End of Module Evaluation

PPP Final Presentation

Script: 

Introudction 

How was level 4? –  looking back at level four, I didn’t enjoy it that much, I found a lot of the tasks we were set were aimed at making ‘fun’, ‘playful’ work, I felt like I was making things that were quite childlike and struggled to engage with the course, my attendance was shitty, I left everything till last minute and I left first year feeling like I hadn’t really made anything that I was proud of

What did I expect from second year? – Busy busy busy, working all the time. I expected to have a much larger workload than I did in first year and too be under a lot more pressure. I expected that I’d be able to expand on the things I’d learnt in first year as well as learning some new stuff like print methods and more digital skills. I was also expecting that there’d be guidance on how to start presenting ourselves as proffessionals, how to start making contacts and begin to learn about things like pricing, contracts and all that other buissness stuff. My personal aims for second year included keeping on top of blogging, doing cop when I was supposed to do it, become more involved in the studio space, try and develop my digital skills and also start to define my practice abit more in terms of its content and tone of voice.

504 helped a lot in terms of the print proccesses I was introduced too. Mono printing and lino printing are something that I’m really keen on working with more, both proccess allow for professional quality finishes whilst still mainting character, personality, tone of voice, texture. I feel print has benefited my practice because it allows me to include an authentic, handmade feel to my practice that I’ve always been worried that I’ll loose if I move away from hand-drawn methods of image-making.

My digital skills have also drastically improved this year. I didn’t attend photoshop/illustrator sessions last year so felt quite behind in terms of that when I started second year. I started just playing around with colour and adding that to pencil drawings I’d done, before moving on to buying some of the kyle webster brushes and using a wacom tablet for the first time. I feel that using the brushes and tablet can still allow me to have a hand-made authentic look to my work whilst mainting a level of professionalism. I still don’t like vectors though.

OUIL505
getting to grips with photoshop allowed me to begin working digitally which is what I did for 505. combining photoshop brushes and printed textures from 504 allowed me to create work that had depth and personality and I finally feel like I’m heading in a direction that I enjoy working in. it also Allowed me to combine my personal interests with a uni module for once – construction of my own brief and proposal – time and project management (not too great) – digital media – first project using all digital techniques and image making – application – allows me to imagine what my work looks like in context – also allows me to develop more of an idea about where my work fits – cohesive imagery – I feel like I’m quite good at figuring out how I want things to look and then applying that aesthetic to the rest of the project.

Collaborative – I chose to work with a friend, I shouldn’t have, we did actually get on okay, we had one argument but sorted that out quickly but time management was an issue for both of us. I also find it quite hard to voie my ideas and opinions in a group setting, I’m not that confident sometimes so if someone’s a little overpowering with what they’re saying I tend to back down. A lot of was me not enjoying working around someone else. I can see some positives of collaborating but I feel that if I tried to do this again, I’d need to carefully choose who I was working with, and make sure it was someone who maybe had a similar style of work or similar intersts/proccesses.

Time management has been another big issue this year. At the end of last year I said I’d get on top of my time management but I haven’t at all. I feel that juggling a part-time job alongside the course hasn’t helped with this much but in a way its made me value my time in the studio more as I know that’s really the only time I have to work on things. I’ve left a few things till last minute this year, including the whole of cop, again. I feel that I’d have maybe done better in some modules if I’d managed my time better and this is something I want to get on top of next year, I definitley need to be more organised and have a more structured way of working.

Responsive. I have a love/hate relationship with responsive. I don’t hate it, but I don’t really want it to happen again. I did enjoy some of the briefs I chose to work on such as Batsford and the ohhdeer brief. I was really excited to work on secret 7, so it was a shame when they decided not to run it this year. Illustration Friday was slightly pointless but allowed me to experiment with different media, in particular, get to grips with digital much. I didn’t mid the penguin brief but I did struggle to engage with it a little bit. I feel like the worst part about responsive is juggling so many different deadlines at once, all the competitions want work in for different dates and in different formats so it’s hard to keep on track of what you’re doing. Responsive did teach me how to fully understand briefs that were set externally. I feel a lot more comfortable dissecting a brief and figuring out exactly what they’re asking of you now and feel that this will help when It comes to getting briefs from clients.

The Creative Report was a highlight of my year. Tallulah Fontaine is an illustrator I’ve admired for a few years now, I spoke about her in my presentation last year so I was really happy when I got the chance to ask her a few questions and learn a little bit more about her and her practice. I think one of the most valuable pieces of advice I got from this was to be patient with yourself. I feel like it’s easy on this kind of course to become frustrated with your work and your progress and that being patient with yourself is key to letting your practice develop.

Reflecting on the past two years I can see how I have progressed. I feel like in first year, you just float around abit and try out a few different things and just settle into the course. Second year has been completley different. Everything was lovely before christmas and then it go so stressful and busy when we came back from christmaas break. I feel like dealing with so many modules that run at the same time as each other and then dealing with all your deadlines being so close to each other, It’s difficult and it feels like you’re drowning under all the work and stress but I do feel like it kind of set’s you up for third year and whats expected. I’m hoping third year will be alot more enjoyable, I’m looking forward to working on more things and pushing my practice further and developing a professional identity for my practice.

Thanks for watching - any questions? 

Creative Report - Tallulah Fontaine

Lifes A Pitch Presentation

Thoughts On Presentation

What have I done this year?

• Print Print Print. Print processes and experimentation in 504, learning new thigns, re-discovering old things, figuring out how to make it work together, learning how to package things up and make them look super professional 
• Learnt how to drag my own interests into my uni work. This is something I kept seperate last year as I was worried about wether or not my work would appeal to other people. I used 505 as an excuse to explore imagery that I enjoyed and that I was interested in
• Stopped giving a fuck what other people think. I am past caring about whether my work is trendy, shape based, fun, playful nonsense. My work is what it is, and I am who I am. I'm not going to shape my practice around whats 'in' at the minute, whats the point? Where's the fun in that? 
• MADE CONTACT WITH A BABE. Tallulah Fontaine has been my go to gal for inspiration for a few years now, we might not neccesarily have the same style of illustration BUT i love her tone of voice, her iamges provoke emotion and feeling, they have depth and substance and i got a chance to ask her about her work!! Imagine that!!
• I came into uni. Last year my attendance was at 30%. This year I haven't got a single attendance letter. Surely thats an improvement? I've engaged with the course, I've engaged with my peers, I've tried to engage more with the creative community but I've still a little shy and low in confidence so maybe that needs pushing 
• Went to some print fairs, spent too much money, had a great time looking at cool work

What went right/What did I enjoy? 

• 504 LET ME PRINT. I was eager to print all through first year and disheartened that we didn't actually print things that much. 504 was aimed around printing, I loved it, I enjoy how theraputic it can be at times. I dont enjoy setting up screens though, that takes a long long time and doesnt always go right. 
• 505 LET ME DO WHAT I ENJOY. I always struggled with bringing my personal interests into uni work. The opportunity to make some weird slightly creepy stuff was great! I felt really passionate about what I was working on and feel that my enthusiasm for the subject helped be develop my work to a more professional level. 
• OHHDEER GREETINGS CARD COMPETITION. I didn't win BUT I really like ohhdeer, and their ethics and their shop and their products so it was cool to make something that could have potentially been one of their products. It also opened my eyes to some of the ways my work could sit within different illustrative fields

What went wrong/What didn't I enjoy? 

• COP WENT WRONG IT WENT ALL KINDS OF WRONG 
• COLLABORATION IS A NIGHTMARE, LET ME WORK ON MY OWN FOREVER 
• RESPONSIVE IS A SOUL SUCKING MODULE THAT MADE ME WANT TO CRY
• MY TIME MANAGEMENT IS AWFUL
• DO NOT TRY BALANCE A PART TIME JOB WITH A FULL TIME COURSE, IT WILL BREAK YOU 
• I STILL DONT KEEP ON TOP OF BLOGGING

Where was I last year?

• A nervous wreck
• Little to no confidence in my own abilities - I feel that coming into an art school environement, you're constantly surrounded by really talented people, there's a lot of pressure to try and keep up to that standard and it's easy to fall into the trap of thinking your work's shit and you're not good enough for the course etc etc
• Not happy with my work - I had a rough time last year, I left a lot of thigns till last minute, I rpoduced a lot of shit work, really really shit work. Partially because I didnt manage my time, partially because I kept trying to make work I thought other people would like rather than making work I like and that I'm interested in
• Scared of computers/photoshop/illustrator/vectors/print dungeon/anything digital 
• Not sure what I was doing

Where am I now?

• Still a little shy but way more confident - I've really found my feet this year, I've managed to stand up on my own and really involve myself with my modules and different aspects of the course, this has made me more confident in myself and my work and I'm starting to believe that maybe i am good enough to be doing this 
• I am no longer terrified of photoshop, in fact, i love it, it's a gift from the gods, get ya'self a wacom tablet and some sweet sweet brushes and life is peachy. Vectors and Illustrator can still go fuck themselves though
• I've identified areas of Illustration that I might be interested in - adult publishing, editiorial, printmaking, freelance - I'm kind of getting to grips with where I want to be, I'm not all the way there yet but I feel that I'm taking the right steps towards having a clearer idea of where i 'live'. Saying that, I don't feel that is neccessary for me to be able to say at the end of this year/next year 'i am leah and i am an editorial illustrator', fuck that, play around, explore different areas illustration can exist, be flexible and adaptable, do an illustration for a newspaper article one week, do work on a book cover the next. Why should we stick to one thing?? 
• I feel slightly more professional? I can see my work developing and I think it's come on in leaps since last year. I feel like further fine-tuning my image making will help me pin down the tone of voice i want my work to have. 

Where do I want to be? Plans for summer and level 6 

• BRANDING - I want to look into this over summer and at least have some idea of how i want to portray myself as a professional when I come back in september. 
• TAKE MORE OPPORTUNITES - go to craft fairs, go to exhibitions, get more involved with the creative community around me, meet people, make contacts, make friends - granted this has been tough to do this year, most days I'm in uni from 9 till 5 and then I go straight to work until 10 and then straight home for food and bed. I dont have a lot of free time, I should probably quit my job, but y'know, gotta pay those bills
• GET OUT OF LEEDS, TAKE A BREAK, CLEAR YOUR HEAD, IT'S GOOD FOR THE SOUL
• DO COP WHEN YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO COP - DO NOT LEAVE IT TILL LAST MINUTE AGAIN - (keeping on top of cop was something i mentioned in my first year presentation as an ambition for second year, HAHAHA, that did not happen)
• LEARN HOW TO MAKE QUICK DECISIONS - people aren't going to wait around for you to make your mind up on something, stop taking months to decide on the direction of a project, jsut go with your gut

Tallulah's Responses

After I emailed Tallulah my questions, I didn't get a reply from her. About a month afterwards I sent her another email just asking if shed recieved them, thankfully she replied and sent her answers to my questions along with it!

She asked me to clarify the first question I had put on the list so I rephrased it to "who/what is currently inspiring you?". She promptly repleid with the following answer. 

I'm really pleased with the answers she provided, I feel like I've now got a little bit of an insight to how she works and who she is as a person. I'm excited to start writing the project report and was hoping that I could make some sort of zine to send over too her? I don't know if I'll be able to get this done in time for PPP submission, but maybe it's something that I can look into getting done over summer? I feel like sending her a physical copy of something would help solidify the contact that I've already made and show my appreciation for the time shes taken to talk to me. 

New Ways Of Working

Recently I've started working with the Kyle Webster Photoshop Brushes and I'm really impressed with the work I'm managing to produce with them! I've never been a fan of digital work, thinking that it takes away personality and character from illustrative work at times. Things can start to appear quite flat and and dull, without much texture and expression. The different varieties of photoshop brushes allow for more texture, depth and personality to be injected into the work.

I've been using his brush packs across modules, mainly in 505 and a little bit in responsive. I do feel that they add another level of professionalism too my work, and allow for me to experiment with colour and texture alot more than I usually would. It also makes me feel a little less 'precious' about my work. I feel like when I'm creating things that are hand-drawn, using analogue media, theres a certain pressure I put on myself for everything too be perfect. Working digitally, I don't really feel this pressure as much, I don't know why but I feel alot more confident with my work being a little messy or a little less perfect.

I've still got a lot more experimenting and exploring to do in terms of working this way, but I am really happy in the direction it seems to be taking my practice.

Northern Craft Fair

The other weekend me and a friend from work headed down to Northern Craft Fair at Northern Monk Brewery. I always enjoy going to craft fairs, it's helpful to see the variety of work that people have on display and how they present themselves as professionals. I picked up a few goodies whilst I was there including the new issue of Ladyfuzz and also a few funky prints from illustrator Dick Vincent. I also had a quick chat with one of the girls that organises the fairs. She said that when they start putting plans together to organise an event they send an email out asking for people to hold stalls and bring their work down to sell, I gave her my email address so that when the next one comes around maybe I can get some of my own work together and a few other people from the course and we could all go down and hold a stall together! I had a stall at a craft fair/event last year and found it a really valuable, confidence building experience. It's a shame I havent managed to get down to any this year but hopefully I'll be able to keep an eye out for any that are happening over summer/later this year!