10th Grade Projects
Finish the Picture
The finish the picture project consisted of cutting an image or part of an image from a magazine, paste it in a sheet of paper or sketchbook and "finish" it . You had to fill out all the page by completing the cut image the same way as it was in the magazine or do a completely different drawing out of it. You had to put all your creativity and imagination when you decide to "finish" it, this way you will have a funny and unique drawing. In my case I cut an image of a soccer goalkeeper with his legs stretched out trying to kick a ball. When I made I "finished" the picture, the goalkeeper in a flying carpet as in the movie Aladdin and also draw a city under it.
While I was doing this project I realized that art reflects each person´s personality and feelings. Each person had its own creative and crazy ideas for finishing its own picture. For some people it may seem rare but for them it was a great decision and it expressed what they think and how they feel. Additionally I realized that you can do anything with a drawing and just a few added objects can change the external view in a drastic way. It was really good for us to have this kind of project, because we had no rules and no limitations, we only needed to complete the picture with our own creativity and imagination. There should be more projects like this one, because it is much more serious than a simple free sketch but it is free of limitations and determinated topics. By doing this project people draw what they like to see in the drawing, they were happy with it because they were doing what seemed right and good for them, including me. It was a great project.
Pop Art Self-Portrait
This project consisted of printing an image of a person´s face which is important or significant to you. You had to divide the image into squares according to the measure of it. Using a scale you will divide a canvas the same way you divided the image, this way you can draw perfectly what corresponds to each of the square boxes created in the canvas by looking at the ones created in the image. When you finished drawing it, you used the monochromatic scale to have 5 different colors that came from 1 basic color. You had to paint the face according to the shades and lights on it, the when you finish painting it you had to paint the background and the border of the canvas with the opposite color from the chosen for the face, black, white or gray. Additionally you had to sign it and be sure to cover all the pencil lines, also you had to answer some questions about pop-art which was the topic and inspiration for this project. In my case I chose a picture of Cat Stevens, and decided to make orange as my basic color. I painted the background with black and the border of the canvas also in orange.
In the realization of this project we learn lots of new concepts and techniques. It was pretty interesting to use the scale technique for creating and getting the most accurate drawing possible. We also learn concepts such as the pop art, which was the topic for this project. In this project we used part of the concepts of pop-art, including the questions that we answered after finishing the drawing. By doing it we improve our painting and drawing skills, specially our painting because we had to look carefully at the colors for not confusing them and also because we painted many layers before finally finishing it. At the beginning it was really hard to paint in small spaces but as the project advanced my skills improved and the painting became easier. I think that the scale technique is very effective, personally I think that it is perfect for someone who has difficulty to draw because it gives them a base but still gives them stuff to think about when drawing, like: proportion, size, fitting all the image, etc. This project was very complex, because it included several skills and techniques, such as planning, drawing, painting, re-painting, color scale management and the contrast between the face and background colors. My product was excellent and I believe it is one of my best art works during my high school years.
Pop Art Verbal Portrait
In this project we had to draw the face of someone special to us. We draw the siluet and the bordering lines but we did no shading. Then we started giving it shape and filling out the hair with letters, but not with any letter it had to make sense. We had to research about the person we were drawing and put his life, an story or a song of him to make the face look real. I draw Luis Antonio Valencia, Ecuadorian soccer player who plays in Manchester United of England. To fill up his face I write his life, his beginnings in soccer, the moment in the national team, playing for the first time in Europe, 2006 FIFA World Cup and his actual moment at Manchester United. My product was great and I have to say that the cardboards in the back were essential for the drawing to have life and to be highlighted.
I really enjoyed doing this exam, because it involved a unique and different style for drawing. I am not very good at drawing and I like when I can draw something which is done by something original that doesn´t involve too much drawing. This method was perfect for me, I like to write a lot and I think that I applied the words and history perfectly to the face shape and silhouette. What I specially liked from this project was that from far away it didn´t seem that it was a face which was composed by letter, but when people saw it from close enough they got impressed on how it was done. It seems to be a pretty hard thing to do but it was very easy, simple but fun activity to do. Finally I have to say that with this project I learned that art can be created with anything and still the results can be great. This method seemed rare and unpractical but at the end it was simple and it bring great products for all of us. Personally I think that this face made with letters was one of the most realistic faces that I have draw.
