Practice and Research - Exercise: Feedback Point 7

Are you meeting the aims and intentions of your project plan?

Where I am at now, compared to my original project plan, is very different. That does not necessarily mean worse. In my experience it is more important to be adaptable, and be able to change your plans based on what you learn as you go.

In that regards, I think that I have been successful. My aim and intention was to try and identify what made my illustrations 'mine', so that I could then refine that identity in the future to create a commercially successful portfolio of work. I thought at the start that I could achieve that portfolio as part of this unit. However, my tutor's feedback made me realise it was more important to hone in on the practice aspect of this unit first.

Are there areas you need to focus on as you work towards completion?

There are areas that I need to focus on, and areas that I would like to focus on. I need to ensure that my Critical Review is in a good place, and I believe that I have now done a sufficient amount of research and wider reading to make that artefact successful. I also need to give myself time and space to adequately take stoke and plan for the future.

This unit has had a number of unexpected and consequential interruptions. The extended timeframe in and of itself can become something that could, if unchecked, negatively impact my wellbeing. Now that I am regaining a sense of certainty about my fiscal future, I am better place to re-plan how my work and studies co-exist in the future (and what that future could look like!).

Have you received feedback that has pushed your ideas in unexpected ways, if so, how are you taking these forward?

I think my preconceived ideas about what this unit would look like were challenged my my tutor's feedback. It actually felt like a bit of a relief to give myself the permission to focus on my worldbuilding project. Despite everything, I am still excited about it (and excited about working more in that area professionally).

I have come to realise that this niche has given me an opportunity to explore and practice a very wide range of skills (something I will reflect more on in the future). I am also thinking about how I could explore the world I have created in different ways in the next unit, so that it fleshes out the world and is a source of ideas and stories.

Not exactly feedback, the final twist is my change in job. It will put different pressures and constraints on my time, but it is also an opportunity to explore a sector I had not considered before. This feels like a wonderful opportunity to put my visual communication skills into practice, and develop the 'portfolio career' I was always looking for - having different illustration personas for different bodies of work. My new job makes that more viable and clear-cut than it did in the past, and I am keen to see where it could take me.

What kind of conversation is there between your practice and research? How do they inform one another?

The first thing that I think about when reading that question is that I am very interest-driven. It's become important for me to have a focus that sparks inquiry and ingenuity alike. With my Mostly Harmless Adventures project, the nature of the project directed me to what I needed to know and create. When I realised I needed a map, I could utilise my strong research skills to investigate cartography.

Once I had created my first map, my skills improved enough that creating a new map was not a daunting prospect. And with the practice of that second map, I learned so much through experimentation that informed me about my sense of taste and preference, allowing me to start assimilating specific aspects into a style that managed to combine disparate elements.

As that style emerged more, it navigated me more clearly to what else needed to be created to make that book a success, as well as informing how I should go about doing the work. It also sent me 'back' showing me where I could revise previous aspects to create a more cohesive final product. I hope to be able to make some of those informed revisions before the end of Feedback Point 10.

What might you want to do differently?

I would like to have been able to avoid all of the pain and stress that has come with the uncertainty and loss brough on by unemployment. I do acknowledge that most of that was out of my control, and I did my best to focus on what I could control - looking for work. The biggest thing I would have done differently is apply for the deferral sooner. The stress of trying to look for work whilst also feeling the guilt about not making progress with the coursework was unbearable. If I had put in for deferral sooner, I could have compartmentalised the stress more effectively, and not have needed to seek a further extension.

I am still very poor at realising when I need help, and asking for it. I am not sure exactly what I can do to improve that right now - but I hope that if I can remain aware of this area of weakness, I will in time improve my responses to it.