Instagram - Leah Goren

I came across these little pattern drawings by Leah Goren on the suggested feed when browsing Instagram. Pattern is something I am interested in trying out, as I never really have but really love looking at it. These are a good example of how a repeat pattern could be made up of similar little drawings, and doesn't have to be pin-neat or geometric. It is also a good example of exhaustive drawing; if these weren't intended to be patterns, they could be an exploration of how you can draw one thing in lots of different ways; something I need to do more of! 

Writing these lists definitely helps unscramble my head a bit of the things I want to get better at. Seeing them on paper also makes me want to sort them out more as they are simplified, straight to the point and staring me in the face. Listing is always a good way of starting something and getting on with it!

10 THINGS I WILL DO:

1. I will draw more outside of my projects

2. I will find projects outside of uni and take part in them e.g. print fairs and competitions

3. I will get better at waking up in the morning by going to bed earlier

4. I will make lunch and stop buying sandwiches

5. I will go and see more new places around Britain/world

6. I will improve my digital skills (Photoshop, Illustrator) by practicing them whenever I can

7. I will get better at balancing my free time and work time

8. I will make my work sessions more productive by planning what I want to do before I do it

9. I will use the college resources more e.g. the print rooms and library

10. I will increase and improve my visual research for each project, as it definitely helps make final pieces better. 

Self-Promoting Poster

I found this task pretty hard; again, it's difficult to be self promoting!! I think it's because I feel like I still have loads to learn before I can start promoting myself as an actual 'illustrator'. I just tried to focus on what I am actually generally pretty good at, which is colour and being sociable. I chose to work in brush and ink, which is a media I feel comfortable with and feel I can work well with. However, I chose to add colour on Photoshop, which thinking about it was a weird choice for self promotion as I'm still pretty new to it. 

Superheroes!

This is the portrait of me drawn by Joe, based on our conversations about my mindmap and other things that make me 'what I am'. I found it weirdly embarrassing trying to explain to another person what I think my good and bad traits are; it's something I think not many people are used to openly talking about in depth! It kind of makes me look like a crazy cat loving, beery mutant, but hey ho.

It was a fun task and a bit more relaxed than the focused nature of the mindmap. I also feel like I got to have a proper chat with one of my classmates that I never really had before, which is always good!

Mindmap: What I have learned

This is my visual mindmap based on last session and the information I gathered from it. Even though I had 'Information is Beautiful' to refer to, I still found this task quite difficult! I found I was focusing too much on what a visual mindmap actually is, rather than what I have actually been learning. I generally find it easier to explain myself through writing, so I decided to write first and draw visual symbols off of the writing. I also tried to incorporate different colours into the mindmap, as colour coding information is something I find really helps organise information on a page so it can be read easier. It's pretty basic, but I like it! It is useful to look back upon this and see collectively the main things I have developed in over the past few months; it's quite refreshing!