Telegramme Studios

Today whilst working on my poster for OUIL406 Studio Brief 3 I spoke to Matt about the worn effect texture I was creating for the poster. He pointed me to a creative studio known as Telegramme which is an ongoing series of collaborations with works inspired by music, people, unique ideas etc.

The textures in the illustrations are immense. I need to figure out how to do that.

Matt Sewell: Big Heads

Today we spoke to Matt Sewell. I wasn't a big fan of his work when I'd researched him earlier in the week however after today I appreciate his work much more. He appears to have a good understanding of shape but what impressed me was the large scale graffiti pieces that he makes. These are prepared early in sketch form but when he comes to create the final piece he draws with no guidelines or prior markings. He works straight onto the wall. I like his certainty and would like to trust my own ability in such a way. As Ralph Steadman said - there are no mistakes!

Visual Communication - End of Module Self Evaluation

I found Visual Communication to be a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand my technical skills and professional attitude improved drastically but on the other I really didn't enjoy the group work aspect of Studio Brief 1, which I felt harmed my input somewhat. 

The group became somewhat fractured half way through Studio Brief 1 due to differing opinions and didn’t fully recover from it. I felt this was quite unprofessional of us all in the group and we should have tried harder to prevent disagreements from affecting our work. However, it happened and we’ve since moved on. In the future I must work harder to prevent things such as this from happening as it reflects poorly on us all and was unprofessional.

On the positive side of things, my digital skills improved within the timespan of this module. We were introduced to Adobe Illustrator in Studio Brief 2 and I’ve quickly grown to love it. I really appreciate  how smooth line work can be within it. I don’t have a smooth drawing ability so to have a tool that can produce this for me is fantastic. Using Illustrator has also allowed me to work more with shape. I am beginning to really see the beauty in imagery created using shape alone. In the concept stages, by concentrating more on shape and less on finer details I was also able to produce work quicker and more confidently. This carried over into my digital process where my production rate increased greatly, largely due to a focused decision to use shape rather than worry about texture.

My increased work rate can’t be entirely put down to the technique I was using though. I made a conscious choice to work harder and have a more professional attitude after the Easter Break. This meant staying later and getting distracted less. I was able to produce finer, better-executed outcomes for Studio Brief 3 as I’d allowed myself the time and thought to do it. My improved time management also allowed me to blog more often. I feel that my documentation was already strong for this module but after Easter my blog posts increased as more work was being produced, perhaps to the point of excess. In the future I will try to limit my blog posts and work to make them more refined.

Going forward into Level 5 I intend to maintain the professional attitude that has benefitted me so greatly in the past few weeks. I also plan on continuing my work with shape - however I need to research further into different illustrators who work with shape for ideas and inspiration. It is research that is possibly the area in which I need to improve upon the most. I’ve come to find that work I produce without the foundations of strong research is my weakest. A solid research base will result in work that is well informed and more impactful. This will help me greatly in Level 5 as I begin to think more about the purpose of my work. 

Visual Language - End of Module Self Evaluation

Personally I’ve found Visual Language to be the most difficult module I’ve faced this year. This is because I’ve been pushed to discover different methods of Illustration and question the way in which I work. It is due to this questioning of my work that at times, I found this to be the least enjoyable module of the year. However I have also had some of my most defining moments within the briefs.

I now have a greater understanding of shape, collage and composition. I previously felt collage to be cheating somewhat, and shape work too simplistic and easy. I don’t feel that way now; both have altered my working process and have allowed me to grow as an illustrator. It is important that I continue to investigate these processes further and use them to take my work to the next level. 

My attitude towards Visual Language was, admittedly, at times relaxed. It was only with the introduction of Collage, Photoshop and Illustrator that I felt my attitude towards image making really hit a turning point. I tried to refine my analogue work but I feel that digital process is where my skill truly lies.

I found studio brief 2 to be the most interesting part of Visual Language. I’ve always been subconsciously aware of the many aspects concerning composition, however, its only through studio brief 2 that I’ve come to appreciate them. I can now critically analyse my work (and others) on a much more professional scale.

Going forward I need to maintain a committed attitude towards my work. I feel that the areas that appealed to me least were also the areas where I failed to commit myself to. I need to take a more professional attitude towards my practice as I wont always be working on projects that interest me. Now I know what processes I work best with, the only thing getting in my way is myself.