Student name Katie L’Ala Student number 516985
Course/Module Illustration 1 Assignment number One

Overall Comments
This is a very good start to the course Katie. Although it’s evident you work well
digitally it’s still good to see you explore your ideas and visuals using a sketchbook.
Often this is a process that gets overlooked so keep it up!
Your response to the exercises and assignment are thorough and it’s clear you
have a good working methodology. For the final assignment consider pulling in
some additional research to support your ideas and development of the final
illustration.

Thank you, I have been trying to make the most out of using my sketchbook. I agree on the research and I will definitely try and incorporate more research into my learning log. 

You reflect well on the work of others offering up honest and observant comments
on the work. You are also able to reflect on your own images, relating to the brief
and audience. Although you mentioned you weren’t sure how to respond to the
assignment brief initially you have done a great job at somehow condensing lots of
information into a single image. This is not busy or overwhelming but
communicates your ideas in a subtle yet clear way. Well done, a very positive start!

Thank you, sometimes I find getting started the hardest part. I wanted to create something that expressed me and my interests whilst still being a ‘nice’ image and nothing cliche. 

Project: The History of Illustration
The first exercise explored how illustration has evolved over the last 50 years by
identifying and exploring the differences between a range of illustrators and
contemporary ones.
Some good observations of Kathleen Hale’s work as you talk about her imagery
and style and the feel of the drawings themselves. You draw good comparisons
discussing the difference in today’s contemporary illustrations that often rely on
the digital. You relate this to the target audience. It was good to see you cite
similarities between the two artists despite the obvious difference in style.

When thinking of a contemporary artist I knew I wanted to use Gemma Correll as an example due to the subject matter, in this case – cats!

Kathleen Hale Image:Great to see initial sketches and sketchbook pages showing the process you have undergone to get to the final painting. This is very competent and adopts both the colour way and media often used by Hale. It would be interesting to see your typical drawing style alongside this. Good reflection on the process and of course, the comparison to working digitally.

I agree – especially as this is some of the first work of the course – I was so focused on the other artists that I didn’t actually represent myself.

Gemma Correll Image:
Again, great sketchbook work as you perfect the cat drawings and the smaller
details like the eyes and nose. The captions are equally inspired! I think both
images show a clear observation of each artist’s technique and style, which you
have managed to replicate well, offering insight into the experience. A great start.
Good referencing of research and sources.

Thank you! 
Project: The Key is communication
The getting the gist exercise asked you to condense some chosen text into
keywords and then have a go at illustrating them.
This is a clever interpretation of the article, effectively utilising your research. There
is a clear working methodology as you analyse the article, create a mind map and
experiment with visuals research and sketches. Aside form this final idea; did any
others spring to mind? It would be good to perhaps see a few alternatives as well.
It’s clear from the commentary that you’ve used new tools and effects to help
develop your illustrations. These do work well to create the aesthetic you were
after and to tie the whole idea together.
Although the final illustrations do convey the idea some of the visuals on the
clothes themselves could be more apparent. For example, the sea and sand vest – I
initially read it as a cloud in the sky.

I definitely could have explored different ideas more I totally agree. I need to work on developing ideas and exploring techniques more before moving on to the final pieces. I agree about the visuals being more apparent as well – they are definitely quite subtle and could be more obvious.

Feedback on assignment
Assignment one asked you to create a greetings card that introduced yourself and
your work.It’s clear from the commentary you have lots of effective ideas, thinking of ways to combine your interests into one illustration. Clearly there are inspirations behind the ideas such as the ‘lady head’ and ‘gypsy head’ tattoo designs. Perhaps adding more research like this to the blog would help to show how these correlate to your own drawings in Procreate? Just remember to reference it so that sources of text or images are clear (use the Harvard System). Again, a good working method is clear using the mind map and then developing visuals in response to the ideas.
Your drawings skills are good and these are accentuated with the use of Procreate.
It’s interesting to see the development of the digital work too so having the screen
shots really helps as well as adding the digital images to the sketchbook to allow
you to reflect on the work.

Thank you, despite working digitally I do try and use it as if it is just like any other medium where I would reflect throughout and also develop ideas within my sketchbook.

The references in the image, using the tattoos together
with the fabric of the dress work really well. I agree that had you opted for the
items to be within the background this may have made the image too busy and
bitty. As it is, it’s contained and is a clever idea to portray a lot of information
without it feeling overwhelming.
The images on the dress itself are very subtle and so I am assuming that the key or
most important aspects are conveyed through the tattoos that are more
prominent. It’s an effective way to differentiate and add a sort of hierarchy to the
image. However, perhaps the images on the dress could be slightly more apparent
than they are?

Thank you, yes I definitely think they are not as important as the things portrayed by the tattoos. I agree with you about the dress design being more apparent – I will probably go back into the file and up the opacity to create a little more contrast there. I think because I was worried about the image being cluttered I was a little too cautious – it could definitely be bolder.

The nod to different traditional references, such as the hairstyle and
the dagger tattoo, are great and add another layer of depth and interest to the
image. What about the 1950s influence too? Are there key things that stand out for
you such as a particular designer or colours? This can also add to the research to
support your approach. The background pattern could be considered further. Did you try any alternatives? It feels quite different to your main image – do they work
together? Did you also try it without? Compare different versions to see which
would work best. Overall, this is a clever and effective illustration that develops well from the initial sketchbook work.

I agree with the comments on the background – in fact I quite struggle with background because I haven’t actually made a lot of them before. I tried a few different colours and brushes before settling on this one (I should have added more screenshots to the learning log). I think you are right and maybe the background for this doesn’t quite fit – I think I spent so much time on the actual figure that I didn’t give the background enough consideration.

Sketchbooks
Keeping sketchbooks and a learning log is an integral part of this and every other
OCA course, not only because they constitute 20% of your marks if you choose to
have your work formally assessed but they are also an excellent way to document
and reflect on your development.

You describe it as scruffy and a place to think out loud and this is great, it’s what
the sketchbook should be and I can clearly see you use it well to help initiate ideas
and develop these before progressing digitally. As the course progresses you may
want to use it to experiment more with different materials and techniques too.
These can always inform the digital process and would be interesting as a point of
comparison – which you have already touched on in the first exercise. What I also
think is very effective is printing out some of the images from Procreate to add to
the sketchbook as part of the process and to help you step back and reflect on the
work.

Thank you – as I say I just try and use procreate as I would any other medium – I still need a physical sketchbook to ‘think out loud’ other wise I would be stumped. I’m glad that it is okay, I think as long as the mess is contained in there it helps me create a more refined image in the end.

Learning Logs or Blogs / Critical essays
There is good critical commentary on the blog in both the exercises, where you
discuss and compare the two selected illustrators and of course, in your
assignment. You are able to reflect on the work and cast a critical eye over it in
order to develop and refine the image. For the final assignment work consider
pulling in some additional research to support some of your comments and
inspirations for the final illustration.

I agree with the research and will definitely try and incorporate more artist research as I go through the next part of illustration one. Thank you for the feedback, I will be definitely be referring back to it as I go on.