Introduction
This unit was all about reflecting on who we are through different creative forms. In digital media we learned different techniques in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to create mandalas, paintings, compositions, and more. In english, we wrote our personal statement to submit to colleges and explain who we are by telling a story. Finally in film, we were challenged to create a 2 minute film about who we are, but with a twist, the only dialogue we could use was a continuous voiceover. Overall, this unit has been really fun and I’m very happy with all of the work I’ve completed.
Mandala
This for this project, we used Adobe Illustrator to create a mandala. We started off by making a template in illustrator so that we would only have to draw in one small part of the mandala, and it would automatically copy it around the circle 8, 10, 12, or 16 times. From there, we made the black and white mandala that you see below on the left, using different brush strokes and sizes. After that, we added some color to create the colored mandala, pictured below, on the right. Then I got my black and white mandala laser engraved onto a wooden cutting board. Finally, we used after effects to make a timelapse of our process creating the mandala.
This whole project was really fun and the process of actually creating the mandalas was really relaxing. On top of that, it taught me a lot of skills in adobe illustrator that I can use in many other projects such as how to use different strokes. I also learned how to use the drawing tablet which made the project a lot more interesting and is also a very useful skill. The one thing that I would’ve changed about my project is that I wish I continued to make more black and white mandalas so I would have more options to choose from. I made 2 at the beginning but I think that if I made more, then each one would get better and better and I could’ve ended up with a better final product. I also wish I experimented more with the different number of slices because I only made mandalas with 12 slices since 16, 10, and 8 slice mandalas seemed really interesting. But overall, I’m really happy with how my mandala turned out.
Photoshop
Pastel Painting
I had a really good experience creating my pastel painting. It was super relaxing and fun to come into class everyday, put on music, and just continue to work on my painting. It almost felt like a coloring book and it was really satisfying to see how much further I had come in the process everyday as I continued to work on it.
I really valued that we got to focus on another artist’s piece of work. It allowed me to really notice every detail of the painting because I was repainting them all myself. I noticed a lot more details than I ever would if I had just looked at the art once. I also really valued the project because it taught me how difficult it is to make paintings. It has made me really appreciate the detail that goes into making every art piece.
This project has taught me that I learn best when I am actually creating something and can develop my skills as I create, rather than just learning from others. Throughout the process, I found myself changing my techniques and strategies that I used to create this piece so that I could capture the color and realism of the original piece. This was one of my favorite parts of the process and the main reason why it was so satisfying to finish because as I continued, I kept getting better and better at using the tools in photoshop to paint.
Watercolor Painting
My painting depicts a view of mountains during a forest fire. The smoke from the fire gives the whole scene an orange tint and creates the effects of the different layers being different distances away from the viewer. Right in the middle of the painting is a fire watch tower. The painting was inspired by the game Firewatch in which you play as a character who works in the fire watch tower. I thought the game had a really beautiful artstyle so I tried to create my own version with the watercolor effects. In the end, the painting didn’t turn out exactly how I envisioned but I feel like I added my own spin on it. The watercolor effects also allowed the painting to have a different style and texture which makes it very unique and unlike anything I’ve created before.
The three articles that we read before this assignment really helped me understand watercolor painting much better. I really like the point made in the article, “What Makes A Watercolor Painting Really Special?” where the author described paintings that hold memories. The example used was of a hiking path and I think that it really resonated in my artwork as well. To me, the painting brings back memories of the forest fires that happened near us as well as hiking with friends and family. However, the viewer will bring whatever memories they have and connect with the piece in their own way. I also really liked the point made in “20 Master Watercolor Teachers Offer Their Best Advice.” about being more abstract. I chose to make my piece a little bit abstract with the different layers, however, you can still tell what the image is so it is a blend of both. In the final article, Linda Daly Baker talks about how important layers are in her art. I tried to take this idea and apply it to my art where there are clear layers of the painting depending on how far away the object is.
I really liked water color painting, but I think I prefer the pastel panting. However, one thing about watercolor pointing was that it almost felt like a limit that forced you to create something different. I had never used these watercolor tools before and I think that made me need to think harder about what I wanted to create. Many of the brushes were big sort of splotchy which I tried to use to my advantage in making the sun and clouds that I wouldn’t have done if I was just using the pastel brushes. In terms of analog vs digital artwork, I like both sides. Digital is a little bit easier because you don’t have to do much set up and there is less mess, however, I think it can often me hard to have as much control over the art as you can with a physical paintbrush. Overall, this project was a really fun challenge that allowed me to create something different from what I’ve ever made before.
Compositions
For my surreal composition I wanted to create a scene of aliens invading earth with some humor involved. I wanted the deeper meaning to be up to interpretation and up to the viewer’s prior thoughts on the topic. I also wanted to blend the stereotypical ideas of aliens, with the UFO picking up the cow and the stereotypical design of alien coming out of the door, together with the more realistic depiction of the person in the top left. I wanted the reader’s focus to transfer from the bright white door up to the top left and to some of the smaller details to go from humor to a more serious side of the composition.
I used many different techniques in the composition, however, clipping masks were definitely the one I used most. I used them for pretty much every aspect of the image including the door, UFO, Cow, and path. I also used the gradient tool on a clipping mask to fade between green and black for the person in the top left. The blend tool was also very useful for me when I made the ray coming out of the UFO. I was inspired by the album cover for Flume by Flume to include the monochrome picture of the face because I really like the design of that cover. The album cover features a monochrome image of a woman in pink and black that repeats over the it. I wanted to create a similar effect so I used a black and white image of someone and applied a color balance filter over it and the space background.
After this project, I think I definitely prefer to make surreal compositions than realistic compositions just because of the freedom it gives you. Surreal compositions allow you to use more creativity in your work without being limited to things that would exist in real life. This lets you add more meaning to your work through metaphors and symbolism. This could all be done in a realistic composition, however, it is more difficult and can often be done in other art forms such as photography. That being said, realistic composition is a very useful tool if you can’t make the subject in real life, however, I think that the surreal aspect of photoshop compositions is what makes it unique and distinct from any other artform.
English
Film
For this film, we had to make a film that was exactly 2 minutes long and represents ourself, with a continuous voiceover as the only dialogue. We needed to show how our mind works and represent what we think. For me, I chose to write mine about struggling to find a hobby and perserverance because it is something that I think me and many others can relate to.
To make this film, we first started by writing the voiceover script and recording it with our audio recorders. Then, I used my camera and tripod to get all the shots that I needed. This is where I struggled the most because I encountered some issues with continuity and I couldn’t get some of the correct props for the shots I needed. However, I made it work in the end. Finally, we had to edit all of the footage together in premiere pro, then add the voiceover and background music.
Overall, I had a lot of fun creating this project and it really challenged me to think more creatively. It was really hard to actually make a script that showed how my mind thinks, but, in the end I was really proud of the script that I made. From this project, I learned to make sure that I get all of my shots as early as possible, rather than procrastinating because procrastinating caused me a lot of issues in my production, some of which were unfixable. However, I’m really proud of the final product.