Temple Newsam Field Trip

I am happy with the drawings I completed while on my field trip as I tried to sit down and draw every time I came to a new or interesting area on my walk. I took a lot more photos as I wanted to get around temple Newsam while it was still light and get enough material to make some roughs out of, but I'll go again with just my sketchbook go focus more on drawing my environment. I think these drawings are a good starting point for the work I want to make in the final book, as I think they illustrate the sequence of my walk as I did stop and draw them every so often while I was going. Im quite sure I'll be using a concertina format for my book so this idea of a journey through the woods lends itself to that, as the background doesn't have to be broken up and can stretch across multiple pages. These drawings are quite sketchy and unrefined because I was fighting against the weather to draw them, so as the project goes on I'll be refining them using my reference photographs. 

End of Visual Skills Module Self Evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL403 Visual Skills	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME	Isaac Smith

1.  Whichpractical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
The main skill I think I have developed in this module would be my understanding and use of wet media, as it was something I previously had not really considered to include in my work. I’ve developed my use of gouache and ink in my work and I think that it works well for my work as its a relatively quick and vibrant form of creating colour, and thereby has allowed me to include colour in my work, which before this module I did only sparingly. I hope to develop these skills further in the future to better incorporate colour into my responses.
2. Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this moduleand how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?
This module has taught me the importance of having an interesting idea that provokes a response before even beginning to draw anything in response, because an illustration isn’t an illustration if it doesn’t have a message to send, a lesson to teach or a story to tell. Before this module I feel some of my work to be devoid of this element as I might have been more focused on design and aesthetics, but now I see the value of having a good idea before embarking on any response at all.
3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these?
I think that my strengths in this module lie with my idea generation as I have tried to be quite exhaustive when coming up with ideas for responses, as the message behind the illustration is what I find the most interesting part about the work. I’m also proud of my blog as I feel that I have successfully documented my learning experience throughout this module and the changes in how I work and how I view other people’s work now.
4. What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in the future?
I hope to develop my uses of different media, as I have begun using wet media in my work to explore different methods of image making, but I haven’t used any digital methods really very much, so Photoshop and Illustrator are two formats I will be familiarising myself with in future briefs. I also think I should further my sketchbook use as I sometimes begin working out of it straightaway, when I should use it more to reflect on and refine my work.
5. In what way has this module introduced you to the Ba (Hons) Illustration programme? This module has taught me the meaning of illustration in a practical sense; as in responding to set briefs and concepts to create work with an appropriate message behind it. It has also allowed me to grasp the idea of blogging to constantly self evaluate and develop, and I think that I have used my blog quite effectively to tell myself what has and hasn’t been working throughout this module.
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.

·         A printed copy of this evaluation should be submitted with your work.

·         A copy of your end of module self evaluation should be posted to your studio practice blog. This should be the last post before the submission of work for this module and will provide the starting point for the assessment process.

·         You should also post a copy of your evaluation to your PPP blog as evidence of your own on going evaluation.

Notes for the Module Leader

Signature

Date: 15/11/2015

What is Illustration Task Evaluation Continued

I wanted to go through the images again that I brought to the last PPP session and evaluate how they each can be defined as either drawings, images or illustrations, using the categories we learned about in the last task. 

1) This first image I believe is an illustration due to its context as a series of panels in a comic book (Transformers:More Than Meets The Eye Vol.4, IDW Publishing), thereby serving a purpose of both communicating a story and showcasing characters and character interaction. It is also a piece of collaborative illustration as the text doesn't make sense without the image, and the image is incomprehensible without the text. It also has a specific audience it caters to with this image, as it is merely part of a larger book and series. (The specific audience is mostly nerds like me that love alien robots making clever jokes about existentialism) 

2) The next piece I would now define as an image rather than an illustration. Although it presents a character design, the image doesn't really have a message or story to tell as it is merely some early concept art for a film. I still enjoy the rendering and aesthetic of this image but I would no longer think of it as an illustration as it doesn't really provoke a response in the viewer beyond "that looks cool". (The original character that this image represents, Black Panther, is a big influence in my passion for comics though, so he still gets points.) 

3) This next piece I would define as an illustration also, as it alludes to a story and represents the nature/characterisation of the figure shown in the image. This also, in my case anyway, provokes an emotional response to the viewer, as it is both funny and a little disturbing in a cartoonish intriguing way. This also appears in the context of a comic book (Skottie Young's "I Hate Fairyland" issue #1, Image Comics), centred around a middle aged woman tired of reading bedtime fairytales to her children and becoming hateful of such stories, being transported into a fairytale world full of all the cutesie adorable things she hates, whereupon she begins murdering everything and trying to escape. With that added context I feel the image becomes clearer and more comedic, and I believe this factor in particular allows me to classify it as an illustration. 

4) With this next piece I had some difficulty deciding on whether it was an illustration or a drawing. The image is character driven and communicates characterisation more so than a story or message, but initially I would have thought of this as an illustration as it represents a character based thought. Whilst the composition of the image is telling of each characters personality, I don't feel that it really generates a response when I look at it. Although I love the aesthetic and craft behind the image I don't think that it has a specific problem to solve or tale to tell, so I would see it as a drawing rather than an illustration. (A damn good drawing of a damn good cartoon band though mind you.) 

5) The final image I chose to take to the last PPP session I would confidently class as an illustration rather than simply an image or a drawing. This piece communicates a story, a character and a style all with minimalist shapes and lines. The main reason I see this as an illustration more than a drawing is the fact that it is highly representational; meaning that this isn't how a person really looks and that isn't how human joints really work, but the artist has warped reality to create an image that reflects what he personally sees in this character and what this character makes him feel like. The character this is based on is Prince Oberyn Martell from a Game of Thrones, a hotheaded overconfident warrior based on real world Spanish historical fighters. His nickname in the series is The Red Viper, in reference to his deadly nature with a spear in battle, but also his tendency to lace his weapons with poison. I feel that this all subtly comes through in this illustration; the pose of the figure suggests fluidity and flexibility, but the sharp edges connote danger and precision. Maybe it is only because I'm familiar with the character that I see these links but I feel that the image is snakelike in nature on purpose to give a personal reflection of this artists take on the character.

What is Illustration Task

This task was helpful to me in becoming more aware of the specific differences between images, drawings, and illustrations. I understood that illustrations are images that have a story to tell or a point to make but this task greatly developed my knowledge of how the context of an image, the aesthetic of it, or the purpose of it can all be variables in how it is defined in the world of illustration. A few of my images that I brought in as my favourite pieces of illustration were classified as either drawings or images instead of illustrations and I now feel that I have a better grasp on what makes an illustration an illustration. I also never thought of the context of an image (where in the world it appears) would dictate how it is defined, so I learned something entirely new with this. 

5 images that represent my interest in Illustration

5 of my strengths

1) I feel that my studies at English a level have heightened both my love and my aptitude for writing analytically about my ideas and I feel this will be very useful in the context of practice side of this course. 

2) I think that I can often be successful completing pieces with lots of intricate details, and I feel that I am good at coming up with interesting ideas for characters and places and themes to get my point across. 

3) I feel that my knowledge of popular culture and references to different representations of themes and ideas in the mediums of films books just and comics is very useful to the way I work. 

4) On the foundation course I learned the importance of brainstorming and developing several concepts for each idea instead of delving into just one. 

5) I feel that I'm very passionate about the field I want to enter as I've spent a lot of my time reading and researching various different examples that interest me and I feel I have a solid knowledge of a lot of the content of the comic driven world. 

5 of my weaknesses

1) I feel that my observational drawing can be improved as I often wander from what I'm drawing and end up trying to make the picture look good rather than properly translate what I'm seeing 

2) Sometimes I think I can be disorganised and lose myself in one task and not leave enough time for another. 

3) I sometimes get lost and confused in regulations and definitions and criteria and such and lose sight of the work in a task when trying to adhere to all the rules of the task. 

4) I need to continue improving my self evaluative skills as I used to find it difficult to assess myself and what stage I might be at with my work. 

5) I should use a more varied range of media when developing my work.

5 reasons I chose Leeds College of Art

1) I've lived here my whole life so I'm already familiar with the city and feel comfortable. 

2) I did the Foundation course at vernon street and enjoyed it very much so I wanted to continue with the same institution. 

3) The colleges alumni and reputation are impressive and inspiring. 

4) I am very interested in pursuing the colleges international exchange programme. 

5) As the college is an arts institution I felt that the course would be more focused and specialist than a normal university that has to cater for lots of different subjects. 

5 reasons I chose illustration

1) I have a huge interest in the world of comics and graphic novels and an illustration course is one of the best ways to learn more about this field and be able to access it. 

2) I enjoyed English literature during A Level and wanted to apply the things I learned about narrative and expression in that subject throughout my work in this subject. 

3) I want to develop my understanding of illustration as a tool for expression and solving a problem rather than just drawing images that look good. 

4) I believe that illustration is the most interesting way to teach audiences about the importance of a particular topic or concept through a medium that can also entertain. 

5) I enjoy to draw and write about drawing and want to do it at the highest possible level if I can.

Observational Drawing OUIL404

These are observations I did whilst out in Leeds City centre, so i tried to focus them more on people and life rather than still images of architecture. Through this task I learned that to improve with this style of drawing I should stop making choices that make the image look "better" and simply translate the basics of what is in front of me. I very much enjoyed this exercise and I already feel it is helping me break away from any predetermined ideas I had about drawing and observational drawing in particular as I tried different methods of mark making during this task to achieve the goal of translating what we saw. 

Observational Drawing OUIL404

These are the observational drawings I completed whilst within Leeds University Campus, so I chose to focus on architecture primarily, and the smaller aspects of the landscape that go unnoticed, such as plant life and discarded rubbish. In the future to improve my skills in this task I will try  to capture a crowd to illustrate the life a group of people can give to a space. 

Something I discovered

Something You Discovered
When on one of our massive walks through the countryside surrounding Leeds, we came across a series of empty shotgun shells eerily laid on the ground in a forest. When I kicked one by mistake it hissed and I thought the whole thing was going to explode and gave what I've been told was an unearthly shriek. I chose to illustrate a comical exaggeration of what might've happened in that situation had I not leapt a mile upon contact with our discovery.

Summer Brief: Something That Tasted Good
In preparation for student life I have largely lived this summer saving odd change and using it to buy egg fried rice for short bursts of energy and general happiness. Although exaggeration is the theme of my brief, this representation of the amount I've eaten is probably somewhat an understatement.

Summer Brief: Something Scary
I have watched a considerable amount of deep sea documentaries this summer in an attempt to overcome my irrational fear of the deep sea and everything that lives in it. However all this strategy has managed to do is fill my mind with more detailed information on the things that terrify me, allowing me to visualise nightmarish situations such as this.

Summer Brief: Something That Made You Happy
Out of my series of comically exaggerated responses to this brief, this is most likely the least exaggerated, as I really was overtly happy following watching Comic Con this year, as it is a giant celebration of everything I love.

Summer Brief: Something You Wore
For this piece rather than thinking of the best thing I wore, I found more comical opportunity in exploring the worst thing I wore, which was hands down a promotional far too large Carling shirt and far too small Superman lounge pants when staying at my friends house. I also saw opportunity for an amusing implied narrative with the characters of the 'Fashion Police' penalising me for my crimes.

Summer Brief: Something You Heard
This piece is an exaggerated view of my truly unhinged experience seeing Limp Bizkit, particularly the song Break Stuff, live this year at Leeds Festival. This was my first idea for the brief and I modelled all my other ideas as comical exaggerations of my actual experiences to create a narrative/comic feel to my response to the brief as a whole

Summer Brief :Somewhere Where You Found Yourself

Summer Brief: Somewhere You Found Yourself
• A largely hidden field and a creek we discovered in the summer (which we aptly named Shimmy Point) where the only method across is to shimmy over an old fence, whereupon it couldn't take my weight and I fell into the water. I found myself to be an idiot.

Summer Brief: Something You Have Been Thinking About
•The return of Star Wars to cinemas and my life

Skottie Young Venom Variant Cover Analysis

Skottie Young
Venom issue 24 Spider-Man 50th Anniversary variant cover
Context:
•one in a series of variant covers celebrating the 50th anniversary of Spider-Man
•the Venom symbiote bonds with various characters throughout its publication history and each host character brings a different aspect to Venom as a whole. Right now in the comics venom is comprised of the symbiote and it's host Flash Thompson, an ex soldier who lost his legs in the war in the Middle East and bonded to the symbiote becoming a black ops agent under SHIELD for the Secret Avengers, and recently joining the Guardians of the Galaxy. He is a mostly heroic protagonist. However at the time of this issues publication venom was bonded to his original host, Eddie Brock, a violent thug who brings out the savagery in Venom, and villainous hatred for Spider-Man. This image represents a return to that character archetype for Venom through it's exaggerated musculature and wild animalistic expression.

Image:
•loose doodle styled line work
•conveys movement and a sense of dynamics
•no human facial expressions used but still personal and comical
•plays with impossible scale to create an image devoid of realism
•exaggerated bodily features are often present in Skottie Youngs work

Idea:
•conveys the wild savage nature of the character of venom
•also conveys the relationship between the two characters, venoms savage obsession with spider-man and spider-man's confusion and general indifference to Venoms advances
•the imagery of the cake points to the anniversary of the character and a wider celebration performed by various comic artists at the time