Question 1
1. Which project was your most successful? Describe the theme and or topic and the process you went through to complete the project. Were the choices you made regarding material, size, technique, etc beneficial to enhancing this project. Please explain.
For me, I think that my pen and ink final project was my most successful this semester. This project challenged me, and in the end I feel like I did a good job and became a better artist. To begin the process, I had to decide upon which reference photos to use. I wanted to incorporate perspective (which we had just learned), so I thought a path might be a good idea. The first thing that popped into my mind was The Great Wall of China. I found a couple reference photos, and combined aspects of them to create my piece, but it was still kind of bland. I chose to add an animal to the piece to show that this was The Great Wall of China, not just any wall, and I decided on a dragon rather than a panda. I tried different pen and ink techniques in my final sketches, from hatching to cross-hatching to stippling. In my mind, I wanted to cross-hatch because it would have taken half the amount of time, but I knew that if I wanted this piece to turn out good, stippling was the best way to go. I worked many hours on this piece in class, and took it home to work on it for probably 6 more hours over a few weeks. I didn't have much of a choice regarding material, and despite the amount of time it took, I think it is the right sized piece. I thought my technique, especially on the bricks, turned out really well. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how this turned out, and it made me a better artist.
For me, I think that my pen and ink final project was my most successful this semester. This project challenged me, and in the end I feel like I did a good job and became a better artist. To begin the process, I had to decide upon which reference photos to use. I wanted to incorporate perspective (which we had just learned), so I thought a path might be a good idea. The first thing that popped into my mind was The Great Wall of China. I found a couple reference photos, and combined aspects of them to create my piece, but it was still kind of bland. I chose to add an animal to the piece to show that this was The Great Wall of China, not just any wall, and I decided on a dragon rather than a panda. I tried different pen and ink techniques in my final sketches, from hatching to cross-hatching to stippling. In my mind, I wanted to cross-hatch because it would have taken half the amount of time, but I knew that if I wanted this piece to turn out good, stippling was the best way to go. I worked many hours on this piece in class, and took it home to work on it for probably 6 more hours over a few weeks. I didn't have much of a choice regarding material, and despite the amount of time it took, I think it is the right sized piece. I thought my technique, especially on the bricks, turned out really well. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised with how this turned out, and it made me a better artist.
Question 2
3. Choose 2 mini lessons that you felt were the most beneficial in your learning for that particular project. Include photos of these and explain thoroughly. Do you feel you needed more instruction for success? Explain or did you feel that the instruction given was enough to ensure success? Explain.
The first mini lesson that really did a lot for me was the perspective. I had learned perspective in Art 1, but i think the mini lessons of drawing city streets and houses helped me get a lot better at drawing using 1, 2, and 3 point perspective. I was able to use the horizon line and vanishing point on my pen and ink project, which was done in 1 point perspective.
Another mini lesson that helped a lot was the Prismacolor fruit and spheres. Before Art 2, I had never used Prismacolor, so this was new for me. By drawing the spheres, I was able to learn how the pencils blended with each other and how to add value. I learned that the best way to draw a shadow is with a contrasting color to the object's color. The highlights that I practiced in these mini lessons translated to my Prismacolor final project, where I added highlights to my ladybug and leaf.
The first mini lesson that really did a lot for me was the perspective. I had learned perspective in Art 1, but i think the mini lessons of drawing city streets and houses helped me get a lot better at drawing using 1, 2, and 3 point perspective. I was able to use the horizon line and vanishing point on my pen and ink project, which was done in 1 point perspective.
Another mini lesson that helped a lot was the Prismacolor fruit and spheres. Before Art 2, I had never used Prismacolor, so this was new for me. By drawing the spheres, I was able to learn how the pencils blended with each other and how to add value. I learned that the best way to draw a shadow is with a contrasting color to the object's color. The highlights that I practiced in these mini lessons translated to my Prismacolor final project, where I added highlights to my ladybug and leaf.
Question 3
4. Look over the blogs of other students in our class. Choose a piece of artwork from one of your classmates that you feel is an exemplary showcase of what the project was to depict. Think about how the artist used the medium, utilized the elements of art and design principles, was original with their ideas and went beyond their comfort zone or the realm of the requirements. Make sure you have the image of their artwork along with their name (first name only) posted with this response.
I thought Jackson did a really good job with this piece, his O'Keefe inspired drawing. The goal of this project was to take a close-up photo and create a piece using Prismacolor or pastels. Jackson used pastels and pastel paper to create this close-up of a rock wall. He did a good job of blending colors in this piece and adding black between the rocks. I know that the toughest part for him was adding texture to the rocks, because without it they look kind of plain. Jackson went out of his comfort zone to add more orange and white to create texture, and I think he did a really good job. I think Jackson benefited greatly from the pastel techniques mini project that we worked on in class. He was able to use a number of techniques to blend and create texture in this piece.
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