End of Module Self-Evaluation
1. Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
The practical skills I have predominantly developed within this module are digital, as it was mandatory to even put analogue pieces through a digital refining process. Although the Photoshop processes I used I had been shown before, I had never put into practice, it has made me want to work henceforth on Photoshop, even if it is just to heighten the quality of drawings done analogue – because I completely understand the importance now, in relation to producing great work. Also, having pure drawings as final outcomes rather than collage, which I normally make final work from, this was a huge deal, exposing my own drawing skills so openly – I feel as though doing this has boosted my confidence in employing my own drawings into a professional piece of work.
2. Which approaches to research have you found most valuable during this module. How have you interrogated your research to identify appropriate ideas?
I think having the confidence to make real decisions about what parts of research you need to take forward and what you need to eliminate is extremely important, I like to think I took this in my stride as my ending point differed greatly to my initial starting points. I know the places I went to were important in relation to the journey to the point I eventually ended up at and development of ideas, but if I didn’t find interest in what I was creating the picture book on, I don’t think the books would have come across interesting at all. The turning point within my research was when I did some observational drawings of buildings; consolidating the importance of visual research. But reading books has been a hugely important aspect of my body of research, as the theme of nostalgia is dominant through my take on the module, I had to read and watch documentaries on the time and topic of my books to make them feel authentic, as I wasn’t alive at the time.
3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these?
The unconventional nature of my books and the fact I was the only person to make hotdog books, I feel like this was quite brave – even though I don’t feel like I had any more or less work to do than any other person. I did a large amount of research and feel as though I dedicated a lot of time to collecting information, visual and factual, to help the development of my project. Also I feel as though I have capitalised on being an independent, professional worker, especially when it came to making decisions about the direction of my project, and feel as though I stayed true to myself throughout, and made work that balanced pleasing myself and other people. Having said this, I believe I stepped out of my comfort zone this module, and really tried to make aesthetically pleasing work, taking into real consideration colour, composition, place of images etc. rather than something completely ideas based as I usually do – and I think that really shows in the outcome.
4. What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in the future?
I definitely should have made more mock-ups, as this is evident in the fact when it came to printing, the layout had an error and the book read backwards. Although when it came to the ‘megacrit’ a lot of my peers argued that this was a happy accident as the error only added to the unconventionality of the books and forced you to concentrate more therefore taking more notice of the images, however despite the quirk, it simply shows in future I must be more careful, because it will not always be to my benefit. I also still don’t feel as though the equilibrium of research and practical work has settled and is balanced yet, it is still very heavy on the research end, I think in the future, I may have to really organise time for each part better in order to hit the high marks across all learning outcomes rather than just a few.
5. How effectively are you making decisions about the development of your work? What informs these decisions? What problems have you identified and how have you solved them?
In terms of making decisions about the development of my work, I feel as though I did this effectively. Particularly during the Christmas break, I realised I needed to make real decisions about the direction of the book, and commit to them, or I’d never progress and be miserable. What informed these decisions was the fact I had been very self-critical/reflective, knowing to choose what research to take forward and what to leave out, taking inspiration from my surroundings and what work I actually enjoyed making, and also, peer and tutor crits/chats; these really helped a lot, and again, being selective but not closed-minded about the information being given to me.
6. How effectively have you managed this project and organised yourself during this module?
I feel as though I could have managed this project during this module better for a number of reasons. Firstly, I feel I was very lucky to have been able to print in the digital print room because I failed to make an appointment, I had no time to order the paper I wanted, it was just pure luck I managed to find the paper I wanted AND print. In the future I know now I NEED to book as next time I may not be as lucky. Also as mentioned above, the balance between research and practical work needs to be reached soon to progress properly. But I feel very proud that I did finish three hotdog books, because at points it felt like they’d never be finished and I feel they worked well, I should be proud.
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