OUIL402- PPP- Module Evaluation

Leeds College of Art
BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION Level 04
OUIL402 Personal & Professional Practice 1 Credits 20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME Matthew Mercer


1.  What learning have you inherited through this module and how has it impacted on your own understanding of professional practice? Consider yourself as a student at University as much as an illustrator
One of the amin things I have learned throughout the module is how my own personality and taste can influence my practice. I have learned that experiences withing my life dictate my work and the direction of my work as much as my own likes and dislikes and what I think 'looks nice'. I have learned a lot about understanding WHY i like an image or an artist, rather than just yes I do like it or no i don't, this has definitely come in handy when identifying what I do and dont like about my own practice.

2. What approaches/ types of research have you found most valuable over this module?
Why did they have such an impact?
For me, the main way I have researched throughout the module is by investigating other practicing illustrators and seeing what they are doing. I did this through browsing the library, visiting websites and goign to galleries and exhibitions. I think the reason this imacted on my work so much is because I liked the overall aesthetic of an image or artist, was able to identify WHY I liked it, and tried to emulate certain ideas, techniques, or processes within my own work.

3. In what way has PPP informed the way your work in other modules and your illustration practice as a whole?

Again, using proceses/ aesthetics from other illustrators to influence my own work has been a huge part of the module for me. I think being able to critically respond to where I want my practice to go has definitely influenced what I have produced in other modules, as PPP made it much easier and clearer for me to understand who I want to be as an illustrator and what I want to say with my work.

4. What weaknesses can you identify in your PPP submission and how will you address this in the future?
I think the biggest weakness within my sumission is not things that I have included, but the things that happened to ifluence me that I just didn't think to include in my blog/ mention within other modules. I think being more reactive to what happens around me is key to not only being successful within the course but as an illustrator in general. So I guess to address this I would have to work on documenting my work and experiences much more.

5. What communities of practice and professional contexts do you intend to investigate further as you approach level 5? Why do they appeal to you?

I want to continue to investigate creating image swith depth using simple shapes and textures within my practice, as this is something I have been increasingly interested in throughout the first year of the course. I think vectored shapes and texture can definitely be used to create interesting images with lots of depth, and I've heard this denied quite a lot through this year. I really want to start looking into other ways I can develop skills not just as an illustrator but as a creative in general, as I feel there is a lot of crossover. I like looking into other ways an illustrator can make a living not just as an illustrator, looking into different fields I can go into really intregues me.

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 3
Punctuality 3
Motivation 3
Commitment 4
Quantity of work produced 4
Quality of work produced 4
Contribution to the group 2
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 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 and will provide the starting point for the assessment process. Post a copy of your evaluation to your PPP blog as evidence of your own on going evaluation.

Notes

OUIL402- PPP- Presentation

OUIL402- PPP- Illustrated Self- Final Poster

Below is the final draft of my completed poster.

Unfortunately I couldnt upload the image in a high enough quality for the details to be seen so I have cropped some and made them bigger below.
This is a framed picture of a drawn penis, referencing the first brief we did at the start of Visual Skills, and some grey clothing (the only clothing I own).
 

OUIL402- PPP- The illustrated Self- Further Development

Once I had created the elements to go into the image, I decided to get some ideas down for the things I wanted to say and what I wanted to go into the different departments.

I listed words and phrases related to retail and also those related to the course in general and began to match them up to things that work.

OUIL402- PPP- The illustrated Self- Developed Ideas

After roughing out the ideas of how I wanted the poster to look, I begun to develop the images digitally and experiment with the layout and the different elements that I wanted to include in the final image.

OUIL402- PPP- Illustrated Self- Initial Ideas

As I said, I want to carry on with a similar idea as to where I left off with my context of practice work as I was really enjoying it in the end.

There were a lot of different elements that I wanted to address with my A2 poster, and I was trying to think about a unique way in which I can show numerous elements in one image.

After some quick roughs, I came up with the idea of my experience being like a department store, lots of different departments and categories which can be looked at and addressed.

I already know how I wanted the elements inside the store to look, as it was roughly what I was doing in my COP work, I just need to look at how the structure of the store is laid out.

OUIL402- PPP- Written Diagram

Below is my initial written diagram of my time over the first year of the course. I tried to keep it specific to things that I want to talk about/ discuss during my presentation. 

I a really happy with where I left off with my context of practice work, so want to extend that idea and develop it further.