With the year winding down, it’s almost the end of my first year here at Marywood!
As a first-year Illustration student, I just finished my very first portfolio review. I had done portfolio reviews in the past, but this was my first official one. I’ll be honest: I was a little nervous, but I think it went very well! Here are the pieces that I presented on Friday!
Starting off, I have these three artworks. These were done while I was in high school, during my AP 2D art class. For AP, you needed a Sustained Investigation, mine of which related to my struggles with academic validation. Since that was the theme for my SI, all of my artworks revolve around that concept, such as a girl being trapped in a cage or being chained to her work. I ended up getting a 4 on my portfolio, which gave me the credits needed to satisfy the 2D Art requirement here at Marywood.
Next, I have these three pieces from my basic drawing class that I had during the fall semester. This was my first studio class, so I didn’t exactly know what to expect. I also didn’t use many of the techniques that we learned in class much before, such as hatching. They aren’t my favorite, but they taught me fundamental techniques on shading and value.
Even though it wasn’t from a studio class, I also included this piece in my portfolio. This was a project that I did for my Art History 1 class that I had in the spring. The goal was to replicate Medieval art. I chose to copy one version of Madonna and Child. This was unique to me as I tried to copy some of their techniques, such as using a green base for their skin tones.
Starting off the spring semester, I had to design a poster for Dunmore High’s Theater production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Despite Digital Illustration being recommended for second-year students, I was allowed to take it due to my AP credits. I really enjoyed this project, and I’m proud of how it came out.
Also, for my Digital Illustration class, we needed to design characters for our ongoing story. I had concepts for both Mai (my protagonist) and Nyx (my antagonist), but I never actually designed them.
Similar to my copy of Madonna and Child, this was also done as an Art History project. The goal of this one was to copy either Japanese woodblock prints or Japanese screens. When doing my composition, I didn’t account for the change of width, causing the overall design to become cramped and squished.
As well as my Digital Illustration class, I also took Painting 1. I had only done one oil painting before the class, so although I knew how to manipulate the paints, I wasn’t entirely confident with them. However, after using them, I quickly grew to enjoy them.
For the final piece I chose to include, it was a personal piece. I was gifted a pen set and some Bristol paper as a graduation gift; however, I never got around to using them. Additionally, I wanted to try something new with the pen only style. As mentioned earlier, I tend to stray away from hatching, so I really wanted to utilize that within the work.
And those were he pieces that I showed off! I really enjoyed my first year here at Marywood, and I really feel as if I improved in my techniques and style!