The Plan Reflection

The plan for my project was pretty complete, and I stuck to it very closely. It went pretty well, and I'm happy that I went with it. The plan worked very well for me. I had no major difficulties with it, and I didn't have to make any large changes after it was finalized. Overall, I was satisfied with the results. I wouldn't do anything differently if I had to start over.

Skill Development III

To help with my blending, I did a grey scale. This was pretty easy, but I didn't do it very well the first time. The second time went quite a bit better, and I got quite a bit better at blending because of this. I also got to experiment with the different methods of blending, which was quite useful.

Design Reflection

Over the course of this project, its potential design has changed and been refined in many ways. At the beginning of the design stage, I had no idea what I was going to do with the design, only what was required to create the piece as a whole. I went through quite a few design options before reaching the three designs that were refined. None of them were very solid ideas, and I'm happy that I chose the one that I did. The designing itself was pretty difficult because I have very little experience planning and creating art pieces. However, I didn't have too much trouble with it once the ideas started really flowing. The biggest challenges that I had were that I wasn't sure what I wanted to convey for the first bit, but I got an idea eventually. I was most successful in the basic coloring stages. Overall, I think that it went pretty well.

Final Product (Color)

This is the final painting with full color. I'm very excited about the way that it turned out. The coloring was quite a bit harder than I was expecting, specifically the shading/ blending aspect of it. I am proud of the way that it ended up because I didn't expect that I would be able to do this in a semester, even with two full work periods. I'm also proud of it because I didn't rush it, and it looks pretty good for my skill level. I'm also proud of the composition because it took me quite a while to come up with and correct. It wasn't anything like it is at current at its earlier stages, and it's come a long way. I'm pleased with the end result.

Exploration Reflection

Over the course of this project, I explored many areas of potential for this large project. Initially, I was aiming to create both a 3D model and a 2D version of both of the characters that I'd created. However, I quickly realised that completing a reasonably good draft for both of these would be biting off a bit more than I can chew. So, shortly after embarking on this journey, I reduced my goals to just the digital painting aspect. I think that the exploration process was overall quite successful as I learned a lot and applied the skills that I'd learned. I believe that a major area of concern for this project was my skill level because, even though I tried my best, I was unsure if it would be sufficient. I was also nervous about having enough time and choosing a strong composition as I don't work on very many art projects. However, the strengths at this point were that I knew what I was doing, at least on a basic level, and I had a good idea of what I was trying to convey through the piece. Overall, I'm feeling pretty confident with how my exploration phase went.

Peer Feedback

I've shared my ideas for my design with several people, and I've gotten mostly positive feedback. My peers and family have been quite helpful when choosing colors and making compositional decisions. The color decisions were mostly verified by Dana from my 2d graphics class. She also reccomended that I stick with my second design idea along with a few other peers. However, I really thought that that design was rather shallow and didn't have enough meaning, and went with the other one. As it developed, she did support my decison. As a final almost completed piece, my peers seem relatively pleased with it and its development. I myself am very happy with the art, and I'm happy that those who I asked for help gave me such helpful feedback.

Potential Concepts

NOTE: It's probably best to read the initial thoughts/ character background before reading this.

This project started out with many different concepts than the one that it's been narrowed down to at current. At first, the piece was going to embody the friendship between two characters,  Jayme and Noelle. However, I didn't believe that that idea had a strong enough theme. Another concept that the piece went through was also featuring Jayme and Noelle, but this was to represent the beauty of unlikely friendships. This idea wasn't exactly what I wanted either. The next concept for the piece was featuring a solo Jayme, and was to show that you don't have to conform to expectations. I liked this idea quite a lot, but I didn't feel that Jayme was very pressured by the expectations of society, so I came to the final concept. I wanted a piece that represented Noelle and her coflict between being who she is and who she is supposed to be. I wasn't sure how to represent that exactly, but I eventually got to the piece that I wanted after a series of sketches. This marked the creation of the final sketch.

Skill Development II

The second project that I worked on to build up my skill level was painting some body parts. I chose to work on noses and mouths as I was relatively sure that I could handle the eyes. The first thing that I did was look up tutorials. They didn't look too difficult, so I jumped right into it.

I am aware that the mouth could've been a bit better, and that the body parts aren't very realistic. However, I wasn't really aiming for a realistic look. I'm quite satisfied with how these turned out, and they were very fun to make. I was looking forward to creating the actual piece very much at this point. I feel that I was well prepared to make an actual painting at this point.

Skill Development

The first step I took to build skill was to digitally paint an apple. This took me quite a while to do, but since I'm posting this after the initial completion of the apple, I will just explain the different stages.
The first step that I took to create an apple was to watch several videos of others painting apples using digital software. These videos gave me a good idea of what to do in order to be successful. I found that the basic idea was to get a referance image and trace around it and its seperate colors. Then, I colored in the sections.

The next step was to blend. This was the hardest part to wrap my head around because there are so many different methods to use. Above is the first method that I tried, which was to adjust the opacity of the brush. This was obviously not finished at this time, but I was getting frustrated with the outcome, so I switched techniques. 

The above picture was achieved by adjusting the flow instead of the opacity, and I liked this approach much better for this specific project (SIDE NOTE: I ended up using the opacity method on my final painting). At this point, the only step left was to finish up the blending and clean up the choppy edges. 

This was my final product. I am aware that it could have been much better, but I was satisfied with it. I had gotten pretty good at blending, and I liked the way that it looked.

Skill Goal

I would like to learn how to digitally paint, and in order for that to happen, I'll need to learn how to use Photoshop as a digital painting tool. In order for me to do this, I am going to digitally paint an apple. This will help me learn the blending tools, how to create shadows, the basic process of digital painting, and I will figure out exactly what I'm getting myself into. It will also get me more used to using Photoshop as a painting tool. My goal is to make the apple look as recognizable as possible. I may engage in other small skill building projects as well if time allows.

The Plan

In order to complete the project, I will need to:

1. Learn how to proficiently digitally paint in photoshop
1. This will require me to practice the basics of digital painting
2. I'll watch video tutorials on good techniques
3. Finally, I'll practice a bit in context.
2. Learn to sketch using a drawing tablet
1. I'll need to practice basic shapes
2. I'll practice sketching in context
3. Plan the actual painting
1. Initial sketches will need to be completed
2. Final sketches
4. If there is time, start painting!

I will need these supplies/ assets:

• A computer with a Photoshop program
• A drawing pad
• Basic knowledge of Photoshop
• Basic knowledge of how to use a drawing pad

Most of the process will likely be completed outside of school, as most of it will be planning and research. However, everything that requires a use of a computer program will likely be done inside of the computer lab. For feedback, I will ask my friends also working on such projects and my family. I'm going to leave the timeline pretty loose, as long as I've got the basic planning done before November is halfway over, I'll consider myself on schedule.

Design Overview

The target audience for my piece won't really have any restrictions, though I suppose the audience that would appreciate it the most would have an appreciation for digital art that isn't necessarily very realistic. I would like to show that the main character in the image, Noelle, is a very strong individual. I want her to be presented as not staying in the confines of society. She needs to be strong, but it must be obvious that that isn't all that she is. This is where the idea of the reflection comes in, to add a bit of context. The idea of her "ideal" self being in the painting wasn't one that I had been considering at first, but it now seems to be a great choice. It adds some contrast to the central figure as well. There is a spotlight as well, which is to highlight the fact that Noelle is a public figure of sorts. As the theme for the piece is steampunk based, Noelle will have lots of bottons or buckles, perhaps both, and goggles. My end goal is to produce at the bare minimum a final sketch of the piece. I would, jowever, like to go further than that and add color to it. I will find myself successful if the basic elements mentioned above are in the final sketch and if there is a final sketch that looks relatively professional. A colored digital painting would be ideal.

Design Goal

I am aware that completing a full digital painting maight be pretty hard, so I've decided to create a smaller, more design based goal as well. I would like to have made a final sketch for the digital painting by the end of the semester. I want it to reflect Noelle as an individual, and I would like it to be relatively detailed. If I get farther than this goal, that will be great, but I won't be disappointed if I don't get to the painting itself.