Study Task 1

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?