Evaluation

Leeds College of Art BA (Hons) ILLUSTRATION	Level	04
OUIL405 Visual Narratives	Credits	20
End of Module Self Evaluation

NAME	Christopher Martin Cooper

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?
I have found a big shift in my work process away from line based drawing with much of my image making focusing around the interplay of shape and negative space. This has in turn allowed me to explore the application, creation and execution of textural elements within my work something which I had been wanting to do for a while. The result of this has been a much more process driven approach to my work particularly with regards to the use of printed ink and dragging paint through sectioned off (with tape) areas of my page. Although I have once again experimented with digital media, something which I feel I am now reasonably proficient in, this project has made me realise I have a much stronger affinity with and feel for analogue processes and that something is often lost when image making becomes overly digitised. However It as a necessary element even within analogue image making so as to make work ready for, and work better when printed digitally or presented on screen.
2. Which approaches to research have you found most valuable during this module. How have you interrogated your research to identify appropriate ideas?
A mixture of both first hand field visits as well as secondary research into the cultural and historical backgrounds of my chosen themes was the most rewarding. This is because it allowed for very varied and in-depth background knowledge on which to ground more personal experiences and emotions that were felt first  hand.
3. What strengths can you identify within your submission and how have you capitalised on these? What aspects of your submission are you satisfied with?
The volume of research that allowed me to explore a wide varieties of themes and ideas visually. In turn this allowed me a lot more experimental and varied in my image making process which has led to, not always brilliant but at least interesting artwork.
4. What areas for further development can you identify within your submission and how will you address these in the future?
The process of narrowing down my ideas definitely needs development in future so as to produce more concise and readable final outcomes. This is due to the fact that I think, given the brief, one of the main flaws my submission is that it isn't completely obvious what is going on within my images. I did purposefully try to create ambiguous imagery which was a risk I was willing to take as I felt it best conveyed the themes of my research. However I'm not 100 percent sure if it worked effectively.
5. How effectively are you making decisions about the development of your work? What strategies informs this decision making? I think, in terms of development I made decisions pretty quickly, choosing to follow up and produce work in response to a variety of different themes/research. However this did result in a difficult and laborious decision making process when putting together the final book as it was how to narrow down what did or didn't need to be in the book. Although this did result in me having to take a lot more time in the creation of a final outcome which a positive aspect.
6. How effectively have you managed this project and organised yourself during this module? This project has definitely been one of two halves in terms of organisation. With practical work and research I was very organised having carried it out more or less everyday for extended periods of time, even over the Christmas break. However I was not blogging as I was going due to the fact I definitely side tracked it due to how into my work I got a points. In hindsight this was pretty poor management on my part as it has resulted in several days of none stop work.
7.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.

·         A printed copy of this evaluation should be submitted with your work.

·         A copy of your end of module self evaluation should be posted to your studio practice blog. This should be the last post before the submission of work for this module and will provide the starting point for the assessment process.

·         You should also post a copy of your evaluation to your PPP blog as evidence of your own on going evaluation.

Notes / Comments for the Module Leader

Signature Christopher M Cooper

Date:22/01/16