Major Reflection:
Digital Portfolio has taught me a lot about working
independently and having self-motivation. It took me a while to figure out what
I really wanted to do in regards to theme and media. In the beginning of the
year, I planned on making narrative films. I can’t say for sure what caused me to
change my mind, but I’m so glad I did.
I remember at first it felt like a chore to do a
sketchbook page every week, but later on I absolutely loved doing them. I
enjoyed researching artists and learning about their process. Having to do a
sketchbook page really helped me with the direction of my work. I think
researching the history of title sequences is what made me realize that instead
of making a film, I wanted to make motion graphics similar to the ones in title
sequences.
In the
majority of my classes throughout high school, I was told what do for projects
and what to learn. Digital Portfolio gave me the opportunity to choose what I
wanted to do and what I wanted to learn. I had so much independence in this
class and it was up to me to self-motivate myself. I definitively struggled in
the beginning of the year with having so much freedom. In the end though, all
the freedom helped me grow and be able to work independently as an artist. I
taught myself how to rotoscope, how to use After Effects and Photoshop more in
depth, and how to use a projection mapping software. (Thank you Mr. Bomboy for
initially showing me VPT!)
Everything I learned this year will help me in the
future. After Effects and VPT are both good building blocks for the programs I
will use in college. I definitely hope to further my knowledge on projection
mapping, but I’m glad I have a base knowledge about what it is.
My theme on identity and perception is something I
will probably continue. I have a lot of ideas to continue my current theme. One
idea is to make animations similar to some of my paintings (specifically the
painting where the figure looks like they are in a grocery store or book
store).
Artist Statement:
My work comments on identity and perception, how personality is perceived
in all its complexity (by self and others). My paintings of headless, minimalistic figures question whether we can
really know someone if we can’t see what is going on inside their mind. All
that is visible is the bare minimum, the outline of the figure – the rest is
left as a mystery. My digital work incorporates both clips of figures dancing
and abstract shapes. The abstract shapes are actually the same figure doing the
same movements, but in those clips they look completely different. A person
could appear quiet and reserved in one environment, but in another setting the
same person could be outgoing and talkative. In different situations, people
show different parts of their personality.
My digital work has greatly influenced the direction
of my 2-D work. Experimenting with
rotoscoping to create the projected animations caused the shift in my painting
style. During my digital exploration, I no longer focused on making objects
realistic; instead, I became interested in minimalism. I was also inspired by
various title sequences for movies and graphic designers such as Saul Bass. I
like using minimalistic images to capture the curiosity of the viewer to what
the greater story or meaning might be. For instance, Saul Bass uses this idea
in his title sequence for Dr. No (1962).
I first became interested in digital media because of
my love for telling stories.
Animation and film allow me to combine story telling with art. Overtime
my digital work has transformed into portraying more of an abstract story due
to my interest in motion graphics. I plan to pursue a future career in motion
graphics and will be studying motion media design at Savannah College of Art
and Design in the fall.
Even though I love creating digital art, a paintbrush
will always be one of my favorite tools.
One of the most influential people in my life is my mom. She is an
artist and because of her, art has been a huge part of who I am for as long as
I can remember.
