I started out the year very over confident in my works. I saw myself as the unstoppable artist, who could draw anything with ease! Though I never voiced my pride aloud, I soon realized just how far I needed to go in order to improve. Compared to others in the class, who could create realistic fur details and capture human proportion, most of what I could draw started to seem lackluster on my eyes. But I think this new perspective that my classmates gave me on art in general really paved the way for me to strive and work hard to improve my skills.
I got to try my hand with many different kinds of medias for most of the projects. I used color pencil for the first time, tried oil paints, and practiced with pencil; which is one of my weakest medias. I begin to realize I had an issue with declaring pieces done when they still needed more work to truly shine. Through some poking and prodding from both teacher and friends, I began looking carefully at each piece before I finished, checking to see if there were any parts that needed perfecting. Thanks to this, my detailing and overall look of professionalism have greatly improved from where I began.
All these projects have given me ample opportunity to improve my figures, and I have applied these techniques to advance my cartoon-ish style. The best way to draw something with the proportions fitting a cartoon is to know how to draw it from real life, which is a major principle taught in animation classes.
Something else I spent the year perfecting was digital art. I had received an expensive surface pro tablet, which I use on a regular basis. After downloading several drawing program (my favorite being Manga Studio 5), I spend endless time experimenting and fiddling with drawing tools, techniques, and styles. I was hooked on this thing. Digital drawings have never looked better with this far more accurate and responsive system. Using a mouse or other drawing tablets makes the lines look shaky and off from what the picture should actually look like. Thanks to this, I decided to use this media for a few of the projects, and it eventually grew into the medium I would choose for my concentration.
The concentration I picked also blends with my desire to become an animator, as it involved telling a story. I found put about story portfolios as Mrs. Rossi was displaying past portfolios on college board. I thought it would be a good chance to stretch my wings and see how well I could tell a story. All the pieces where drawn on my tablet, each portraying a scene from key points in a story, similar to key movement frames in animation. Other pages where designed with multiple panels on each page, simulating the layout of story boards. These are used in almost every production to layout shot by shot how different parts of the same scene will be set up. I feel as though my concentration was a good place to start, but I've come to realize my stories need a lot more fine tuning before they're at a good enough level to display.
AP art has been a truly gifted experience this year. I feel as if I have come so far and improved so much in detailing, professionalism, and drawing forms in general. I've made so many great artist friends, and feel readier than ever to face the challenges of arts college.