concentration blog
For my concentration I wanted to focus on the idea of "uniquely beautiful". Each piece will represent at least one person who isn't typical in the eyes of the general population, whether it is physically or neurologically. For my mediums I would love to use Copic markers, but mine are on their last leg, and with how expensive they are I had to pick a new medium. I decided to use watercolors and fine line markers to create my pieces so I could keep a softer and more cute look, which will complement my cartoony style.
Beach babe Leona
For my first piece I wanted to do a woman with vitiligo at the beach. I chose her to be at the beach because I think people who have vitiligo are very beautiful and should show off their skin the same way people who don't have it can. For my mediums I used watercolor, frisket, Micron markers, and the Pentel pocket brush pen on watercolor paper.
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Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Taking Risk: I took a risk with my use of medium. Although I have experience with watercolor, I only used it for a handful of small crafts. I also took a risk by using it for such a complicated skin pattern. At times I was scared because it look horrible, but in the end I think this painting turned out well.
Develop Skill: As I previously said, my experience with watercolor was limited at this point, so I feel that my control and vibrancy improved greatly throughout the making of this piece.
Taking Risk: I took a risk with my use of medium. Although I have experience with watercolor, I only used it for a handful of small crafts. I also took a risk by using it for such a complicated skin pattern. At times I was scared because it look horrible, but in the end I think this painting turned out well.
Develop Skill: As I previously said, my experience with watercolor was limited at this point, so I feel that my control and vibrancy improved greatly throughout the making of this piece.
Carter the basketball star
Carter is a little boy who loves to play basketball and won't let anything get in the way of him playing, not even the fact he's in a wheelchair. Although Carter is a made up character, I felt that it was really important for his personality to shine through so people would see him as a happy little boy rather than a kid with a disability. I used Prismacolor color pencils and acrylic paint on watercolor paper.
Reference Imagine:
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Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Original Art: This is original art because while researching reference images I couldn't find any illustrations or paintings like this. I had to fully rely on reference pictures and using creativity to add my own spin.
Communicate Through Artwork: I'm communicating a story through my artwork by showing the story of this little boy, who in someway is disabled or injured and has to stay in a wheelchair, who won't let this prevent him from doing what he loves.
Original Art: This is original art because while researching reference images I couldn't find any illustrations or paintings like this. I had to fully rely on reference pictures and using creativity to add my own spin.
Communicate Through Artwork: I'm communicating a story through my artwork by showing the story of this little boy, who in someway is disabled or injured and has to stay in a wheelchair, who won't let this prevent him from doing what he loves.
Caden and Henry
What's cuter than a couple in love? These two adorable men are enjoying a lovely day at the park, and why not have your picture taken when you and your boo look so good? I wanted this drawing to be very simple and "normal" as possible. I want to show people who view homosexual relationships as weird or unnatural, that they are natural and should be viewed the same as heterosexual relationships. I used Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference Image:
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In Progress:
Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Personal Voice: I create my own personal voice by showing that I am comfortable with and support homosexual couples.
Create Original Art: I created original art by applying my own unique style.
Personal Voice: I create my own personal voice by showing that I am comfortable with and support homosexual couples.
Create Original Art: I created original art by applying my own unique style.
Renee the strong
The idea behind Renee is that she is a young woman who had a mastectomy due to breast cancer. My goal with each piece is to make them look more organic and as if they are moments captured from everyday life, so I didn't want her to be posing to show off her breast. I had to come up with an appropriate scenario for when someone would have their breast exposed, and although I'm not against letting the girls free because to me breast are the same as mens' chest, I decided that the most acceptable time for a woman to be topless would be in the process of getting dressed or undressed. After doing multiple sketches, I decided that the best time would be her getting ready in the morning. The media I used is Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference Images:
Sketches:
In Progress:
Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Solve Problems: At this point I was getting very discourages with using color pencils because everything looked very scratchy and nothing was blending at all. I did some research on ways I could more smoothly blend everything together and the only thing I could get a hold of in stores was baby oil. It was a complete shock when I started to blend everything together with baby oil, it's not perfect but it's a lot better than what it was. It also made my art smell like babies which was kind of a bonus.
Collaborate: I was unsure of how I would make the hair, so I discussed it with my table mates and they helped me come up with the wavy multicolored hair.
Solve Problems: At this point I was getting very discourages with using color pencils because everything looked very scratchy and nothing was blending at all. I did some research on ways I could more smoothly blend everything together and the only thing I could get a hold of in stores was baby oil. It was a complete shock when I started to blend everything together with baby oil, it's not perfect but it's a lot better than what it was. It also made my art smell like babies which was kind of a bonus.
Collaborate: I was unsure of how I would make the hair, so I discussed it with my table mates and they helped me come up with the wavy multicolored hair.
Tiny Dancers Olivia and Talin
Olivia and Talin are probably the cutest ballerinas ever! These two little girls are in a dance class for children with down syndrome, and they are loving every moment of it! Especially shy little Olivia, she loves to dress up in all the poofy tutus and princess dresses. Ms. Kate is their amazing dance instructor who couldn't ask for anything better than to help these wonderful kids. My media is Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference:
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Final:
Artistic Behavior:
Take risk: This piece was challenging because it was hard to find a good balance between sticking with my style and and making the girls look like they have down syndrome, but also not making it too obvious and having it look disrespectful.
Develop Skills: This piece shows that I have become more comfortable playing around with skin tones due to the fact that other than my piece with everyone in it, it has the most range of skin tones.
Take risk: This piece was challenging because it was hard to find a good balance between sticking with my style and and making the girls look like they have down syndrome, but also not making it too obvious and having it look disrespectful.
Develop Skills: This piece shows that I have become more comfortable playing around with skin tones due to the fact that other than my piece with everyone in it, it has the most range of skin tones.
Super bro aiyden
Aiyden is a sweet teenage boy who loves to read and listen to music, he's also an idol for his little sister. Although this illustration is very colorful and cute, it had an underlying tone of sadness once you take a closer look. Aiyden was recently released from the hospital due to self harm, that's why there are redder cuts on his wrist, and motivational cards all around his room. Although self harm and suicide are heavy topics, they are extremely common, especially in teens, so that's why I wanted to represent it in one of my pieces. I have many friends who suffer from ranging levels of depression, along with other disorders, and multiple of my friends used to self harm so this piece really hits close to home. I used Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference:
Sketch:
In Progress:
Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Developing Skills: I feel like I started to expand my artistic horizons with this piece because before this I stuck with mostly close ups, or full body poses with simple backgrounds. This was the first time I really tried to add more to the background, and instead of it just filling up space, it helps tell the story.
Communicating Through Work: I feel like this piece has the most noticeable story due all the little cards, drawings, and posters around the room. I like that these simple gesters never actually say what was wrong with Aiyden, but the scars and cuts on his wrist put everything together and tells a pretty emotional story.
Developing Skills: I feel like I started to expand my artistic horizons with this piece because before this I stuck with mostly close ups, or full body poses with simple backgrounds. This was the first time I really tried to add more to the background, and instead of it just filling up space, it helps tell the story.
Communicating Through Work: I feel like this piece has the most noticeable story due all the little cards, drawings, and posters around the room. I like that these simple gesters never actually say what was wrong with Aiyden, but the scars and cuts on his wrist put everything together and tells a pretty emotional story.
Sonya and Hana's Sweet Summer Days
There's nothing better than eating ice cream on a hot summer day with your best friend. Sonya and Hana are just hanging out at the local park and enjoying the sunshine. I used Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper to create this sweet illustration.
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Artistic Behaviors:
Reflect: Although most of this piece came out really well, I should have done the background differently. I like the idea of ice cream mountains, but I should have executed it better by making the colors duller so they would have seemed farther away. The colors are too bright and I should have used watercolor.
Take risk: I took a risk by going for a more fairy tale fantasy world with having the environment carry on the ice cream theme. Although I didn't execute it as well as I wanted it still came out cool and I really enjoy it. Art is nothing but making mistakes and learning from them.
Reflect: Although most of this piece came out really well, I should have done the background differently. I like the idea of ice cream mountains, but I should have executed it better by making the colors duller so they would have seemed farther away. The colors are too bright and I should have used watercolor.
Take risk: I took a risk by going for a more fairy tale fantasy world with having the environment carry on the ice cream theme. Although I didn't execute it as well as I wanted it still came out cool and I really enjoy it. Art is nothing but making mistakes and learning from them.
Kaia and sticky
There's no questioning it that Kaia is a very unique individual. Many may be quick to judge her body hair, acne, and body size, but little do they know that she is a representation of PCOS, polycystic ovary syndrome. PCOS is a rather common hormonal disorder for woman that often results in ovarian follicles and irregular menstruation. Some of the more common external side effects are excess hair growth, acne, and obesity. This queen is rocking it though, sporting some teal hair to represent the disorder and keeping her head held high. I used Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference:
Sketch:
In Progress:
Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Reflect: I should have developed the background more. It just looks too layed out and the colors don't go together. It doesn't look like a lived in bedroom like I wanted. I should have added more items around the room.
Solve Problems: My marker started to go dry while coloring in the carpet, so I did a thin layer and then used a second color to blend everything together and more cohesive.
Reflect: I should have developed the background more. It just looks too layed out and the colors don't go together. It doesn't look like a lived in bedroom like I wanted. I should have added more items around the room.
Solve Problems: My marker started to go dry while coloring in the carpet, so I did a thin layer and then used a second color to blend everything together and more cohesive.
Allie green thumbs
This illustration might be the most relatable out of all of my pieces for anyone who had to deal with periods. Allie is your typical young woman who just happens to love to garden, but just because she loves nature doesn't mean she can control it. I don't know a single person who gets their period and has never bled through their clothes, yet so many people are so ashamed and disgusted when it happens. It's hard enough to deal with periods, let alone when others put judge you for something you can't control, so let's all support Allie and embrace our bodies and make the opportunity for people to get use to this natural process. My media is Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference:
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Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Personal Voice: In this piece I'm saying "Hey, periods happen. Get over it." by making the stain obvious and using red throughout the piece to make that little bit on her pants grab your attention even more.
Develop Skills: I think this piece has the best background in the sense of how much the subject is interacting with it and everything feels like a connected whole.
Personal Voice: In this piece I'm saying "Hey, periods happen. Get over it." by making the stain obvious and using red throughout the piece to make that little bit on her pants grab your attention even more.
Develop Skills: I think this piece has the best background in the sense of how much the subject is interacting with it and everything feels like a connected whole.
Family
This piece is probably my favorite out of all of my concentration pieces. I wanted to combine all of the people I have created into one final piece to represent the fact that although we are all so different, we can all get along and love one another. Although there are quite a few mistakes in this drawing, I think it adds to the fact that we are all made up of many little mistakes, but also many more beautiful things, creating an unique and stunning whole. For my media I used Copic, Prismacolor, and Winston & Newton markers, along with my Pentel Pocket Brush pen, white Gelly Roll pen, and a pink watercolor pencil on watercolor paper.
Reference:
For this piece I know I should have used more refrence pictures, but I got carried away with the characters just being themselves. At the time I felt that this was the only reference picture that I needed and just went for it. I looked at all of my other pictures throughout the process to get the characters to match up.
Sketch:
In Progress:
Final:
Artistic Behaviors:
Reflect: As I mentioned above, I should have used more reference pictures. If I did use more I could have avoided silly mistakes like making Sonya's (woman in purple skirt) hand backwards.
Original Art: This is a very original piece considering that all 13 characters were created by me, and it was all drawn in my style. I am very proud of this, even though it's flawed, and will use this as a learning experience.
Reflect: As I mentioned above, I should have used more reference pictures. If I did use more I could have avoided silly mistakes like making Sonya's (woman in purple skirt) hand backwards.
Original Art: This is a very original piece considering that all 13 characters were created by me, and it was all drawn in my style. I am very proud of this, even though it's flawed, and will use this as a learning experience.