DVB102: Reflection – A1
Week one covered line and form creation methods. I've done painting before, so I knew these basics, but the negative space activity was new to me. I struggled to match the surrounding space's proportions to the topic without the subject being there.
Realistic illustrations of time were employed in Week 2. I've always liked realistic sketching, but before this session, I wasn't confident in my talents. I recorded an apple's physical changes after each bite for this week's homework. I found it hardest to note the changes and precisely show the apple's bite imprints. However, I am pleased with my final drawings and now understand how to blend hatching and outlining approaches to make an accurate picture.
Week 3 required creating a mini-comic strip to tell a story. Despite studying artwork and narrative via illustration, this was my first try at comic strips. I was bewildered and nervous when I heard about this week's objective, which was to come up with a compelling tale concept. Before sketching, I brainstormed the characters, surroundings, storyline, and resolve. This simplified the procedure. The narrative was easy to follow in the finished result. Although I'm happy with my work, I need to focus more on shading and use pen drawing methods like stippling and contour lines to produce more dynamic artwork.
Week 4 required choosing an environmental concern and creating two compelling posters to address it. Male (2017) states that graphic element positioning helps persuasive illustrations convey good ideas. This requires a targeted, straightforward approach. I attempted to produce concepts using basic graphic and visual components to minimize unnecessary complexity and clearly express action and message. Following color theory, I used a narrow complimentary color palette with warm and cold tones to contrast with tertiary colors (Krause, 2016). I like the digital and collage posters. I was new to collage poster making, and I struggled with picture layout and placement. This idea is interesting, and I want to use collage in my future work.
The fifth week was one of the most thrilling because I got to experiment with lino printing, a technique with which I had very little prior expertise. Not as easy as sketching with a pencil or pen, but also not as challenging as I had anticipated. The potential for waste and errors with lino printing was larger, so I had to be extra cautious and take a methodical approach for this one, making sure I resolved my thumbnail to the best of my abilities. Here, I had to consider blending and shadows while dealing with two opposing shades: white and black. In the end, I decided to make use of the image's remarkable contrast to bring attention to the environmental problem by giving a darker tone to the events of the previous week. Due to my confidence in its ability to convey the concept as is, I limited my digital alterations to the addition of colour and texture.
Finally, week 7 required a Lino print or digital self-portrait. I used week 5 methods to produce a digital poster for studio class due to time restrictions. Like a well-fined Lino print, I clarified the image's bright, dark, thick, and thin lines to guide my goldfish design. Just as in week 5, I had a great time translating the lino print into a digital medium and tweaking it for the week seven themes. To my mind, printed materials have an inimitable charm that digital reproductions just can't match.
Overall Reflection and Future Practice
One overriding idea has stuck with me from Week 2 through Week 7: the mutually beneficial connection between theory and practice. The theoretical principles presented in lectures and readings made it possible to comprehend the subtleties of visual narrative, composition, and technique. The notions, however, only came to life through actual use and testing.
The most difficult thing for me to overcome was the gap between classroom learning and actual application. It wasn't enough to just grasp the ideas; I had to put them into practice, make some errors, analyze what went wrong, and then adjust my strategy accordingly. This was a repetitive procedure that tested one's patience and determination.
Looking forward, I can see how much of an impact this experience will have on my career. The need for theory and practice to work together to inform and complement each other has been reaffirmed. As I go deeper into the field of visual communication, I want to adopt a more all-encompassing viewpoint. I will welcome experimentation as a bridge between theory and practice, and I will hold onto criticism as a tool for development.
In conclusion, the time span between Weeks 2 and 7 has been one of profound personal growth. My appreciation of visual storytelling has grown, and the need to combine theory and practice has been driven home. This introspective trip will pave the way for my future professional activities, where I expect theory and practice to continue to converge and develop.
Reference
Krause, A. (2016). The Principles of Color Theory.Top of Form
Male, A. (2017). Illustration : A theoretical and contextual perspective (Second edition.). Bloomsbury Visual Arts, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
