REFLECTION
Evaluate & reflect on your practical work
Finishing a piece of work is only half the job. Looking back at it honestly is how you get better, and it's usually where a lot of the marks are. There are two parts to it:
⚖ Evaluating = judging the workHow good is the finished piece? Measure it against the brief and the assessment criteria, and back up every point with evidence.
🪞 Reflecting = learning from the processHow did you work, what did you learn, what went wrong and why, and what will you do differently next time?
💡 A good write-up does both: what you made, how well it works (with proof), why it turned out that way, and what's next.
The quick version: What? So what? Now what?
If you only remember one thing, use these three questions (Rolfe's reflective model). They work for a whole project or a single lesson.
1. What?What did I make or do? What was the aim? What happened?
"I built a modular sci-fi corridor kit for a first-person level."
2. So what?Why does it matter? What worked, what didn't, and why? What did I learn?
"The pieces snapped together well because I kept to a 2m grid…"
3. Now what?What will I do next time? What will I practise? What's my next target?
"Next time I'll test the kit in-engine after the first two pieces."
Going deeper: Gibbs' Reflective Cycle
For a final evaluation, work round all six stages. Most students only write stages 1 and 3. Stages 4 and 6 are where the higher marks are.
1DescriptionWhat happened? What was the brief, what did you make, what were the main stages? Keep it short.
2FeelingsHow did you feel at the start, in the middle and at the end? When were you confident, and when were you stuck?
3EvaluationWhat was good and what was bad about the work and the process? Check it against the brief, with evidence.
4AnalysisWhy did those things go well or badly? What caused the problems? How does it compare to your references or your last project?
5ConclusionWhat have you learnt? What could you have done differently? What skills have you built?
6Action planWhat exactly will you do next time? Set 2–3 specific targets. Then go round the cycle again on the next project ↻
Evaluating against the brief
1Re-read the brief and the criteria. List exactly what you were asked to do.
2Collect your evidence (see the list on the right).
3Judge each point: met, partly met or not met, and give the evidence for each.
4Pick out your strengths and weaknesses. Be fair. Every project has both.
5Say how you would improve it, with steps specific enough that someone else could follow them.
📸 Evidence you can use
- Work-in-progress screenshots, with dates
- Before and after comparisons
- Reference and mood boards
- Playtest notes and recordings
- Peer and tutor feedback
- Tech stats: poly count, texture size, frame rate, file size
- Your plan or schedule compared with what actually happened
- Failed attempts, and what they taught you
| Criterion from the brief | How well? | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Game-ready prop under 2,000 triangles | ✔ Met | 1,450 tris (screenshot of the Maya stats) |
| Reads clearly in-game | ✔ Met | 3 of 4 playtesters named it straight away |
| Believable wear and tear | ~ Partly | The edge wear repeats on every corner (close-up render) |
| Handed in on time | ✘ Not met | 2 days late: texturing took 6 hours, not the 2 I planned |
Describing vs reflecting
The most common mistake is writing a diary of what you did. Compare these two:
✘ Just describing"I made a sci-fi crate in Maya and textured it in Substance Painter. It went well and I think it looks good. Next time I will do better."
✔ Evaluating and reflecting"The brief asked for a game-ready prop under 2,000 tris. Mine is 1,450, and 3 of 4 playtesters recognised it as a supply crate straight away, so it meets the brief. The weakest part is the texturing: the edge wear is the same on every corner, so it looks procedural. That happened because I relied on one smart mask instead of painting by hand. Next time I'll add a hand-painted wear pass and check it against two reference photos before exporting."
Why is the second one better? It refers to the brief, uses evidence (numbers and feedback), explains why the problem happened, and ends with a specific action.
Sentence starters
Stuck on how to begin? Pick one from each column and keep going.
Describe
- The aim of this piece was…
- I started by…
- The main stages were…
- I chose this approach because…
Judge
- This meets the brief because…
- The most successful part is…, shown by…
- This is weaker because…
- Compared to my reference…
Analyse
- This worked because…
- The problem was caused by…
- I didn't expect…, which meant…
- Feedback showed me that…
Learn
- I now understand…
- A skill I developed was…
- If I started again, I would…
- I was surprised that…
Plan
- Next time I will…
- To improve this, I would…
- My target for the next project is…
- I need to practise…
Feelings
- At the start I felt…, because…
- I was most confident when…
- I got stuck when…, so I…
- I'm proud of…
Getting useful feedback
👍 WWW / 👆 EBIAsk others for What Went Well and Even Better If…. Get at least one of each from every person, and write them down word for word.
🎮 Running a playtestWatch, don't explain. Note where people get stuck, confused or bored. Afterwards ask: What was the first thing you noticed? What was confusing? What would you change?
🗣 Ask better questions"Is it good?" gets you "yeah". Try asking: Does the lighting lead your eye to the door? Which part looks least finished?
✍ Use it in your write-upSay what feedback you got, what you changed because of it, and why. It's fine to disagree with feedback, as long as you explain why.
Reflect as you go, not just at the end
BeforeWhat does success look like for this project? What do I want to get better at? What could go wrong?
DuringKeep a quick log every session: 2–3 lines and a screenshot. What did I do, what problem did I hit, and what will I try next?
AfterWrite the full evaluation using your log, the brief, your evidence and the feedback you got. Your log makes this part easy.
Common mistakes to avoid
- Just a diary. "Then I did… then I did…"
- "It was good / fine / OK" with no reason or evidence
- Only negatives, or only positives
- Blaming the software: "Maya crashed." So what will you do about it? (Save more often, use incremental saves…)
- Vague targets like "work harder" or "be better at texturing"
- No pictures: show the problem, don't just describe it
- Forgetting the brief and judging only by "do I like it?"
- Leaving it all to the end, when you've forgotten what happened
🎯 Turn a vague target into a SMART one. Instead of "get better at UVs", write: "On my next prop I'll keep texel density even across every UV shell and check it with a checker map before texturing."
✏ Reflection planner
Fill this in to plan your evaluation, then copy it into your write-up. Nothing is sent anywhere: it's only saved in this browser.
Before you hand it in: checklist
- I've re-read the brief and assessment criteria
- I've judged my work against each criterion
- Every claim has evidence (an image, a number or feedback)
- I've explained why things worked or didn't
- I've included feedback and what I did with it
- I've said what I learnt and which skills improved
- I've set 2–3 specific targets for next time
- I've proofread it and labelled my images
