In Design class, we were given the assignment to create a vector image using Adobe Illustrator. The image was supposed to show one of your good traits while also depicting one of your vices. Drawing in Illustrator was very challenging and frustrating at times, but it was also very fun and I am pleased with the result of my work.

For my Self-Portrait Illustration, I chose to depict my perfectionist side. I love to draw, but I end up throwing away many of my projects because I feel like they are not good enough to continue.

The lightbulb represents my imagination and the ball and chain weighing it down is my sense of perfectionism. The papers lying against the floor and against the wall are meant to represent all of the projects I have thrown out. The pencils are scattered around the floor as if they were thrown in a fit of anger to convey a sense of frustration at not being able to finish because of my perfectinism. The gray background helps get across the feeling of the depression at not being good enough, but the shining of the lightbulb adds a little bit of a hopeful feeling that someday I will get there.

 

© 2011 Melisa Jones. All rights reserved.