Showcase

Introductory Note

My name is Darya Korepanova and I am taking Design as my elective. Besides drawing, I also enjoy roller skating and cooking. For my works, I wanted to include my strongest pieces from the past year, specifically, ones that showcased my ability to create graphic designs and illustrations. However, I also chose a photoshop project to demonstrate my creative ability. For my illustration piece, I chose a spread from a childrenā€™s book commission I am currently working on. I chose a magazine spread for a product label we created in design class for my graphic design piece. Lastly, for my creative piece, I chose a surreal photoshop compositing piece I created in Digital Media.

The feedback I am looking to receive is a critique on how I could improve my pieces overall, and what I could practice in order to enhance my skills. I would also like feedback on how well I would fit into the professional world with my work as it is right now. In the future, I am going to be going to a community college for two years before transferring to a 4-year university. Hopefully, during this time I could get a couple of internships, so Iā€™m wondering how my work would stand up in the professional environment.

You can contact me here:

Email: dasha.korepanova@icloud.com

Phone: +1 (650) 518-6182


Children’s Storybook Spread

A spread from a children’s storybook commission I have been working on since December 2021.

The process heavily involved communication with my client for this children’s book spread. Before this spread was even sketched I had to design and refine the main bird character blue bird character. After the design had been finalized, I created a sketch in Procreate and got it approved for finalization. I worked on one page at a time and frequently checked in with my client to make sure we were on the same page. I tried my best to incorporate elements they personally enjoyed, such as spirals and bright, whimsical colors. I also had to focus on creating a readable schene since I had never drawn a fully illustrated background before this project. I heavily relied on looking at references from other childrenā€™s book illustrations and using color palettes from Colorhunt, adjusting the colors as I deemed necessary. After the main shading and inking were done, I added final adjustment layers to further push the contrast and readability of the spread. I made sure that my lightest areas were found in the characterā€™s expressions and that I had plenty of leading lines to guide the eye through the page.

All in all this project helped me a lot with figuring out how an artistā€™s workflow may look when working with a client. There is a lot of back and forth in trying out different elements before the final product is complete. Many things can change, from the colors to the expressions to sometimes the entire page itself. As this project came to completion I had to learn to let go of my perfectionist mentality and trust my client with what they wanted so I could provide them with the Illustration they were envisioning. This project helped me a lot with letting go of the creation process and learning how to work closely with a client.


Magazine Spread

A mock magazine spread made for a label and company product, here specifically showcasing Cherry Vanilla Creme Soda.

The first step to creating this magazine spread was to create the logo and label that this advertisement would showcase. I wanted to create a retro label for one of my favorite drinks: cherry vanilla creme soda. After creating a logo, company name, and slogan, I had to compose a magazine advertisement that would represent the product in an eye-catching way. My target audience was older people who may feel nostalgic for this product and children, who enjoy cartoonish characters, bright colors, and sugary drinks. I also planned on using the ā€œplain folkā€ persuasive technique. Since most of the buyer base would be middle class, it made sense to appeal to the everyday family aspect of life with my product. On top of that, I wanted to use bright reds and yellows to capture the attention of the viewer, along with soft shapes to make the product seem comforting and friendly. Once I figured out these logistics, I went on to create a sketch that I would follow when creating this spread. I wanted to include both photo and graphic elements, so I first gathered photos online and combined them in Photoshop by giving them shadows and lighting. I then created the graphic swirls in illustrator and combined all the elements together in InDesign. I also added text and other graphic elements in InDesign to complete the final magazine advertisement.

This project was a lot of fun for me to complete. I really enjoy learning about creating appealing advertisements and I learned a lot about what it takes to make one successful. I also had a lot of fun creating a fake product and company, especially since I had complete creative influence. During this project, I also learned how to work with InDesign, which will be important for my future career as a graphic designer. Overall this project let me try something new and helped me learn how to focus my attention from rendering to making an eye-catching image.


Photoshop Surreal Composite

A photoshop composite image consisting of multiple photos put together in Photoshop.

For this assignment, students were given a prompt of creating a surrealist composition in Photoshop using compositing techniques we learned in class. The idea for this piece was that I thought creating hair that looked like it had sprouting wings would be fun to make. I also wanted to make something that looked biblical or ancient, almost to make it seem like this image had a story. In addition, I wanted to make this piece feel regal by including lots of gold elements. The majority of this process consisted of looking at hundreds of images to find ones that would fit. After that, I just used the skills I had to merge the images as cohesively as possible. I also decided to add a weathered paper overlay on top of the final image to make the image more uniform.

This project allowed me to explore design elements and techniques which I may not have gotten the chance to use in other projects. I wanted to create something that felt important and mysterious, but at the front of it all, I just wanted to create something that I had fun making. Although I think that I couldā€™ve done better with this piece in particular and wish that I could change some parts of it, it was still an important part of exploring myself as a digital artist.


Final Reflection

In Freestyle, I have learned a lot of meaningful skills and techniques that will help me further my work as an artist in the future. Some of the most valuable skills I learned were time management and hope to use a variety of different software programs to create my work. I am very grateful for the opportunity to work with software and hardware that I would find in the professional field as it will prepare me for when I encounter them at a real job. By having familiarity with these programs I will also have a better understanding of how can also further my personal work. Freestyle has inspired me to continue my pursuit of a professional career by helping me become more confident in my artistic ability with the new skills and knowledge that I have gained.