The purpose of the reflect phase
This phase of work is all about taking the time to pause and think about the assignment, the process that was used, what was successful and what could be improved next time. It is a chance to compare the original objectives and brief with the assignment outputs.
The purpose of reflection is to any lessons so that these can be built on or explored as either as part of my ongoing practice research or during future projects and assignments.
There are a number of outputs/activities:
- The brief specifies a 250 word reflection that answers a number of questions
- Any areas/topics for practice research get added to my practice research backlog and prioritised (my initial practice research process is documented here: Practice research approach)
- All the items on the Definition of Done (DOD) checklist complete?
Reflecting on the assignment
Assignment 4 was my first self-directed assignment and I was conscious that I should work within a clear framework so that the work had a good base and I could evidence where ideas came from, how they were developed and the creative and making approaches that were used.
The use of visual mindmaps to organise my thinking and develop the approach worked well and allowed me to build on previous exercises and practice research. Reviewing my initial ideas with Bee Willey (OCA Tutor), as part of a Zoom tutorial provided reassurance and challenge.
An important output was my own written brief that provided terms of reference to refer to and measure progress and success against.
My research was thorough and the different types of research, (artist, visual, market and practice), are all traceable through into the finished artwork.
I used model making, inspired by the work of Paula Rego, as the basis for four of the illustrations. This innovation was really exciting to work with, resulted in curious images and has huge potential for developing in future work.
I found working with text layout and thinking about how to more closely incorporate this into the visual dynamics of the image really exciting.
The use of rapid time limited thumbnailing was a great technique and broke through some of the procrastination and angst I sometimes feel when I can’t see how ideas are going to develop. It resulted in several really interesting layouts, particularly for illustrations 5 and 6.
The scale and ambition of the assignment was a bit big. I had planned the work to complete in 2-weeks (working full time). In the end it took 3½-weeks.
Overall, I think the assignment was a really valuable experience and I succeeded in pulling together many of the lessons from previous exercises.
Illustration 