a bit of everything
A LOOK INTO MY ART
WORK IN QUARANTINE
The trials and tribulations that one faces simply on the road to graduation are taxing enough; but facing all of the hardships of school during a global pandemic is a whole new level of stressful. Highlighting the nearly poisonous nature of the virus, I chose the subject of a witch doctor surrounded by acidic tones. Playing into the notion of how little we knew about the virus or the impact that it had, the dramatization of the character is meant to show how confusing this time was for everyone; the lack of development and absence of progress so often made me want to call back to old times where we knew even less about health and medicine. Even through those foggy times, the class of 2020 still managed to make it work.
This piece was awarded 15th place as a finalist for the Art4You national online art competition for the “Defeat COVID-19” exhibition.
https://art4youartgallery.wixsite.com/onlineartcompetition/artists-profiles
* 4x6 Prints are available for purchase. Email for inquiries.*
The Silent Kettle
DIGITAL VIDEO FUNDAMENTALS
In the beginning my digital video fundamentals class, we were tasked to find a fable that we would retell in our own words. This would be the base for our studies throughout the course. From the fable, we created a pitch, beat board, story board, animatic, Pixar Pixar pitch, and short film. This class was my favorite out of every class I have ever taken.
Fable title: The Oxen and the Axle-Trees
“A HEAVY WAGON was being dragged along a country lane by a team of
Oxen. The Axle-trees groaned and creaked terribly; whereupon the
Oxen, turning round, thus addressed the wheels: "Hullo there! why
do you make so much noise? We bear all the labor, and we, not
you, ought to cry out."
Those who suffer most cry out the least. “
The story retold in my own words:
To make tea, water must be boiled in a kettle then used to steep the tea leaves. The water begins to shout when it gets too hot. The tea leaves start to bleed as the heat penetrates it. As much as the water and the leaves cry out in pain, the kettle is the one touching the flames of the stove, yet makes no sound. The kettle, water, and leaves all must feel the heat to make the tea, but the silent kettle is what feels the burn the most.
PITCH AND STORYBOARD
Here is my pitch! I was very inspired by the A24 style with the loud silence, hoping to amplify the lively nature of the inanimate objects.
PHOTO RESTORATION
Using Photoshop, my digital media class helped me learn how to take old black and white images and bring them to life with color. With trial and error, I spent a lot of time referencing other restored photos, seeing where the artist made the decisions on what colors would be used and I am very pleased with the outcome.
BEFORE
AFTER
MURAL PROPOSAL
In my 3D design class, our final project was a mural presentation. While in years past, this was simply a project to give students an idea of real world experiences as an artist. However, that year, we were lucky enough for a local business to offer their business to have mural proposals developed and they picked a proposal from only our art school.
While this experience provided an opportunity to act as a professional artist, the realness of the situation meant we had to be much more detailed and thorough. This included developing relationships with potential business partners and contractors, budgeting down to the cent, creating a physical model of the building and art, and researching upkeep and logistics of creating a successful mural.
Our team delegated responsibilities amongst one another and created a project that reflected all of the efforts and dedication we had put into it. Our proposal was not the selected winner, but we walked away with a perfect grade and the experience to continue growing as a successful artist.
Below is the proposal I created in a binder for our client with all of the details of our work.
SELF PORTRAITURE
Through Photo Manipulation
Throughout my youth, I continuously tried to find new ways to express myself through art. With the ever growing world of social media, it was inevitable to find a way to make self portraits into more meaningful pieces of art.
Starting off with free editing apps on my iPhone in the early 2010's to using advanced editing software such as the Adobe products and Picsart, I aim to have each piece teach me a new skill as well as having the piece be expressive enough to force the viewer to create their own perception of the art. Many pieces have no explicit meaning. Though I am able to provide insight for what I feel the piece is about, the fluidity of imagination interacting with art is an experience I feel everyone can benefit from.
The image on the left is one of my first photo manipulation projects that got me a national award. Below this is my most recent self portrait series called Dissociation. Each shot is meant to express the mental breaks and barriers that I and so many others have come to know and experience too well due to the last year. The rise and fall of euphoria to depression and everything in between in expressed in vivid colors and warped imagery to exemplify the intensity and confusion with dealing with such issues.
VFX LOGO ANIMATION
Adobe After Effects Work
Tasked with following a tutorial from Adobe After Effects for a digital media class, I chose to follow a tutorial on how to create a glitch effect for an image. I had no previous experience with After Effects, but I did not want this to be an excuse to do the bare minimum with an easy tutorial. Because of this, I combed through the tutorials to find a more impressive project that I could potentially need in the future.
Seeing as most movies, vlogs, and television shows have an introduction of some sort, I saw the glitch effect as an opportunity to create a visual introduction to a podcast that I work with, The Assist Podcast. Considering it is a show run by college students with no funding, I figured this would help boost the professional appearance of the brand for their promotional videos and social media posts.
Focusing on keeping a modern, clean, and professional looking project, I reimagined the podcast’s logo as a more geometric, modern style as opposed to its original cartoon-esque appearance to make the final product look more mature and cohesive.
This experience, though frustrating at times, was incredibly rewarding.I am still fairly new to graphic design and digital art as a whole, so this was my first real project using this kind of software. It is clear that I have much to learn, but once I finished this video, I felt so excited. The podcast producers were thrilled with how the video turned out, exclaiming at how professional it was. I'm very excited to continue learning and growing through this software.