End of Module Evaluation OUIL406.

1.     What have you learn about visual communication during this module and how effectively do you think you have applied these ideas? One key idea is taking objects and figures down to their simplest form. Using minimal shapes and lines to make and image can communicate just as effectively and a very detailed image. It provides an instant message within which the view can understand quickly. I however don’t think that I have applied this principle very much in my work at all and when I have try it I have found to form image that I am happy with and are effective, I need to do more practise with this. Also using colour and composition to try and bring across and highlight particular ideas and or symbols which have significance to the message of the image.     2. What approaches to/ methods of image making have you developed and how have they informed your concept development process? Collage is a method that I have widely used in this module. It was new way of image making that I have never tried before and I found it a very effective way to communicate my ideas and intentions through found images. But I first used college in when learning the method of g.i.f making within Photoshop, which was also new process. However I found that I enjoyed use collage as a way of making images and this encouraged me to go on and develop the method. I also found it gave me a much darker side to my work, since using collage I have found that my work has been seen as darker and sinister, which I like because I feel like it is the complete opposite to myself as a person.    3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these? I think that … In collage in particular I really like the monster I made out of the anatomical etchings, I found these really fun to do and a good exercise in gaining a better understanding in reapproprating found imagery to create new. And from this it encouraged me to use collage in the final brief. I also think that the emotion it provokes is interesting people from the feed back in crits has been really good and I like the way it make people feel un-nerved or scared. I also think that papercutting is an effective way of creating shapes for example in the postcard brief I used it to make the faces of the people simpler and flat.  4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future? The composition of some piece of work is weak. I find it very hard to think of how images could be composed and how it would work within that given format. I have tried to use roughing as a way to tackle it and it as helped bit, but I am still finding this a problem. Vectors as well was a challenge, I feel that I could have used simpler shape and better control of the tools. Some of the shapes are not so neat and I think that overlaying the vectors with textures made the piece a bit confusing and slightly untidy.  5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these? ·       I would make sure I really try and focus more on the composition of piece of work. By doing this I will gain a better understand and improve the images. ·       I need to get more confident with vectors, there seem to be a key part of modern illustrations today and it is essential skill to get the hang of, I need to practise. ·       I could have used more simpler shapes and not added texture over the top in the 2nd brief because I feel like it was too much. If I had kept it simple , the message may have come acroos more effectively. ·       More experimentation with other media (other than college). I would have like to have explored mono printing and make more 3d models and I think that this may have lead to more exploitive and interesting outcomes.      ·       I also could have made the g.i.f. making slicker because it was they some of them didn’t run a smoothly as I hoped. By doing this it would have made the final sequences better.  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

Feedback from final crit:

• Scary! mystical, powerful,devious, evil, dark, dominant (ominous music), Tribal,gothic, witch craft.
• Variations of a theme/ restrictions of college, the used of the same images and the colours of the photocopies, found it hard trying to incorporate this in but work well in the end. 
• Use of colour(limited colour pallet).
• Transition of college onto photoshop works well( keep on top of pixel resolution). 
• Brave to deal with such clear intent.
• Consider photoshop as a tool for exploring your composition with collage. 

I am really pleased with the reaction that the images got and the words that came out to describe it. I think that some of them have communicated well but i think that the poster has let me down slightly. I wish that I had more time to have gone back and played around on photoshop more because I think changing around the composition would have really improved it. Using a limited colour pallet as well i think helped all of the work become a series and became a key feature of this. 

Final digital prints.

 Overall I am very happy with the outcomes and printing then digitally definitely helped to bring the colours.
I also flattener the image a bit so all the features look more together.

 The stamps printed out darker then i intended but i still think that it fits in with the athletic and the mood of the series.

I was very happy with the postcard but I regret not using the poisoned postcard for the poster i think it would have worked a lot better.

Books used for the images.

 Animals, mammals,birds,fish,insects- selected by jim harper.
Images of the human body by pepinn press.

Both these books contain copy right free illustrations that I have used throughout the module and they haven been incredibly useful. I really want to source out ore books like this and hopeful create more intricate and detailed images.

Photoshop quick experiment with poster.

• I have decided not to make these changes to the poster due to the time and I was rushing it so I did some quick experiment to see how I could have improved it. 

 I mainly played around with the text and shifting it about , but I could keep the silver colour of it so it had to be black and I think that this would have isolated it from the series as the rest of the type is in sliver. But compositionally i think that it is slightly better , however the text is a not lined up well and I think that this shows too much it in red circle.

I also played around with the layer options and subtract made it go black and cancelled out the block background which was around it , as I scanned it one separately to the main images. But the black font against the red work well, look darker and more dramatic.

Final stamps.

Things I am happy with:

• Using the red circle as a basis for the stamps. it has been a key feature in the whole series and it make sense to carry it on into these too. 
• The difference in pattern in each one. 
• using a plain background instead of the printed background, it gives a crisper finish. 
• The way that the smaller circles on the outside enclose the pattern and keep the idea of the red circle. 
• I particularly like the last one it is plain and simple and is much bolder then the rest. 
• Deciding not to use spray paint, i think it would have been too much and with such a small format to work to it is better to keep it simple.  

Things I want to improve:

• I had a lot of trouble on photoshop trying to bring down the noise in the image. there where little specks of colour that didn't need to be there. to try and solve this problem I had to play around with the levels a bit , but i think that this has made some of the stamps darker then others and this could be a problem when I print. 
• The top stamp could have been planned better and I think that the spiral should be neater then that! it appears a bit a sque.

Overall I am fairly happy with these but i think that if i had planed my time better i could have addressed the improvements above. 

Final Poster.

Things I am happy with:

• I like how the red circle contains the key features of the image , I like how it bring attention well to these. Having the circle in the centre as well also dose this. 
• The composition of the different photocopies. I only used a few photocopies because i wanted to keep the image simple and I was slightly apprehensive about over crowding the image.
• I like the effect of the spray paint on the eye, it give the image a more urban and modern look, whitest adding more emotion into the image.

• The eyes in the wings look peculiar and the head on top of the snake gives the image a very sinter dark side. 
• I am really happy with the chose of colour in the poster and throughout the series, red ad black and very dark colours and i think symbolise what i am trying to say about empress cixi well for example the red represents her killings. 

Things I want to improve:

• The image looks noise but I think that this could be down to the quality of the photocopies and the texture of the printing inks. 
• I think that the flies around the edge could be slightly too much but on the other hand I think that they create a good pattern.
• I think that the cutting on the face could have been more refined, i could have played more i think with cutting out shapes on the face. looking back I should have done a few more experiments with the face. 
• The eyes on the wings could have been better incorporated into the wings they seem a bit seperate.