Inquiry and Media #3

By the end of this inquiry, I had some idea of where I could continue this idea, but was kind of stuck in seeing the range of possibilities. I really appreciated all of the feedback given to me by my classmates, and it made me actually have a little more faith in if I were to choose this project to expand upon for the final. I hadn't even thought about more environmental design possibilities like physician's offices or children's library spaces, so it would be interesting to see if I could think of anymore places where these Animals in Hats could go. I also am not sure if I'm completely happy with the illustrations for some of them, like the goat, lamb, and horse, so if I were to choose this one, I'd probably redo the ink line work on those.

This process has really opened up a doorway of possibility for me though in a new way to do artwork. For a little bit, I really struggled with bringing my illustrations into photoshop to add color to them. I couldn't get the brushes or blend mode to look the way I wanted them to for a long time, until I went onto Envato Elements and downloaded a watercolor brush set. There was just a very specific look that I wanted to accomplish that I couldn't with the default brushes. I have a lot more ink sketches, and I feel a little more confident now bringing them into photoshop to edit them even further. There are still some shortcoming that I'd like to overcome, like harsh shadow lines and overall contrast levels.

Andy J. Pizza scares me. In a good way. I think. He's completely aware of how angry he sounds, and he's completely embracing it. I believe that's what separates him from others. You can tell he's really talking from his heart, and it relates to what he talked about with Aaron Draplin, how he can be yelling at you one minute and crying with you the next. I love how he said, "are you making fun of Tacoma and comic sans, because that's what designers do?", and instead encouraged us to be unapologetically ourselves.

The idea that the things you make should be things that you personally want to own and buy. it's something great to think about, and prevalent in my life right now, because in Illustration, we're doing a personal merch campaign assignment. I've struggled a little bit with what I think people would want to buy, but listening to him talk about it has really made me realize I should be approaching the project from a completely different perspective. So what would I want? I love embroidered designs on sweatshirts, so I think that's what I'll make. I like cellos and theatre and art. I'm gonna make a sweatshirt with worms on it. Also, he gave his code for the t-shirt company and I think I'm totally gonna do that.

Another one of his tips that stood out to me was don't be afraid to try. I believe how I define if my artwork is good is if the viewers smile and enjoy it. When I give presentations in class, the way I gauge my own success is if I look out into the faces of my classmates and they are smiling. I want people to feel welcomed into my designs, and I think that is why I am drawn to children's illustrations, because they are just so comforting and simply beautiful. This is what I want my artwork to accomplish.

Also, a little side note, it's funny how many things he said that are already a part of my spiritual outlook and world view, talking about society as a a body, producing good "fruit", and doing unto others as you want done to you. I've never thought about applying these principles to my creative work though, and I don't know if I necessarily want to. I think a lot of his sentiment is good and he relates it well, but some of it just falls a little short to me.