How and why?

• I think the communication improve significantly throughout this project. We talked about how we want to build this sculpture, and even though we had a lot of disagreements throughout, we still came to an agreement at the end and then we worked very well together after.

Are you surprised with the end result? What was surprising about it?

• I am very suprised with the end result because I didn't think it would turn out this good. This is because at first, I could never imagine the how the strcuture of this sculpture would look. And as you can see, the end result looks very realistic and structured. I just thought it was very hard to commincate each ideas.

Has your definition of struggle and play changed as you went through this process? Why or why not?

• I think the struggle of making this was just agreeing and going on board with everyone's decisions. I feel like that was the biggest struggle was deciding the proportions and structure because it was very confusing to understand what everyone was talking about. The play about the process of this was adding the colorful details into our struggle to make our ballerina more unique and girly. We had a lot of fun as a group decorating our sculpture with girly clothes so that ours was more unique.

• Color - I put color in my comfort zone because I researched about the color theory really closely and i just love experimenting with different color combinations so I would put it as my comfort zone.

• value - I place value in my comfort zone because I think shading and pretty easy. I understand clearly how the shades of different objects work in different lightings.

• Line - I put place in my comfort zone because I think lines are very simple. Lines of actions are easy to be identified in my opinion.

• Space - I put space in my comfort zone because I think dimensions and spacing are very interesting as well as simple.

• Form - I put form in my risk zone because I think form has a lot to do with the structure of my artwork. Therefore it can be difficult because the structure of my artwork might not be realistic all the time

• Texture - I place texture in my risk zone because I think it can be kind of confusing to add different textures and materials into our artwork nicely.

I think experimenting with different tools and materials can add variety to our artwork a lot by having different values and weight of lines. For example, when I use oil pastels, I can easily blend the colors together as well as adding thickness to my color layering. Moreover, when I used the big black marker, it adds a lot of weight to the artwork as well as emphasizing areas that need to be recognized.

• Intentional Choice
  In what ways does the choice of media influence the mood, texture, and meaning of your artwork? How do certain tools help you communicate specific ideas or feelings?

I think the choice of materials can help communicate our feelings in many ways. For example, when I used oil pastels, I can easily blend the colors together and that gave me a very dreamy and "free feeling". I felt like I could do anything I want without it being permanent. This also ties to how oil pastels allow me to layer over my mistakes without showing the markers below it. And the markers I used was to describe how bold I was feeling.

• Process and Reflection
  As you layer, repeat, or vary your marks, what decisions do you make about control versus spontaneity, and how does the media you select either limit or expand these choices?

At first when I layered, it was all very spontanious as I didn't think much of the result and I was just experimenting with colors and different materials. However, the more I did it, I started to learn about the characteristics of each materials and started to be in more control of how I wanted my artwork to turn out. I used black pen marker when I wanted more control and emphasize on my drawing

How can the “imperfections” in blind contour drawing help you embrace experimentation and discover new expressive possibilities in line?

-The imperfections in blind contour drawing can actually help us focus more on the small details. Since you’re not allowed to look at your paper while drawing, you don’t worry about making everything perfect. This lets you focus more on really looking at your subject and noticing the small details. Even though the drawings often look strange or messy, they can show interesting and expressive lines you wouldn’t normally create. Over time, blind contour drawing can help you see better, draw with more confidence, and find new, fun ways to express yourself through line, as well as finding smal details of lines in an artwork

Contour:

Why might the practice of contour drawing be more about understanding structure and relationships in a subject than creating a polished final image?

• I think the practice of countour drawing helps us undrstand more about the structure and relationships in a subject more than creating a polished final image because we are not focus on one area but rather more on the realistic ness or the structure of the drawing of the object. For example, when I practiced contour drawing, I find the structure of my work was wayyy better and it looked way more realistic like the page on the left. I think this is because we are more confused on how the lines and shape look together to make an object.

Personally, I feel like this prompt of contour was the most successful because I got the structure of the flower pretty accurate using the contour method. I started by drawing the outline of the flowers first then start adding the details later. In the progress, I carefully look at each petals in the reference and draw it back on my medium. I am very proud with how the flowers turned out as it is very accurate to the picture to each details. I think this contour drawing techniques have really improved my skill of replicating a reference on my artwork because it helped me replicate the object as a whole.

Moments when I noticed that my eyes and hands were out of sync the most was while drawing the outline of the face and the lips. This is because I start my artwork with drawing the nose of my portrait, I then move up and draw the eyes and brows. I think I got these elements pretty accurate and recognizable. However, after these steps I usually struggle with drawing the outline of the face as I couldn't navigate where the facial features are anymore. Moreover, I also couldn't figure out where I should draw my mouth and it shows in my artwork. However, I overcame this by starting with the lips then gradually going up and I think I can see the small but steady improvements already.

I think the biggest challenge in maintaining my hand-eye coordination during this drawing was focusing on accurately drawing the outline of this pose. This is a pose of a ballerina, and I had to do a positive shape drawing where I only outlined pose. I struggled quite a bit here as I found it difficult to navigate where each body part was as I was only drawing in one continuous line around the body. I think this was the biggest challenge because I only had one continuous line around the body so I had to be very cautious and careful with where the marker goes.

• When adding details from the reference photo, how did you balance accuracy with your own creative choices in media and mark-making to strengthen the final outcome?

When I started adding details from the reference photo, I focused on keeping the main features accurate—like the proportions of the face and the placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth—so the portrait still resembled my classmate. At the same time, I used my own creative choices in media and mark-making to bring more personality and style to the drawing. For example, I experimented with line weight, texture, and shading to highlight certain areas and add energy instead of just copying the photo exactly. Balancing accuracy with creativity made the portrait feel both realistic and expressive, which strengthened the overall outcome.

1. How did the grid system affect the accuracy and proportions in your drawing?

I think the grid system significantly affect the accuracy and proportions of my drawing because it gives me a smaller area to work on. When I divide my drawing into smaller portion, I will be more precise and accurate in each smaller square, which makes the general drawing much more proportional and accurate to the reference

2. Which parts of the process felt easier with the grid, and which parts were still challenging?

I think copying the reference into our sheet of paper is the easier part of doing grid drawing based on the reasoning I gave earlier. However, the hard part about grid drawing is that it is still difficult to shade accurately

1. How might you apply what you learned from the grid method to future drawings?

To copy a reference, specifially a harder or more realistic reference, I will definitely use the grid method to copy a reference because I find it most effective and accurate. Even if I dont use the grid system, I will practice focusing on a smaller portion so my drawing turns precise and accurate.

I made sure I. had a variety of thumbnail sketches because I had three sketches and I also wrote a lot in my brainstorming, which gave me alot of ideas for my sketches.

1. What themes or stylistic exploration do you see appearing in your sketches?

I see grid drawing, water color, contour drawing and a lot of colours in my sketches. I will for sure use the grid technique in my drawing as well as other contouring methods to enhance the details and accuracy of my artwork. I will also use a variety of materials to add variation to my artwork.

Bonus question:

3. What questions do you have based on topic (what your work is about/ themes), media (material), and process (order of operation and application)?

Can we start working on it next class?

I think the exploring a variety of materials helped me realize what I wanted to keep and what I wanted to remove in my final work. For example, I used water color as a background and I realized that I really love how it blends out and how easy it is to layer other materials on top. Knowing this, I tried using coloured pencils and crayons to draw on top of it which I really liked but will consider more closely because I want the materials to pop out more. I also realized I wanted to make myself the main focus in the middle by having a lot of details so I might use pencils for accuracy or acrylic for emphasis.

For my project, I blended grid drawing, contour, and detailed contour to bring my portrait and flowers to life. The grid helped me build a strong foundation, while contour lines shaped the flow and emotion of the piece. I added detailed contour to capture delicate textures and depth. Along the way, I refined lines, adjusted proportions, and softened details to create a more natural and expressive final artwork.

1. What media and processes are you using to create your project? Explain why you have made these choices.

I chose to draw on water color paper, and I am combining water color, color pencils, gouache, and pencils to do this artwork. I chose water color and gouache to give my artwork a more dreamy feeling and and I chose color pencils to add emphasis and control for the focus of my artwork.

1. Where did you revise, adjust, or problem-solve during the process, and how did these changes affect your decisions for your final project?

   
   

   During the process, I revised and adjusted several parts of my drawing, especially the proportions in the portrait and the shapes of the flowers. At first, some features looked uneven, so I used the grid to realign them and make the composition more balanced.These changes helped me decide to focus on harmony between accuracy and expression in my final project, making it feel both detailed and alive.

   
   

   
   

   
   

Egon Schiele’s style inspired my use of gesture and detailed contour in the figure. His expressive lines and emotional poses influenced the flowing shape of the girl’s body and hair. I used delicate yet sharp outlines to show both vulnerability and strength, capturing emotion rather than just accuracy. This approach helped me give the figure more personality and depth, much like Schiele’s portraits.

This artwork connects deeply to my identity and passions. The background elements—the camera, lilies, number 777, and ladybug—each represent a part of me. The camera shows my love for photography and creativity, the lilies reflect beauty in every objects, and the number 777 symbolizes luck and positivity. The ladybug represents joy and hope, reminding me to stay optimistic. Together, these elements make the artwork a reflection of who I am.

Artist Statement

My artwork represents who I am through the things I love and the colors that inspire me. The self-portrait shows me holding a camera, symbolizing my passion for photography and capturing meaningful moments. The pink lilies express my appreciation for beauty, growth, and creativity, while the ladybug represents luck and positivity—values I try to carry in my daily life. The warm background colors reflect my optimistic and bright personality. Through this piece, I wanted to combine my interests in art, nature, and photography to show how they all connect to my sense of identity and how I see the world.

Repetition is in my comfort zone because it helps create rhythm and unity in my work. I find it easy to use repeated shapes, colors, or patterns to make a design feel organized and cohesive. It also helps guide the viewer’s eye through the artwork in a predictable way, which feels natural to me.

What principles are risky? How can you become more comfortable with them?

Proportion feels risky because it involves balancing the sizes and relationships of different elements, and it can easily look “off” if not done correctly. To become more comfortable with it, I can practice sketching from real-life references, study how artists use proportion effectively, and experiment more with exaggeration or distortion to build confidence in adjusting scale.

What Principles are risky? Why? How can you overcome your hesitation?

Balance is risky because it’s hard to evenly distribute visual weight without making the artwork look too plain or too crowded. I can overcome this by practicing different compositions, studying how other artists use balance, and asking for feedback to improve my sense of harmony.

Since contrast feels comfortable for me, this exercise reinforces how naturally I use it to make things stand out—whether in art, writing, or even decisions. Drawing it helped me understand that I rely on contrast to create clarity and make choices feel more defined. It also showed me how contrast helps me separate what’s important from what’s distracting.

I balanced my composition by placing the main subject slightly off-center and using the negative space around it to frame and emphasize it. Adjusting the spacing and simplifying crowded areas made the empty shapes clearer, which strengthened the contrast and improved the overall visual impact.

• Application & Understanding:
  How can the ideas behind Notan (contrast, balance, push/pull of shapes) influence future artworks you create—such as drawing, photography, or mixed media?

Notan can influence my future artworks by making me more aware of how light and dark shapes interact. Instead of focusing only on details, I’ll think about the overall balance and the push-and-pull between positive and negative space. In drawing or photography, I can use strong contrasts to guide the viewer’s eye and create clearer, more dynamic compositions. In mixed media, I can layer shapes in a way that keeps the design balanced and visually interesting, using contrast as the foundation for any style or technique I explore.

I used contrast by placing clean, smooth shapes (angels/cats) against rough, chaotic trash. Balance comes from spreading the clutter across the page so one side isn’t too heavy. Rhythm appears in the repeated shapes of trash bags and scattered debris.

I’ll present Iteration 3 because it has the clearest structure, stronger contrast between chaos and calm, and the best overall balance between the trash-filled city and the symbolic figures.

My idea developed a lot from the original passage because me and Tiffany have a better idea of what we want to do for our sculpture now. We had the ideas of a pile of rubbish and trashy houses; however, after many revisions and plans, we decided that we wanted to add many bright angels and cats to symbolism bright in darkness.

2. Has there been any unexpected outcomes through this process? What pleasent surprises or drawbacks have arrived and how do you plan to elaborate or solve them ?

We luckily didn't have any unpleasant surprises and it was pleasant instead because me and tiffany both decided on the structure of the model and the symbols used.

3. List the extra material you may need and provide the rationale behind this need.

I think we will definitely be using clays (air dry or hard clay) to create smaller models of cats and angels. We will also need acrylics and different materials of hard paper to create more textures for housings.

To apply texture and details, we use different materials and colors. For example, when making the roof, instead of making it flat, my partner folded the cardboard to make it look rigid and more realistic. Then I painted it dark brown and added highlights and other colors to make it look rusty, fitting our concept. Usually, I would paint/add detail after my partner creates the pieces, then after it dries we stick them together.

One challenge I experienced was resisting the urge to blend the shading, because I’m used to making gradual transitions. However, a success was that using hard edges made the shadows more accurate and easier to organize into simple shapes, which helped me understand the structure of the object better.

The story of my still life is about how things that look attractive can sometimes be harmful, while healthier choices may look less appealing.

For my sketch, I will squint and block in the shadow shapes first. The tints (0–3) are the highlights on the table and hand, the midtones (4–7) are on the fruits, and the shadows (8–11) are under the objects and in the darker textures. I will use hard edges for the value shapes.

The story of my still life is about how things that look attractive can sometimes be harmful, while healthier choices may look less appealing.

For my sketch, I will squint and block in the shadow shapes first. The tints (0–3) are the highlights on the table and hand, the midtones (4–7) are on the fruits, and the shadows (8–11) are under the objects and in the darker textures. I will use hard edges for the value shapes.

My approach to texture and value was to build up layers of lines and vary the darkness to show depth and surface differences. This relates to my detail shot because I zoomed in on areas like the bark and the wall, where the textures are most visible, to make them more visually interesting and three-dimensional.

These choices are helping the success of my piece because they make certain areas look more realistic and visually interesting. However, they also show areas I want to improve, like the right building, where the values and textures are less developed. Moving forward, I want to make the contrast and detail more consistent across the whole drawing so everything feels balanced.

I was able to finish adding shading and texture to the pawn shop, including the sign and wood details, and I also developed the dark background to increase contrast. This helped bring more balance to the piece and made the focal areas stand out more clearly.

I’ve also been open to feedback from others and using constructive criticism to guide changes, especially in balancing the composition and refining details. Especially with mr larson's feedbacks, I stepped out of my comfort zone and added white chalk into the backgrounds. Additionally, I’m applying skills from previous practice, like cross-hatching and value layering, to improve depth and texture across the whole piece.

This artwork represents my childhood---and my whole life. At first we see that the background surrounding the little girl and herself are all black and white, suggesting that my life was boring. I was the first born and prioritized my whole life (the queen girl symbol in the painting at the back and the expensive pearl necklaces); however, that life always felt bland because I was lonely and needed someone to accompany me. So when my brother was born, he became the best thing to happen to me. He was a ball of sunshine---as shown in the aura around him---and full of life---how vibrant in color he is. The sight of him glowing and being vibrant in color isn't actually how it was, it was just how I saw my precious brother through my lenses. I also used the acrylic to paint him instead of colored pencils even though pencils are easier to control because I wanted to emphasize how vivid my memories of him were. The things around him are in thinner and dreamier medium except him. The words floating around was what I heard from him during his early stages, and I was over-the-roof happy when I heard this, as seen in my widely smiling child portrait. Therefore, through this artwork, I wanted to illustrate how I---or any sister---see their siblings and how their siblings are the only thing that truly matters to them; I wanted to emphasize how bland and boring life was, for that i can remember, before my brother---my life---was born.