{"id":22,"date":"2025-09-28T17:59:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T17:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~AbiP\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2026-11-05T22:19:53","modified_gmt":"2026-11-05T22:19:53","slug":"reflections","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/freestyleacademy.rocks\/~AbiP\/reflections\/","title":{"rendered":"Reflections"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reflections Project Introduction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of the year, we were asked to ask ourselves, “Who am I?”<\/em>. This question shaped our projects as we learned Zbrush and Maya in animation, or deepened our skills in Illustrator and After Effects in Digital Media. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Personal Mandalas<\/strong> (Digital Media)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of these projects was the Mandala. We were specifically told to make something that we could connect with or that represented ourselves. Then, we would have those digital files ever so kindly printed for us on a real surface for us to keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the images do not display below,
On a Mac, press Command + (plus) then press press Command – (minus)
On a PC, press the Ctrl + (plus) then press the Ctrl – (minus)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t\"Black\n\t\t\"Engraved\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

I made a mandala with Illustrator using different kinds of brush types and line weights. Each part of my mandala represents a different part of me. Specifically, I showcase elements of a moth, tiger, and a dragon. I also have some elements of fruit, specifically oranges, here and there. For my mandala, I wanted to make something that represents myself (hence the unit \u201cReflections\u201d), and the animals I have listed are the animals I find myself \u201crelating\u201d to the most currently. I don\u2019t really want to go into more detail about what my mandala represents within (up for interpretation after all), but the outer part of the mandala is how I present myself, and the inner is how I feel.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t able to use my brush since it was, not working correctly, so I used a mouse instead. It pretty much gave me the same result I would have made anyways but without the brush complexities. To give my lines weight, I kept changing my brush shape and size. I learned how important line weight and different distinctions are in a mandala, otherwise your piece looks very flat and boring. You have to give your art some focus!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My favorite part of my BW mandala is probably the tiger and the moth. I think the lines flow really well together and the flames look like they are catapulting the moth, which isn\u2019t what I was going for initially but it turned out to be accurate to myself!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\t
\n\t\t\"Colored\n\t\t\"Sublimation\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For my colored mandala, I decided to color in my BW mandala because I thought I could make a larger message with it if it was colorful! When I saw my colored mandala physically, I was very surprised to see how clearly and nicely printed it was!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My colored Mandala is predominantly orange and green and those two are my favorite colors. Another color I added is blue, mostly in reference to my character, Baby Earl, but also because it’s another color I enjoy. I really wanted to make this mandala very vibrant and pleasing to look at. Often times I had to go back and brighten my colors, as I made them pretty dull before hand. I also had to change some color schemes to look more interesting and unique rather than boring.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I enjoyed coloring my mandala, since there was no instructional videos to watch on how to do it, I felt like I was alone on my own for the first time. This was a very nice feeling, I felt like I was in control and I had to use unique methods (my OWN methods) to color and solve any issues I had.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mandala Build Video was a video we had to create in Adobe After Effects, as the first After Effects project of the year. For me, the video was a bit difficult to make as After Effects is not made to edit videos with, so my build video turned out to be just okay, but I tried to do something unique (Inspired by an Alumni though)!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n