Reflections Project Introduction
The Reflections Project aims to answer the question, “Who am I?” Using different essays we dive into our experiences and identities and then turn those thoughts into visuals. We learn skills with applications like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Premiere Pro, Substance Painter, Avid Pro Tools, Autodesk Maya, ZBrush, HTML/CSS/JavaScript, WordPress and Google Apps.
Some things that I learned about myself through these projects are the importance of singing to me, and how that has developed my character, my ability to use the Wacom tablet and that I can draw by hand better than I thought I could.
My Personal Mandalas
The Mandala Project is meant to produce personal mandalas to explore reflecting and repeating transformations in Adobe Illustrator while showing images that are meaningful to you. Additionally, we learn how to color our mandalas and make a video showing each step of the process.
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)
For this piece, I first created different templates of varying numbers of “slices” for the mandala, then I decided to pick the one with 12 slices, then I used the Wacom Tablet to draw my mandala. I often used the technique of the pressure sensitive brushes to make the lines in my piece more elaborate and detailed.
A core value that I wanted to demonstrate through this mandala was perseverance. I did this by drawing the turtle in the center. I think turtles have a lot of perseverance because they are slower animals that carry a heavy shell with them. I think perseverance is one of my core values because I don’t ever want to give up on something. Another “easter egg” I put in my mandala was some flowers and some hearts because they remind me of my family. I really liked using the pressure sensitive digital brushes because it adds a cool effect to the lines that I drew in my mandala. Upon reflecting back, I can see my artistic growth through being able to use the Wacom tablet. Originally, I would draw stuff with the mouse because I couldn’t figure out how to place my hands or use the smaller square of the wacom tablet to draw. However, after this project I have become a lot more comfortable using it and look forward to using it in future projects.
The best part of my BW mandala is the turtle in the middle. I liked how I was able to draw this part by hand and that there was a break in the repeating designs around the mandala. I can now truly appreciate other’s mandala art because it is hard to come up with differing patterns and shapes to put around the mandala that still are cohesive and meaningful.
The colored mandala is different from my BW mandala because I had to use colors to fill in parts of the mandala. My initial reaction to the colored mandala was not knowing what colors would work together and not knowing how to color it. I wasn’t sure if it would be easier to just change the colors of the strokes themselves or color them with a brush. I ended up learning how to use the brush to color the mandala.
My intention with the color scheme was to use earthy colors to make it look very natural, especially because the center piece is a turtle. I really liked the greens and blues that I picked and honestly think I could’ve incorporated the blues more in the turtle itself.
Then, we were tasked with making a video of the process of our mandala. Using Aftereffects, I compiled a video of a screen recording of every single layer in my mandala, including the colored pieces.
Working with color allowed me to accentuate certain parts of the piece that I wanted more emphasis on, like the turtle or just little details in the mandala. Working with only black strokes had me focusing on the shape, while working with colored strokes had me focusing on what colors worked well together and what should go where. Through this project, I can apply my new experience with the Wacom tablet and illustrator to create other projects that may have repeating shapes or need to be hand drawn.
Why I {Sing} Essay
In English, we spent time analyzing motives of other writers like George Orwell and Octavia Butler. We learned their “Why’s” for writing, and were encouraged to explore our own. However, we had the option to write about any creative expression. In this case, I chose singing. Writing this essay helped me understand just how impactful singing is on my life and how much of it is part of my identity.
AUDIO
Film
Humor
In Film, we learnt about the different kinds of humor in movies. We did research on one specific kind and then shared it with the class. We also discussed kinds of humor that we like. For example, I really like shows like The Office and Psych, so I knew I wanted my film to have similar features to those. For my film, I decided to make it about two guys who don’t have enough money to buy a soda so they take a water cup for free and try to fill that with soda instead. But they keep getting in trouble so they have to use disguises and tricks to get the soda.
EMBED VIDEO
3 Period Movie
For this project, we were practicing our narrative skills and writing stories. Each group wrote their own story on storyboards and presented to the class. Then, we passed our stories to the group to the left of us who were then tasked with shooting the film. After that, we passed the footage to the next group and they had to edit it. So, each group worked on every single film.
English
The Why I Write Essay was a creative piece where we wrote about why we participate in an artistic activity. For this, I chose why I sing. I felt that this was appropriate because I have sung for a long time and it has taught me a lot about myself. Singing has connected me with a lot of different people whom I wouldn’t have met otherwise, and given me experiences beyond anything a high schooler would’ve participated in. This essay helped me learn more about how singing has actually developed my character, and given me knowledge in leading others.