Maya B

maya batra

freestyle academy graduate with a focus in design

years of study: 2022-2024

This page showcases a collection of my most rewarding works completed at Freestyle Academy, all of which have increased my proficiency in working with industry-level programs while broadening my holistic skillset. Reflecting on this collection, I feel proud of the way in which I conquered the learning curves of these projects, but would graciously consider any and all feedback/constructive criticism that could deepen my perspective. Upon viewing my work, if a reviewer is interested in business inquiries regarding creative projects in any of the following disciplines: digital marketing, graphic design, industrial sales material production, social media management, logo/brand design, or website design, I would be more than happy to consider and kindly ask that they refer to the message below. The art pieces below appear in no particular order. THANK YOU!

TO COMMUNICATE ANY BUSINESS INQUIRIES OR REVIEWS OF MY WORK, PLEASE SEND A MESSAGE TO THE FOLLOWING EMAIL ADDRESS WITH “FREESTYLE PORTFOLIO” AS THE SUBJECT LINE:

MAYA.BATRA@GMAIL.COM

*Alternatively, these final pieces can be viewed in more depth at various other locations of my website. Hyperlinks to each respective unit can be found below.

DOCUMENTARY • VISUAL PERSPECTIVE • REFLECTIONS • SHOWCASE (MINI PORTFOLIO) • NARRATIVE • ZENITH • EXPLORATIONS • CONCEPTUAL • HUMOR •

#1 surreal composition

artist statement

For my surreal composition, I was inspired by the world-building idea of constructing my own ideal universe with elements from various fictional stories. I found myself coming across the idea of cotton candy clouds and a purple-pink sky in my childhood favorites, which inspired me to represent the Earth as a dark pink, candy-like ball encompassed by a light pink sunset. Sitting on top of the planet is a girl with big dreams, intended to represent myself, and an unrealistically large butterfly looking down at her. I included the butterfly to symbolize hope and transformation of our world to a better place.

#2 documentary book

artist statement

In my documentary book, I cover a young baker and his journey to stardom, as well as family members who venture alongside him as he bakes his way from a home kitchen to Food Network’s Kids Baking Championship. This initial stages of the process consisted of coordinating and conducting interviews, researching the life of my subject, and producing a 10-page outline of my book’s text. It was only after this that I began the design aspect of the project, for which I created graphic design elements, structured the book layout, worked with backgrounds, created color schemes, and edited photos. Regarding applications used to facilitate each component, I used Adobe Illustrator for the GDE’s, backgrounds, and colors, Adobe Photoshop for the photo editing, and InDesign for the book and photo layout.

#3 mandala

Slide RIGHT To View B&W Mandala; Slide LEFT To View Colored Mandala

artist statement

While designing my mandala, I was greatly inspired by my love of music and a trip I took to Nashville Tennessee to explore the country music scene. I not only have several references to music, such as the group of music notes and acoustic guitars, but also several country-specific references that I drew from my visit to Music City such as cowboy hats, boots, and hooves. The objects come together in a mandala to form a sunflower shape in which the smaller parts are encompassed by larger flower petals.

#4 product logo design + advertisement

artist statement

In my product logo, I advertise the Chardonnay variation of white wine, as sold by a fictitious company called Wine & Vine. I was inspired by an elegant dinner party that I attended, and took it upon myself to create a product that appeals to young adult women. To further gain ideas for my logo design, I created a moodboard to capture the elegant, vintage feel that I wanted to invoke with my wine logo. In creating my color palette, I used a variety of yellows and greens to represent the lemony hue of Chardonnay and the green grapes from which they are made.

I decided to make the central focus of my logo a large bunch of green grapes, encompassed by a yellow sun with lengthy lime green rays. I created the design using the pen tool in Adobe Illustrator, and was satisfied with its simplistic nature and effective incorporation of my initial color palette. I then added texture to the key details and drew an additional outline on the individual grapes to portray a hint of depth. My primary font was curvy and elegant, whereas my secondary font was inspired by the vintage hatch show print fonts of Nashville, Tennessee, where my Chardonnay is from. I used a grey image-traced photograph of a vineyard as the background, to further amplify the old-fashioned nature Wine & Vine.

After designing my product logo for Wine & Vine, I created a magazine advertisement for the product (Chardonnay), which includes the product logo, a slogan, and other eye-catching elements that cater to my target audience. I maintained a vintage and elegant look as I incorporated an old paper texture and model wearing a bold red, atop softer shades of the greens and yellows associated with white wine. These variations in color, texture and size draw attention to the women drinking Wine & Vine Chardonnay, which ideally makes viewers want to pertain with such boldness and elegancy.

#5 book jacket

artist statement

To compliment the narrative that I brought to life in my English world building project, titled The Artificial Revolution, I designed a book jacket for a hypothetical book that follows this storyline.

“The Artificial Revolution” follows a young girl named Luna Bytes who grew up in an underdeveloped, technology-deprived neighborhood that surrounds a hyper-advanced futuristic city called Quantum Heights. However, after secretly getting her hands on a series of gadgets and devices from former elite-class residents who are lost along the borders, she begins to devise a plan to enter Quantum Heights and experience the beautiful city for herself. Not only is this mission inspired by her love for tinkering and technology, but also her hopes of making a better life for her family. However, when she finally crosses the border, Bytes realizes that this realm is not all it’s cracked up to be. Its people are slaves to technology, and the newest AI implantable devices are increasingly serving as a tool for the city’s leader and antagonist, Phantom Prime, to take over the world.

I used Adobe InDesign for the layout of my book jacket, including separators for the front, back, spine, back flap, and front flap. I designed individual elements, such as background patterns, objects, and visual effects in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. My final book jacket conveys the themes of space and technology, containing numerous shades of blue and grey. The tech-infused glove reaching out to the brain represents the dangerous hold technology has on users, and circuit board pattern represents the takeover of increasingly advanced computers.

#6 movie poster

artist statement

To further develop my English world building narrative, I created a movie poster that portrays the imagined world of The Artificial Revolution and its storyline. My movie poster heavily draws from dystopian, futuristic, and science fiction influences, which are prominent in this world.

“The Artificial Revolution” follows a young girl named Luna Bytes who grew up in an underdeveloped, technology-deprived neighborhood that surrounds a hyper-advanced futuristic city called Quantum Heights. However, after secretly getting her hands on a series of gadgets and devices from former elite-class residents who are lost along the borders, she begins to devise a plan to enter Quantum Heights and experience the beautiful city for herself. Not only is this mission inspired by her love for tinkering and technology, but also her hopes of building a better life for her family. However, when she finally crosses the border, Bytes realizes that this realm is not all it’s cracked up to be. Its people are slaves to technology, and the newest AI implantable devices are increasingly serving as a tool for the city’s leader and antagonist, Phantom Prime, to take over the world.

In order to visually maintain the central themes of the story as I crafted my movie poster, which include technology, space, and dystopia, I used Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to create an image in which young dreamer Luna Bytes has her gaze fixed on the futuristic, artificially-intelligent world that she longs to be a part of. However, as represented by the shield guarding her eyes, she is blindsided by the dark side of innovation which slowly begins to reveal itself. I used a technology inspired font called Ultra for the title and tagline of my movie poster, and a neon blue and white color scheme inspired by the tech noir film Tron. In Adobe Photoshop, I created a smoke-like gradient to represent my protagonist’s emergence into the otherworldly city of Quantum Heights, as well as the outline for the woman herself. I amplified my color scheme through the use of fidelity-lowering tools which incorporated additional tints, tones, and shades of blue, white, and grey into my piece. I applied drop shadows and used the selection tool in Adobe Photoshop to create the 3D planet, as well as the constellation, further enhancing the space background.

*Following the completion of my custom movie poster, I experimented with Adobe Photoshop’s new AI tool in order to recreate my design as an illustration. I then made slight adjustments to my most favored result, which appears alongside my custom designed movie poster (above).

#7 stacked wooden art

artist statement

My Stacked Wooden Art Project was inspired by the idea of an “artificial intelligence takeover” in a technology-driven world. It is also intended to symbolize the dangers of blindly submitting to technology, the primary theme of my world-building project. For instance, the gears positioned at the top of the head represent how misuse of technology increasingly pushes us towards becoming emotionless robots who lack originality and creativity, as we fall into a mindless pattern of relying on technology for aid and blindly believing what the internet tells us. The computer chip labeled ‘AI’ at the bottom of the face not only represents a mind + life fueled by technology but also a primary aspect of the world that I built, in which wearable technologies, such as microchip implants, are the newest trend. The story that takes place within my world is called “The Artificial Revolution”, and follows a young girl who sets out to rescue her city from the dark side of technology. The illustration stage of my 3D stacked wood art project challenged my knowledge regarding layers in Adobe Illustrator, an experience that brought me to work with them more comfortably and creatively. In producing various media to showcase my art, I was introduced to 3D space in film-based special effects program Adobe After Effects. This gave me a deeper understanding of the program and allowed me to bring my art to life in a brand new way. Overall, this project allowed me to express my creativity and compliment my world-building project in a unique manner, all while equipping me with skills that I will continue to use at Freestyle and beyond.

humor project

The Sister Squad

what is it?

The final “humor project” is an opportunity for seniors to explore personal comedic influences in the creation of their own lighthearted, laugh-invoking content. Given that this project was our last at Freestyle Academy, we were free to create in any crossover of mediums with few boundaries. My time spent on this endeavor was thoroughly enjoyable, and a steadfast reminder of how creativity feeds the soul.

inspiration + the idea

I worked alongside LexiD and EvaD to recreate popular YouTube trends in a way that mocks their nature, otherwise known as “parody content.” Before we even approached this project, it was clear that the three of us shared a mutual love for YouTube influencers of the 2010’s. As we reminisced on laughter-filled moments of our past, the idea of starting our own comedic YouTube channel was highly favored. We conversed over popular YouTube trends that made us smile (in part because of their predictability/corniness), and were overcome with the urge to merge those trends with the beloved parody genre. To initiate the brainstorm process, we crafted a list of over 12 trends to recreate, which was narrowed down to the following: (Tesla) Giveaway, inspired by David Dobrik’s expensive giveaway videos, Apology (Song) Video, inspired by Colleen Ballinger infamous “song” apology, a haunted 3AM Challenge as inspired by JayStation’s eerie 3am videos, and a cheesy Introduction Video that mocks YouTube culture as a whole.

Both our YouTube aesthetic and personalities were heavily inspired by the movie Mean Girls. We recreated the famous pose made by the 3 mean girls in the film for our channel icon and banner, while using a similar pink-inspired color scheme. In our video content, we each took on the role of a respective “mean girl” by pertaining their personality; I portrayed authoritative, bossy Regina George, LexiD portrayed ditzy, naive Karen Smith, and EvaD portrayed insecure, gossip-obsessed Gretchen Wieners. We aimed for this to come across in our videos, while also maintaining the nature of the trends we were recreating.

the process

Our process for producing each of the 4 videos consisted of:

1. Drafting a script based on our humorist influences, the trend we were recreating, and our respective acting “roles”
2. Setting a location, casting extras as needed, and determining any lighting, equipment, props, accessories, and/or attire necessary for filming.
3. Cutting and arranging our video clips in Adobe After Effects, inserting sound effects/graphics/music to enhance our humor techniques, adding subtitles when necessary (ie. for the apology song) *We used ProTools, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe Photoshop to facilitate this process as well, although not consistently.
4. Designing a comedic thumbnail to represent the YouTube video in Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator
5. Uploading the finalized video + corresponding thumbnail to our channel titled the “Sister Squad” on video-sharing platform YouTube.

*The “Sister Squad” channel banner, icon, and intro clip were edited using Adobe Photoshop, Canva, and Premiere Pro

research: humorist study

The following “humorist study” communicates how I intended to incorporate the humor techniques that are commonly used by my influences.

parody video thumbnails

the videos

behind the scenes

#productive

my project: miniatures

In the audio above, I read aloud the text inserted below.

step 1: inspiration

For my Zenith Project, I decided to immerse myself in the creation process of miniatures, which are small-scale models of objects arranged to form miniature settings. Ever since I first began to subconsciously admire unique art forms, I have taken great interest in miniatures, which slowly grew into an enduring fascination. As a child, I would make the effort to collect as many dollhouse structures as I could, excited by the realistic, meticulous spaces they contained. It wasn’t until the pandemic hit that I realized this excitement was for the miniature structures themselves, as I avidly watched videos of miniaturists assembling spaces in my abundant free time. However, due to my lack of confidence, time, and experience in physical structure building, I refrained from attempting to create custom structures. In reflecting on the fact that the Zenith project was a chance to explore a passion-invoking, unfamiliar form of art, I decided that this project would be the perfect opportunity to fully delve into creating miniatures of my own.

step 2: project planning

I started by creating rough sketches of my initial idea, which consisted of building a miniature living room and kitchen. At this point in the process, I was heavily influenced by miniaturists Joshua Smith and Lori Nix. Nix’s work was notably intriguing, as she incorporates a modern, urban twist in desiging her own small scale models of large cities such as New York. It wasn’t long before I began to focus my lens on a specific category of miniatures called Book Nooks, which are essentially compact mini spaces built within the confines of a hollow book spine. The final piece slides between two books in a case and serves to represent a miniature world that exists within the shelves.

I decided to pursue the fabrication of two, unique Book Nooks which contain a vintage library and garden house setting, respectively. In addressing themes, I circled back to my younger days once more as I drew from aesthetic vintage library shots from beloved fictional worlds, such as those portrayed in Beauty And The Beast. Regarding the garden theme, I was heavily inspired by miniature fairy houses that appear in Disney movies such as Tinkerbell: The Lost Treasure.  To initiate the process of fabricating my dream Book Nooks, I created a calendar for my overall project, in which I outlined a rough schedule of the portions I set to have completed by certain dates in order to stay on track. I then created rough sketches of unique accessories and components that I wanted to incorporate into my Book Nooks.

step 3: building

As for the building process, I first focused on foundations as I purchased sets of wood that could be assembled to form miniature structures and even larger furniture pieces. I also purchased garden and library themed Book Nook kits on Amazon to serve as a starting point. In order to bind and sever the pieces, I used building tools such as superglue, accelerator to enhance the strength of adhesive, cutting blades, and sandpaper. I endured plenty of trial and error regarding  specific tools used for the job; for instance, before discovering a gel-form of super glue, I pursued hot glue, which would clump up and string out, followed by wood glue, which would smear and dry at an inefficient rate. I also learned about glue accelerator, which is a spray that is applied atop glue to enhance its binding abilities. Regarding accessories, I identified certain components that proved aesthetic for my furniture layouts, and layered components from my themed kits along with other finds to achieve this. For the vintage library, I wrapped sticker book covers around blocks of wood. To add a unique touch, I sized and I printed some of my own book covers, which represent classic books that I enjoy such as Anne of Green Gables and Little Women. I also assembled furniture pieces such as tables, and outdoor tool cabinets for the garden. From my research, I learned how important details are in creating realistic miniatures, and proceeded to include dozens of accessories ranging anywhere from visible lights to tiny rolled up newspapers. To add additional windows, I trimmed plastic and inserted pieces into the bookcase lining of my vintage library, as well as the walls of my garden house. Another key aspect of creating miniature-world realism was to ensure that the little components were compact, so as to make the setting appear cluttered and worn in. When I stacked and glued accessories into the hollow confines of my book spine, I worked my way from the back to the front by combining and placing accessories to create the homey sense of a used living space. I stacked accessories not only horizontally but vertically, from the lights at the ceiling to carpet lining the floor. Accessories for the garden Book Nook included gardening shelves, tools and shovels, rows of plants, and botanical wall art. My vintage library Book Nook also contained posters and wall art, along with book shelves, seating, and a coffee mug. All of these miniature components came together to create my final settings. As a final touch, I implemented real working lights at the end using LEDs.

final products

step 4: reflection

Looking back, this project heavily acquainted me with physical building, cutting, and assembly, all of which presented learning curves within the process. I learned how to work with tools and practice safety, which, for me, included the use of non-stick gloves and even filtering masks. During assembly, I grew familiar with aspects of interior design, and began to understand how large of an impact layout has on the final appeal of the setting. In arranging these miniature components, I quickly learned what aided me in achieving my desired look and what brought me farther from it. As I put the bittersweet finishing touches on my vintage library and garden Book Nooks, I realized how much I enjoyed the process itself. I hope to continue pursuing all kinds of physical art and dive further into the construction of miniatures as I passionately create in the future.

zenith presentation

introduction

In this unit, we learned how to best communicate our story ideas visually through a variety of different projects in our Digital Media, English, and elective classes. We began the unit with creating our own short stories and proceeded to bring these to life through several projects such as designing cover art for our flash fiction, narrating our stories and editing the audio with special effects, designing creatures that metaphorically represented the protagonists of our stories, editing real life photographs depicting scenes from our stories, and more. We were forced to step out of our comfort zone creatively and used familiar applications in a more advanced manner while also learning how to best utilize several new programs. In the Narrative 1 unit, we specialized in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Avid Pro Tools, amongst others.

It valued being able to become more familiar with a variety of new professional programs and also witness how I had improved in using ones we had learned last unit such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Avid Pro Tools. I also appreciated getting to really explore these creative mediums through my story because I feel like through having the time to display it in so many different ways forced me to revise it over and over again until it finally became something I am proud to share.

short story

a splash of color

Lucinda hesitantly glanced at the colorful painting, unsure of what bothered her more, the bright neon colors or the fact that it was crooked. She could notice a pin in a haystack, but could not explain her distaste for color. 

Perhaps this was all courtesy of her Aunt Clara, once a clever detective. Ever since Lucinda’s mom died just months after giving birth to her first and only daughter, Clara became a loving mother figure in Lucinda’s life. Her aunt always proclaimed color to be a distraction, going on about how black and white displayed the true beauty of life. 

So here Lucinda was, a middle-aged woman, just recently turned fifty two, passing through the lobby on the way up to her tiny apartment in Lancaster. In her hand was a fresh cup of coffee, and in her coat, a pocket knife, her mother’s diamond ring, and a hair pin, of course. She never left the house without the ring, and as for the other two, well, Lucinda wouldn’t dare go out unprepared, always expecting the worst.

As she pushed the button to her floor on the elevator, she felt a breeze rush in. Turning to her right, Lucinda was surprised to see an unfamiliar face. It was a man she had never seen before. He had broad shoulders, musty gray hair, and deep wrinkles lining his forehead. Excuse me, she wanted to ask him. Do you live here? But she couldn’t get the words out. After making silent observations for the ten years she had lived in the building, Lucinda was sure she knew every single face by heart, and he was surely not a regular. She slipped her hand into her pocket and ran her fingers along the edges of her mother’s ring, something that she often did when she was nervous.

 When the elevator came to a stop, the feeling of blood rushing back to Lucinda’s head kept her back a moment. As the strange man walked past her, she noticed something painfully odd. In his right pocket, a wad of cash, far too big to be carried around by any average person. But what was even stranger was what was in the other. A photograph, crumpled and ripped, was sticking out of his left pocket. It was only partly visible but brought up memories of a photo on her father’s mantle. A candid photograph of her mother from her early days, in which she was standing alone in front of a Jewelry Shop, wearing a dress made of rhinestones. And here it was, again, she was almost certain, so carelessly shoved in this strange man’s pocket. Could it really be? Perhaps she was imagining things. 

Such a thing might be dismissed by most, but Lucinda knew her instinct was rarely ever wrong. She reached her hand out just stealthily enough to obtain a piece of its upper right corner, and soon after let out a small gasp. She was right, but the photo wasn’t the same. Her mom was still there, young and beautiful as ever, but to her right was the man she had just encountered, arms wrapped around her. Thoughts and questions flooded her head. Lucinda quickly flipped the piece of the paper over to see if there was a date. 1972, she was able to make out from the smeared pencil marks. That was the year her mother died. 

Before the doors could close she quickly stepped out onto the man’s floor, inching forward and watching as he walked into the very last room of the row. Lucinda then made her way over and pulled out her hairpin, unlocking the door and peering through slightly. She was taken aback by what she saw. Colorful painting after painting lined the walls. She had never seen so much art in her life, and despised it. It wasn’t even a choice of her own, it was in her genes. She was raised to hate it, just like her mom and aunt and everyone else in her dull, artless family. She covered her eyes, tripping over the edge of the door and falling in. “You okay there?” She peered up and saw the man looking at her in a state of both confusion and amusement. Lucinda quickly got up and fixed herself. “Listen, I don’t know who you are, but I do know that you did something to my mom,” she spat out, holding up the photograph. To her surprise, the man smiled. Shaking his head, he replied: “Oh Meredith, I miss her so much. I didn’t know she ever had her daughter.” A swirl of emotions took over in Lucinda’s mind. “We first met in art school and remained the closest of friends. I was heartbroken when she fell ill,” he said. Art school? “But… my mom hates art,” she replied, confused. The man laughed. “Meredith? Hating Art?”, he laughed. “See these paintings here?” he pointed up to a row of canvas’ lining the ceiling. “All Meridith’s work.” Lucinda looked up at the swirls of color, soon spotting her mom’s name scribbled in the bottom corner of each of the paintings. That was her, alright. 

Within the next thirty minutes the train arrived at her Aunt Clara’s house in the suburbs. At the doorstep, she knocked frantically. Her aunt answered the door. Clara, Lucinda jumped into her arms. Her aunt seemed confused. “What happened?” she said, leading her to the table in her monotone kitchen. “So I talked to this man, and he told me that mom was an artist,” Lucinda proclaimed. Her aunt looked shocked. After a moment she replied: “There are millions of people named Meredith in Lancaster.” But Lucinda couldn’t hear her at all. All she could hear were the loud, colorful thoughts running through her head as she looked across the painfully artless, black and white walls. Suddenly it all made sense. She did have all the pieces all along, but they were lacking one thing. Color. 

short story audio

Inspiration + Writing Process

The first project of the Narrative Unit consisted of writing our own flash fiction “short story” in English. I had been watching a lot of murder mystery shows at the time, and was immediately determined to create some kind of twisted, haunting mystery that fit within the 1000 word limit. We began the process with outlines, story boards, and character development brainstorms. In order to effectively lay out a series of clues and enough background information in order for the reader to get the full murder mystery experience, I had to write and rewrite the story a couple of times, slowly making it more concise each time while preserving the most important parts of the story. My final result was a story about a middle aged women Lucinda who was began to suspect that her mother, who died when she was a very small child, was actually murdered, and the killer was not only still out there but lived in her apartment.

After completing my story, I was able to bring it to life through designing an album cover that captured the essence of the story using Adobe Illustrator, and recording a full narration of my story and then editing the audio and adding sound effects, music, and other such adjustments through Avid Pro Tools. As a Design student who also loves listening to podcasts audiobooks, making the cover art and narration were two of my absolute favorite parts of this project. I also feel that designing the cover art really improved my Adobe Illustrator skills. Prior to this I primarily got my Illustrator experience in Design class using Wacom tables, but for this project I had to use my MacBook Laptop to create, which was a new experience.

illustrations

This unit presented me with an opportunity to enhance my abilities in working with Adobe Illustrator. We worked on several projects, some based off of a prompt, such as the Exquisite Corps project, and others that completely open-ended which were intimidating but presented a holistic learning experience. The biggest example of this was our final Illustrator Choice Project. For the first few weeks, we spent our time learning and familiarizing ourselves with the platform. This gave us access to a wide range of professional tools, all which we were able to apply by the end of the Narrative 1 unit. The projects also helped me put Adobe Illustrator’s capabilities to the test.

Exquisite Corps

The Exquisite Corps Project was a group activity in which each member was assigned a respective part of a traditional creature body to design using Adobe Illustrator. None of the Freestyle students in my group were allowed to see any of each others’ designs until the very end when Mr. Flo put all of our body parts together to make a whole creature, which was a hilarious and amazing reveal. It was such a cool experience to see the way others had interpreted this project but also the combination of each of our artistic visions created such a beautiful Corpse in the end. The project was actually based off of a game in real life called Exquisite Corpse in which each participant draws on a portion of a paper and then passes it along to the next, but only after folding it to conceal their own work. The fun is in the reveal, where everyones random drawings come together as one. It was so exciting to get to do this with our own twist using Adobe Illustrator.

custom Merch illustration

The Illustrator Choice Project was certainly my favorite from the whole unit, as we were allowed to create whatever design wanted in Adobe Illustrator using skills we had been learning throughout the Narrative 1 unit. Once we were finished, we printed our design on a 3D object of our choice, in real life. When we started this project I had just recently come back from a trip to Hawaii and I saw a lot of people with cute, tropical, tote bags, so I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try and create one of my own. I greatly enjoyed the level of freedom we had with this project, and it was magical to see my custom design on an object that I am able to utilize daily.

the big reveal… my design

music production

my parody song: listen here

During this unit, we also had the chance to experiment with music production and created our own parody for a song of our choice. Throughout the process of creating this, we got to edit the instrumental for our song, record our own lyrics in an actual studio, and edit it all together using Avid ProTools. I love songwriting and singing so this was a very fun creative project I got to partake in and I am grateful for the opportunity and resources at Freestyle such as our very own recording studio. However, I will be honest and say that ProTools is one of the most complicated programs I have used. It took me a while to learn how to pan vocals left and right, change the volume throughout, blend it effectively with the backing track, and so much more. For my song I chose to do Landslide by Fleetwood Mac, a timeless classic, but instead rewrote the lyrics to be about the various stresses of being in High School.

composition works

narrative creature

In Design, my elective class, we embarked on designing our very own creatures, a very lengthy project that led to rewarding results. For our creatures, we combined the body parts of a mammal, reptile, bird, sea creature, and insect in a way that best represented the personality of the protagonist in our short story. My main character, Lucinda is independent, represented by a horse head, shy, represented by a turtle body, intelligent, represented by bird wings, mysterious, represented by a shark fin, and stubborn, represented by grasshopper legs. Through using Adobe Illustrator I was able to effectively combine all of these seperate body parts to create my own creature, named Sharklehorse Winghopper.

Narrative Character Portrait

We were challenged to bring our short stories to life even further, through photography. In order to achieve this we had to find a model who would be willing to portray the main character and set up a scene from our story to use as the location for the photo. This one definitely brought me out of my comfort zone because I had never worked with camera lights before, but I ended up using a mixture of several to create an environment surrounded with dim red light, helping to further represent the crime scene I was attempting to portray. This project also brought me back to using Adobe Photoshop, and I used it to edit the curves of my photo as well as use a warm filter in order to enhance the portrait to my liking.