Black History Month

2-color poster. Original illustrations using Wacom tablet. 

Just readin’

Click on the gif!

 

The Most Important Present I Bought This Year (hint: it’s for myself)

Whatever, I’m selfish. Sue me. So if you’re wondering what I bought myself, feast your eyes on this beaut below. Drool.

That’s right, a DSLR camera! Digital. Single. Lens. Reflex. Olypmus E-PL1 to be exact. Runnin with the big dogs now. I’m not sure if I just made that up or if it’s an actual phrase. Specs: Not insanely huge like most DSLRs, but it has a huge sensor (see pic above compared to most DSLRs); it’s not too expensive as far as nice cameras go; 12.3 MP (not that MP really matter much these days- it’s all about the sensors); builtin flash; continuous autofocus; HD video; 14-42 mm lens; 10.6 ounces. this pretty much sums up how happy i was to make this purchase:

So there are few purchases that I’ve made that I can remember significantly impacting my life, including but not limited to: my Ipod, a week’s stay at an oceanfront beach house (spring break.yea.), my current cell phone, and the laptop with which I’m writing this post. I’m hoping this camera will be added to that list. Not that there’s any actual list. Anyway, I just have high expectations for this thing.

Reasons this will exponentially impact the quality of my life:

1. I’m a Vis. Comm. (Visual Communications) major, so it will help me in like every class.

2. I’ll be able to take professional pictures of my work for my portfolio. Better portfolio=Employed graphic designer making $100,000 (I dream big; graphic designers don’t make that much)

3. Better pictures for this blog, which is a fun hobby of mine

4. Quality pictures of friends and family (aw)

5. IREALLYWANTTOTRAVEL (hopefully to Greece), and when I do I’ll be ready to capture all the cool things I see

6. I’ll get major props for looking cool with a legit camera. People will see me with it and be like, “She’s got a big lens on that camera. She must take art seriously.” (Only somewhat kidding)

7. Facebook pictures will be superb, not that I upload many pictures to Facebook anyway

So what if I’ve been constantly checking my Amazon account to see if the camera has been shipped yet? And maybe I was doing this during our Christmas Eve family get-together. I did mingle with family, don’t worry. Highlights from the Christmas Eve get-together tonight: Nerf gun war waged between ‘the older kids’ and ‘the little kids’ (which I’m sure I’ll have to pick up the darts tomorrow. siked.); THE DELCIOUS BEAN DIP; talking about what shenanigans that will ensue at my cousin’s wedding this summer; my brother got a snare drum from my uncle who’s giving him lessons; playing Wii and foosball with the cousins; THE DELCIOUS BEAN DIP; roasting mallows outside on the patio; getting fluffy socks from my aunt; did I mention the bean dip was good?

An anti-highlight: It refuses to snow for Christmas. Come on Saint Louis.

Ok, to conclude: siked for new camera. You’ll know when I get it, because I plan on posting an annoyingly large volume of photos as soon as the delivery guy puts the package on my doorstep. Also, I’m hopefully getting a fisheye lens from ma mere, yay!

Final Portfolio: Illustration Class

It’s that time of year again. My nails are gone, the fridge is stocked with caffeine, and my social life is nonexistant. It must be FINALS TIME! WOO! Oh, and the holidays are coming soon, so that’s exciting. Anyway, here’s my portfolio:

1. Lincoln Competition

Reflection: I had to include Lincoln  in my final because it was my first illustration that I was really proud of. I ended up retouching it, though. This gouache was when I finally started to get the hang of things. The important things I learned about gouache in this this illustration were: 1. Instead of trying to blend colors for a gradual tone change, it’s easiest to wait til a color dries and paint a similar color next to it (like I did in the pant leg shadows) 2. Don’t be afraid to add interesting (but perhaps not relative) designs in the background 3. Be clever! Don’t do generic illustrations, no one likes them. Anyway, besides learning things, I maintained my figure drawing skills from Drawing 2. The proportions are correct and the facial features are realistic. Go ‘merica!

2. Life and Death

 

Reflection: It’s a good thing marker comps aren’t turned in for final grades, because my marker comp for this wasn’t too great. But I’m proud of the printout! This was done with watercolor, and then I photoshopped the heck out of it. I think because it’s so simple, I was able to focus on all the details (aka the slight color shift of the broken edges, the shadows, everything’s smooth). I made these a little lighter because my last printout was kind of dark. I also increased the highlights so the reflections on the glass would stand out. Although I thought this was going to turn out kindof cliche, I think I pulled it off as timeless. The soft glow in both illustrations evokes emotion as well as draws the attention toward the bulb.

3. Number Five

Reflection: This illustration was done with gouache, line, and photoshop. I chose to include my number five piece partly because I feel my use of lines were well done. When looking through all of my pieces, I realized that I don’t usually use line. And in this illustration, it turned out really well, even though it was last minute. I changed it from the original by fixing some major inconsistencies, such as the brush mark in the pink area on the left, the sun that wasn’t round, and blurring out some of the farmland. My favorite part of this piece is how the skydivers stand out so much from the background. It draws the viewer’s eye to the details of each person. This is a pretty different style than I normally do.

4. Book Cover Art (Dust cover, ITunes Art, CD cover)

Reflection: YES, I know this book cover gives away the ending! So many people have told me this already. I have been wanting to do an underwater scene for awhile, so I thought I’d do it for the final piece. Better late than never! So I hope you (Rusty) aren’t grading on this being able to actually sell, what with the final scene on the front… Anyway, these were done with watercolor, then photoshopped. Having different sizes (CD, dusk jacket, Itunes) makes it so much more work #firstworldproblems. For the last illustration that we had to have three different printouts, I was able to just drag them to the different sizes instead of changing each individually (because they were all mostly square-ish). But I’m kind of glad this had to be different sizes, because I like the variety. I got to be creative and add “professional-looking” things like the Compact Disc mark. Also, the text really pulls it all together. The gradual fade to black around the corners draws the eye to the focal point. I’m happy with the colors, even though it’s a relatively small pallette range. The blood in this illustration actually looks realistic (especially compared to my piece for the World Record). I love that the light shining down through the water actually looks how it’s supposed to. My roommate, who always says she hates my artwork (sometimes I can’t tell if she’s joking or not..) said it really looked like water. So yea, that’s good. Well, THE END! Have a nice Christmas break!

Wise Words...

Reblogged from all things splendid:

{Photograph by Thomas Zimmer via 500px}

“The reason why the universe is eternal

is that it does not live for itself;

it gives life to others as it transforms”

~Lao Tzu

…Have a wonderful weekend!

{Click photo for source}

Lost My Flash Drive

Well, all my scanned photos from Illustration and designs for Vis.Comm. are on that thing. Nothing important or anything (sarcasm). Also, the Financial Aid office told me they accidentally put the wrong scholarship on my account, so I lost $500. What a wonderful week it’s been. Enough venting

Coming Attractions

Apologies for my recent absence, I was busy moving back in to college. Finally unpacked and getting into the groove of things. Stay posted for sketches and watercolors from my Illustration class!