The following work is what I am most proud of during my 2 years at Freestyle Academy.
Exploration
The exploration project was my most challenging project of my first year at Freestyle. We were given the oppurtunity to design something using a skill that we had never really used before. All my life I struggled at drawing but I always wanted to be good at ot. I always found myself sketching in my classes to pass time, but they never were as good as I wanted them to be. I took this project as a oppurtintiy to take time and really create something special.
The piece is called Interlinked. It is a drawing made only using pencils and paper. At first glance, the scene appears as two people holding each other’s faces, though when examined from a more focused point of view, their faces may be interpreted as nearly molding into one. A simple misinterpretation of this merging may be one of love, but that was not the intention involved in this process. Personally speaking, the drawing depicts the complex interconnection of two souls, each only understood to their fullest extent by one another. Two people who are desperately seeking an inexplicable depth of understanding. To express this, the drawing was constructed using line art, giving it a flowy transparency that represents the delicacy of my focus. The idea of finding a person who understands you and thinks like you is an incredible feeling, and provides a sense of euphoria that most are only privileged enough to experience once throughout their lifetime. I tried to express that exhilaration in this drawing. Growing up, I struggled a lot with mental health issues, and fitting in was hard. I never felt completely understood or accurately seen for who I was until I met some of my closest friends in high school. We had shared experiences of difficult times throughout our childhoods and, for the first time, I finally felt like I wasn’t alone. In my opinion, these relationships are the most meaningful ones because they allow one to make oneself completely vulnerable. Instead of judging these core parts of you, they relate them to parts of themselves, creating a deep comfort and an unbreakable bond.
Zenith
The Zenith project was one of my best projects because I tried something completely new, not being fully sure how it would end up. This project challenged me in all kinds of ways, but I overcame the challenges and took risks to create something that I am proud of and happy with.
I’ve wanted to make Jewellery for a long time, and Zenith gave me the chance to make that dream come true. My project’s inspiration came mostly from my ideas of wanting a unique and organic piece of jewellery to wear, but never quite finding what I liked in the stores. I spent hours scrolling on Pinterest and watching YouTube videos for ideas, but I ended up just freehanding all my pieces, and I couldn’t be happier with the results.
Product Design
This project is a product design for a coffee brand. I have always been drawn to coffee shop aesthetics and designs, and wanted to make something that represented that. Another thing that I have always been drawn to is characters for companies, so I incorporated that as well. The first thing I designed was a logo, I used this on the tote bag and the hoodie. After I had a logo, I created a label for my product. The result brought my ideas to life and inspired me to do more.
To create the logo and label, I used Adobe Illustrator. It was a very tedious process using mockup designs from Placeit.com and sizing everything right. After I had created the designs to the right dimensions, it was very easy to place my image on the mockup and export it. The most difficult part of this project was finding the right items that conveyed the same feeling as my company. I scrolled through Placeit.com mockups forever before I found the ones that fit.
Mandala
The Mandala project in Digital Media inspired me in many ways. It is a more personal project than we usually do. Many steps and projects created one whole beautiful piece. I started in Illustrator by creating a mandala template and then thought of something that had meaning to me. I filled my mandala with all different kinds of fruits, with the brush tool, and repeated the pattern all around creating my mandala design.
After completing the black-and-white design of my mandala. I continued in Illustrator using the brush tool, but this time with colour. I thought of a bright summer-themed colour scheme to go with the different fruits I had. When I was done, I was left with a bright, beautiful image. When I finished with the digital designs of my mandala, I had it laser printed on wood. This was the most exciting part of the project because I was able to hold something I had created.
PSA
This project is a public service announcement to the smoking community. I drew a cigarette burning, and the smoke went up to a pair of lungs, slowly killing the lungs. I used mostly red colours to represent a bold and scary feeling, to represent that smoking is bad. Where the cigarette is burning, the smoke starts as white and slowly turns into dark red, and then black, showing how it is affecting the healthy lungs. I used “The Fire That Consumes You” to be able to reach and get a reaction from the smoking community.
To create this project, I used Adobe Illustrator. I started by creating a mood board, collecting PSA inspirations, and finding a tagline with a fitting font. That was honestly the hardest part, finding the right things to use to send the right message. After that, I made a new Illustrator file and started drawing. I drew out the lungs first and knew from the start I wanted to incorporate it being affected by smoke. After that, I drew the cigarette and continued with my text. I liked creating this piece because I felt not only that I was creating art, but also for a cause.