Evaluation of Term 2

Overall, during the second term of the second year at University I have learned a lot about my personal style and preferred way of working. The projects that I have initiated myself have all ended up being based on watercolour. This has been what my second year is all about and I believe I have progressed not only in using the media, but inventing new styles which challenge my abilities as an illustrator. I believe I have taken risks in the sense that I have trusted traditional techniques to make my work professional rather than relying on digital medias to 'touch up' my traditional work.

This term has demonstrated my progression with watercolour and I can see this developing even further in the future and into the third year of University. However, I am still open to other techniques and developments to experiment and challenge myself even more.

Difficulties I have come across include accepting the lack of feedback at the end of the Innovation project brief. This knocked my confidence greatly and I felt that I was unable to progress with that particular work any longer until a new project was initiated. I have found the last year extremely hard with aspects of my personal life disrupting my motivation to do well in my academic life. This is something I want to, and am currently working on. I believe that a positive outlook on life will allow me to take more risks and improve my illustration skills greatly.

However, positives of this term include my new found love of watercolour and my relationship with the media. I have learned to take risks when painting for example, painting straight onto paper without sketching the drawing out first. Also, I am continuing to learn how to control the medium to create what I have envisioned rather than relying on 'happy accidents'. General good points would include myself being more open to the art world as a professional career and getting myself out there more. I am starting to view my work in a more professional setting and stepping out of my comfort zone. Dealing with the missing Malaysia Airline flight MH370 has also allowed my illustration to mature greatly compared with previous projects.

In my third year I hope to continue to develop my own personal style and narrow down a route into illustration which I am passionate about. I will work on being positive to enable me to achieve goals and set high targets. I need to improve the rate in which I work and learn to create illustrations at a quicker pace, perhaps setting myself shorter targets/ briefs. Third year will be all about getting my work out there more, self-promotion and becoming a professional. It is important that I have a strong mind set when I leave University so I can accomplish my dream, to be a successful illustrator known all over the world.

Let's see what next year has to offer!