Evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL404 Visual Language	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME	Megan Ojari

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?
This module has mainly changed the way I think about image making, and encouraged me to experiment more within my practise. I now feel a lot more confident in creating work which isn’t necessarily crafted exquisitely, but shows a real intent and purpose. I also have loved learning how I can translate my artwork into different media, such as from ink to digital to print. Another valuable skill I have learnt is my approach to character through quick depictions of ‘figure’ in briefs, as it was a real weak point before this module, and although I still need a lot of development in this area, I feel a lot more confident in making work which is more character driven.
2. Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?
Some valuable skills I have learnt during this module are new, interesting ways of applying traditional print, as well as new ways of looking at image re-appropriation, especially through collage. I have also learnt a great deal from working simply with shape, and although I struggled with these tasks, I feel they have made me a stronger illustrator. Probably the most important part of this module has been the briefs which I have struggled with, such as shape and fan art, as these are the times when I have found my practise has developed the most through an ongoing conversation through different visual processes in my sketchbook in order to problem solve the task.
3. What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission you capitalise on these?
Personally, the biggest strength in my submission is my development of character and humour, as these were both things I was really not confident in at all before I started at university. Although I still struggle with character and humour, through the work in both this module and Visual Narratives I have been able to experiment and get things wrong and learn from my mistakes so that I feel a lot more confident in how to explore these avenues in my future work. In addition, I feel this module has been essential in identifying my development from the start of the year, as although I feel I haven’t produced the best quality work I could have in this module, I have definitely learnt the most about image making and what makes a good image, which are principles which will be valuable in my future progression on this course.
4. What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future?
I have found myself often getting ‘stuck in the briefs’ as I have struggled trying to create imagery whilst keeping the brief in mind. I have learnt from this module that I need to open up my mind at the start of the briefs, as the most important thing at this point in my education is not to create images which strictly fit the brief, but create work which pushes myself and teaches me new ways to work. In my future work I need to not worry about getting things wrong, as that is what I am at university for, and just have fun in the development of myself as a practitioner. I also feel I should have explored more in my sketchbook, and not just stuck to the set rules of the brief but played around with anything visual that I wanted to.
5. In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)? The most informative parts of this module have been the most recent lectures where we have analysed others work as a group, as I feel this deconstruction of images based on a certain aspect, such as depth and line of sight helped me to identify the reason some parts of my own work are not working. I also found thinking about the actual construction of work, such as light on dark, dark on mid-tone etc, helped me to realise how I can make my compositions more successful. Another aspect which I gleaned a lot from was the use of roughing of both my own and others work, as I was able to quickly work out how it’s constructed and why this makes pieces have such a visual impact.
6.How would you grade yourself on the following areas: (please indicate using an ‘x’)  5= excellent, 4 = very good, 3 = good, 2 = average, 1 = poor
	1	2	3	4	5
Attendance				x
Punctuality					x
Motivation				x
Commitment				x
Quantity of work produced			x
Quality of work produced			x
Contribution to the group					x
The evaluation of your work is an important part of the assessment criteria and represents a percentage of the overall grade. It is essential that you give yourself enough time to complete your written evaluation fully and with appropriate depth and level of self-reflection. If you have any questions relating to the self-evaluation process speak to a member of staff as soon as possible.