Assessment Evaluation

Overall I was very pleased with how my design turned out. My partner worked to give the hair volume and structure which I feel is present in the final images. I like the headpiece that I purchased to go with the hair design, I feel it incorporates Queen Elizabeth I's love for pearls to represent her purity and wealth. 

A couple of things I would improve with the final look if I could would firstly be for the back of the hair to have a much rounder fuller volume, like the original design, I feel that the hair hangs a bit to limp and loose. Also I would have preferred for there to be more straight, back-combed hair over the top and the back of the head, similar to the original design. In the beginning I pictured the design to be so you could not see the crimping underneath, it only being there to provide volume.

Generally though, I am satisfied with the way the final design came together.

I am also very pleased with the way I produced my partners design. I put a number of the skills I have learnt throughout the project into practice; such as crimping, curling, back-combing, french plaiting and the use of padding. The structure of the hair was strong and fixed in place well so that it wouldn't move or fall out. I feel I managed my time well throughout the assessment, not needing to rush or panic but just focus o creating my partners design. 

I feel I have met my partners design well, however if I could, there would be a couple of elements I would change, for example I would have preferred it if I had of brought the hair round to one side slightly more like the design as this looked very effective. I also would have perhaps tried to gain more height in the top of the hair as I feel this would make it look more effective, however, generally I am pleased with the way the final look came out.

ASSESSMENTS ALL FINISHED!!!

The Final Assesment Images (My Partners Design)

Practice of My Partners Final Design

    

I feel that my practice of my partners design went extremely well overall. The general factors of the design were carried out and the hairstyle looks effective, however saying that, there are a few things I would like to improve on in order to get the look as close to the design as possible. For instance, creating more volume on one side of the hair so it look like its leaning to one side more. Also placing the padding further forwards at the top in order to achieve a fuller, more rounded shape.

My Partners Final Design

I feel I will be able to achieve this as my partners design as I will use crimping and frizzing to create the volume in the hair and perhaps some padding on one side to give it more volume on one side, like the image above.

The Final Assessment Images (My Design)

Practice of My Final Design

 The practice of my final design had some good and bad factors. Firstly the general outcome of the hairstyle looked good and was effective, very similar to my design. However what needs to be worked on is the strength of the hair structure and the symmetry. The top of the hair was leaning to one side which is not an intentional part of the design, therefore we will need to work on getting it more central. In addition to this the hair was very loose, too much movement would have resulted in parts falling out, therefore we need to work on strengthening the structure of the hair so it is more sturdy.

(I was pleased with the effect the hair-piece gave to the style.)

My Final Design

The image on the right reminds me a lot of the portrait of Queen Elizabeth I on the left due to the similar shape used for the hairstyle. The high, rounded sections split up into a heart-like shape was a common style for Elizabeth, however I feel the image on the right takes this idea and has manipulated it to make it more current and contemporary, perfect for my assessment. In addition to this I chose this as my final design because I feel it would use the length of my hair effectively, I will most likely use padding for the top section of hair, crimping a layer of hair over it for more volume and then backcombing a thinner layer of hair over the top to give it a messy, more contemporary texture.

For the back of the hair, I feel I have enough length and thickness in my hair to recreate this without padding, using just crimping and backcombing, similar to the process for the top of the hair, however the hair could be rolled in and pinned at the nape of my neck rather than over padding.

http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/originals/3d/2e/54/3d2e54eaadc804bb2b1df0555e718264.jpg

Adding Volume to the back of the Hair (Practice)

Overall the practice for padding the back of the hair didn't go too badly. The padding was secured a lot better than previous practices so it was solid and the hair covered it well. The only issue with this practice was styling the rest of the hair around it. As the padding was so big I wasn't quite sure what to do with the rest of the hair at the top of the head. I feel that this setback could be tackled in the future by coming to class with an idea for the whole head of hair so I'm already prepared for using the rest of the hair.

Adding Volume to the Top of the Hair (Practice)

 Overall practicing adding volume to the front of the hair wasn't too bad however there were a few things that I will need to work on in order to be able to use this skill in the final assessment. Firstly the padding I used to provide the volume/height for the front of the hair was now very secure to the plait anchor underneath, meaning that if this hairstyle was for a catwalk, or anything other than a photoshoot really, the hair would move around a lot and could fall out.

In addition to this in the future I need to work at securing the padding further forward on the head as once the hair is pulled over it seems to be set back and flat at the front rather than fuller and more rounded. These are the skills that I need to focus on improving for the assessment.

Assessment Idea 3

This picture screams contemporary Elizabethan to me as the actual hairstyle was one Elizabeth herself sported, and the tight curls at the front were also common as seen in the photo below taken from the 1998 film 'Elizabeth' a representation of the early life and reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
 However the messy backcombed hair used to create the two separate padded sections at the back make the hairstyle more contemporary and modern – fitting perfectly with the requirements of the assessment. However the extreme backcombing used to create the two sections at the back would require a lot of time, which I'm not sure the assessment time would be sufficient for. Therefore if I am going to use this style for my assessment I will have to look into adapting it to make it easier and less time consuming.

Assessment Idea 2

This hairstyle has obvious traces of the Elizabethan era, from the big padded hair to the collar around the neck. I like this style for my contemporary hairstyle as I feel it would not be too difficult to recreate within the restricted time. To accomplish this look I would use padding for each section of the hair to give it more volume, securing it by attaching it to  small french plait anchored beneath. I would then begin by crimping most of the hair, leaving a layer on top straight for backcombing. By crimping the hair underneath it will provide a lot more volume for each section, enabling me to make it rounder and fuller. To finish the look off I would back comb the top layer of hair over each section to give it a more contemporary, modern look. For my own design I would look into plaiting two strips of hair either side of the top section that I could pull back to separate the top from the side sections even more.

http://www.hairstylesdesign.com/pictures/long_hairstyles_5092_7156.jpg

Assessment Idea 1

I like this hairstyle for a contemporary Elizabethan look as it incorporates the shapes Queen Elizabeth I used in her hair however the entire style is made from plaits.  I think this would look really effective with some accessories however it would require quite long thick hair to complete. If I were to use this as my final design I would plot the hair into a middle parting, put each side of hair into a pony-tail in the centre of the side of the head. I would then plait this ponytail tightly all the way down, tying it at the end with a small elastic band. I would then wrap the hair round the top of the pony tail, securing it with hair pins as it wraps round. I would need to ensure I was able to tuck the end of the hair into the style in order for it not to be visible and make the style more effective.

Practising Contemporary Elizabethan

 FOR CONTEMPORARY ELIZABETH I LOOKED AT MAKING THE HAIR MORE MESSY AND LOOSE, HAVING THE CURLS LOOSE AT THE FRONT INSTEAD OF PULLED BACK OVER THE PADDING.  I ENJOYED WORKING OUT NEW WAYs TO MAKE THE HAIRSTYLES CONTEMPORARY, CONSTANTLY COMING UP WITH NEW IDEAS AND TRYING THEM OUT.
THIS LOOK IS BASED ON THE COMMON HEART-SHAPED HAIR ELIZABETH USED, FOR EXAMPLE IN ONE OF MANY PORTRAITS OF HER BELOW.

Padding Hair

1.  Using a Sectioning comb, begin by dividing the front section of hair (from the ears forward) from the rest of the hair.

2.  The front section of the hair can be put into pin curls etc. to make the hair style aesthetically pleasing.

3.  Frizz the back section of the hair using crimpers, starting from the nape of the neck and moving upwards until you reach the curled section. 

4.  Taking a small section of crimped hair from the top complete a French plait that travels from right to left along the scalp. Pin the plait down; you will use this as an anchor point to attach the padding to.

5.  Take your padding and push pins through the lining of the padding at either end.

6.  Hold these pins and push them into the French plait at either end to secure the padding to the hair.

7.  Then take the hair below the padding and bring it up over the padding, smoothing to fully cover the padding so it can’t be seen. 

8.  Secure this hair with pins to avoid it becoming undone (you can use the sectioning come to spread the hair out over any gaps).

9.  You can now take the hair from the front of the head that has been curled etc. and bring it over the padding styling it as you desire.