Visual Narratives: Module Evaluation

Initially in this module I sought to cover a variety of research methods. I found that non-visual responses to the environment such as observational note-taking and fact gathering were most effective in highlighting avenues of personal interest. I found architectural history most intriguing, as I initially hoped to focus on the supposed secret floor of the Royal Armouries, or Otley Courthouse. I found it challenging to produce large volumes of photography, this however lead to creating collages which I felt suggested depth of space to a greater extent than any singular snap-shot. I did not struggle with producing large quantities of raw data, it was the developmental stages that brought confusion and a rapid succession of directional changes. Paradoxically, I think that this early conflict of ideas resulted in a project that I was more passionate about, once I settled on the concept of Bramhope tunnel I became enthralled by the history of the structure.

Through the developmental stages of study and source material generation I have formalised my process of character and narrative design. The latter of which was structured by the use of story-boarding and miniature thumb-nailing, this not only allowed be to test ordering but also the actual framing and layout of each scene. Storyboarding also allowed me to combine the factual information that I had gathered through historical literature, and the visual material I had created from contextual reference material.

Though I have briefly referred to practitioners during the project, I now find that there were a hoard of illustrators which were highly relevant to my book, and thus regret not spending more time applying what I have learned through my PPP investigations.
I have become quite familiar with fine-liners, and during this project I have strived to involve other materials, such as charcoal and coloured brush pens. But primarily I have discovered a new method of Photoshop manipulation which I had not considered before, by using the channels I can now change the colouration of any monotone linear drawings.

I was initially quite liberal in applying structured time expenditure. And though I am content with the quantity of research and development, perhaps a consistent attention to time would have resulted in a much larger variety of testing and quantity of material. In the last three weeks of the project I used my diary to plan time usage, which resulted in the completion of my project with time to spare for documentation and the alleviation of stress, thus serving as a testimonial for time management, which I shall continue in future.

I rather think the book is successful, and it was generally well received, but it was not without numerous faults in execution; the trimming resulted in distress to the back cover, the typeface contrasts poorly against the archaic themes and the colouration is inconsistent. I am not entirely content with the highlighting, as it appears to strong, and perhaps a lower opacity and improved brush texture would have resolved that.