Letter Project Reflection

1. When starting the letter project I immediately started by thinking "outside the box" by thinking of not only the latin alphabet.  I wanted to use a letter that had more meaning to it than just spelling.  After picking the letter Δ (delta) I decided to think about cycles and changes, as that what the letter Δ (delta) stands for.  I found that choosing a letter first was very helpful because in my experience the letter needs to be represented in the letter, and vise versa.

2. I picked the letter Δ (delta) because it signifies change, and I am constantly trying to change myself for the better.  I thought of things that change and came up with two ideas: flowers and life.  After narrowing it down to two ideas I picked flowers because my true given name, Mai (梅), is translated to apricot blossoms in means apricot blossoms in Vietnamese.  I represented the idea of apricot blossoms changing with the seasons by drawing them in three different parts of their life cycle: late winter, spring, and summer.  This represents my idea of change because the flowers represent the changing season and the change in myself.

3. The most challenging part of the project for me was coloring it.  I tend to draw in black and white because I draw manga, so changing to color threw me though a loop.  When I shade I use hatching and cross hatching because it is a simple way to create volume without too much hassle.  Changing to color and having to use different pressure to draw was jarring.

4. I am satisfied with my project, but just barely.  I would have loved more time on it to really make the colors pop.  I would have also liked to conduct more research in how to draw flowers.  The flowers look very 2-dimensional and it bothers me a bit.

5. If I could change something about the design, I would make the girl look more human and less like a manga character.  I want to learn how to draw more realistic people, or at least more Berserkesque.

A drawing of the fictional ship The Seahorse from Berserk.  All shading done with hatching or screen tones

Just starting to color

Almost done coloring

Mai tells a story

 Hi hi!!!  My name is Mai (later changed to Alison against my will), and I'm in graphic design!!!

I'm a shut-in that spends all her time either playing videogames, drawing manga, watching tv, or sleeping (づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ  GO ME!!

Anyway, story time!  I made this up because to restate, I am an Otaku shut-in with no life so making stories up is part of the "disease".

 Once upon a time there was a child that lived in an imaginary world. The world was filled with wonders and grand spectacles that filled her eyes with folly. Grand gates locked her path to the human world, a world that was filled with ominous mysteries.  She was happy living in her imaginary world, except for one flaw: there was no people to talk to. She had the rabbits, the deer, the magical creatures and apricot blossoms to talk to, but no people.

One day she heard a voice that she never heard before, and she decided to follow. She chased it through the field of fairies, the den of dragons, and the sands of Spynxs to the Great Gates.  Then the voice spoke to her, telling her she could live in an eternal wonderland. The girl responded But I'm already in wonderland, can you not see all my friends? She smiled and began to skip away. The voice hollered Wait! This wonderland has people like you, in a shapes and sizes. You must be curious about the world now! So come with me! Leave this half rate wonderland and travel to the REAL WORLD the real wonderland. The girl became intranced by the voice and began to open the closed gates.

Her friends screamed to her it's a trap! The forest animals and fairies ran at her to pull her back only to hit an invisable wall. The wise spynx roared Don't leave! If you leave now you will never be able to return to this place! I'm begging you...don't leave us alone! The girl turned her head back, only after walking through the gates, and began to cry.