Exposure Reflection

For this module I completed my book and got it professionally printed. All the research and developmental work from the Encounter module enabled me to create a book that effectively communicates and engages with people. It also allowed me to make something that teaches people about dementia and encourages them to think differently about those who are affected by it. I think that even though my book is fully illustrated it appeals to both adults and children because of the bright colourful illustrations and the empathetic text. However, I think that because it is such a specific book it would only reach a limited audience, friends and family of those with dementia. This is why I also chose to make GIFs to teach people about vascular dementia. The GIFs are intended for a wider audience as they could be seen and shared on social media, which has a very broad reach.

During Exposure I have also been able to focus on the professional aspect of my practice. I have had many lectures and workshops on how to be a freelance illustrator, something I am interested in doing. I have found these workshops extremely useful as I now feel more prepared to do this because of the advice that I have been given. I have also been able to develop things like my website, professional portfolio and creative CV. Doing this has also helped me to feel prepared and more confident about what my skills are as an illustrator. By creating a website and professional portfolio I have learnt about editing my work, choosing the pieces of work that show my skills and what my work can do. It has also helped me to consider how I professionally present myself as an illustrator, by creating my own ‘brand’ I have been able to explore what I can use to convey my personality through my website professional portfolio and cv. By creating a CV I have had to think about what my skills are and what makes me different from other illustrators. This has helped me to gain confidence in my practice and abilities.

As part of this module I have also had to complete a number of live applications. I think that this has really helped to encourage to take the next step to become a ‘professional illustrator’. I contacted the Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia Friendly Barry , Jessica Kingsley Publishers and the HeARTh Gallery as part of this process. From doing this I have received interest in my work and valuable feedback from people who specialise in teaching others about dementia. This feedback has shown me that my work does communicate the things that I made it to do, and that it can be used to help others.

Another part of this module, exhibiting my work in a group show, has also helped me to think about how to present my work in different ways. My work was not made for exhibition but it has been valuable to learn how to take something that wasn’t made for this and to adapt it and think about it in new ways to make it appropriate for this purpose. I also found that presenting my work in a group show was an important experience as it makes you think about your work in relation to others even if they are completely different projects. It helps you to think about your work both conceptually and aesthetically.

Degree Show Exhibition

For the show I wanted to exhibit my book and GIFs from my project about dementia. I wanted to attract attention by having big images on the walls so I used a spread from my book and got it printed as stickers. I thought that having Enid in large scale on the wall would make people notice her. One of the main points made in by book and GIFs is to see the person, not the dementia so I thought that by having Enid in such an eye catching place, this message would be made even clearer. I got some text printed as a sticker that would also help to reinforce this message. I also chose to have the goblin present on one of the walls, however, I thought that he should be quite small in comparison to Enid to not take away from the message that people should focus on her and not the dementia. I painted the walls yellow to make my work stand out and to fit with the bright colours in my GIFs and book. I also think that the yellow draws people in as its such a vibrant, welcoming colour. I placed my book on an aqua coloured plinth as I wanted my work to be accessible to as many people as possible, so by separating my book from the GIFs slightly it makes it easier for more than one person to get to my work.

I think that my work works well with the surrounding pieces from other people as we all have bright colourful work with colour palettes that go well together. I enjoyed being part of making a group show as it was interesting to see how my work responds to others. However, I also found it frustrating at times, as with any group project, not all members of the group contribute.

GIFS

To go with my book about vascular dementia I created three GIFs that also teach people about the condition. I made GIFs as I thought they could reach a wider audience than the book as they could be shared on social media.

The first GIF explains how vascular dementia can be caused. It introduces a fictional character, Debbie, and explains how vascular dementia can be caused by a stroke or series of small strokes. The GIF illustrates a stroke in a metaphorical way, using the goblin that represents dementia. The GIF is colourful and simple so that it appeals to a wide audience including children.

The second GIF explains that people with dementia can often act out of character and do and say things that they don’t mean. This is an aspect of dementia that people don’t really consider and it’s something that I think more people need to know about.

The third and final GIF explains to people that dementia can affect the body physically, weakening the limbs which makes it difficult to do normal things. This GIF uses the goblin again in a playful way to communicate this message.

I made the GIFs using procreate on my tablet. I drew everything digitally as this would make it easier to animate. I used watercolour brushes to mimic the materials used to make my book. I also used the same colour palette as I wanted it to be clear that the GIFs and the book are from the same series of work. I wanted them to relate to each other. I used photoshop to animate the GIFs.

The GIFs are intended for a wider audience than the book as they could be seen and shared on social media, which has a very broad reach. I wanted to make them playful in order for them to appeal to children but I also wanted them to convey a serious message. I think that my GIFs work because they do this, they inform people in an engaging way. To improve them, I think that the animation itself could be improved, but this could also take away from their charm. I also think that I could make another GIF that introduces the goblin as dementia, this cold then help children to understand this metaphor.

I think that the first GIF works well to teach people about vascular dementia and strokes in a simple but effective way. I think that even though it is a serious topic, the use of the goblin and humour helps people to take more notice of what all the GIFs are saying. I think that the idea of introducing a specific person and giving their name helps to reinforce the message at the end, see the person, not the dementia. To improve the GIFs I think that using the same methods I used for the book to create the artwork would help to have a more coherent visual language between the book and the GIFs, I think that the playful nature of the goblin helps to make the serious messages more understandable and approachable. I do think that the focus on the goblin in the GIFs could take away from the message that focuses on the people but I think this could also help to show that most people do focus on the dementia rather than the person.

 

Professional Practice – Live Application

As part of the professional practice live application I contacted Jane from Dementia Friendly Barry with some spreads form my book. She then set up a meeting with Renae a nurse and dementia champion.  The point of the meeting was for Renae to give me some feedback on my book, I wanted to know what she thought of it and if the information was accurate.

Renae thought that my book worked well to teach people about the other side effects of dementia as she too thought that people tend to focus on the memory loss aspect. She also thought that it was good that my book explained that there is different types of dementia and that it focused on explaining that people with dementia are still people, they are still themselves.

Renae thought that the bright colours and images would make the book appeal to children and she said that she could see parents going through the book with their child to help explain what dementia is.

From this meeting I now know that the information is accurate, however Renae explained that some of the tips for dealing with certain symptoms in the book may not work for everybody which is something I could consider stating in the book somewhere.

Renae also thought that the parts of the book about Enid’s memories and hobbies helps to show that people with dementia have accomplished things and they are still people that should be treated with respect and empathy.

This meeting helped to show me that my book does what I intended it to do, it informs people about the lesser known affects of dementia and it hopefully encourages people to re-think how they see people with dementia and how people with dementia see themselves.

Finished Book

After making improvements to the pages I finished my book and sent it off for print.

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I am pleased with how the book turned out, the print is of a good quality and all the illustrations look how they are supposed to. I think the uncoated paper works really well with the bold, bright colours.

I think that the book communicates what it was intended to in a clear and simple way. I think that it is effective at showing people the other symptoms of dementia and that people with dementia are still themselves, they are not defined by their diagnosis. I think the bright colours and simplicity of the book make it appeal to children however I think it is a book that a parent would need to read with a child rather than a child read it alone. I think that the text communicates effectively and encourages people to empathise with those that have dementia, allowing them to understand how they can feel. I think that the illustrations along with the text allow the reader to get to know Enid, demonstrating that people with dementia are still people, they have thoughts and feelings and they have accomplished things. These are things that I feel are often forgotten when someone is diagnosed with dementia.

To improve my book I could add some more suggestions and tips on how to cope with some of the symptoms listed in the story. I think this would help people and give them some hope that dementia doesn’t have to be so negative. I could also explain how dementia causes some of these symptoms to help people better understand the disease and what is happening to their friend or relative. I think that this could be important information to include as this is something else that people don’t really know about dementia. I think I could also improve the book by including more about Enid, the main character. I think that by including more about Enid and her life it would help to really make the reader realise what people with dementia go through and how it makes them feel.

The book flows well and I think the composition is varied enough so that it doesn’t repeat itself. I found it quite difficult to illustrate the text at times as its a sensitive topic but the book also needed to be engaging. I think the use of the goblin really helped me to do this, if I had not used the metaphor at all I think the book wouldn’t appeal to children as much, but I also think that by including humour, through the goblin, it makes this serious book seem more approachable.

Professional Portfolio

As part of the Exposure module we had to make a professional portfolio. I got my portfolio professionally printed as a large, square book. I think that this format fits my work as a lot of it is narrative based or made for books. I also think that this format can show people how my work can look in the context of a book.

I selected work which I think represents my practice the best. I chose pieces that demonstrate a range of skills, digital, animation, traditional, narrative work and comic work. I also included images of my work in context, either photos of finished books or mock-ups of animations shown in public. i included a progress page, a page which shows how I work and explains some of the media and processes that I use. I also included some mock-ups of my work as products, I think this could help give the person looking at my portfolio an idea of the different ways my work can be used.

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Research for Live Applications

I started researching for potential people to contact by looking at appropriate charities that could be interested in my work. I found two well known ones, Alzheimer’s Society and Dementia UK. These are big charities but I think my work could be something that they could use to help inform people about dementia.

https://www.alzheimers.org.uk

Home

I found another charity, Dementia Friendly Barry, through an article in a local newspaper. The article was about a session they did with a local school, teaching children about dementia and how it isn’t just about memory loss. This is something that I aim for my book to do so I thought that they might be interested in my work.

https://www.dementiafriendlyvale.co.uk

Through contacting people I was directed to Jessica Kingsley Publishers, a publishers that specialises in educational books about health and mental wellbeing, they have a whole section dedicated to dementia. I thought this this was appropriate for my work, especially as a lot of their books were illustrated and aimed at children.

https://www.jkp.com

I also found another publisher, Graffeg, a welsh publisher that also specialises in educational, illustrated books. I think this could be an appropriate opportunity as they are quite a small publisher and they could be interested in a book that teaches people about dementia in an engaging and empathetic way.

Home

CV

This is my creative CV. I wanted it to look bright and fun to reflect the type of work that I make. I also wanted to include some characters to give people an idea of the type of things that I do. I used my own font which I have also used for my logo and professional portfolio, to make everything cohere. I wanted to keep it simple and easy to read which I think has worked well.

Reflection on the story

To write the story I took my research into vascular dementia and applied it to my Grandmother’s experience of having the disease. I wanted to create a story that wasn’t too personal or based entirely on her story as I wanted it to apply to other people, those who also have friends and family who have been diagnosed with dementia. I wanted my story to be factual so that it could teach people about the other symptoms of dementia that people often don’t know about. I wanted my story to explain what happened to the fictional character when she had dementia but to also make it clear that everyone experiences dementia in different ways. As well as showing people what happens when someone has vascular dementia I also wanted to provide the readers with little tips that can help to deal with some of the symptoms. Some of these tips were taken out of my research, for example, on the page about sundowning the character says she enjoys playing games to distract her. This tip was taken off the Alzheimers Society’s website where they have plenty of ideas to help people who are living with dementia. Other tips were taken directly from my experiences with my Grandmother, for example its repeated on a few pages in the book that the character likes talking about things she used to enjoy or talking with her family about her memories, this is something my Grandmother likes doing. 

I also wanted the story to focus on the person which is why its written from the point of view of the character, Sylvia. I didn’t want the story to talk about her, like she wasn’t there as I thought this could dehumanise her and put too much of the focus on her as a dementia sufferer rather than a person who has dementia. I felt that it was important for the book to show that even though she has dementia she is still a person that has thoughts and feeling and that she is still herself, even if it doesn’t seem like that sometimes. One of the symptoms of dementia that affects my Grandmother the most is that she says things she doesn’t mean sometimes, these things can be quite hurtful and worrisome but the important thing is to remember that she doesn’t mean it, she’s not the one saying these things, its the dementia. This is where the idea of the dementia goblin came from. I wanted to show that it is the dementia doing these things and not the person so I decided to use the goblin to personify dementia. I originally decided to use this metaphor on every page but it made my page layouts repetitive. I then decided that I wanted my work to focus more on the person rather than the dementia so the goblin was nearly removed from my work entirely. I ended up using the goblin on some pages as I thought the metaphor works really well when talking about some symptoms of the disease, such as sundowning where the goblin is the only character on the page. On other pages the goblin is less obvious, I think this works well as a gentle reminder that if someone has dementia it is always there even if it doesn’t seem like its affecting them. 

I think that my work has taken a complex subject and presented it in a way that is easily understandable and a way that encourages the reader to empathise with those who have dementia. I think that this book communicates information about vascular dementia in a way that people can easily understand and engage with and apply to their own situation.
It contrasts with the way that most information on vascular dementia is shown as I think it is a more sensitive and personal way to teach and inform people about such a complex, delicate subject. 

Professional Practice Research – Website

To make a professional website that I can use as my online portfolio I looked at other artists and illustrators’ websites.

Isabelle Arsenault’s website looks very professional and you are taken directly to her portfolio when you first land on the site.

Her website gives you examples of her work straight away and her name is clearly visible as you scroll down the page. It is also easy to navigate because the menu is always present on the side of the page.

Mouni Feddag is another artist who has a website that instantly shows you their range of work.

This website gives you a good idea of the type of work that the artist produces. It is the same sort of layout as Isabelle Arsenault’s website which I think works well as they are both easy to navigate and they show lots of work in a clear and simple way.

When creating my own website I will take all of these features into consideration so that my work is easy to see and the website is easy to navigate.