Reflection

How has your research influenced the planning and creation of your promotional materials including your UCAS Personal Statement?

During the development of my portfolio, I conducted research that would inform my choices, layout, and design of my products. I was able to use this as a guide for my personal UCAS statement, as it presented me with opportunities on the direction I want to progress into within my career, and how the course has developed my skills and interests from this. In terms of my skills, I reflected on my strengths and weaknesses, highlighting my areas in which I feel most confident, gave me talking points as to why I believe I was a great fit for my chosen course, and my abilities I could provide while studying. Further to this, I looked into job prospects within the industry, giving me a focus for the type of specialism I would continue to develop into after university, including what experience and education it requires. 

Additionally, I looked into a variety of universities, identifying both their strengths and weaknesses. Establishing this helped me make my choices for my application into university, and be sure on the education and overall facilities that would be available to me. This also determined when their open days were, so I could visit myself, and knew of this in preparation for the dates. Finally, my research on my portfolio provider, really shaped my overall presentation, and how I wanted this to look. I studied both professional and student portfolios, their differences, and what really intrigued me and drew attention to their work. I was also able to recognize the differences in professional and non-professional, and how they lack idea generation of products, whereas universities look for this to show that you  are able to think about the changes and the development your artwork can progress into. When writing my personal statement, this information formed the main body of talking points, I was able to discuss the direction I plan on heading into after university, and using my knowledge within this course to explain why I am suitable for the type of experience you need within it, and the future games development industries.

Reflect on your learning and skills – What have you done and why you have done it?

Reflecting on my skills, I have improved massively using the software, but also the work processes that both 2D and 3D artists use when creating their work. During my two years, I  planned and tracked the development of my work, and built upon this as I progressed and generated new ideas. I learnt techniques such as photo-bashing and silhouetting, that are used to layer images and create initial sketches and concepts. Throughout these years I’ve experimented with different perspectives, such as isometric, using both pixel and traditional art. At the beginning of the year, my knowledge was very little in Adobe Photoshop, but now I am able to use settings such as clipping masks, and effectively use filtering and grid maps to speed up the design process. Additionally to this, my 3D modelling was limited to basic shapes, but now I am able to successfully create advanced models virtually independently, this method was not only helpful to my 3D art creations, but also my 2D, as I was able to use block-outs as an effective way to create 2D artwork in a 3 dimensional position. 

Most of my projects have used 2D traditional art, as this is what I have progressed in the most, as well as what i’m most confident in. I’ve used a variety of different themes and genres to base my projects direction, which has only opened me up to thinking outside the box on the type of artwork I can produce. I have worked using genres such as Nautical, Fantasy, Western, Science Fiction etc, which has given me the opportunity to produce a range of different artwork that varies in style and theme, which I believe is much more interesting for my portfolio, and my set of skills. With more practice, I plan on developing my skills in both Auto-desk Maya and 3DS Max, to improve my 3D modelling, and may experiment further using Substance Designer and Substance Painter, as I enjoyed working with this type of software. 

Sum up your ongoing evaluations/opinions/reflections/ that you documented during the project?

Studying my research gathered for university, was an important aspect in making my decision for where I want to go, and giving me information about the accommodations, finances, and what you will be studying. I applied for game art, as this way I wasn’t limited to only concept and 2D art, but also 3D modelling, which is an aspect I want to explore further. I found that I liked the look of Staffordshire, Herfordshire, and Brighton the most, as these courses showed areas of interest for me. I found that I liked the study of Staffordshire and Hertfordshire, and Brighton was a city I had always loved, which I believe to be equally important. These became the choices for me, once I found that these courses focus towards both 2D and 3D games art. I also conducted some portfolio research, looking at which sites are best to host my work online. At first I wanted to use my own website on WordPress, but this changed to Art-station once I found out I may not receive as many views, and Art-Station is easy to access during the interview process. 

What Promotional work do you feel has worked well and what did not work well? What could you do to improve your work

Looking at my portfolio, I believe I have made significant progress in my concept art production, during the start of the year, I wasn’t aware of proportion of not only environments, but also characters. Within my work I have been able to study more closely life drawing of people, and working more with my traditional sketches as well as my digital. I have improved my 3D modelling from the beginning of the year, and expanded my knowledge in software such as Substance Painter, as well as Substance Designer, which I am now gaining a strong interest within. These range of skills for concept art, 3D modelling and texturing in a range of different software, makes me more likely to be accepted into university, as they are looking for people who have experience for a range of industry standard software, and a willingness to learn these skills in my own time. 

In addition to this, the creation of my personal statement was challenging at first, as I had to make many changes before it was ready for submission. I had problems with wording, as I wanted to over complicate my English so I sounded professional, although realized this had the opposite effect, as UCAS were looking for clear standard English, so I had to change this so it was clear and professional, but not over the top. Overall I was happy with the production of this, as I believed it really highlighted my skills and experiences throughout this course, as well as highlighting what I will bring to the university if I was accepted. 

Reflect on peer and tutor feedback

Lastly, we didn’t need a large portion of peer feedback for this project, so reflecting on my tutors I can see I mostly need to stay on track, and ensure that I keep to the same quality of work in each section. I was sometimes falling in some sections, so I will work on keeping this consistent in my future projects, I will also make sure I am including a range of research from both primary and secondary sources, to show that I am collecting ideas from different places. 

What have you learnt during this project?

During this project, I have learnt the foundations of what universities I am applying too, and the requirements that are involved in getting there. From this, I was able to determine what I needed to include to create a high quality portfolio. Additionally to this, I looked at the differences between a student and professional portfolio, and realized that for most universities it was important to include design and sketching rather than just finished pieces.