The Design Workflow, and From Novice to Expert

(Sorry for the late posts. These have all been on Word files, or waiting for scanning.)


My design workflow - goes like this 99.9% of the time.

From novice to expert - where would I place myself?

Knowledge:
I'd say I'm competent in my illustrative knowledge. Taking a Foundation course definitely helped me with using different media and viewing illustration itself in a different light, and in doing so I developed a whole new knowledge for the subject. I keep up with illustration today with my subscription to Varoom magazine, browsing different illustration sites and blogs, and paying attention to advertisements and editorial pieces.

Standard of Work:
I would place myself between competent and proficient on this one. At A-level I received a 'B', and my Foundation course gave me a 'Pass'. During my time in Foundation and in the early stages of my degree, I have received positive feedback from tutors and peers and learnt how to use different media with skill. In my sketchbooks, I work fairly neatly (partly organisation, partly for aesthetic reasons) and develop and refine my work in there as well as on 'test dummy' pieces.

'Test dummies' of a finished piece

Looking at what works and what doesn't in my RVJ

Autonomy:
'Competent' is my rating here, as I like to have guidance from tutors and peers while developing my own ideas. How much help or 'prodding in the right direction' depends on the brief: if it is an area of illustration that I lack sufficient knowledge in, I am likely to speak more with my tutors in order to fully understand what is being asked of me before I research. Even later on in the time scale of a project, I like to have periods of discussion with the tutor or with my peers to show them my work, and to bounce ideas on where to take it next.

And finally ... perception of context:
I would place myself as being proficient here. Although early on in the brief I experiment, all of them are possibilities for the final outcome. Once I seize onto an idea, everything I do then revolves around getting that idea across in the final outcome whether it's a different execution or a different media - only very rarely do I go with something else (if I do, there's a very good reason for it). I keep the brief in mind when I draw, and my number one rule is to keep within it and to go forward - even if it means limiting my own freedom as an illustrator. Sometimes I think I 'overdo' this - especially as it was a major critique I received in my Foundation course (that I was too fixated on the end-product).