Learning Plan - Reflective Practice
Overview
Last year, I was able to grow massively as an illustrator and, importantly, found a strong direction to set for myself in my third year. I thoroughly enjoy printmaking as a medium - the practical act of carving a block is very satisfying, and I believe that the method inherently rewards bold graphic design style, no matter how abstract the subject matter. For example, the work of Roman Klonek.
This year:
I intend to fully dedicate myself to improving the quality of my work as a printmaker and improving the amount of different printmaking techniques that I am familiar with. I will improve with linocut, try out different methods such as woodcut and experiment with different modes of output such as digital print, relief print onto fabric or other materials, etc.
I will improve my confidence overall as an illustrator by producing work with a more consistent artistic voice as well as improving facets of my professional illustrative practice that will compliment my workflow well. For example, I will look to produce work using simple metaphor and a bold graphic style with a well-structured layout. I will improve my
use of digital tools for thumbnailing my initial ideas as this can help me visualised what different layered elements and textures may look like, as this is difficult to do with traditional media.
Finally, I will improve my confidence in marketing myself for potential freelance or live brief work by producing high quality work in a timely fashion that I’m comfortable adding to my portfolio at the end of the year. My chosen commerical briefs are excellent opportunities for this.
I think having this confident and dedicated direction to push my artistic practice in is a massive strength for this year, as it allows me to have very defined metrics for success with minimal distracting noise.
There is some risk in tying success of my year to success of timed briefs, as mental illness, physical injuries or emergencies could cut into the amount of work I’m able to produce, even if I believe things are going well otherwise – this could lead me to draw incorrect conclusions on whether parts of my workflow are working well or not during my reflections. A similar idea applies to tying success to methods I’ve never used before as I may find them thoroughly unenjoyable or may not get the ability to do them at all due to lack of resources. However, while these are “weaknesses” I believe they are very avoidable, or in the worst cases, workable. If I don't enjoy one process, I can simply use more time for improving at a different one – if I’m unable to access one printing method, I can simply replace it with a different one!
Skills, Knowledge and Experience acquisition and application.
My last year of practice was very varied and gave me the opportunity to learn a variety of digital and traditional skills. However, as stated previously, this year is an opportunity to push my chosen medium and a select group of skills that I believe align with my personal interests and chosen specialism of Alternative Publishing well.
Printmaking Methods: I will aim to use a variety of methods in my experimentation, this includes methods that I can access and “set up” myself such as woodcut, monoprint and lino as well as make an effort to use methods that may require outside assistance or studio support, such as Riso, screenprint or intaglio.
Digital Skills: Part of this will happen over time as it is a standard part of my workflow, but I must find a metric to improve my digital skills to improve the speed at which I can produce work. Part of this will be obtained by trying to use digital tools for my thumbnailing process. I believe that this will benefit my outcomes in the long term as early on in my production pipeline, it can be hard to visualise what potential multi-media solutions may come out looking like as there is no fast way to “overlay” them with traditional media.
Multimedia Solutions: I will always look to combining digital and traditional media solutions as I believe the outcomes are likely to become more and more in demand in the wider commercial market in response to the rise of AI art due to the more organic forms and naturalistic / unpredictable textures and I believe they represent me well. I will do this by looking at which methods of printmaking I find are successful and seeing if I can combine them. For example, I had some success using both monoprint and linocut in the same images during a process and practice module last year. Staying experimental, especially in my personal modules, is essential to achieve this.
Processes and Methods
I believe that one of the most successful parts of last year was the practice I got with my own established workflow. I begin with large amount of research on the subject and the wider context of the brief. For example, If I was to create a spread illustration for an article on wine in a food magazine, before approaching the brief I would be sure to gain at least a layperson understanding of:
The magazine industry, and what types of illustrations are expected.
The wine industry, and what types of illustrations are typical.
This specific wine I’m writing about, including flavour profiles and competitors
This specific magazine, including competitors and what sets them apart.
I find doing this ground of research quick, enjoyable and I believe that it will allow me to better communicate with prospective clients closer to their level and have much more productive discussions throughout my professional career. In addition, I always feel that I am allowed to make better decisions quicker, especially revolving around how to effectively use visual narrative / metaphor. After this, I will generate ideas, thumbnails, experiment with media and then transfer an idea to progress with onto a relief printmaking block, usually linoleum. After creating the print, I’ll look for other textures and multi-media solutions that may benefit my idea by using digital layering tools. This digital aspect of my workflow is vital to the success of my final outcome and is one of the skills I must work hard on improving over the coming year.
Possible Collaborators
I am planning on working on two briefs this year:
The Creative Conscience Award:
This award fits perfectly alongside the subject matter I proposed to investigate in my initial project proposal document. This brief invites us to identify something within the topic of social issues that isn’t working – and produce a piece of art that provokes action or invites solutions or helps to change the viewers perspective. I believe my medium of printmaking is perfect for this brief as graphic, poster-like designs are very natural for my style – as well as being ideal as a political / advertising tool designed to grab the attention of an onlooker.
The Cheltenham Illustration Award:
This brief for 2026 has not been released yet! However, I can make a comfortable prediction that it will fit into my theme and plan as many previous briefs have had a “humanitarian” angle to them. For example: Future Forecasts, Reconnectivity, All Together Now, The Story of a Better Tomorrow. are all prompts from previous years. I look forward to the conceptual challenge of responding to one of these one-word briefs, and I think it will elevate my conceptual and narrative-focussed idea generation alongside fitting my work into commercial contexts.
In addition, both competitions award massive public outreach upon a successful entry. I will engage with other opportunities such as the university exhibitions and visit local art galleries and shows whenever possible.
Commercial Context
I am tackling my entire year with a theme of protest art; which I believe focuses heavily on elements such as Calls to Action, Positive and Negative messaging and the transformative nature of illustration. I think this fits alongside my chosen Alternate Publishing / Editorial specialism
Possible Sources of Research
A list of resources I have frequently used in the past and will likely use into the future:
It’s Nice That
Character Design Quarterly
Pressing Matters Mag
Laura Boswell Youtube (linocut expert)
Anticipated problems or specialist needs.
A list of problems I may encounter
Inability to access some methods: For example, I may be unable to use the screenprinting space as I may not be able to get proper mandatory oversight from a technician due to scheduling conflicts. If this happens, I’ll be able to use the time to pursue other more experimental methods of printmaking. In addition, I may also be able to use extra-curricular spaces, such as the NORTHERNPRINT workshop near university frequently running screenprint courses.
Burnout: A risk of some of my personal projects not having set “outcomes” is that I have an increased risk of encountering burnout due to an overwhelming number of options. I believe I am positioned to combat this well as I have setup my modules in a way that I can avoid hard deadlines and extend certain lines of enquiry if needed. For example, the deadline for my creative conscience brief is not until late into the year, and my narrative theme in my personal projects can help feed into my concepting for my commercial projects.
Bibliography
(No date) Roman Klonek. Available at: https://klonek.de/ (Accessed: 01 December 2025).
Laura Boswell – Printmaker : (no date) : : Laura Boswell - Printmaker - Videos : : Available at: https://www.lauraboswell.co.uk/resourcesi.php (Accessed: 01 December 2025).
Character Design Quarterly (no date) 3dtotal shop. Available at: https://store.3dtotal.com/collections/character-design-quarterly (Accessed: 01 December 2025).
The Cheltenham Illustration Awards (no date) Pittville Press. Available at: https://www.pittvillepress.co.uk/cheltenhamillustrationawards (Accessed: 01 December 2025).
Home: Creative conscience (no date) Home | Creative Conscience. Available at: https://www.creative-conscience.org.uk/ (Accessed: 01 December 2025).
It’s nice that (no date) It’s Nice That. Available at: https://www.itsnicethat.com/ (Accessed: 01 December 2025).
Pressing matters (no date) Pressing Matters. Available at: https://www.pressingmattersmag.com/ (Accessed: 01 December 2025).