McAninch

I For the first quarter of art I had some difficulties getting started on a project that I felt I would be able to stay with and complete. I didn’t really feel creative at the beginning of the quarter and didn’t get a very good start at what I wanted to do. I believe that because of this I was not able to finish the project that I started after I got inspired to do something. But over all I believe that the project that I chose to do is really going to turn out great once I finish it.

For the project that I started, I decided to do a combination of a lot of my different pictures that I have sketched in my sketchbook over the quarter and during my free time. For the project I took tracing paper and copied over each of the different pictures I wanted to put into my piece. I got the idea when looking at all of my different sketches that I had drawn over the quarter and I started thinking that they would all look great together. After copying each piece onto the tracing paper I am now going to take the combine pictures and draw them again on a different piece of paper. After I am finished doing that I will color it in using color pencils and it will then be mostly finished.

I believe that I chose to do this project because it revolves around something that I find myself interested in. I have been sketching the characters of a story that I made up for over a year now and still find myself amazed at the progress that I have made while doing so. I find that each time I draw these characters I am progressing a little bit farther in their development and I feel as though even though they are just pictures on a paper that I am able to feel their personality. I believe that by continuing to draw these pictures I am able to bring these characters to life and it makes me passionate about drawing.

Second Quarter: This quarter I was able to complete the project that I started during the first quarter and I was also able to start rough drafts for a project that I will be working on for both the third and fourth marking periods. Using the time in class I was able to put together what the project is going to consist of and I was able to plan out when I want to have each part done. I also did a lot of sketching in my sketch book this quarter, it wasn’t anything in particular but it was just things to help improve my drawing skills and get better at drawing different things. Because of this time I know exactly what I want to do for the next two marking periods and what I need to get done for it. If everything goes as planned I will have the base picture done by the end of the third marking period and I will be able to give the piece color through the fourth. My thoughts about this upcoming project are that it will comprise of a montage of several different characters from various different television shows, video games and comics. Over all it will have my favorite characters all together in one spot. I want to make it on a larger scale than my previous art projects have been and I really want to have a lot of fun with this, seeing as it will be my last art project in SLA I want it to be something I can be proud of when I’m finished with it. I believe that this is going to be something that I will be able to look at when I’m finished and say, wow this was a really fun project, which is something I want to be able to say after working so hard on something. I hope that everything will go as planed and I will be able to complete it as planed, if not I am prepared to work around any difficulties and still get the project finished. I am determined to get everything I need for this project gathered by the time the third quarter starts so I can jump right into the actual drawing of the piece. Before getting the entire piece underway though, I want to make several sketches of what I want the project to look like, I already have a mental picture of it but I want to actually be able to see it on a hard surface.

Third Quarter: For the third quarter I executed my plan for the art project I want to complete, I didn't get it completely finished which I plan to do in the fourth quarter but from what I have right now I am ready to start making the final product. I have all of the different characters sketeched and have the layout created. I still need to put in a few more characters here and there before I will be finished with the sketching stage of the project and before I continue on to the actual large scale version of it. In the fourth quarter I plan to get the rest of the sketching done within the first few classes and then use the rest of my time to finish the rest up. I am right on schedule to finish this project on time and be able to hang the finished piece up.

I am getting really excited because I see the rough draft of what the final product is going to look like and its hard to believe that I was actually able to find and draw everyone in a way that they all look good together. Like I said before I wanted to create something that I can be proud of when I'm finished and from what I have done so far I feel that when I am done with this project I will be proud of it. Seeing how it has come together over the time that I have been working on it just gets me more and more excited to finish the project and I can wait to finally get it done. There are still some characters I want to put into the picture before I start the finished product but again it shouldn't take me to long to get that done.

While here at SLA I have seen my art style change and evolve from something that was copied from someone else's art style into a style I can pretty much call my own. I wanted to be able to have a style that when someone who knows how I draw saw my work they can say "Hey this must be Ed's" I think I have finally reached that time and thanks to SLA I have been able to do that. I remember back in eighth grade I used to draw, a lot, and I would have this style that looked like a cheap rip off from the show Dragon Ball Z, then in ninth grade I had a style that was similar to that of Sonic the Hedgehog. Over tenth and elevnth grade I started working on my own unique style of art and now in twelth grade I have finally reached that goal. Looking at this I can say that if you want to find your own style that you can draw something say "that is my style." just keep practicing and change things to the way you see it fit, let others art influence the way you do things but don't let it make you copy off of those artists when your done you will have something that is completely you in every way.

For this quarter I have finished the project that I have been working on over the past two quarters, I not only was able to lay it out in a way that it makes sense but I was able to fit a lot on to the page. I feel that part of me has been put into every part of this project, seeing as I can kind of identify with all of the different characters that I have put onto the page I was able to really get into the feel of the characters that I was drawing. Overall, I am happy with how the project turned out and it looks like how I wanted it to look when I first started. The final project has changed a lot from when I first started it, mostly the placing on each of the characters and the way that it is laid out. Even though it has changed over the time that I have been working on it I still think that it represents what I wanted it to and even now that it is changed I think that it shows what I enjoy and shows who I am as a person and as a student.
 * Fourth Quarter:**