End of module evaluation OUIL403 Visual Skills

• I have worked on developing my characters and the specific drawings of them  want to do by using reference so that they are anatomically correct. This skill has helped me as I developed it through the briefs in my final one I think it went best as you could see the big difference between my first draft and my informed drawing.
• During this module I have tried different methods to image making; mono printing, collage, working with brusho and other inks and experimenting with different thickness's of pens. I think that they have informed my conceptual development process as I now have a variety of processes to choose from when I'm thumb-nailing ideas and can decide which is most appropriate as I know a range of different effects I can get using the method and also things that don't work well in certain media's like fine detail with mono-printing. 
• Strengths: 
• Drawing development process. To capitalise on this I will keep drawing things and try to use reference material where needed. Also I will keep adjusting my designs until I have an appropriate image that is aesthetically pleasing. I will also try to break larger designs down into single elements so that I can concentrate on one small part at a time to construct in the best way. 
• Experimentation with media: To capitalise on this I will keep attending workshops wherever  can to improve my knowledge of methods. I want to become familiar with each process so that I can confidently decided whether or not a media is appropriate to the brief and message so that I don't waste time on any ideas that are simply not going to work. 
• Weaknesses:
• Blogging. I have only blogged my briefs after completion so I have forgotten a lot of the thought process when I come round to writing them up. To address this I am going to try and blog every day or two, just short blogs to go over what I'd done that day, the decisions and thought process so that I can document the whole process more thoroughly which will help me to see where things have gone wrong or to identify and weaknesses in my process.
• Colour management. In my work I love to play with colour and tend to go over the top and make my pieces too loud and obtrusive or just far too crowded. To combat that I have tried to set myself a colour limitation so that I don't use too much. But I feel in this module I didn't consider the meaning of the colours or the effects they would have on the final aesthetic but rather using colours I like or jumping too quickly to a palette without considering it. To combat this in planning i will not just pick a colour based on how it looks but also try to judge if there is an appropriate colour that could add more meaning to the pieces.

Action Plan:

• Know the strengths/weaknesses of the media I use
• Reference drawings so they are anatomically correct.
• Consider colour more thoroughly.
• Blog throughout process.
• Develop each element to its best.
• Continue thumb-nailing ideas and coming up with a wide range.
• DRAW DRAW DRAW!

The monsters of mental illness

Toby Allen's series 'real monsters'

I like what the illustrator has done here taking a subject that is very sensitive but not enough people deal with it and in his way he has created images that not only educate the masses in a more light hearted way than say a medical leaflet/poster, but he has also created a characters to represent the illnesses transforming them from abstract ideas of emotion into physical things which make them alot easier to grasp and understand. Also the combination of the text explaining the illnesses but in a way where it is the direct result of these creatures rather than an illness making it easier to digest. It explains symptoms in a sweeping glance with a small explanation of his monsters personalities and actions.
I really like these images because they take a sensitive topic and blow it out there for people to see, trying to eradicate the taboo of mental illnesses and make it into common knowledge and something we talk about.

Geeky Icons get the sugar skull treatment

Jonathon Koshi's series 'Get Your Sugar'

Not only has Koshi vamped up the image of these geek icons making them awesome and punk looking with his sugar skull theme he's embossed the paper before inking so that the ink lies up on the raised surface heightening the contrast between the black and white areas. Making these images look edgy and sleek.