Michaela - Art School Journey (Archived)

Hello everyone, my name is Michaela. I'm 18 years old and I'm a to-be computer science major from the United States.

Over the years, drawing has become an increasingly important part of my life to the point where I'm seriously considering a career in it. I fell into the trap of trying to study and improve my art without a goal in previous years, but during COVID-19 I feel like I've learned a lot about myself and my art. Now, I feel like I have things I want to say but a lack of knowledge to execute it. I started Art School in order to build on my skills as an artist and learn how to tell stories visually. My biggest goal (right now, at least) is becoming a comic artist or someone who can live off of their own IP.

I'll be posting homework here regularly as well as reflections on what I've learned. Thank you to everyone reading this! As a benchmark, here are some pieces I've done between 2020 and 2021:

More art is on my Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/milkcee12/

See you around,
Michaela

[Term 1] Photoshop for Digital Production 1
I'm already familiar with digital editing softwares so I skipped most of the photo manipulation-type homework. Line quality and pen control can always be practiced though!

Reflection

• I tend to offshoot my vertical lines slightly to the right.
• Grip the stylus lightly! You don't want your carpal tunnel to act up again!
• Lock your wrist for basically everything; use your shoulder/elbow.
• Look ahead to where you're aiming for instead of the line itself; it increases accuracy. Use a medium speed that feels natural to your hand.
• My hand got tired towards the end of the 2nd exercise but I still pushed on—take breaks.
• I kept zooming in unconsciously when drawing the lines. Probably an indicator that I should zoom out more in my personal work.

I'm not sure how consistent of a practice schedule I'll keep up, but here's to day 1!

[Term 1] Nude Figure Drawing
Still in a honeymoon phase with the class right now so I want to draw a lot, but it's starting to take a toll on my hand and arm. Usually, I use shapes to draw people so thinking in 3D again was a challenge. I messed up my proportions quite a bit too, but it's all good because it's fun.

Page 1 Reflection

• Stop zooming in!!!! Make sure the whole figure is on the screen when you're working.
• I think ovals work better for me to indicate the major bones - just make sure to establish the tilt of the oval.
• Clip Studio brushes are a lot more sensitive than Photoshop; makes it harder to maintain line quality but it makes for nice tapers when inking.

Page 2 Reflection

• Wow my skeletons are off when I'm drawing from reference. It's hard to draw it without even a gesture as a base sketch.
• Ovals are nice as ribcages if you're tracing, but they lack structure that is nice when you're measuring and using the pose as a reference. Maybe use rectangles or ovals with more measuring.
• Hip joints might be attached to the ends of the pelvis, but there's not a very large gap between the legs. Muscles don't wrap uniformly around bones.