Final Major Project - Fictional band - Deliver: Unit 12/13

 Final Major Project - Fictional Band:

Deliver - Evaluation of project

Now that my fictional band project has reached its conclusion, I will take this opportunity to look back and reflect on my approaches and processes throughout the project. 

First and foremost, I feel this has been my most successful project to date. Upon reflecting on my initial proposal document, most of my self-designated aims have been achieved - I created a series of character designs using my skills in illustration; I developed a synopsis detailing the background of the characters and the world they live in; I created a collection of physical promotional materials to support these characters and narrative; and throughout this process I gathered both primary and secondary research sources to support my creative decisions. However, there are also aspects of this project that I found challenging, and some processes and outcomes did not turn out the way I had initially hoped or expected. 

Regarding my research, I feel I gathered a reasonable amount and variety of primary and secondary research - some of which were decided in my proposal, others which I discovered in my creative process. My research spanned from books and online written sources to gallery, Ravensbourne facility, and live event visits - all of which fed into informing my creative choices in either the character designing, logo designing, narrative writing, or asset development. However, I do feel I could have expanded on these research sources further. I believe the project would have benefitted from further music-themed secondary sources (such as podcasts or films); further artistic direction research (I only researched one illustrator through this project, I feel I could have expanded my knowledge of illustration by analysis more artists); and more general research (surrounding artistic methods, such as life drawing or narrative development). On reflection, I feel I focused heavily on the development stage more than the research stage. This was because I felt I had overestimated my creative capabilities in the fixed time restraints of the project. To prevent this from happening in the future, I plan on better utilising a project schedule - actively setting myself goals and deadlines and allowing for buffer time. This would support me in both my research stage and development stage, as I would have a clear outline of the time I could feasibly spend on each section of a project - helping to balance the amount of research I collect with the time I spend creating my own work. 

I also feel I was very self-isolated, and tunnel visioned during the development project. Where in my initial proposal I had planned to frequently liaise with my peers to help me reflect on my process, I feel I only did this a couple of times and instead pushed on with my own immediate ideas and decisions. As much as I am still pleased with the processes and outcomes I generated through this project, I feel I could have experimented more in my development stage. I could have practised using other methods of illustration besides digital drawing, I could have experimented more with shape language in my character designs, and I could have experimented more with other ideas before settling on each decision (what if the band members where different or had different goals? What if they had a different genre or colour theming? what if they weren't a band at all? etc.) All of which would have been a lot more productive and expansive if I had gathered more first hand research from my peers, tutors, and online surveys/forums. 

On reflection of my final outcomes, I feel that each asset I created is of a consistently high quality, each of which all share elements of the same visual language - helping to better link the individual assets together as one collective outcome rather than separate components. I feel the most successful outcome is the vinyl record sleeve that I designed and had printed via an online printing service. Using my knowledge of both illustration and design (using programs CSP and Photoshop) I managed to create an authentic front and back cover for a debut 7" LP - featuring relevant information and again maintaining the fictional band's designated visual language. The print I received was of high quality and a professional standard, and I feel I made the correct creative decision to outsource the printing of this asset rather than make one in-house - as anything I made myself with my limited knowledge of product design would have a prototype look, rather than a professional finish. The t-shirt prints were also successful, however in future I feel I could spend more time making test prints and testing other materials - as one print came out a different colour than intended, and the other burned the t-shirt material. This knowledge will benefit me in future projects as I know now that heat-press printing requires practise and experimentation to achieve the highest quality results. My stickers were another success; however, I feel I treated this outcome as an afterthought - only using one design for every sticker. If I was to revisit either this project or the sticker printing process, I would experiment with creating different sticker designs and different cut shapes to achieve more varied outcomes. I feel my poster achieved what it was supposed to represent, actively promoting the fictional band's debut gig. However, I could have experimented more with colour and placement - as well as adding on more key information such as social media links and ticket purchase points. I feel these experiments would have encouraged me to further push my creative practise and possibly achieve a more refined outcome - one that felt more decisive and less crowded compositionally. Finally, my visualiser/animatic outcome again achieves what I had planned. It provides an engaging visual to an audial experience of the band's debut single. I did, however, realise upon uploading the video that I had accidentally shifted the positioning of the drummer when animating the logo in After Effects. This leads to the drummer character being hidden behind another character, and imbalances the overall composition. On reflection, I will review my finished work more attentively before moving on to the next asset development. 

Overall, I feel the project has been a success in achieving my initial proposed ideas. I have learned much from the process - such as colour theory, the importance of composition and balance, how to better use the programs Photoshop, Illustrator, and After Effects, and how to use various printing facilities for a variety of materials. To improve on this project further, I would gather more varied primary and secondary research, experiment more in my development, frequently review my schedule and proposal to ensure I am meeting my own deadlines and goals, and have a more attentive and critical look at each of my outcomes before moving on to the next (to ensure I haven't made any unnoticed mistakes).