Evaluation

When selecting four different topics to write about, I tried to select the ones that not only sparked an initial interest, but also subjects that would most influence my own illustration work and what I want my work to say in the future.

The essay that I was most interested in yet also struggled with most was the Gender and Representation topic. At first I found it hard to focus on one aspect of this topic, as I feel like there is so much to analyse and discuss. In an original version of my essay I attempt to cover too much, trying to discuss both 1950s American romance comics and then jump to discussing graphic novels such as ‘Persopolis’ and ‘Fun Home’. In the end I decided to direct my attention onto just the romance comics and focused on researching America in the 1950s.

Word as Image was my last essay to write, and I feel that my research for it was very sparse. If I had allowed myself more time then I would have liked to research sign painting and look into folk art and outsider art, as those are aspects of art that I am deeply interested in. For the practical exercise I would have like to explore lettering and sign painting, recreating already existing shop fronts. However I am pleased with the outcome of this essay, I decided instead to focus on illustrators such as Jonny Hannah and Sarah Finelli. I think out of all of the illustrations created for the essays I enjoyed producing this one the most.

For the constraint essay I was pleased that I had already created the artwork necessary in the theory lecture. After researching the OuBaPo I discovered an image that I would have liked to recreate if I had enough time, where an OuBaPo artist had retold a story from Tin Tin using stamps. I think utilising constraints is extremely beneficial and an interesting way to work, and it is something I would like to explore further in my future illustration projects.

Lastly I am pleased with the artwork I produced for the Anthropomorphism essay, and I think I managed to analyze each illustration accurately and link it back to the research I have done, and have pinpointed where the artwork could be used. I feel that the fact that the only research I have for this essay  is from TV tropes lets me down, however I feel that the research stems more from the work produced rather than from pre- existing sources. If I could have done more research I would have liked to look into children’s book characters and early examples of anthropomorphisation such as Aesop’s fables or Rudyard Kipling’s ‘Just so Stories.’

Although the topics I selected interested me and I have found certain things that I would like to investigate further in the future, I think my research into each subject could have been more solid, instead I heavily relied on the sources already provided us, such as TV Tropes.