Color Theory - Final Project

Last week our final project was due for my Color Theory class and so I'm here to share that with you.  I find brain storming for ideas to be the toughest part, probably because I'm used to creating what my customers want so it's like a muscle I don't exercise as often as I should.  Hmmm, sounds like all of my muscles...anyhoo...

Fortunately a friend of mine needed a custom Facebook cover image.  He loves the sea, steampunk, and feels a connection with old British naval ships.  So I went with that and worked to incorporate those elements as well his favorite quote into an original image.

It's funny about classwork because we're supposed to come up with several ideas but for me, usually when I have an idea it comes pretty well in it's completed form and that was the case with this project. Still we have to begin by creating several thumbnails to depict a "narrowing down" process and so this is what I submitted...

 I have to say I had loads of fun drawing that little ship and love the way he came out!

After that we were to work on several color studies with different strategies and so I handed in these...

I knew full well my final project wouldn't look anything like these rough sketches and remembering from last quarter when the professor and students were disappointed to see my project take a dramatic shift from a 2-D visual rendering to a more 3-D style, I made sure to include details in my original project statement that would, in a sense, cover my a_s...
W5A1 Project Plan-SHenry
Next it was time to work on our "final drafts" which in my case meant an awful lot of work in a very short amount of time, primarily because moving into a more 3-dimensional presentation means alot of cutting, pasting, painting, manipulating and layering...

Creating in an almost collage style to come up with an original piece of work is a real challenge but it's something that seems to come naturally to me. I'm not even sure what the process would be called but the end result is successful and that's what counts.

Finally it was time to fullfill my original intent of making this piece appear to be on old weathered map paper with a truly vintage feel, so here is the final outcome....

I'm super happy with the end result and so is my friend.  I ended up getting an A on the project and in the class, which means so much in striving for future scholarships and additional funding as I work toward my degree.

I hope all of you enjoyed this little glimpse into my final project.  Next class begins this week and it's Art History ~ something I've never studied before but am excited to learn more about.  I'm looking forward to sharing what I learn with all of you!

Enjoy~

The Psychology of Color

This week we've been studying the psychology of color in class and I must admit it's been fascinating. We learned all sorts of interesting information including various color philosophies and common uses.
Did you know we don't usually eat "gray" foods?
That pink (specifically Baker-Miller) is used to calm inmates in prisons?
Or that in a group of colored objects, you'll usually see the yellow object first?

While colors can be associated with many common ideas or factors, personal preferences, mood and experiences can affect a persons view of color as well.
I'm not sure what mood I was in while creating last week's assignment on complementary and split-complementary harmonies...

As a designer it's interesting to look back over my own work and wonder what was it that made me select "that" color or "this" one. I may not be able to understand the past, but having learned so much about color and it's psychological meanings, I've no doubt it will play a big role in noticing how I use it in the future.

School Update

I've just finished up one of my classes and wanted to share a bit of what we did. This class was title Fundamentals of Design and I found it really enjoyable! I was honestly amazed with out much I learned; about elements of design and the use of color. Through out the schedule classes we worked on several projects and here is a sampling of some of the work I created...

In the beginning we were only able to use black and white so that more attention was paid to the aspects of designs.

For this assignment we were to create a design that utilized strict formal, radial, or crystallographic symmetry, translation: it had to look the same on all sides, and I chose to create this organic composition.

Next we were to create an asymmetrical layout and I chose incorporate some of my existing design elements, namely the cute stockings from "Adventures of the Striped Stockings", to create some extra movement.

At this point we were able to introduce gray into our designs as we studied textures and depth ~ these are the two patterns I created for that study.

With the next study we were to take what we learned about depth and textures and create a realistic composition that utilized a one or two point perspective. I chose to tackle creating curtains and a wood floor for this stage setting. Several of my classmates felt sorry for the little boy until I reassured them that he was just a zombie looking for some fun playtime on stage.

This last piece was for my final project ~ we were to come up with a composition that utilized all of the design aspects we had learned and included color. I chose to create an image to replace the one I've been using in my banner since that was originally created for a customer. I love how it came out and am looking forward to getting it in place just as soon as I can.

We're beginning a new class today, Color Theory for Web and Multimedia, and I hope to have more chances to post as the course moves along rather than packing it all into one posting. I think this class will be fascinating and I can't wait to share it with all of you!

Enjoy~

Back to School

Well it's finally back-to-school time around here and this year's a little different ~ not only are my son and I returning to school but my hubby is too! Yep, he caught the school bug over the summer and has returned to college for his degree in business. He hopes to teach business ethics some day and I think he'll be great at it! I'm a bit envious of his scheduling though ~ he's on a trimester schedule so he moves through his classes much faster than me.

Still it's great to back at AAU and I'm super excited about my classes this semester ~ turns out they're related to what I do ~ Digital Illustration and Digital Tools, what a hoot! Although I know alot about the programs I use, there's always so much more to learn and one day I hope to create digital magazines like this one by House of Fifty ~ isn't it fabulous!?!

I'm also really excited because I get this amazing student discount so the required copy of Adobe Creative Suite CS5 will be dirt cheap! Me wanting this suite of programs is about the same as my hubby drooling over that new Camero he covets, so I couldn't be happier and I'll tell you ~ if I'd known school would be so economical I would have gone back years ago!

So off to school we go... our son is now in his final two years of high school and we're off too~ that much closer to our futures. What are your back to school plans? Are you sending your babes off for the first time or returning yourself? Perhaps you've decided to take one of those fabulous art classes offered by Willowing & Friends. Whatever the case you're never too young or old to learn something new so I hope your September plans bring you loads of smiles!

Enjoy~

School Updates

With the end of my classes quickly approaching I thought it was about time I post a few updates. My first semester has certainly presented it's share of challenges, time management being the biggest, but all in all I've enjoyed myself and learned far more than I ever could have imagined.

This semester I took two classes, Art which focused on general concepts of beginning drawing and Sculpture whose name is self explanatory. Both classes were filled with their share of ups and downs ~ a goofed drawing, a broken sculpture, but I soon found this to be part of the learning process as well.

My Art class presented concepts on values and planes, studying basic shapes in complicated objects, and human features including the torso and face. We're currently winding up with a photographic portrait which is shown here below.

For Sculpting we dove head first into clay by working on several sculptures, as well as working with wax to create a bronze casting and casting & carving a plaster sculpture. I've enjoyed this class immensely which came as a huge surprise since I'd never worked with clay before.

My professors have both been amazing, one is around my age with a background in graphic design/advertising (go figure) and the other, young enough to be my son and a truly gifted artist ~ here's a link to his website (shhhhh).

One of the surprises I encountered during this semester has been people's reaction to me attending online college. I never imagined I would feel a need to defend this choice as I just assumed others were as aware of the added challenges to online studying as I was but it appears there is still a common consensus that online colleges are subpar. I can comfortably dismiss those notions as the Academy of Art University offers an exceptional online learning experience.

Besides being impressed with the fact that they offer all of there campus classes in online format; through in-depth videos, discussion groups, and personal professors, they also work to ensure we're getting the most out of our experience by providing a Personal Learning Coach who calls regularly to be sure I'm managing ok with life and classes ~ who wouldn't benefit from that!? ;D

Reflecting back over this first semester I can't help but take pause and thank the stars for aligning in such a way that I've landed squarely at the doorstep of my future and I'm loving it. So, I hope you've enjoyed this little jaunt down the hallways of my first semester and if you're ever considering an art degree, definitely checkout AAU ~ it's worth the investment of time and money.

Enjoy~

Art Classes - week 1

Well, here I am... at the end of my first week of art classes. For those of you who aren't aware, I've decided to go back to college for my Bachelor degree in Art Education at the Academy of Art University through their online program. Of course being able to teach art means you need to know how to do art and so we are beginning with the basics.

For my first semester I'm taking two classes, one which covers sketching, form, perspective, etc. and the other is a sculpting/jewelry design class ~ have to laugh at the jewelry part, what a hoot!

Art 101 - (not really the class title but we'll refer to it as such) was a huge challenge. Who would have thought that drawing simple 3 dimensional shapes would be so challenging, but after focusing on pressure, angle, dimension, perspective, vanishing points, and a boatload of other aspects ~ my arm was achy and my mind mush.

Sculpting 101 - (again, the 101 is for amusement sake) in this class I learned how to build and armature structure for a sculpture and what a maquette is. Our assignment is to create a clay sculpture of either an expressive or morphed creature. We had to submit a series of sketch ideas, supporting textural images, and finally a maquette which is laughable with it's aquatic nose (purely by accident) but my best attempt in clay at the moment.

It's a struggle for me on so many levels, time management being the biggest, but I must say I've already learned SO much and I'm really enjoying it.

One of the key requirements of attending an online university is participating in the discussion groups where students and teachers meet to post assignments, comments, and share feedback. It's all such uncharted territory for most of us and so many students seem to be in a similar place as me ~ feeling like a fish out of water ~ that it helps to know you're not alone.

The teachers are also extremely supportive, both in attitude and responses, and they're each exceptional artists in their own right. I would love to post the website for one of my teachers here but I'm not sure if it would tread on some thin-line of privacy so I've let that go for now.

All in all it was a great first week despite the intense stress and I'm looking forward to learning more as it comes.

❀I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for their lovely comments on my OWOH post. While I haven't had as much time as I'd hoped to get around and visit everyone, I'm looking forward to catching up with this in the coming week and can't wait to see what you've all shared. I hope you all enjoyed an equally artist & productive week ~

A VeRy Special Opportunity

I've just found out about a very special opportunity and I just had to share it with you...

Willowing is offering a free online Art Class!!

I've signed up myself and am absolutely bowled over with excitement and gratitude for this wonderfully talented artist and her generosity in offering a free class. The truth is, if I had the money I would pay her (or certainly make a donation) but these pockets are still a bit empty and so because of this talented artist's giving nature, I and so many others like me, now have the opportunity to take an online course.

Another amazing aspect to the course is the theme which is all about healing and gratitude ~ just what the doctor ordered *sniff*. If you watch the video you'll hear a very clear explanation of all the wonderful aspects of this course, many of which had me in tears of joy. Here's a link to the Youtube video for more info: ♥Link♥
To join; simply sign up for Willowing's new Ning community and to help out; spread the word so that those who can afford to take her classes will. I assure you that once this little graphic artist takes off I will be back with cash in hand at Willowing's door. ;D In the meantime, I hope to see you there and...

Enjoy!