Reflection

The first project was the mandatory color wheel. I created this mostly just to have something done during this time I wasn't really inspired to do anything and it shows in the result. The process wasn't anything special- I did a quick sketch and then taped that copying paper over the sketch, and put it onto another paper. After that I just looked at colors and randomly put them in certain spots. The original idea was to at least use some color theory concepts but I ended up just sort of putting colors down at random.

I created this because I’ve noticed that I like creating hard-surface models more than organic surfaces just because it’s more fun to me even if it’s less like actual sculpting. My overall vision for the piece was a take on a vic viper (a ship with two long prongs in the front and a large engine in the back.) I’d hope this is a properly conveyed science fiction ship. Through this piece I taught myself more on reflections and lighting to create interesting pieces and i’ve gotten much better at it.

The method I used to create this was the same as everything else i’ve made, but essentially I did as follows:

1. Use basic shapes, and adjust the camera for an interesting angle
   
2. Use primitive shapes to block out shape of vehicle
   
3. Delete the primitive shapes and replace them with detailed parts
   
4. Create shader to give it an interesting texture (I actually made this shader as a product awhile ago)
   
5. Experiment with lights in the scene for clean and interesting reflections
   
6. Fix reflections in Krita, and do final post editing there.
   

I created this work because I wanted to make something that was kind of disturbing but also cute in a strange way. I think octopi are disgusting, but really rad so this was the focus for the majority of the piece and the human in there took a backseat to the overall image. I’ve been told my work is generally creepy but I also received comments like “that’s cool/cute”, so I hope it’s portraying as I want to be because it definitely seems so. This was mainly inspired by this piece (nudity), so if I were to say how it fits with contemporary art I’d say it was inspired by art of today.

The way I made this is not particularly different than the way i’ve made other pieces, I quickly drew a profile a female and then pulled up references of an octopus, and drew from those to get what I wanted for the piece. I used stippling and crosshatching all along the octopus to create the rough surface they have on their skin, and kept refining my linework until i got to the product I have now. The most important technique used here was stippling which took the majority of the time to do but i’m satisfied with the overall effect of it.

My art doesn’t reflect anything in my life or my experience or anything deep like that. I don’t think any of my pieces ever do.

“What have you learned about making Art?”

Never be comfortable with the result of your work even if it's only receiving compliments.
“What have you learned about yourself through the projects you have created?”

I learned to be comfortable with taking my time occasionally and also how to use add ons to speed up how fast I can work.

My biggest area in need of growth is software knowledge, and shading. I've significantly improved in both those areas compared to before, but I still do need to improve them more before I'm comfortable with it.