Introduction
This unit our projects focused around the question: “Who am I?”
In Digital Media, we explored our own personal styles through various methods of digital art. To do this, we revisited Adobe Photoshop, and learned about the different effects, brushes, and filters, to make a digital piece of art look like a traditional, tangible piece. In Animation, we created our own original characters and learned the basics of 3D modeling and animation. I learned about myself in this unit, and also opened up to different styles and techniques I had never tried before. In English, we wrote a personal essay describing our past experiences and how they have shaped us into who we are today. For this assignment, we created a list of 20 objects called “Essence Objects”, which represent us in some way.
Personal Mandala
To the Moon and Back
The first project of my Senior year at Freestyle was to create a personal mandala in Adobe Illustrator. We learned how to set up the file in a way that would create a repeating pattern around the entire circle, and we got to choose how many times it would repeat. Once the file was set up, we had the freedom to create anything with our mandala, and I think mine is very reflective of my personal style. I decided to create a scene from the ground of the Earth all the way to the galaxy. I hadn’t originally planned this, as I created this scene as I was drawing.
Artist Statement
If I were to do this project again, I would spend less time worrying about small details, and more time drawing whatever I felt like drawing. I spent too much time adjusting every little thing, not keeping in mind when the design was printed it would be barely visible because the details were simply too small. I valued making the colored version of my mandala because I felt that I could tell a story by coloring my black and white mandala. The colored version felt more complete, and it was a relaxing process to fill in all the lines. I loved having uninterrupted time to focus on my art during the day; it was a much needed break from all the chaos at school. My personal mandala reminded me of how often I overthink everything when I’m working on artwork. Even with my own personal pieces, I tend to obsess over small details and mistakes, when most people don’t even notice them. This project helped remind me that sometimes it is better not overthink anything and let your mind wander.
Photoshop Art
After we finished the Personal Mandala, we shifted our focus and primarily focused on creating digital art in Adobe Photoshop that mimicked traditional mediums, and editing more than one photo together to create one cohesive image.
Digital Pastel Painting
For our first project, we created a digital pastel painting in Photoshop by utilizing specialized brushes that were created to give the final piece a rougher, more realistic texture.
Artist Statement
I quite enjoyed creating a Photoshop Pastel Painting. This was not my first time drawing in Photoshop, but I challenged myself by using a style that I normally don’t draw in. We were allowed to use more than one brush, but I chose to only use one brush for the entire painting. The overall process was super relaxing, and I can see myself doing another pastel painting in my free time in the future. I valued the experience I gained in drawing in a style unfamiliar to me. In my personal art, I spend lots of time fixing small details that viewers would not even notice, but with the pastel painting, I learned to just let my find flow and not worry about everything. I purposefully chose a brush that was textured and not precise, so I could color in a different style than I normally would.I learned that I do not have very good hand-eye coordination, as I struggled to be precise when using a tablet that does not have a screen. The tablet that I have been using at home for years has a screen, so it was quite difficult to paint in small details using a method I’m not used to. However, towards the end I had adjusted to it, and I’m glad I gained this experience.
Artist Statement
I finally finished watching a series of games that I started over 3 years ago. After school I would look forward to watching them as they were posted on Youtube, and I can’t believe I’ve finally completed the series. The character in my painting resembles one of my favorite characters from the final game, and she’s playing the piano because that’s her talent. As for the background, I’m not quite sure why I chose a snowy scene because I originally wanted to do an ocean, but I changed my mind in the middle of the painting. I just wanted to do a peaceful scene, because that completely contrasts what happens in the game. For this piece in particular, I really resonated with the statement, “Making Art Is a Search, Not a Final Discovery”. Given that this was my first time trying to imitate traditional watercolor paintings digitally, it was a step out of my comfort zone, but regardless I did enjoy it. Additionally, I also liked Gerald F. Brommer’s statement: “Relax, enjoy, and absorb as many ideas as seem to fit your current painting experience. Enjoy the journey”. The plan for this artwork changed multiple times as I was working, which stressed me out a little because I didn’t have an overall idea of what I wanted the piece to look like when I was finished, but I still enjoyed the experience of doing something new. Finally, I appreciated Angela Fehr’s thoughts that paintings that are special can be ones where you have shown the most skill, but also ones that you can see the development of your style. I could’ve used a photograph from the internet and recreated it in Photoshop so I wouldn’t have to think about the subject of the painting, but I decided to create an original piece, although it took a lot of brainstorming. I really enjoyed the process of trying to create a digital painting while trying to emulate the style of traditional watercolor. I had a fun time testing out different brushes, and trying to make my digital painting look like a piece of tangible artwork. I actually prefer analog painting over digital painting, and I think it’s because I like the feel of the paper. In my free time, I don’t do very much digital artwork, and my first experience with digital art was only a couple years ago, whereas I’ve been doing analog art for as long as I can remember.
Watercolor Painting Effect
For the projects, we used Photoshop to create digital watercolor paintings from real photographs. To start out, I used two photos that I downloaded from the internet while practicing, and then I used my own photo that I took of my brother during the summer of 2021 when we were touring colleges.
Practice Composite
Our last projects in Digital Media for this semester were our Photo Compositions. We learned how to use blend modes, clipping masks, refining edge brush, and more, in Photoshop to combine two or more photos into one cohesive image. The two images below are my practice compositions, where I combined photos I found on the internet to create surreal piece.
Surreal Composition
After finishing the Practice Compositions, I moved on to create my final piece, the Surreal Composition, using all the skills and techniques that I had learned.
Artist Statement
I wanted to center my piece around the idea of fleeting childhood. Before I knew it, I was already a senior in high school, and I really wonder how the years passed by so quickly. I wanted to represent our childhood with the use of the silhouette of the child dancing in the broken window. Just like how a window shatters suddenly and unexpectedly, our childhood seems to end abruptly without warning. The broken watch on the floor is meant to symbolize how we lose track of time, and the moments we are a child don’t seem to last long enough. For this piece, I really wanted a dreamy, surreal effect, so I used a variety of blend modes and clipping masks. I used the blend modes to blend the background in with the stars, and the ocean, and I used clipping masks to take subjects like the dancing girl, the moon, and the watch on the floor from other photos and combine them into my piece. Creating Surreal Compositions is something that I had never done before, and it was quite hard to come up with an idea since I had the freedom to basically create anything, and not have to worry about it looking realistic. I would definitely do this again in the future, as the process was relaxing, but I also challenged myself with different techniques in Photoshop that I had rarely or never used before.
Animation
Character Concept
Digital Sculpting: Game Weapon
For this project, we were challenged to make a 3D weapon from scratch, meaning we made the model in Maya, added details in ZBrush, and painted the texture with Substance Painter. I took inspiration from the Kirby franchise, and made an alternate version of Kirby’s “Ultra Sword”.
Digital Sculpting: Table Scene
Our first project in Animation 2 was to create a table scene. I started out by making the base in Maya, and once I had gained more experience with Maya and ZBrush, I went back and added more detail. Finally, I added the colors and textures in Substance Painter, and rendered it out.
