Personal Mandala: Insight
In Digital Media, we were tasked with creating a mandala on Illustrator. The mandala refers to a circular shape covered with multiple repeating designs springing from the center. This mandala would be of a representation of our personal values, something Mr. Florendo had spoken to us about on the very first day of class this year. As a first year student, I had to rely heavily on both Mr. Florendo’s instructions as well as the help of my seat partner. The start of the project was mainly guided by Mr. Florendo’s instruction, as we created four different mandala templates, each having their own number of “slices” or repetitions in pattern. From there, we were able to choose the template we best liked and work upon it.
As this was the first time I’d ever really used Illustrator in a proper manner, I was quite intimidated by all the tools and techniques at my disposal. One of the tools I was exposed to was the Pen tool. To a beginner, it seemed like such as rigid tool to use, and I remember being thoroughly frustrated by it on multiple occasions. Looking back on it though, the mandala provided a solid basis for me to get aquatinted with the tool, especially with its further use in Design. I was also able to get more familiar with the Brush tool, which was a bit easier to use in terms of both implementing my designs as well as adding color to my mandala.
Once we were done with the actual mandala, Mr. Florendo printed our mandalas, both the black-and-white and colored versions. I was amazed at seeing everyone’s personal mandalas in real time. Overall, I’m appreciative of this project, as it allowed me to become more exposed to Illustrator on a basic level, as well as just the principle of creating a very appealing and unique piece of art.
