Upclose and Personal

There was this one time when I went to an aquarium in Myrtle Beach. There was stingrays there swimming around and you were allowed to touch them if they came close enough. I really wanted to touch one but at the same time I didn't cause they might be slimy or something gross like that. When the stingray came over, I reached down and it slide my hand across its body. It did feel a little bit slimy but it in a cool way. I wish I could expand on the way it but felt but unfortunately, the stingray was gone as soon as I touched it. When I did my first sketch I wasn't sure where I was going to put the emphasis yet so I just drew a plain stingray. Mr. Sands then told me I should put the emphasis on the tail so I got references for that. I did the tail a slightly different color so it'd stand out and I made it loop around. Originally, I was going to use oil pastels but I thought it looked more vibrant with the chalk. This was the first time I used chalk as a medium and I liked it except that it's very messy. 

What's the Point?

Some of my solutions were very simple like what's the point of school, a pencil, and a toothpick. Others where more abstract like what is the point of religious wars. I chose to do pointe shoes even though it was one of the more simple ones because I really enjoy the art of dance. I do not dance myself but I wish I did and love seeing others dance. 

I showed contrast between the border and the piece of paper I drew it  on. There was also contrast between the pointe shoes and the piece of paper. I did a lot of shading and smudging in my work to get values and create the contrast. For this project, I took a risk by drawing bigger. I tend to draw really small so even though my pointe shoes weren't that big, they were a lot larger then what I am used to. 

1. Explain how you changed your photo in the lab to create a stencil.

 We copied and pasted our picture into Photoshop then turned it black and white.

2. When creating the collage background explain your choices of colors, materials (magazine paper, books pages, etc), and placement. How does it relate to your topic? If no relation discuss general idea.

For the collage, I tried to find things that related to Great Britain or royalty because I did the Buckingham Palace. I chose to use purple because it's my favorite color and it makes everything better.

3. Discuss the way positive and negative space was used to create your stencil.

All the positive space was white and I didn't cut it out. All the negative space was black and I did cut it out. This created contrast and made the composition and stencil complete.

4. When using the xacto knife, explain the safety procedures, how to use the knife and any challenges you had to overcome while cutting.
While using the Xacto knife, you had to be careful because it could cut you or someone else. It was hard to make the Xacto knife straight and do all the little stuff. 

5. How was your experience with the spray paint? Discuss how color choice is important, placement of stencil, and any other concepts you noticed while creating this. 
My spray paint experience was good, except sometimes it was hard to push down the nozzle. I choice to use the color black so it would really pop out from the purple. 

Game Drawing in Perspective Critique

I didn't really like this project because it was hard to draw all the characters in perspective. It was really hard to draw the game pieces so they'd look like they were standing up. I think only of the game pieces turned out successful. When we practiced perspective, your horizon line and vanishing points were there to help guide you, but in this they weren't which made it difficult. I also didn't know what vanishing point each different piece went to so I just kind of winged it. I did like using the watercolors and colored pencils to finish off the drawing because I think it brought it to life, it looked more realistic. Doing the washes of the watercolor was pretty easy, but sometimes I it was too dark and looked out of place. It was hard blending the color pencils to get the right values and highlights in each object, but I think it looks pretty good. By the time I got to the shadows, I was really just over this project and I just put down some black blob instead. I think the hardest part of this project was to overlap the playing cards. I was really confused on how to make it look like a stack of cards, but I think I did a good job at them. If I could do this project over again, I'd probably change my picture to be more upclose to one section of the game instead of like three-fourths of it. I think I could have done better, but it was okay.

Anamorphosis Critique

1. Describe the process you went through to change your object into the correct perspective to create the drawing. This is when you were in the lab.
 First I had to put my picture in Photoshop and then I had to make the picture bigger by using the scale. After you had to transform  the picture by stretching out the top part to change the perspective.

2. How did distorting and stretching the object allow for you to create a drawing that would look different to the viewer?
Distorting and stretching the object allowed me to create a drawing that would look different to the the viewer because you just had to draw what you saw. You didn't have to imagine how it would like in a different perspective, it was already there for you. All the values and shadows were there for you also so you could make it look 3D.
 

3. What were the most important concepts in the project to make it successful?
 Drawing the grid is probably one of the most important concepts in this project because that way you can break the picture down into smaller pieces. This makes it easier because you only have to draw one little thing pure box not a huge object at once. Using the colored pencils to make the values is also important so the drawing actually looks like and an anamorphosis drawing.

Printmaking

1. Describe the overall composition of your artwork.
    I had a good balance of negative and positive space. I think I had unity because it all came together and looked like one print, not individual prints. I had good contrast with the butterfly and the background.
2. How did you add texture and contrast to your print? Is this important? Why?
    I added texture by cutting out different pieces in the linoleum. I added contrast by keeping white spaces and adding black spaces. This is important because there wouldn't be a design without it.
3. Explain how you used positive and negative space to show your image.
    Positive and negative space was used to separate the flowers to the dragonflies. It was also used to add contrast and texture. The negative space actually made the flowers and the dragonfly while the positive added contrast and color.
4. Describe the craftsmanship of your print.
    I think my drawing of the print was really good, but the actual print wasn't that good. I think I messed up cutting because the dragonfly was hard to control the knife and get the round shapes.
5. Were you able to achieve depth by showing a foreground, middle ground, and background? Explain.
    I only had a background, but I still think I had depth. I didn't really need a foreground or a middle ground because the dragonfly was just sitting on a bed of flowers. It added depth because some flowers were positive space and others were negative space.
6. Explain your experience with printmaking. What were the obstacles and advantages?
    It was hard to cut out all the pieces. It was to get all the rounded shapes. I don't think their were really any advantages.

Print Sketch Critique

1. Why is texture so important to have in your sketches?

    It is important to have texture in your sketches because then when you make the final print, it will be defined and your animal won't get lost in the print. Texture also makes the print look more realistic instead of childish. Texture makes your work look less boring and plain and more interesting.

2. Why is it neccessary for you to have several references of each animal and each background? Explain.

     It is neccessary to have several references because then you can look at the textures and the shapes real good. They are also helpful to make your drawing look realistic. Without referneces, you won't really get all the details you need to make your animal and background look real.

3. When you look at your sketches are you able to see which sketch is the strongest and will make the best print? How do you know this? 

    I do know which sketch is the strongest and the best print. I know this by how much texture and contrast is in the sketch. If barely has texture, then it's not the best. If it has too much texture, then it might not be the best either.