I valued learning about a part of a different culture through this project. I was also able to learn more about Adobe Illustrator and I found myself becoming more familiar with it. Creating the templates and using clipping masks was definitely new and interesting to me. I thought it was satisfying to see the pattern I drew repeat all throughout the mandala. I have always found koi fish to be beautiful, so I’m glad I was able to incorporate them into my mandala.
If I were to do this project again, I would make the black and white version of the mandala more complex by adding more details. I would also shade in the blue “water” background of the colored mandala so it would look less flat and show the ripples in the water. As for the video, I would maybe opt for different background music to suit the theme better.
By creating this mandala, I felt like I was able to understand myself better and the different sides to me. Through the koi fish I drew, I thought back to all my experiences with them; feeding my family friend’s koi fish when I was younger, visiting a koi pond in Maui, etc. I also decided to create a yin yang effect, hence the deeper understanding of my various sides.
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