illustration

For the first Illustration assignment, we had to create a drawing of one of our personality traits. This trait had to be simultaneously our best and worst trait. Abstraction was key in this project, and a large part of the assignment was to show our two traits, not tell them. I enjoyed thinking about how to represent a part of myself with objects and images rather than with words.

My self portrait demonstrates my personality trait that is simultaneously my best and worst trait. For me, this is my imagination. I have so many thoughts in my head, as represented by all the many branches and tangents of the tree, that this causes me to be unable to decide on one dream to focus on. I stand beside the tree, contemplating my best route up, and I worry about how or if I will ever make it to the top. The tree, with all its branches and possibilities, has to stay rooted to the ground, as do my dreams. I have to remind myself that the tree’s ladder will only take me so far, and that I have to learn to tame my imagination and keep it grounded in what’s possible. The tree is colored as a fall tree, when the leaves are beginning to change color as my thoughts and dreams do too. I chose a bright blue for the sky so that is contrasts to the orange of the leaves so that the realism of the tree of my thoughts is even more opposed to the dreams I have in the sky.