AP Studio Art

Semester 1 Reflection.

So far in this class, I've learned how to draw realistically, draw in a way that guides the viewer's eyes around my artwork, make use of color and pattern when expressing emotions, and how to draw in an expressive manner.

I have been the most successful, surprisingly, with things I'm new to. I loved the result of sustained investigation 3 because, although I was less content with the concepts, it was the first time I had tried something of that size since middle school. I probably had the most fun with sustained investigation 4 and I was content with the outcome. The water soluble graphite created effects completely foreign to me and the lack of control that resulted in was freeing. I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the texture on the skin (that gave the impression of cracking and reminded me of pictures of some deserts) and the background where I used large amounts of graphite which created a thick, paint-like feel. Lastly, I was really happy with the outcome of my donate life project. It was the first large project I made using procreate, and I really enjoyed the particular brush I used where the more I pushed down on the pen, the lighter and more textured it got. Additionally, I discovered a feature in procreate that enabled me to look at a timelapse of my artistic process which showed me the broader context of ever brush stroke I made.

This year, I've struggled the most with is reconciling perfectionism's positives and negatives. This can be seen in sustained investigation 5. I focused so long on the center focus of the drawing, I skipped adding details on large sections. And, I think that I will not submit the version with the text because it takes away from the drawing. This can also be seen in sustained investigation 6. I, in the process of finding the "perfect" concept, lost time I could've been spending drawing. This was a trap I fell into repeatedly over the course of this year. Since for the first half of the year I had no good way of doing digital art at school, I had to find other productive ways of spending class time, and I got in the habit of doing research and drawing studies before even starting. This, though, was the most evident in my duck stamp painting. I spent over two hours alone on selecting a reference, editing the reference, and setting up the drawing. Although under different circumstances this would've helped, with my limited time-frame, it made it impossible to finish on time.

My artistic goals for next semester are to look more deeply into my sustained investigation and change it around, revisit artwork I'm not currently content with, and try more mediums that are new to me. I would like to try to incorporate my sustained investigation prompt in new ways as well as adjust my sustained investigation. I hope that reflection on this will help me create a greater impact for my artwork. One concept that I haven't fully embraced is that if I'm not content with an artwork piece from a long time ago, I'm able to go back and adjust it. Since I've been busy, I haven't taken the time to go back and do this, but I think I can make my concentration more cohesive as well as increase the technical difficulty. As I pointed out in my second paragraph, I've really enjoyed and felt good when I've tried new mediums, so I would like to continue to explore outside my comfort zone. Lastly, I really would like to improve my technical skill and proportions when drawing people, so I'm making a goal to do 5 minutes of figure sketching daily.

Final Reflection

Over the course of this year, I've learned a lot, in terms of process and technique. Thinking back to the beginning of the year, I had a difficult time coming up with concepts, and I would spend at least an hour just to come up with even simple ideas. For example, I spent a full hour just to find a pattern to put behind the character on my first sustained investigation. As the year moved on, I began to look at my sketches for inspiration, and once I got my tablet, I was able to keep a digital sketchbook with me at all times. Sketches and notes I may have forgotten otherwise turned into some of my favorite drawings of the year: sustained investigation 9, 13, and 14. Additionally, I've found that I'm the happiest with the outcome of a drawing when I focused on laying out the colors and basic composition of a drawing before starting. This helped me to lay out the basics, which I filled in with whatever details came to mind. This method worked especially well when I was spending some time throughout the day working on the drawing. For example, in sustained investigation 9, I was able to draw inspiration from my room, a library, and 2 classrooms when I was trying to figure out how to create clutter in the space.

Looking back on this year, I've struggled the most with creating characters that are varied and anatomically correct. Starting with my first drawing of the year, the character's proportions are strange and warped. I almost ruined the paper trying to get it right. Even though I was happy with my fourth sustained investigation overall, I had a difficult time getting the hands to look right--and I didn't succeed much with that endeavor. Half-way through the year, I realized that all of my characters looked the same, so I tried to add more variability. Recently, I've spent some extra time to get better specifically at drawing full peoples and clothing.

My artistic goals for the summer and into the future are to continue practicing technical skill. I found a lot of references that I'm going to try to practice drawing. Next year, I'd like to challenge myself with more traditional art projects. On a similar note, I'm hoping to participate in Inktober next year, as I need to work on making art consistently instead of in short spurts. Additionally, I would like to learn how to show movement in my drawings, since many of my favorite pieces of artwork show ongoing actions instead of just a character sitting or standing. Lastly, I'd like to try drawing from life more, since this several of these I've made have developed into larger pieces.