would like to enter as part of the Commercial portions of both Semester 1 and 2- I’m hoping the Cheltenham Illustration Awards continues in 2019, as I throughly enjoyed working on this brief in 2017 for one of my final pieces. The Penguin Student Award is also on my radar, as I worked with book illustration during my time at CCAD last year and enjoyed the experience. Also, since I usually work alone as an artist, I’m looking forward to collaborating with the rest of my course for the final show, as portions of our show will be a group effort, e.g. marketing, branding, etc.
  • Possible Sources of Research–  Throughout the year will include artist research, existing artwork research (for example, if working on a commercial project), and visual aid/reference research wherever appropriate in my project work. I will also research into deeper meaning and contextual study to support the progression of my concept building and symbolic deeper meaning in my work (as outlined in Overall Objectives).
  • Anticipated Problems/Specialist Access to Resources– Since some of my predicted projects include specialist equipment, I’ll need to make sure I plan in advance when I will be using these areas (e.g. the risograph room), as I’ll need to be mindful of other people booking sessions, particularly around hand-in where it might not be possible to choose an alternative day. Also, as I have already identified some of my potential threats/weaknesses in my workflow and skillset, I should be able to work proactively to avoid conflict and loss of morale when working on my projects.

 

With this information laid out, I’ll be able to make better decisions when writing out my Proposal and Treatment for the entire year. More updates soon! ♥