Why did I choose to study on this program?
·
There were multiple reasons why I chose this
course. The first being that it was recommended to be by a work colleague and
friend Amy Green (printed textile and surface pattern student in her second
year) she said really great things about the college and Leeds as a city.
·
Another reason is that it wasn’t too far away
from Nottingham (where I am from). I didn’t want to go too far because I knew I’d
miss home but didn’t want to be too close at the same time.
·
I only got in to illustration last year in my
foundation course. Before that my a level teachers would push me to do fine art
and wasn’t till last year that I realised illustration is what I wanted to do. I
simply love to just draw. I’ve always been interested in graphics as well so illustration
seemed obvious and I don’t know why I didn’t think of it earlier.
·
When I came for my interview I got a really
good vibe from the college, leeds and the course leaders. Another interview I had
somewhere else made me feel so nervous as the guy was horrible. I think the
course leader should be friendly and welcoming, these are people we will be
working with for the next three years and I want to feel I can talk to them. Best
interview by far!
·
Finally, drawing is the thing I am best at. I’ve
managed to exell in it and it has always been consistent in my left. I put all
my heart and effort in to my creative work whether it was art, graphics or
media studies, those creative subjects were the ones that I got excited about. I
can’t imagine doing anything else in my life. The idea of having a career out
of something I love excites me! I feel sorry for those in the world that aren’t
creative and see the world different to those that are.
What do I want to learn during my time on the programme?
·
During my time on this
programme, I want to able to improve my drawing skill and my knowledge of what
works and what doesn’t. I want to experiment with different media and produce
exciting, professional work.
·
I really want to become
better at Photoshop and other digital work. I’ve never been all that good at it
and I want to see what I can do.
·
I want to learn my about
personal and professional practice of illustration. I think it’s important I know
my about the industry and how it works in order for me to work myself.
·
I've never really had a ‘style’
or tone of voice when it comes to my work. I’m a bit all over the place with
how I draw which could be a good thing but I want there to be am edge to my
work; something that makes me stand out. So I want to be able to discover more
about myself too.
·
I’m interested in
learning more about the context of illustration. i hope that it will improve my
work and add more meaning.
·
I want to learn what it
is I actually want to do!! I know I want to be an illustrator but I have no
idea at all what area I want to go in to!!
What 5 skills are your strengths?
·
I think I've become quite
good are drawing people and faces. For my final project on my foundation course
I draw so many faces and I love it. This project was seen by a cake company
called Baker Days and I was employed to draw famous people to go on their cakes
so I think it’s one of my strengths as an illustrator.
·
My strongest media to
work with is fineliner. I only realised last year in foundation how much I loved
using fineliner pens and I've produced loads of work with them since. I’m also
good with pencils.
·
Observational drawing. I think
I’m good at drawing what is there. I like doing detailed drawings of how things
actually look. My a level teacher called me an all-rounder because I could draw
most things well whether it was buildings, people, objects, animals, landscape
etc, and was good with a lot of different media.
·
I think I’m good at
listening to advice and suggestions. Teachers are only offering suggestions to
be helpful and they believe it will improve your work so it annoys my when
stupid automatically dismiss any advice they were given by the teacher. At least
try it and see if it works. If I don’t then it’s my development work to write
about.
·
I think I’m good at
composition. Your drawings aren't going to look as good if they’re not laid out
in a way that suits it. Sometimes you've got to use the space around it to help
make the illustration successful.
What do you want to improve?
·
I want to improve my use
of other media, particular ink. A lot of illustrators use ink in their work and
I don’t think I’m very good.
·
I’d like to improve my
drawing (obviously). I think I’m good at drawing people so I’d like to go
further and improve more. I don’t think my use of applying tone to my work is
very good; I've been criticized in the past so I’d like to improve on that.
·
I hope to improve my
skills in digital media. I know a very limited knowledge on what I achieve
using Photoshop and other adobe suites. People can produce amazing work using Photoshop
and I don’t know how they do it!
·
I want to improve my
knowledge on the industry. I don’t really know many names of illustrators,
which I think is terrible! How can I be successful if I don’t know anything
about the professional practice of illustration?
·
I want to improve on
drawings figures. I can draw faces really well but I’m not that good at
figures. I quite like graphic novels and they involve drawing figures from lots
of angles.
In what way will you evaluate you progress?
·
Blog!! I've never had a
blog before so I’m struggling to remember to do it. I need to get my head round
in it and make blogging part of my daily routine. Ill update it regularly showing
any development work and any else relevant to what I need to blog.
·
I think I’m constantly
evaluating my progress. Whenever I draw I see what works and what doesn't. I’m
constantly making mental notes on how to improve and how things work.
·
Re drawing. If I don’t
like a drawing then ill re draw it better and if I like a drawing then again,
ill re drew it. The best way for my to improve and develop is to just keep
drawing. By re drawing something I can change things and make it better.
·
Peer crits. During group
crits, people from my class or even my course leader will evaluate my progress.
They will tell me what works well and what needs improving. They make
suggesting, helpful comments to give me things to think about. I’ll then go
back to my work make decisions on how to move forward with my work.
·
Asking those around me. I’ll
always have people around to talk to about my work. I’m always asking the
people on my table what they think about what I've done. We all have creative
minds so who better to ask?
