The illustration I chose to include is an illustration from my senior showcase. I completed this illustration while taking this course and I think a lot of what I was learning about my art and myself in this class helped me work on my senior project. This is one of my favorite illustrations from my show because of the colors, and how the bird and the flora behind it interact well with one another.

What did you learn about yourself as an artist as a result of this class?

What I learned about myself as an artist because of this is not only some artistic skills, but skills to use in the art world as an artist. Through this class and others, I was able to learn how to create my schedule. That I would have to make time to work on my art or learn to work when I have free time even if it is just working on something small. Working off the mentality of “if I don’t finish this I won’t have money to buy groceries or pay rent”. Through this class, I was able to learn and observe one way to work with clients. This included asking a lot of questions related to the project, dimensions, due dates, colors, screen printing information, etc. It was an experience that wasn’t new but gave me a new perspective and approach. Another reflection is that I should have more artist ‘friends’ or colleagues because I can learn from them and they can give criticism to me to help me grow. This could be connecting with more artists in my community or creating a social media outlet for my art and communicating with artists through that. One of the last things I learned through this class is that I still am a baby designer and I still have a lot to learn about myself and my art and that is okay. This gives me time to grow and experience new techniques, people, and styles and just keep creating.

What do I want to do next with illustration?

What I want to do next with illustration is just to keep improving. The projects from this semester opened my eyes to what illustration is as an art form. I would like to expand on some of the projects we have done. Surface design is one that I would like to keep experimenting with because I was able to create pieces individually and then build a cohesive design. Even though it was a tough project, I would like to retry and work on my editorial illustration skills. When we began that project, looking at different magazines and watching the Skillshare videos of other editorial artists was very inspiring. Also expanding in general on my illustration skills and style. I would love to experiment with illustration photography because it combines two art mediums that I find enjoyment in and I would love to be able to try and integrate those two styles into my work.