Unit Reflection: Dive into Visual Storytelling
Looking back at this unit specifically, week 4, of this Digital Storytelling course, I feel as though I was able to overcome challenges and get a better understanding of different art platforms. I do think some of these assignments could have been executed a bit more thoroughly as I underestimated how much time would have to go into each assignment.
Completion of Assignments
When looking at each of the assignments, I do think I met the requirements that was asked in the assignment bank. Each of the assignments I chose to complete, had their own description of how to approach the assignment and what the final product should look like. Without focusing on including the creations into a blog and turning it into a story, I do believe I hit all the marks. When completing these assignments I kept in mind my reflection of Digital Storytelling. Also when taking my photograph for the Draw it assignment, I remembered the importance of lighting and changing perspectives as I talked about in my blog post about becoming a better photographer.
Challenges and Key Understandings
One of the biggest challenges I had this week was trying to create a story for the visual assignments I completed. I don’t think about what narrative my creations may say, I just doodle for fun. I do think that doing this allows us to think deeper about the pieces we create and will create in the future. Instead of uploading our final products and explaining what it is, we can think more critically by turning it into a story and giving it more meaning than “I drew a picture of a sunflower”. One of the things I learned was that when given direction yet creative freedom, I can make pieces of art that I am proud of. I also learned that stepping outside of what you are comfortable with, is good for growth.
Different Approaches
If I had to approach these assignments differently I think I would try to map out what story I want to tell and then develop images that could go with the story. What I did this time was complete the visual assignments and then develop a story after that. If I approach it with a more thought out plan I believe I could create meaningful pieces. I also wonder how different my work may look like if I gave myself more time to complete it.
The Art of Visual Storytelling
- Plunge into the Ocean (3.5 stars)
- Thirteen: As told in GIFs (5 stars)
- Coffee and Hot Cocoa, Yum! (1 star)
- Coraline and… the yam? (2 stars)
- Draw-it (2 stars)
Conclusion
Overall, this unit was an amazing opportunity for me to challenge myself and create visual pieces that I may not come up with on my own. I was able to use sites like Canva, Pixilart, Pixlr and similar platforms to develop my pieces. I now know that for future assignments I should try and map out what I want my posts for my website to look like and try to give myself ample time to work on these assignments. I am excited to see how I can grow as a visual storyteller.