End of Module Student Evaluation

BA (Hons) Illustration

Module Code: OUIL504 Illustration 1: Production & Presentation

Name: Wilf Dessent

Student ID: wd252989

Please identify where the evidence for each of the learning outcomes is within your submission and how well you feel you have met the learning outcomes. Please also grade yourself in relation to the learning outcomes using terms:

> poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent (Note- This is so that the team have an understanding of how well you feel you have done. It is not an indication of the actual grade you may receive.)

Learning Outcome	Evidenced where? Blog, Visual Journal, Roughs, Final Illustrations, Stings, storyboards, development sheets etc.  (No more than 75 words)	Your grade Using words: > poor, satisfactory, good, very good, excellent
5A5:  Demonstrate an informed understanding of issues relating to image, media, format and context through the delivery of solutions to identified visual problems. (Knowledge & Understanding -  Critical Awareness)	This is evidence through development of sketches and roughs, and thinking about how they convey a message/idea. It is evidence in my practical print experiments where I have thought about how the process and visual qualities can be used to communicate my themes. Its can also be found within my approach to character design and the way I developed/refined them appropriately to the concepts.	Very good
5A6: Understand the potential and limitations of a range of processes, technologies and techniques involved in the development and production of work for print and screen based delivery. (Knowledge & Understanding -  Research)	This evidence in my blog, where I have reflected on my ideas and researched how they can be improved/made suitable for prints. Also in research from other print artist and how they applied there skills. It can be evidenced in my final animation, re-appropriating a still picture into moving imaging. It can be evidence within the mono and lino print processes, where I have tested how my own drawing skills can be applied. And evidenced in the designing of the editorials, and thinking about designs based around a required size/format.	Very good
5B4: Analyse and critically evaluate primary/secondary source material to inform the development and contextualisation of ideas, concepts and products through individual responses to set briefs. (Cognitive Skills - Problem Analysis, Problem Solving)	This can be evidence in elements taken from my author. In early stages of the project I used photographs to create a caricature, which I continued to develop throughout the project. I researched about his life/beliefs/experiences and communicated them through visual metaphors and imagery. I used references and ideas from his book to help communicate his characteristics. I used reference imagery from the internet to help construct my drawings when needed (peyotes in the editorials).	Very good
5C4: Select, manipulate and apply appropriate media, processes and technologies in the development, production and presentation of ideas, concepts and products. (Practical Skills -  Practical and Conceptual Development)	This can be evidence in my sketch developments for the prints, singling out and simplifying images to make them appropriate for printed images. It can be evidenced where I have identified ways of working/drawing that are appropriate for the processes and outcomes. Also how I have applied my own drawing skills/character designs in ways to make it appropriate to the themes and concepts. And evidenced within my exploration of print medias.	Very good
5C5: Identify, evaluate and apply practical/technical processes, materials and media in order to produce technically competent and conceptually appropriate outcomes. (Practical Skills - Visual Quality and Technical Competence)	This can be evidenced in my final print outcomes where I used refined technical and conceptual skills to craft the designs appropriately. It can be evidence in the production of the final animation how I used technical skills. And can be evidence in the crafting of my finalized imagery and in the refinement/repetition of roughs in the earlier design stages.	Excellent
5D4: Demonstrate the ability to communicate the development and resolution of ideas through appropriate visual and written presentation of work. (Key Transferable Skills - Presentation and Evaluation)	This is evidence throughout my blog in my written annotations, evaluations and presentation of my designs and ideas. Also in the presentation of my final designs. And also evidenced within responses to feedback.	Good

Summative Evaluation (See Evaluation Guidance on next page for more information)

You are required to write a 750 word Summative Evaluation of this module.

Please type up your Summative Evaluation in the box below. Make a PDF of the document, print out a copy to submit with your portfolio of work and post the PDF as your final post on your OUIL504 blog.

This project has gone really well for me, it has definitely changed the way I think about my personal work, and approaches to briefs. In the first brief I was pleased with how I tackled the concepts and ideas, but not so much with the finished aesthetic, even though I had put time into the drawings. Working with print has shown me ways I can transfer my ideas into better quality products. It has made me want to spend less time refining and repeating ideas in a sketchbook, and take ideas into print at earlier stages and experiment within the print processes. After this brief I feel more confident in my work, and have discovered a lot about the ways I work and how to apply it (even onto T shirts). I have learnt a lot of new skills across this modular; the most beneficial to me has been the print processes. Lino printing has been the most influential to my personal practice. I found that my personal drawing skills and line qualities translate really well into a linocut, it will defiantly be something I continue to use. Working with mono print has made me take new approaches to idea generation, and has helped realize how experimental print processes can be. It’s opened my eyes to loads of new visual qualities and how my designs/ideas can be enhanced by the processes, and made more professional. I have also touched on new screen-printing techniques (screen printing lino, colour smudge) that I want to explore further in other briefs. All the process as a whole has given me totally different visual qualities I will aim towards in the future, and stopped me from working towards pen-based designs only. I learnt a lot about how messages and concepts could be portrayed through different character designs and print processes. The animation went well to say I had no experience with after effects, it was beneficial to see how my designs can work as moving pictures and making sound effects relate too the imagery and concept. I really enjoyed mono printing the shapes combined with outlines, I liked how quick and immediate the process was and how I could manipulate it around the way I draw. I really enjoyed working in the print rooms and producing ideas out of the sketchbook, I liked making products through a more physical and practical process. Making the large-scale lino was really satisfying, I enjoyed using the lino press to make clean bold prints with a high quality finish. It was good to see how much crafting is needed in the technical process as well as in the roughing and development. This brief has made me push my designs into more sellable finished products, rather than then over working the early development stages. I really enjoyed working with the theme of psychedelics and alternative perceptions, engaging more with topics and being interested in what I was trying to communicate definitely benefited the whole project. Above all else I’ve really liked seeing how I can apply my personal character style to a proper concept, it has been beneficial for my personal practice/progression and equally my conceptual thinking. I could have blogged more consistently, and picked out more key moments and discoveries in the print room with more progress photos, this would have given me a better reflection on my work. I produced a large quantity of mono prints and focused on the variations and physical process rather than finished aesthetic, I think now I could have tried a bigger more refined/crafted mono print as well. I also wish I had done an experiment concertina book for all the mono prints to see how they would work as a publication. The 2 layer lino printing gave a good aesthetic but was a very time consuming process especially when making multiple colour variations, screen printing the lino would be more efficient, and easer to make colour variations. I wish I had given myself more time for the animation, I am pleased with what I produced in the space of time but more storyboarding could have been used to give it narrative. And I would have liked to see what I could have done with involving new printed pictures that where designed to be animated. I will apply what I have learnt by continuing to use print as a way of producing finalized work, and even experimentation. Focusing on the lino print aesthetic primarily but still using screen print and mono where appropriate. I will be more open-minded with my approach to subjects and concept and think about how I can apply my personal skills to them and interest myself in the subject. I will continue to work with character design as a way of communicating. I will also continue to push how my designs can be used for products (like the T shirts, packaged prints) and put a good amount of time into the production of my final work. I aim to spend less time in sketchbooks in the future, this project showed me how much can be discovered through print process and how un expected the results can be. So I wont hesitate to take ideas into print at early stage.

ALL FINALS...

Editorial:

5 Lino Prints:

Brain variation

Colour variation

Animation:

ALDOUS HUXLEY Peyote Brain from Wilf on Vimeo.

Moving Pictures - Project Proposal...

Printed Pictures - Project Proposal...

Final Animation...

ALDOUS HUXLEY Peyote Brain from Wilf on Vimeo.

• Overall i'm really please with how the animation turned out, I surprised myself with how I could make my images work as a moving picture.
• I had almost convinced myself that nothing animated was possible within my final prints (i wanted to print new imagery, better suited to moving image), it wasn't until I got on the computer and started to edit and dissect them that I realised what could be done.
• I few tricks came in handy to help with technical animation: Putting the 'easy ease' effects on the key frames made a massive difference to the movements and smoothened them out. 'Partnering' all the object to the head was really useful when moving the whole head around the page (it meant all the other moving object moved with it as one piece). Also simply copying and pasting key frames was so useful, because there is subtle repetition in the movements, it meant I could get the pieces back in the exact same places. 
• Another good thing that helped me was turning the brain sections into its own composition, because it consisted of so many layers. After I had made the brain pieces appear into the head, I wanted to move it as a whole piece, this wasn't possible until I combined the sections into its own composition. At the last minute I reversed the effect from the start, and made the brain circles exit in the same way, im really glad I did this, it rounds off the animation nicely.
• Im pleased with the overall hand generated/printed feel the animation, I like the aesthetic that mimics my final prints with the overlay on the brain.
• Looking at it now I really wish I had put a slight grainy print texture across the whole composition, I could then animate the texture and make it flicker throughout the animation. This would have been really subtle but would have boosted the distorted aesthetic a lot. It would made the animation have a slightly less clean a pristine finish - which i think would have enhanced the whole atmosphere. 
• Looking at it now I think this concept could have been condensed into a 10 second sting. I could have then applied this same concept too 2 other of my final prints (and moved/warped the coloured layers behind the outlines). Dissecting up the faces similarly to this one. So basically applied the same animation ideas but too different faces. This would have made a nice matching set of warping faces. It would have been interested see how the other faces translate into animation.

Sounds:

• Im really pleased with how the sound effects worked with the moving imagery. I aimed to try and create sounds that had a similar weird and surreal effect to the imagery.
• All the sound effects where downloaded from freesound.com, and where copyright free.
• I layer up the sounds and made them build up and overlap to create a confusing orchestra of sound effects. I synced them to certain movements in the animation, for example when the pace of the movements sped up, I would introduce more sound effects (making the sounds more complicated, as well as the imagery more complicated).
• As the intensity of the animation decreased, I made the sounds decreased as well, like the sounds are part of huxleys hallucination/psychedelic experience. 
• I think what makes the sounds most confusing and un easy, is that fact that they sort of contrast with each other. There are natural sounds of crickets and frogs, combined with futuristics sci fi sounds and synths.
• Then the drum beat really helps to pic up the pace and give the movements/gestures much more impact.
• Then there is the weird screaming voice, almost like some sort of war chant. That adds to the intensity and pace of the entire thing.
• I like that the sounds are confusing and un obvious, I think it works to represent ideas of psychedelics and hallucinating.

Typography...

• I really wanted the text to have a printed feel to it.
• I had initially wanted to lino cut the text, and use similar line to quality to details within in the face, to match them nicely.
• I decided against this idea, with the time I had it was more appropriate to work with a computer font.
• The lino cut text could take away visual qualities from the face if it wasn't executed properly.
• So i decided to work with a simple helvetica font, and see how I could apply printed textures to it. 
• I got some high quality printed textures off google images to work with.

• I wanted it to match the face nicely, so wanted to involve the same colours, I coloured picked the colours from the face to get them exact.
• I had initially though about having one word black, one word pink, but after messing around with texture on photoshop I preferred the look of pink texture on top of black, consistently across the whole thing.
• I think the texture works well on the type, the rough texture contrasts with simple easy to read helvetica.

• This is the final text i'm going to use
• I wanted texture chopped out of the text as well so that you could see the background through it.
• I spent a while trying to overlay texture and cut out away the appropriate sections, but I then found it easier to used a textured pre-set eraser and rub out differnt areas, and create some finer texture by decreasing the brush size.
• I then separated the words "The mysterious mind of...", "Aldous" and 'Huxley" so that I could move them at different rates and make them enter the frame differently.

Photoshop Experiments...

Red:

• I made the same frame size on photoshop to what I would be working on in after effects, to get a feel for the composition and how my imagery could work within it.
• I started with this red print, and made the red printed texture fill the rest of the screen, leaving his face transparent.

• I looked at how I could make the brain bounce around the head, I don't like how you cant see it come outside of his skull.
• I liked the full red aesthetic but it makes the image hard to animate and forces it to stay in the centre of the screen.
• I need to make the different sections interact easier.
• The movements in this are way to subtle for the effect i'm trying to give.

Black:

• I realised that the head worked better as a floating image, without a background attached it.
• The brain could then stretch outside the outlines and gives the warping effect I wanted.
• It would also making moving the entire head much better and can move around the composition however I want.
• I also think it look more interesting having a lone standing outline (not connected to the background) that fits around the brain. Black worked better then red when reduced because its bolder and sharper.
• Im going to make the background colour an off white (newsprint) colour, keeping to the printed theme.
• I want to make sure there is printed texture visible on the face and not to make it too dark like I usually do with my photoshop designs, I want to make the lino quality as obvious as I can.
• I used the magic wand tool to chop the face away from the background, I think this takes away to much, i still want a bold boarder outline surrounding the head, all the outline are floating.

• I chopped the face out leaving a thick outline surround it, This is the face design I will use to animate.
• I really like how the designs works like this, looks almost like a stamp.
• I like the subtle printed texture still visable, and i'm not going to darken it any more than this, although I find it tempting for some reason.

• I dissected up the the face with the polygon tool.
• I had the glasses and eye balls as separate movable sections, I think stretching them and rotating them at different rates could give a good effect.
• It would be trippy and distorted, and warp the perspectives of the face.

• When chopping out brain sections, I had the idea to make the brain merge into the head a few circles at a time.
• So circles would appear one after the other eventually ending up as a whole brain sitting perfectly inside the head.
• I didn't like how the brain looked in blue with the black, it looked to mellow. I think the it works better in a vibrant fluorescent colour, its more relevant to the psychedelic concept.
• I think moving the eyes and glasses in synchronisation to the brain, would hint ideas of the mind and vision having a connection, and also thinks gives messages about intelligence which is relevant to Huxley and his experiments.
• I think the most suitable noise to go with the animation will be sound effects, I think a consistent sound track/music would make it too comical. When I want the animation to give a weird and surreal atmosphere to the audience.
• I want to try and create some warpy psychedelic sounds by layering up different types of sounds and syncing them with my moving images.
• I think combining sounds that dont naturally go together could work to mimic the un easy surreal atmosphere of the animation.
• Some of the sounds could be:
• nature sounds, crickets and frogs
• sci-fi sounds, lasers ect.
• glitchy sounds, like tv disruption 
• distorted voices
• possible drum beat that kicks in at points where a lot of movement is happeng