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Evaluation

Self Assessment

Botanical Storytelling is an important project for me as the whole point of the project was to fully explore a brief without the need for a final outcome. The focus is on the process which I tend to lose sight of when doing projects. I avoid the trial and error of experimenting by coming up with one Idea that I follow through with for the entire project. However, this project got me to be more open to ideas as I didn’t need to worry about a final piece.   

During botanical storytelling I used many techniques and materials, some I had never used before. One of these was collagraph prints, which I enjoyed the process of. By doing all sorts of things to the card like adding different kinds of tape, tissue paper and cutting into it resulted in a different texture when printed. I found that the print always came out best on the second print as the first had just that bit too much ink, thus leading to flat colours rather than any defined texture. I also dappled in 3D with my mushroom forest diorama, using collage an photoshop alongside it. Using the game Spore I attempted basic 3D moddeling n a computer, and the result was quite successful.  

I started with researching artists that fit within the industry I chose for this project. I ended up with three – Hayao Miyazaki, Chris Ofili and Weke studio. Using their art as a base I explored various techniques and implemented them into ideas. Out of the three, Weke studio has probably influenced me the least, despite them being the most interesting when it comes to techniques/materials. They work with movies to make special effects/ animations /concept art etc. Inspired by their 3D modeling, I used a game called Spore to make a 3D model of the aliens in the movie District 9, which is one Weke studio worked on. The model I made was fairly detailed considering what it was made with and is probably an avenue I would explore in future projects or the FMP. I could use the 3D modeling offered in Spore to explore an idea further in a 3D space or planning out a how to make a physical model.  

Chris Ofili’s work has carried on the most throughout the project, particularly the watercolour as I have used it for backgrounds and creating mushrooms in a more illustrative style. I also took inspiration from his more vibrant pieces, the ones that use pointillism, to create my own painting in my sketchbook. The outcome of it was not successful in my opinion when compared to other stuff I was producing. With the pointillism painting, I was inspired by the mushrooms I created with the watercolour bleeding technique which I thought looked quite psychedelic. Using that as a base I created the painting, with the idea behind being that if I followed through with the idea I could make a poster for drug use/ awareness. 

Though the art of Miyazaki hasn’t carried over, I have used the magical feel from his work for the mushroom forest and mushroom shrine – with the mushroom shrine taking inspiration from his art on the sea of decay from Nausicaä and the valley of the wind. One missed opportunity was that I could’ve drawn the mushroom forest diorama I made in the style of a Ghibli movie background, maybe including the mushroom shrine idea.  

Something I really need to consider further when entering new projects is to consistently look back at artists and research further, especially when stuck on where to drive the project next. This would avoid stagnation and improve the quality of my work. I need to remember that research is cyclical. Extending my research would allow me to create unique and well-developed ideas.  

This project was all about storytelling and that is an aspect I should improve on in the future. I believe that I have not delved into the narrative part of this project well enough. There were points where I think story shined through, such as with the whole mirror/ reflection world I thought of near the start and at the end with the use of orange backgrounds I started to use for images from my mushroom forest diorama.  

Over the course of the botanical storytelling project, I have done many things that I am proud of. One of these things is that I have been more independent with the direction I went in, not relying on my tutors as much to tell me what to do. All I need to do now is to continue and improve at this skill and I will be ready for uni. However, I still struggle to communicate my project and ideas to tutors and peers to start a conversation about it and discuss possible avenues to explore. 

The most successful product of this project was the mushroom forest diorama. The result is very magical and echos the feeling of one of Miyazaki's works. In future projects, creating small scenes is something to think about as it produces effective results. When putting it together, I could’ve been neater when applying the superglue as there are parts on the rock when the glue has run down, leaving a shiny trail. To push the diorama idea further I took photos and created colleges both physically and digitally. Some photos I took with my phone which allowed me to get closer and take photos from the vantage point of someone within this forest. If I were to continue developing this idea, I would’ve looked further into environmental design as I believe that’s where this mushroom forest idea was heading. What I wish I had done was paint/ draw a more developed version of this mushroom forest idea using  photoshop.

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