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Time: A Junior Self-Portrait Illustration by Matthew Shearer (2012)

I chose the words ''time'' and ''tired'' for my Self-Portrait Illustration. I selected these because I am always controlled by time. My alarm goes off at 6:00 am every day. I actually thought of this idea as my alarm was waking me up. Bells ring all day and determine where I go and what I do. The alarm clock ringing symbolizes the control time has in my life. Days just blend into each other because of of the neat repetitive segments cut out every day according to the clock. However, due to the fact that I am always controlled by time, I am never late for anything. Being punctual for me is not really an option because I feel I that time has so much control over my daily routine. I am tired of being punctual and being ruled by time, and sometimes I just want to give up and quit, but I can't. The ax on the table shows how easy it would be to smash the alarm and give up. The temptation is always there.

When I was creating this illustration, I wanted to the alarm clock to sharply contrast the background because I want it to be the focal point. I also used color to help the clock stand out. I also used an orange rectangle for the background. I wanted it to be smaller than the clock and table to make them . Illustrator was challenging for me at first, which made it hard to convey the illustration as I had drawn it. The pen tool was hard to use in the beginning and some of the settings were not correct, so the process was very slow. After starting over from scratch, I think my illustration improved because I had a chance to reconsider how I wanted it laid out.
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