Graphic Design: An Overview of Semester Two
Sophomore year is coming to an end, which means that it is time to reflect.
Vector Portraits
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| Here she is, creepy as ever. |
My favorite project from second semester was our vector portraits. Many people found this tedious, but I enjoyed it. For this project we had to trace an image of either ourselves, a family member, or a pet on adobe illustrator using one of two methods: Low Poly/Geometric or Organic. I used the organic method. For this, I used a picture of myself. The project lasted about, with breaks on the weekends and Wednesdays, 3 weeks. I honestly don't really remember many challenges I faced specifically; however, the mouth was challenging and the eyelashes are creepy. I never found a great way to do the eyelashes. One could also say that I didn't get it detailed enough. This project got me very comfortable with the pen tool, but I wouldn't say that I learned anything particularly. Maybe I learned that I am not a huge fan of working with images of myself. I was told to add more details to the shirt, which makes sense because it looks flat. Other than that I can't remember any specific feedback. This went pretty similarly to how I expected it to turn out. I didn't go super detailed, but that was what I was going for; I wanted it to look kind of cartoony while still looking semi-realistic. Nothing big changed; after I finished on a facial feature it was done and I didn't return to it- except for the darn stupid eyelashes. I went from doing each and every little eyelash to just making it all one shape. I do like how this project turned out; I think that it is one of my stronger pieces. I would like to try the Low-Poly method next time- maybe on an animal :)
Greeting Cards
Another project I enjoyed working on was our greeting cards. For this project we had to use our own hand lettering, vectorize it using the pen tool, and then draw some graphics to create some sort of greeting card. I picked an earth day card to be different from all of my classmates... Yeah, I should have just done a thank you card. What the heck is an earth day card you might ask? I really, honestly do not know. This project was pretty short compared to our others. We probably took a week, a week and a half to finish it. A new skill I learned was (kind of) how to use inDesign. We didn't do a whole ton with it, but I learned that I much prefer Illustrator. I don't think that I got any feedback, that I can remember. This project happened generally fast and so feedback just didn't happen I guess? Funny thing though: My original idea was an easter card. What the heck were you thinking is the appropriate response. Again, I should have just done a thank you card. I drew out a bunch of designs and stuff, but I never fell in love with ANY of my hand-lettered designs. I want to try this project again so I can kind of maybe like the result. Hand lettering was fun and over all I enjoyed the project, but I would like to see a result that I am happy with. My design wasn't God-awful, but it was just... meh.Self-Branding (Logos)
This was our most recent project. For this one, we started out by sketching 30 designs and then narrowing it down to 5. All of my sketches were terrible logo ideas- except for 1. I actually kind of liked a few others, but they never would have worked as logos. Next we had to put our designs in to Illustrator and either trace them, or create our design from scratch. I traced over mine and was happy with the result. I think we had around 3 weeks to work on these, but I finished up kind of early. I'm not trying to sound big-headed, but I didn't face any challenges, really. The biggest challenge I would have faced was picking out a font, but I knew what I was looking for and it wasn't that difficult. On Illustrator I actually learned that you can pick a different stroke for the pen tool. I wanted my design to look hand drawn-ish, and so I decided to use a "pencil drawn" stroke to make it look sketched, which in my mind connotates with "artsy" and "creative." Again, this was kind of my original-immediate idea, so nothing really changed until I discovered the pencil stroke. If you can't tell from the rest of the paragraph, I am happy with the result :)Time Management
I think that most of the time I was on task. Often times I can't stare at the computers for too long, or even focus on the exact same project for 50 minutes straight, so sometimes I might stand up and check out some other students' projects or talk to someone for a few minutes, but then return to my work quickly. All of my projects have been turned in on time. Occasionally I might look up a tutorial, but if I needed help I would usually ask the teacher or another student.
eComm Strengths
As an eComm student, I think that I am good at critiquing other graphic design projects (not video projects though...). I also think that I am good at using Mac computers. After this year I am an expert at Illustrator. As a freshman I was actual garbage with illustrator. I had no idea how the heck to use the pen tool- I don't think I even knew that the pen tool existed. I also believe that I am good at working with other students. Sometimes people ask me for help, so I think that means I must be doing something right in the eComm community (I have been typing for a while. This is starting to make literally no sense.)
Areas For Improvement
I can improve with my creativity. I have never been amazing at coming up with incredible original ideas. I am also never ever confident about my ideas or my work. I just need better ideas. I also could improve with my accuracy with the pen tool. I am decent with the pen tool, but it is never too accurate. I also am very bad at coming up with things I need to improve at because I just don't know. Oof.
In Conclusion...
I love doing projects, and my classmates were pretty great :) Graphic design is so fun and I really love it a lot. I have a lot of room for improvement, but I will gladly take the time to improve. I understand that it takes a while for some people to finish their projects (including myself!), but I maybe would have liked to somehow fit in more projects just because they were so fun! Idk how you would do that though, while also getting the best work out of students. I would love to be picker about getting the best work out of myself next year, to improve and get better! (Basically just critiquing myself more). I hope your first year at ONW treated you well, Mrs. B!
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