In-depth 2021 #1

Who, What, and How?

For this year’s In-depth Project, I am stepping outside my comfort zone and delving into the world of digital art. Drawing, painting, colouring, etc. have never been areas where my strengths seem to be, but my hope for this project is to learn a bit about a form of art that I’ve never tried before. I’m completely new to the subject, and I hardly know where to begin. Luckily, Xylia Glumac, another student at Gleneagle, has generously agreed to mentor me in studying digital art. Xylia will be able to suggest digital art platforms to me, demonstrate how to use them, recommend various art styles she’s familiar with, and answer any questions I have along the way. I am very excited to begin working with Xylia, and I’m sure I’ll be able to learn a lot from her.

To learn this skill, I will first have to conduct a bit of research to find out about apps I may want to use, techniques I should explore, and more related ideas. Once I gain a base knowledge of the subject, I will be able to begin some experimentation. In this next step, I will experiment with some considerably basic versions of the necessary skills associated with digital art. For example, I might look at and test out some sketching. Then, throughout the course of this project, I will begin to implement skills like this into slightly more complex pieces of art. Since this project is so open ended, I will be able to take my time getting comfortable with different techniques. In this way, I can spend more time on the areas and subjects that I struggle with or am simply interested in. My overall vision for this project is to be able to understand the basic principles and ideas associated with digital art. Further, I want to be able to use what I’ve learned as a base to form some more creative ideas and pieces of art of my own.

When?

The In-depth project will run over the course of the next five months. I have created a very rough timeline to follow for the learning of my own skill, but there is a very good chance that I will abandon this timeline once I begin working or somewhere along the way. I have a vague list of topics I want to cover and tasks I want to accomplish, but what I like about In-depth is that it is so open-ended. I will be able to stop at any point in my work to ask questions and follow inquiries to see where they lead me, which is something that you will not get with every project. If I don’t like a topic, I am free to skip over it (as long as it is not a crucial element to my chosen topic). In the same way, if I especially enjoy learning about one area of digital art, I can continue to experiment with that and learnĀ more in that particular area.

Where?

I will be able to complete this entire project all from home. Since everything is digital, there are no extra materials that I will need to buy when I regularly run out. This works quite well with the current Covid-19 situation, where staying at home as much as possible is best. As well, due to Covid restrictions, I will be meeting with my mentor over video call. However, since this is digital art, again, this will not create too much of an issue. Xylia and I might also be able to find creative ways to send each other pictures of our work, share a screen on a call, or send a screen-recording to review on our own.

Why?

The main reason I became interested in learning this skill was that I wanted to delve into a realm of art and design that I have never dealt with before. I’ve done some art at school in the past, just like everyone else, but I never took a particular interest to it. That is why it is almost surprising to me that I chose to learn about digital art. I believe that this project will allow me to explore my own ideas, instead of simply completing a school assignment as I’ve done in the past. Since I am not very experienced in activities having to do with art, this In-depth project will be a great opportunity for me to identify an art form that I am interested in and enjoy working with. The purpose of this project is not to become “good” at art. It is instead a way for me to learn and to hopefully enjoy that process of learning.

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2 Replies to “In-depth 2021 #1”

    • I haven’t had a chance to get started yet, since I was waiting for the devices I needed to arrive. They just arrived yesterday! It would have been nice to be able to get started over the break, but it will all work out:)

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