Takeaways from last Friday’s FYP crit:

• Be aware of work sliding into overly introspective territory (i.e. try not to make it so obvious that you’re using the book as a vehicle to do what you want/draw what you want)
• For presentations, trim the content/research a little bit more – I received feedback that suggested I had too much research

Honestly I didn’t receive much criticism about my theme, trajectory or illustration style (I’m genuinely surprised) or in fact any suggestions as to how I can improve my project. I’m going to take it as a sign that I should continue moving on and engaging in research and conceptual thought.

Moving forward, I will be writing more and drawing more and gearing up for production. I want to start settling the content of my book and experimenting with visuals (spreads, illustrations, etc). I might include unrelated conceptual drawings as part of my explorations on duality, but I’d like to get a second opinion. I’m quite inspired by the approach of Crucial Interventions to blending a vintage medical aesthetic with modern grids and type (pictures when the book arrives, I ordered it online for Christmas).

I’m thinking of working more with geometry and anatomy in my illustrations for my FYP. This is contemporary and trending now among dotwork/blackwork artists and it’s recognizably current visual language (that I have been using as well). I think it’s all going well and I shall produce more variations on this theme. Another thing I’d like to try is collaging royalty-free medical images from the Wellcome image database. They could supplement my own illustrations within the book.