end of module evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL401 Context of Practice	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME	Rebecca Barrett

1.  What skills have you developed through this brief and how effectively do you think you have applied them?
The main skill i would say i have developed would be my research skills. As i have had to make an informed piece of work based on what i find out about my subject it has been really important that i find out as much as i possibly can whilst narrowing down what would be good and bad choices. Although i do believe that i could have done better in terms of refining my subject to a smaller area, such as with my essay.
2. What approaches to/methods of image making have you developed and how have they informed your concept development process?
Organisation, composition and working to a higher quality of detail in terms of image have been something that i feel i have developed. As i wanted to make the final image to a higher quality with an appearance of sophistication i felt as though i needed to make the layout of the poster more thought out and measured to a better level of accuracy. This would then give the women in my work a greater sense of respect.
3. What strengths can you identify in your work and how have/will you capitalise on these?
My methods of researching i believe have been my strengths, however in terms of practical skills i would say the level of detail i put into each image. I really enjoyed putting such small details and shadings to the point that i spent a fair bit of time on each. I found it very nice to work with small detail and i feel like the images i made showed my strengths in capturing expression, which is something i will further wish to improve on.
4. What weaknesses can you identify in your work and how will you address these in the future?
The quantity of work i feel i have produced are lacking somewhat. Because i enjoyed the images and sketches i was making i believe i spent a long time on each, therefore reducing the amount i was making. So in future i would spend less time on rough sketches and development images and reserve the time for the final images i will produce in future.
5. Identify five things that you will do differently next time and what do you expect to gain from doing these?
I will increase my work speed by either speeding up and becoming more confident making images, or picking which i should spend most time on. My research could be improved greatly too, although i believe i have taken a large step forward in how i find out information i could still find a more efficient  way of narrowing down information and homing in on specifics. Concept i believe was lacking slightly as well as my confidence with what i am doing as it was based around what i have learnt on my own. As these are things that will mainly get better with experience i will bare more thought into each project i get in future. Time keeping is the last thing that i would want to improve as it would reduce my stress immensely and allow me to keep a clear mind in the future.
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.

Notes

final diagram - text consideration

after scanning my poster onto photoshop i played with different fonts and found that this one is one of the nicer options, and the slim curved text gives the diagram a more professional look.

i have also gone with a glossed paper as the crimson i used for the background would look nice with the sheen. and the areas where the light hits the poster break it up slightly making it look professionally made. which is a nice touch.

overall i like how my poster turned out in comparison to my initial ideas. i am glad that i changed my ideas to a more respectable outcome as it is an important thing for me to study.

center images

slightly larger sketches for my diagram.

composition and smaller sketches

because imm wanting to use different women, cultures and time periods i have decided not to use colour in my figures. as it will be less appealing to look at to have varied textures and colours on my poster i have decided against it.

i want them to be represented as respectable women, so i would like some aspect of elegance and i think pencil allows this.

these will be the smaller 6 images.

i have also played with the composition of the portraits and have decided on a similar structure to the following. i like the idea of having a couple different sizes set out evenly.

final inspirational women

in my final diagram i have decided to turn towards making some form of typology. i played with the idea of making one type per feminist sub culture, however i have tried searching for individuals of note from many cultures but they dont have a variety of images, some dont have any. making it near impossible to find appropriate references in the time i have to work with.

so from this i have now decided that i would like to make a small diagram representing a hand full of the women i find influential within my feminist topic.

from all the women i looked up these are the ones i have chosen. i also tried varying the cultures and the backgrounds they come from, because feminism is about bringing up women to the standard men live at. hence the term feminism. this means that it now applies is all women (even though it didnt used to, e.g. racism during the revolution of the suffragettes).

petcha kucha feedback

was not given much written feedback so i have included mostly my own self criticisms because im not happy with my presentation. as i find it extremely hard to talk in front of people i feel like my presentation was a mass failure.

preparation, appropriateness and organisation of slides:

in preparation i was not 100% on what to include in terms of research so i just went with instinct and what i wrote about in my essay.

i could have prepared much better, as my notes for each slide weren't exactly 20 words each. however i knew if i could memorize the words or have the ability to read from paper i still wouldn't be able say the words in order regardless.

depth of research evidence, including use of drawings:

i believe my research could have been better, as in the peer feedback i was told i could look further into sub cultures, and more into the actions of said cultures.

my drawings however i believe were successful because i can see that kind of sketch been involved in my final design.

presentation and delivery:

i did not deliver a fluent presentation in my own opinion, some of my peers said i appeared very passionate about what i was saying. and i missed some of the things i wanted to say.

as well as that, i felt as though people didnt quite understand what i was trying to put forward.
i was trying to communicate that i wanted to make a diagram that compared how feminism used to be viewed and how it has changed in modern society.

proposal of practical deliveries:

although i liked my initial ideas for my final image, because people didnt understand my meaning means that i should rethink my concept. i think something simpler and as effective, maybe a typology of feminists.

petcha kucha

1. Comparing the past and present views on feminism, and displaying that opinions surrounding it have been corrupted
2.One of the first movements that wanted to fight for equality between men and women, starting with the right to vote
3.Triggered a chain inspiring women to express their opinion, sexuality and what they wanted to live to the same quality of men.

4.Treated as children that weren't getting what they wanted, especially so in the propaganda used to stir people away from supporting them
5.As the suffragettes progressed it became apparent that drastic approaches worked, such as hunger strikes, these actions were sometimes classed as extremist behaviors, im also interested in the layout and colour used in these and I might consider ways to alter my final image on photoshop to get similar old looking textures but with a new contrast
6.Viewed and represented as Reckless overpowered adults, showing so by wearing revealing clothing that can be seen as a show of confidence
7.Piece based on the objectification and violence towards women, making it aware on how women are mistreated every day, disregarding race and class therefor a boost to unite women to this awareness
8.With the representation of confident women brought along a view that women don’t need men and they are hated. In turn creating a negative excessive stereotype of those who associate with feminism
9.This clearly showed my question and how the evolution of feminism shifted from the right to vote, career opportunities and how the term is viewed now. Showing that the opinion has become a negative stereotype that I personally don’t fully agree with
10.using where I started to study the term, I started to create some sketches of where it originated and had the largest impact on what it was fighting for
11.As I started creating these sketches I thought they didn’t show the severity of what these women went through so although I think I will include such images in my diagram I want it to have more striking and important events included
12.Through more drawings I then decided I wont just involve the women in this section of the diagram, I wish to include the law enforcers to emphasis the severity
13.One of the biggest things the suffragettes were known for surpassing was the hunger strikes, where they were taken and force fed through the nostrils then released to circle back again. As this was one of the main things I want to include it
14.more up to date areas of feminism to show the shift in opinion, Now there is more younger generations identifying with the term on a more personal level. And with the internet it has made it much easier to broadcast their opinions. 
15.A wide spread trend has been creating small signs to hold in a photo then uploaded onto social media, however because all of these represent thousands of  individual opinions, they can create a mass uproar where people tend to respond with there own 
16.The contrast between the two sides can show how it has Turned from a movement about equality to sexist corrupt groups, this one in particular gives an insight into how the phrase feminism no longer stands for the equality it once wanted to fight for
17.As well as the protests, and the signs, I wanted to include some of the things that are still been fought for, such as the ability to breast feed in public, as babies are having to be fed in hidden away areas such as public toilets, which are a health risk to the infant 
18.Initial roughs for final poster, I was leaning towards some form of fight scene involving empowered women, possibly along the lines of fantasy, however I quite liked the idea of making my point more understandable by using a more symbolic approach with the old fashioned measuring scales. 
19.As for my main diagram idea I want the image to appear like im weighing the positive effect of past and present acts of feminism on a scale. The importance of the movements, but also include the severity and struggles on each side. 
20.As the poster will be A2 I want to choose my media accordingly, because of the scale and the amount of figures I want to include Im thinking either watercolour or gouache so I can get textures and a gritty feeling of the suffering the women have gone through, and yet bold colours for the scale