Category: DMA 395

I did my project on how to make subpar overnight oats. I chose this because I make overnight oats almost everyday and decided to stick with what I know. I wanted to do the project completely non-digitally because I had completed every other project on my computer. I love working with my hands and was craving some arts and crafts, so I saw this as the perfect opportunity. I did multiple sketches before beginning the project, which helped develop the concept. I normally do not sketch before a project, but I thought it was important since this medium does not allow me to easily make changes. I had the last minute idea to use different patterns and make it look like a scrapbook. I like to put some sort of twist on my projects, so I guess that was how I did it this time. I had a lot of fun with this project and it was really enjoyable to create something with my hands rather than on a screen.

These are my nature illustrations that I completed in Adobe Illustrator. I chose a blocky, rough style that allowed me to deconstruct the reference images into simple shapes. It made me view the images in terms of highlights and shadows. I felt that the technique was simple and not too difficult, but still enabled me to create interesting illustrations. The most difficult part was the time and patience it took to create the meticulous details, specifically in the tree. I enjoyed using a color palette because it tied all the illustrations together and made the style feel more consistent. Overall, this project was very fun and I would illustrate with this style and technique again.

This is my digital portrait of Jack Black. I used the Adobe Illustrator image trace tool to simplify the image and limit the number of colors. I then brought the image to Photoshop and used the mixer brush tool to blend the rough edges and create the illusion of a painting. I selected different pieces of the image to add filters and effects. Then Kyra gave me the funny idea to switch their eyes. I wanted to see how that would look so I tried it. I thought it looked interesting and a little funny so I decided to keep it. The most difficult part of this project was challenging myself to stop comparing my work to other portraits. I found myself trying to put my work in a box and limit my creativity. The project became much more fun when I let my creativity flow freely and stopped comparing my work to other projects. Using Photoshop and Illustrator was not an issue and I enjoyed learning how to use the Wacom tablets and pens. They allowed me to use the brush tools, which I typically avoid. I am excited to continue practicing and improving my skills with the tablet and pen.