I feel that this unit (BA1A) has given me many new challenges and lots to think about. Following this is a self-assessment of my performance throughout the unit, mentioning what I feel worked well and what requires improvement.

During the first few weeks of BA1A, while completing the "Insect" project, I felt I needed to organise my time better; I spent far too long on the silhouette stages, which led to me having less time to complete the final piece as a consequence. However, this was resolved in the "Timepiece" project, where I weighted my time sufficiently for each aspect of the project, allowing me to finish in good time. I also felt that my drawings were too static in the "Insect" project, but had to wait until "Character" to work on this issue. However, I felt that my character sheet was a vast improvement on my first one, and the small drawings showing movement were much more dynamic and interesting.

Another more consistent issue I had was getting the correct amount of exploration done during the iteration phase. I felt that I had decided too quickly on my first two projects, but endeavoured to explore in more depth during the "Character" project, creating a large quantity of design and colour iterations to pick from.

However, I do feel that I have learned a lot from this unit. Before the project, I used Clip Studio Paint over Photoshop for digital art, but during my time working on my BA1A projects I learned many new Photoshop techniques and how to make the most of default and custom brushes through the settings. Although I am still getting used to drawing in Photoshop, I feel that the repeated practice will benefit me in the long run as Photoshop is far more widely used than Clip. I also learned how to use Alchemy in my "Timepiece" project, and found it a valuable tool for creating interesting silhouettes.

Furthermore, I have begun to utilise information I recieved in the lectures about colour, composition and the design process, which I know will be relevant to every piece of work I do in the future. Although I don't think I am using these concepts to their full extent at this early stage, I do feel like my knowledge of these subjects has improved vastly and it has had a visible effect on my artwork.

Similarly, my life drawing classes have introduced me to new ways of working and I feel much more confident in my figure drawing skills already, although I feel that I would benefit from further practice.