UWMilwaukee- Illustration
Do You Need it All?November of 2019
15" x 10" Color Pencils on Illustration Board Exhibition TextThis piece, which I titled Do You Need It All?, is a two piece project. The pieces alone do not have much purpose, but together they tell a story. My inspiration for this piece came from a homeless man I met in my hometown. Contrary to what many may believe including me, this man was truly happy and he taught me a lesson I'll always remember. During this piece, I enjoyed that I was able to take knowledge from other classes like IB Geogrpahy and incorporate them into my brainstorming phase.
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The Process:
Inspirations
One of my inspirations was this slide show that was presented to me in class. This presentation had all the requirements and even had some examples that really helped me get started. This presentation said we needed to make a piece with two complete opposites, and as I went over the examples within the slides, I tried and tried to come up with an idea that was more than just getting the grade. I wanted to create a piece that was going to tell me as well as my audience a story. After a few days of brainstorming, I sat down to talk with my mom about her trip, and that's when the idea popped in my head. It was the first idea that felt like it gave off a genuine story.
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Referring back to the homeless man I had met months before, I remebered something he taught me, something that I will always remember. He told me that day that yes he did struggle a lot, and for him the next day was never certain, and for that reason, he wanted to live everyday as happy as can be because he never knew if it would be his last. This man had next to nothing, but he was happier than most people I see. He did not care of his imagine on others. At the en of the day, he was the only one that knew himself, definitely not one of the hundreds that pass him by as they drive to the job. He didn't need the latest technology or fastest cars, or 1 million dollars to be happy. He realized his situation and chose to make the best of it instead of envying others
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My last inspiration was a conversation I had with my mom after she arrived back home from a trip to mexico. She talked to me about how while she was over there, she saw everyone looking alive. Everyone was up and moving. She didn't see a single person asking for money. And even the poorest of the poorest were all happy. They were dedicated to their lives, and similarly to my previous inspiration, that was what pushed me spread this message.
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Process
I started this piece with a few outlines and drafts of how I could illustrate my message t the audience. I created 3 drafts before coming up with the bsics to my final draft. Once I had that sketch done, I transfored my ideas onto an online website know as photopea. This allowed me to explore with my art and find a new techniqque that i rally enjoyed working with. Using photopea, I was able to make a single draft and then duplicate it. This is what allowed me to havethe main charachter in the same spot in each piece. designing the one with the solo person was realively easy . It took some time getting used to each tool, but with practice, i was ble to get a product I was proud of in no time. The other one was a little more challenging as i waould try to experiment with more tools, and things jus didn't always go my way. I polled a few ofmy family members and friends, and i asked them, what ar few things you can live without. I used this poll to identify what I would be using in the back ground. Although this method took some getting used to, I feel as though it sped up the process, and I got to learn something new. Once I had my final drafts, using Mr.Chad's (my art teacher), I was able to print them out the same size as my illustration board. ONce I had my drafts printed, i used a technique known as lightbox tracing. i did this by making myself a DIY light box which consisted of my glass desk and bright desk lamp undernethe to project light through both the final draft copies and the illustration board. This left a shadom or outline of each object within the piece. I then used those prints to refer back to look at the details for my final piece as I worked on it. These methods actually worked surprisingly well for me as I went along with this project, and best of all, I was bettering my skils.
Planning:
I didn't make any planning sketches and I feel like that did end up hurting me in the long run. I felt like by doing my rough layout on photopea, I would be able to pass without making the planning sketches. I feel like this was definitely a mistake because I feel like if I had made some previous sketches, I could've had more creativity with it.
Techniques and Tools
The only tools I really used include photopea or photoshop, a ruler, color pencils, and a pencil. I obviously started by using photopea to design how i wanted my paper layout to be. after that was all done and printed, I used the grid method as well as light tracing to get the same image, but now on my piece.Once I had everything drawn in and finalized, I cleared my paper of any eraser and pencil marks so that those flaws wouldn't appear later on.I think continued with the color pencils coloring in object by object. This allowed for there to be less error and more control. Already having it printed out in color helped a lot so that I could color match things easier as well as use it as a reference.
Reflection:
This piece doesn't really connect to my usual them revolving around earth based things, but it was important to me, and it was about a topic that I feel never gets it's share of attention. Through this piece, I had the opportunity to illustrate the difference between having everything you could ever want, and having happiness. This topic was something I always wanted to explore, but until then, I never felt like I had a piece that could go with this idea. I like that I used and put the main figure in the center so that he pops out the most. I did this sot hat the viewer would analyse them 1st and then see how they have different facial expressions. One thing I didn't like was how blank the happy illustration was, but I didn't add anything else because I wanted to portray that he didn't need anything at all.
ACT Responses:
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause and effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
One direct effect I saw from my inspiration is the way I portrayed the two main people. One was happy with nothing while the other was miserable with everything.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding your topic?
The author is very much into the movement. His word choice, and the way I read it make me come to the conclusion that this is a movement he is comfortable and interested in.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while researching inspiration?
While researching, I had to think about general things that almost everyone would possibly want. I put food, clothes, entertainment systems, car, money, friends, etc.
What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
The central idea I had while researching mainly revolved around the happiness of the main figure. Does he really need it all to be happy?
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I had to make inferences while reading and looking for inspiration. I had to try and picture what others would want. I had to try and put myself in the shoes of both people.
One direct effect I saw from my inspiration is the way I portrayed the two main people. One was happy with nothing while the other was miserable with everything.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding your topic?
The author is very much into the movement. His word choice, and the way I read it make me come to the conclusion that this is a movement he is comfortable and interested in.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while researching inspiration?
While researching, I had to think about general things that almost everyone would possibly want. I put food, clothes, entertainment systems, car, money, friends, etc.
What was the central theme or idea around your inspirational research?
The central idea I had while researching mainly revolved around the happiness of the main figure. Does he really need it all to be happy?
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I had to make inferences while reading and looking for inspiration. I had to try and picture what others would want. I had to try and put myself in the shoes of both people.
Bibliography:
photopea.com