- What idea were you exploring in your Identity Collage Assignment? How did this influence the way you approached other assignments in class and/or your experience at Parsons? (post images)
In my identity Collage Assignment I was exploring the idea of distressing and dissecting reality and turning it into a new story. This idea influenced the way I approached other assignments in class in that there was a clear way I worked with my thought process and textures. This act of distressing and using textures and shapes is something that can be seen in all of my work and illustrates my style of work.
- What concepts did you learn that helped you with observational drawing? How did this impact your work? (post images)
When doing observational drawing, I learned about space and density. I thought it was helpful to think of the skeletal aspect of people when drawing them and to sketch them by trying to draw in weight and capture the dimensional aspect of the body. Also, having the drawings timed in different intervals was helpful to see how much of the figure we were able to condense into the shorter time periods. I was impressed with how in shorter time periods I was still able to pack in a lot of the major details of the figure and really capture the pose and attitude of the figure I was observing. This impacted my work in that I had a greater sense of space and form.
- What was your most significant creative challenge in the class? How did you address it? (post images)
The most significant creative challenge I had in the class was narrowing down my idea to one specific theme. I know what I like to do and in general a very vague theme I like to follow, but it was difficult for me to express a specific story and idea. Toward the end of the semester I was able to find and capture my idea more easily and depict a specific story that I wanted to illustrate.
- What did you learn from a project in which you worked in both analog and digital formats? Choose one example and describe how the media involved influenced how you worked. What were the benefits and drawbacks of working in analog vs. digital media?
In projects that we worked in analog and digital format I learned how to work in different mediums. For example, the paper self portrait and the digital self portrait. The paper self portrait we used different shades of color paper to illustrate light and shadow. Working with physical paper and this very hands-on project, we were able to have a sense of control of where to place the paper and to get the type of curve and line we imagine with just a cut of paper. For the digital self portrait we went to a museum and selected a painting that drew us in that we could imitate the pose for our own self portrait. Later, we used the colors from this painting and used them to create the lights and shadows in our digital piece. While working on the digital format, the task was still to capture light and shadow but to do so in photoshop. Working on a digital piece is a bit for frustrating since the technology has to work for you but you have to know where to go and where to click to get it to do what you want. Working on an analog piece has its benefits in it being easier to control and easier to maneuver but the drawbacks would be that it does not look as neat as it does on a Digital piece. Working in digital, it does look neater and cleaner but only if you are able to get the technology to work for you and if you know how to maneuver the system. The drawbacks of this, would be that you’d have to do some research and learn how to use photoshop or illustrator before being successful in using the program to your advantage.
- What was the most important skill, concept, or breakthrough that you gained from taking this Drawing/Imaging class? How do you think it will influence your work in the future?
The most important skill I’ve gained through this Drawing/Imaging class has been to practice my drawing skills and use them in photoshop. I had never experienced photoshop and never used it to create artworks. I feel comfortable using the software now and I am confident that I can use it toward my major.
