3 posters finished

Personal:

Professional:

Ambitions:

3 posters initial development + artist research

I kinda struggled with completing this task in time for the deadline because of my lack of motivation and other issues I've talked about. I think another thing that was stopping me from making a start on this task was fear? In a way I'm kinda scared to confront my qualities, because I feel I have a lot of bad ones. Things like procrastination and motivation. Especially in terms of the professional poster. But then I don't get a chance to prove my good qualities if I don't start the task - it's all kind of a vicious cycle. Anyway, here's my initial development:

I identified in the poster session that one of my main qualities is humour and one of my ambitions is to make people laugh. Along the lines of these low-fi, kinda naive illustrations:

(Laurina Paperina)

(Catherine Faulkner)

"Hairy Potter" - visual puns 

(Kate Abey)

This one is a business card but it's kinda like a mini professional poster for her practice.

(Mr. Heggie)

I also identified my ambition to tell stories. Either full-fledged graphic novels or just little moments in comics like these (again using humour):

(Rubyetc)

(Sarah Andersen)

So in myself I value my humour, my organisation (despite my procrastination my room and ways of recording information/time-keeping are usually pretty organised), and my open-mindedness. Professionally I value my organisation (again - workspace/time-keeping with appointments/calendars etc), my ability to innovate and create ideas, my humour and my flexibility. And my ambitions, again, are to make people laugh and tell stories.

SO

time to get crack-a-lackin'

Self-care failure

Before Easter I made a post about self-improvement. Before I went home for the holiday, I made a chart/calendar encompassing all the things I wanted to do:

• How many cigarettes I'd smoked that day
• 3 things I'm thankful for
• Whether I'd done exercise
• Whether I'd done yoga
• Whether I'd meditated
• What time I woke up

How this failed:

• I was putting way too much pressure on myself to do all these things at once, and it probably pushed me a bit further down. I thought I was taking baby steps, but I was still trying to take too many baby steps.
• When I didn't complete a task or goal I set myself, like not writing down the 3 things, waking up at noon, smoking more than 4 cigs etc, I could always see the chart, mocking me. Eventually my mum ripped it up after we had a tearful chat about what I was doing to myself.
• I thought I was getting better straight away, but these things take time and I really was pushing myself way too much. 

What went well (it wasn't all bad):

• I did manage to go for a 4.5 mile walk/run (was supposed to be a jog but I'm quite unfit) with a friend along the beach on a sunny day, and did a few walks down cycle paths, up hills and along the beach.
• Because it was Easter, I did eat a fair bit of chocolate, which I felt guilty about, but I otherwise tried to eat healthily, with mum supporting me - like when we had spag bol for dinner, my mum and I had it with spinach instead of spaghetti.
• I didn't manage to do as much work as I planned in the first 2 weeks of holiday, which got me down further, but I did manage to get my mum to sit with me and push/motivate me in the last week - so I finished some stuff for Visual Language and the last Vis Com brief.

What I'm going to do now:

• NOT change my smoking habits. There's still a lot of pressure and smoking is a coping mechanism for stress, so I'll try to quit again in summer.
• NOT meticulously write down 3 things I'm thankful for. I think it became more of a habit rather than a help - I was just doing it for the sake of completing the chart and not actually thinking about it.
• NOT push myself to do loads of exercise or yoga straight away. I've started walking up the 5 floors to my flat by stairs instead of using the lift, as an added bit of exercise. I still always use the stairs at uni too.
• I am managing mostly to read before bed instead of watching TV, even if I still go to bed late.
• I do still write little post-it note mantras around my room to keep my positivity flowing.

Kate Beaton

I just bought Kate Beaton's book, Hark A Vagrant, which I've wanted for ages. She draws funny comics about historical figures and literary characters, so I've recently been using her as a huge inspiration for the Persons of Note brief in Vis Com.

I love her work because it's not 'perfect', which is something I struggle with. I always want my work to look neat and perfectly drawn, but I think especially with Beaton's work, messy lines can actually have a more humorous effect, which is what I also try to achieve.

There's more energy synonymous with the humour and movement of the characters in her lines and the textures and brushstrokes help to complete this. While there's not a lot of obvious detail and depth in her work, the comics are carefully composed - the positions and expressions of the characters carefully thought about.

There is a much larger focus on the humour and messages rather than careful crafting, but the comics definitely have the intent to make you laugh and succeed in doing so, without being meticulous and pretentious in their design.

Ellen Forney

Because I've started trying to read before bed instead of watching TV, and because I mentioned this graphic novel to my flatmate who also struggles with depression but doesn't read books, I started re-reading Ellen Forney's graphic memoir Marbles.

I read it a couple of years ago after reading an article in The Guardian about graphic memoirs. Writing and illustrating a graphic memoir is a much more personal way of sharing experience compared to plain text or even film, as the work is in the author's own hand, so there is a sense of realness and relatability that doesn't come across in other mediums. The work is accessible too - the drawings are simple and there's not a lot of text to overwhelm the reader, especially when addressing such a serious topic.

However, not only did this personal account of Forney's own bouts of depression and her struggle with bipolar disorder provide a sense of solidarity for me, it also discussed how Forney coped with her depressive episodes and methods to combat negative thoughts - some of which may be helpful for me?

This one I thought was particularly interesting: 

I've not done a self portrait in a while, but I have in the past sketched myself in my diary when I'm feeling upset. I don't use my diary often, only as a tool to vent when I'm particularly angry or upset and don't feel I can talk to a real person for whatever reason. Drawing myself does help transfer some of the negative emotions out of me, as well as writing my thoughts and feelings. Kind of like a dream-catcher's supposed to catch nightmares, a diary/sketchbook can trap negative feelings.

I might start drawing more self-portraits when I'm upset, and take a page out of the Visual Language book and draw lots!

Self-improvement!

I went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago about my depression. The first time i've properly sought out help for it. I had my follow-up mental health referral this week and I think I'm starting to get better.

Since my last appointment I've started doing things or will start doing things over Easter to try to improve my life and mind!

These are:

• Eating healthier
• Getting enough sleep
• Cut down/quit smoking
• Exercise
• Meditate
• Thinking positively

Eating

I noticed leading up to and after christmas I was letting myself go a bit. I started the year cooking (healthy) meals from scratch for myself, and I very rarely buy unhealthy snacks like chocolate, crisps and fizzy drinks etc, because that's just what I'm used to - we never really have them at home. Plus, I'm more of a savoury deli indulger, like cheese, salami and olives. And I always have fruit (apples, oranges, grapes, mango) in, even if nothing else. But the novelty of cooking my own meals wore off a bit and I lacked motivation to take care of myself.

I want to:

• Stop buying takeaways
• Stop binging on chocolate
• Eat 5-a-day (and include more fresh vegetables, not just fruit)
• Snack on nuts, fruit and rice cakes
• Pack lunches for myself the night before
• Eat breakfast

The way I see it - even if i don't complete any or enough work for uni in a day, if I cook a meal from scratch myself, I've accomplished something! Woo!

Sleep

I am a bad sleeper. I stay up late and sometimes have trouble waking up on time. My friend told me about this app clued Sleep Cycle, which tracks your sleep and wakes you up in your lightest sleep phase. I've started using that and trying to wake up earlier than normal, at 7.30 instead of 8.30, so I have time to leisurely get ready instead of rushing - packing my lunch and eating breakfast!

I've also started trying to go to bed earlier, at 11 or 12 instead of 2 or 3. Also, reading before bed instead of watching TV. I used to read a lot, and kinda stopped, telling myself I didn't have time, but now I've started to value it again. Also, looking at a screen before bed is supposed to be bad for your sleep!

Smoking

I have started increasing the amount I smoke since being at uni, kinda socially and kinda from stress. I used to be on around 4 or 5 and now it's probably more like 7 or 8 on average. I've decided to cut down to no more than 4 a day to start with and then further once I can manage that. I'm keeping a little post-it note chart of how many I have so I can see when I reach my limit.

Exercise

I already walk to and from uni every day, which is up a hill, so that's a teeny bit of exercise. I used to do workout videos in my room, which I'm going to try to start doing again, maybe set a goal for jet an hour a week to start off with. When I go home for Easter I can go on walks and maybe a run or two with a friend or alone around Whitstable.

I've also started trying to incorporate yoga in to my routine! I managed to wake up at 7.30 today and yesterday, so did a 20 minute quick routine to start the day. I'm going to try and keep up with this.

Meditation

Just 10 minutes a day - start with the app Headspace recommended by the mental health worker.

Thinking

The doctor in the first appointment told me to start thinking or writing a list of 3 things that I'm thankful for every day, which can be as small or inane as deodorant. I've started doing this and it's become sort of a ritual - wake up, write down my 3 things and start the day!

My mum's also always been a big help with my bouts of depression. She photocopies passages from books and articles to get me thinking positively and is always there for a chat.

OUIL404 Visual Language evaluation

1.  Which practical skills and methodologies have you developed within this module and how effectively do you think you are employing them within your own practice?
·         As in the last modules, I’ve continued to develop my use of roughs, particularly towards the end of this module with the screen print fan art brief. I enjoyed figuring out the elements and placement of these elements within the frame just in quick pencil sketches and/or simple colour. ·         I’ve developed my confidence with elements such as shape and texture that I wasn’t previously that confident or interested in. the simple tasks focusing on these elements encouraged me to re-think my stances on such elements, and encourage me to consider employing them in the future. ·         As well as developing skills in elements I wasn’t so confident with, I’ve also had to develop my skills with elements I thought I knew very well. I often stick to using black line, and this module has forced me to consider not only other ways of image-making, but also the quality and value of the lines I use. ·         I think my growing confidence with using colour shows as I progressed through the module – beginning with black and white line drawings and finishing with a bold pink and blue screen print.
2. Which principles/ theories of image making have you found most valuable during this module and how effectively do you think you are employing these within your own practice?
·         The most valuable theories and principles I’ve learned from this module came from the second brief. Although I’ve been told fleetingly of the elements of line, depth, value and frame throughout school, we’d never done such deconstructive tasks specifically focused on each element, and these studies really helped me to think about the composition of my work and how it influences and affects the viewer. ·         The use of studying the key elements of composition have particularly influenced my work in other modules, especially the vector brief in Visual Communication.
3. What strengths can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how did you capitalise on these?
·         I think my strongest point within the module is the fan art brief. As it was a topic I could choose myself, I was obviously very interested in the work I was producing and spent a lot of time planning the final artwork using roughs. ·         I think roughing and planning in general has started to become a strong point within my work and practice. I still do have a lot to develop, particularly starting to incorporate colour into my roughs more often, but over the course of this module and others I’ve definitely learned the value of planning an image. ·         I’ve started to think more analytically about how my work is composed, and this translates across to other modules, using elements such as line and depth. ·         I actually really enjoyed this module. I didn’t really realise until I started to evaluate it, but I’ve actually learned a lot and have started to inform my practice with the elements of visual language, and I think I’ve developed as an illustrator from where I was at the beginning of the course.
4. What areas for development can you identify within your Visual Language submission and how will you address these in the future?
·         I mentioned struggling with depression in my last module evaluation and on my blog, and so there is also a chunk of the module within the first brief where I haven’t completed as much work as I have wanted to. However, despite this, I’ve tried my best to catch up on tasks and keep blogging about what I’ve learned from this module. ·         Some tasks, like the collage task, I could have spent more time on composition and crafting. However, even some tasks where I wasn’t 100% happy with the final outcome, I still learned a lot from and had fun playing around in the development and planning stages, such as with the texture task. ·         Particularly at the beginning of the module with tasks such as using line and mark-making, I could have tried harder to include a broader range of attempts and experimentation, but I think I have improved on my commitment over the course of the module.
5. In what way has this module informed how you deconstruct and analyse artwork (whether your own or that of contemporary practitioners)? ·         In terms of my own work, I found the second brief particularly helpful in being critical about my own work, and started to learn to view my image-making from an outside perspective. ·         I certainly find it useful to think about images in terms of how the are planned and composed, as good composition can really make or break illustration, depending on the brief. ·         Attempting to deconstruct other artists’ work is useful in working out the meaning and purpose behind the image, and learning how I can also create similar meanings within my work, or how I can present my purpose. ·         I have definitely gotten better at deconstructing and analysing my own and other practitioners' artwork, and my Pinterest account has also encouraged me to do this - I now try to think about elements such as depth and line of sight as well as aesthetic qualities of the visual signature and how these elements portray mine or another practitioner's intent.
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.