2D Design

Semester 1 Course Reflection:

Even though this course was only a semester long, I was able to learn a lot from it. The units we covered were: WatchamaDRAWit, Beautiful Oops, Time Capsules, Extended Blind Contour, Circle Dot project, Logo design, Photoshopped self-portrait, Stars & Stripes, Designing Abstraction, Donate Life Design, Duck Stamp, and Sustained Investigations #1, #2, and #3. One skill that I developed was the use of digital art using Photoshop Editor. I completed the works for my Photoshopped Self-portrait, Stars & Stripes, Logo Design, and my Donate Life Design. This form of art gave me a new opening to experiment with different mediums and styles of art. In the WatchamaDRAWit project, you can see that I played with perspective. During this semester I also played a lot with color. In my work, I usually used very vibrant colors or else no colors at all. I also toyed with the use of contrast which created interesting looks and usually a more realistic feel.

I was most successful with materials that gave me more control, overall. When I used fine-tipped pens or graphite pencils, my illustrations were more realistic and precise. I think that I thrived with these materials because I am very used to them, very comfortable with them, and very attached to them. I used some of these materials in my WatchamaDRAWit project, my Time Capsule, my Circle Dot project, and my second and third Sustained Investigations (to name a few). I also geared these projects towards realism, which I enjoy best. I am a realist artist and I think that I do my best with this style.

There were also a few things I struggled with this semester. I am not a fan of backgrounds in art the majority of the time, so I tended to avoid incorporating them into my pieces. I think I also struggled with depth in some projects. A few looked more 2D than I would have hoped, even if this course is called 2D Design. Finally, I struggled with patience in my artwork, which can lead to rushing in some areas and results in art that I am not as proud of. I tend to rush work a lot. It is usually alright, but I should work on improving my patience and being more careful.

My goals in art moving forward are mainly to work on my weaknesses in art. I will try to push my creativity and thinking so that I can include more use of background in my artwork. It is usually not my style, but I am willing to step outside my comfort zone. I would also like to improve the depth of my artwork (if it fits the style). I could probably improve this through the use of light, shading, contrast, and attention to detail. Finally, I will try to improve the patience I have when doing art. I could deliberately try and slow down the process. I have plenty of time to do all this, as I plan to take art courses in the future and continue improving my skills.