Tuesday 4 October 2011

Interim Online Review

OGR Interim Online Review- Unit 1

1 comment:

  1. 03/10/11 OGR

    Hey Jojo,

    You always look so terrified when I see you, but your OGR is a credit to you - nicely presented, nicely branded, though your images are bit on the tiny side! Anyway, the problem/strength of your animal is its inherent beauty and elegance, which means that, in terms of approaches to generating your hybrid, it's counter-intuitive to go 'body-horror' or 'yuk', which means that your challenge is to go for something truly integrated and rather beautiful. Your thumbnails make me think of the Na'vi from Avatar - that same long line of bone, and while the Na'vi are somehow feline, there's something of that same quality in your drawings. I think you should work at resolving the face to ensure you don't look 'foolish' - so you look sculptural instead: indeed, I suggest alongside looking at 'real' zebras and horses, you look at sculptures and paintings of these creatures, to encourage you to really bring out the beauty of line. Of course, there are also different approaches within approaches, so you could go very 'My Little Pony' and up the cute factor:

    http://www.photostarting.com/images/Dogs/pictures-of-my-little-pony.jpg

    or there's the much more serious, 'noble' route, as in

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggb--CgyJ0k&feature=related

    Either way, the pose of your hybrid is going to play a key role, so for you, the challenges remaining are technical and aesthetic.

    Okay - your essay, well, you can be much more to the point; your first sentence should be just 'This assignment will examine and compare two examples of shape-shifting in folklore, the Chinese half-human pig... etc.' All that other stuff is waffle, which the reader doesn't need. Cut to the content always. Then, you can list your research sources and also give your reason for using them, then give a brief outline of the points you're going to raise, something like, 'First, the characters of Zhu Bajie and Kitsune will be defined, then... In conclusion, the assignment will seek to argue that... etc.'

    Really, your introduction should function as both mission statement (This assignment will investigate...), and road map (Research sources include..., Topics covered are... In conclusion, the assignment will...). If you can write a clear, plain-speaking introduction, chances are you are ready to write the essay!

    Finally - some words of reassurance, Jojo - you're doing fine.

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