Hello! This is Blog Post #3 for my In-depth project:)
Progress
Over the past two weeks, I have met with my mentor, Xylia, once and briefly looked at some art online. I have not been able to do a lot of drawing since my last post, because I had to prioritize some other responsibilities. Over the next month, I’ll be sure to start new digital pieces. Even still, I think that I am currently ahead of where I hoped to be right now in the overall project. I had gotten a good start on everything in January, as outlined in my last posts, so I am in no way falling behind schedule. Plus, my mentor and I have some ideas in the works right now that I am super excited to start planning and brainstorming for. This process will involve some online research to see what other artists do in order to form ideas for my own work.
How to Have a Beautiful Mind
#6 To find and make connections that link matters together and generate interest.
During this last meeting, Xylia and I started talking a little bit about characters in books and movies.
“What types of books do you like to read?” she asked me.
We both mentioned books we really like or that we are reading right now. Connecting this back to the main topic of conversation, Xylia told me that sometimes she draws existing characters from books or movies. Some artists also create their own characters that they use consistently throughout their pieces.
This branch of conversation helped to give me some possible ideas for what I can draw in the future.
#10 To explore, to elaborate, and to pull interest out of the matter.
I asked Xylia how she comes up with her ideas and where she draws inspiration from for her art pieces. In answer, she showed me some prompts from an online resource and recommended for me to do the same if I am ever at a loss for inspiration. She then sent me the link to those prompts to save for later. I will also be able to go and find other similar prompts online. Prompts are so great because they can be interpreted in so many different ways by so many different people. This is a great area of art to try out and explore possibilities with.
#3 To use the “what if” statement to get to new lines of thought.
During my meeting with my mentor, I asked the following questions related to the possibility of investing time into an art project:
- “What would that look like?”
- “What would an art project entail?”
- “Have you done any art projects before?”
Xylia then offered to look further into the topic, and I am going to do the same over the next couple of weeks. Later on, she sent me links to some art projects she found online for inspiration; I found all of them very cool. I haven’t completely decided on anything yet, but this will all be discussed in the next meeting with my mentor. Then, we can both begin to plan something for my project together.
#2 To ask for clarification whenever you are unclear or in doubt about something the mentor tells you or shows you.
“Can you please repeat that?”
There were no instances in this past meeting with my mentor where I needed to use this phrase for clarification on something I didn’t understand. However, in the first meeting, for example, I asked Xylia to show me her drawing process twice in order to sink it into my mind. Then, she let me go through the process on my own so that the muscle memory was there for when I went home to work by myself.
#3 To support a point your mentor makes with additional facts, figures, evidence, etc.
In this meeting, I showed my mentor pictures of the art I had done and explained the process I used to do it.
“What kind of art have you been doing?” I asked Xylia, in order to expand and add to the conversation.
She showed me some of her artwork, and I commented on how much I liked each piece.
#5 To share a personal story that illustrates the conversation topic.
With Xylia, I shared how how I came up with the ideas for what to draw for my first blog post. For example, I pulled characters from TV shows. Then I showed those pictures and the techniques I used to create them. For example, I explained the different layers I had to include and the different tools I learned to work with.
#10 To modify an idea to make it more acceptable to yourself and to make it stronger or more practical.
Xylia usually uses cats or some other animals to represent herself and her family in drawings. I can take this idea and apply it to my own interests. I may want to use character from books or shows, like we talked about, or come up with some type or style of character that I like and that is suited to my own interests; I just haven’t found out what that is yet. That is really what I am working towards in this project. I am trying to find my own style of art. This has to accommodate what I like doing and have the ability to do.
This week was more focused on learning about the process of digital art and making plans for the future. My goal for the next blog post is to have some more art to share and possibly to release an art project that I will be working on:)
Lara