Final 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

Throughout this module I’ve had to consider what works of illustration I’m interested in and how they do and can impact my practice, resulting in me being more considerate of the works of others in order to really reap the benefits of the world of illustration. Alongside that I’ve had to be more considerate of the presentation of myself as a professional to the world. There is a certain mannerism and acumen that employers and clients favour and find more comfortable to work alongside. Parallel to this I need to ensure I don’t lose my own personality within my work in an attempt to impress those that I really have no true interest or need to do so for, an odd little balancing act that is worth being mindful of.

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

Its hard to say there’s a sure fire method of research I prefer, the internet is great for finding a breadth of different imagery, but can be tricky and rarely offers information on said imagery. This is where books come in handy, containing such imagery, also because you are paying for the books, the artist is going to include more artwork so this means you get all those little tucked away little gems. But speaking of tucked away little gems and paying to get them, returning to the internet, you can find work from people who don’t have a high enough profile to be published, and this is free to find. Outside these two methods though, its always great to have conversations on the subject of illustration and practitioners with my peers and friends in order to broaden my illustrative horizons and knowledge.

3. In what way has PPP informed the way your work in other modules and your illustration practice as a whole?

PPP has caused me to be more aware of my tone of voice within my work, the personality that myself and other practitioners convey through this work, I’ve come to realise how important this is to me and just how much I appreciate it in the work of others, it’s the main thing that can help your work to stand out amongst the crowd. It has also encouraged a criticality towards illustration, causing me to dissect the triumphs and shortcomings of others work, so that I can know to incorporate or avoid said elements in my own work.

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

I feel my biggest shortcoming in the unit is my lack of blogging for outside experiences that informed my practice, there are so many events and happenings I experienced but never got round to speaking about them on the blog, next year I have to be more resilient about doing so. Also as can be seen with my pintrest page, I am constantly looking at the work of others, but also never really think to talk about it on the blog, its all well and good retaining that work through pintrest, but I should talk about the works that really rock my world on the blog and why they affect me so. 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?

As I move in to level five, I am very interested in looking in to the use of illustration to tell stories, be it comics, sequential artworks, or some avenue I haven’t considered or found out about yet, I plan to find my own tone and approach to the idea of telling stories. Ill do this by reading as many books, comics and watching talks on storytelling during the summer break.