Reflections

Introduction

During the Reflections unit, we made films, essays, and videos about who we are. We started off the unit in English by writing the “This I believe” essay. I wrote about believing everyone’s emotions are valuable. I used this writing and recorded it on my audio recorder. I used this recording to then create a voice over for my This I believe video in digital media. I used images that complimented my recording and made a video in After Effects. In the film, we made a reflection film about something that goes through our heads every day. Mine was about not being able to express me.

Mandala

For this project, we used Adobe Illustrator to create mandalas that reflect our creative persona and just ourselves as people. Mine incorporated dinosaurs and aliens that make me a little weird but are who I am. Also, some of my culture with the “Evil Eye.”

Black and White Mandala
Colored Mandala

Final Product

Artist Statement

The process of this mandala was tedious yet so much fun. We got to create mandalas that reflect ourselves are how we like to create. We used Adobe Illustrator to create the mandala, we start by making the template and then we drew what we wanted. In my mandala, I incorporated things I love and I also incorporated things that mean a lot to me. I did this for myself so I remember that all the little things count.

In the center I did some really simple designs like eyes, this is to symbolize the ‘Evil Eye’ which in my culture is supposed to be a protector and keep evil away. Then there are some aliens to show my love for outer space. I also put some 70’s bubble flowers in which are my favorite flowers to draw. As you go further out you can see there is more outer space stuff like UFO’S and shooting stars. The aliens over them. The swirls near the top represent not being able to think straight and millions of things being asked of you but you can keep track. And on top is two kissing dinosaurs. The reason for this was out of my love for dinosaurs but also to show that even when there are many hard things, if you have people you love by your side, you can make it through.

This I Believe

During the “This I Believe” unit we got to express ourselves through writing, film creation, and short videos. In English, we wrote about something we believe in. Mine was about believing that everyone’s emotions are valuable no matter what their situation is. In Digital Media, we audio-recorded the essays we wrote during English and added images that compliment it so make a short video in After Effects. In Film, we wrote about our feeling to create a voice-over reflection. From this, I filmed my cousins to represent me and act out the parts of the audio.

This I believe Essay

After Effects Interface

Photoshop Art Production

In Photoshop we have been learning how to make our images look like realistic paintings. We did pastel paintings and watercolor paintings. I did a giraffe painting and conversation paintings.

Artist Statement

My inspiration for this piece was actually from a funny video I saw of a giraffe spitting on a person’s face. When I started the painting I drew the basic outline for the giraffe’s face and the spots on its body. However, it looked a little boring. That’s when I decided to make it a pastel giraffe with lots of colors to make it pop. I also added a very prominent red tongue. I am most proud of the fact that I harnessed my creativity to further a piece that looked rather bland at the beginning. Using and applying my creativity is hard for me sometimes so being able to see it well put together was incredible.

This changed my view of seeing others art because when I looked at drawings for painting before, I never realized how tedious the process was. I knew people were talented and they came out amazing but I didn’t realize they did art in many many layers and that it was super time-consuming. I have come to appreciate the little details that artists put into their work because it is very hard and tedious.

Conversations Photoshop paintings

Personal Essay

For the personal essay we got to write about something that we haven’t expressed or wanted to express. This also steamed off the question on “Who am I?”

Film Production

During Film, we wrote voice-over selection scripts that are representative of things that we keep to ourselves. We wrote and revised the script and adding a pacing difference to emphasize parts of the text. Mine was about not being able to express my emotions through screaming because of judgment.

I used my Canon camera to film clips of my cousin acting. Then I audio recorded my script to add in a voice-over. After I went into Premiere Pro and edited my clips together to line up with my audio. I corrected the audio levels and finally exported it.

Something I valued greatly is being able to reflect on myself in a film. I got to see myself come to life from the representation of my cousin. I saw my emotions come to life. This was valuable to me to try contribute myself to my creativity.