#multiple assignments and a midterm that I'm not confident about

[crowrrupt]

"They want me to break in these body pieces before wearing then under my armor...Are you okay, X?"

I drew this on my bed because I wanted to practice drawing bodies more. I think I'm getting better

[yesimwriting]

Hey girl I'm about to have my first batch of finals this year what are your tips for surviving? I feel so confused on the best ways to prepare 😭😭 thanks 🙏

omg as a self proclaimed academic weapon whose current projected GPA range for the end of semester is 3.9 - 4.0 and who went to a college prep high school i feel like i have finals/midterms down to a science

I have some general finals steps and then some even more general advise where I expand on the tips below the cut. I got kind of carried away😭 pls let me know if you need me to expand on anything

Step 1. List out everything that's due (all projects, essays, and exams) in order of when they're do. If multiple things are due the same day, order them from the assignment you're least confident in to the assignment you're most confident in.

Step 2. Personalize your schedule. Half the battle of finals is a mental game bc it's easy to see all the things you have to do and freeze bc it feels like nothing's going to get done or that you'll be working every second of the day until finals end. If you break your assignments into blocks/chunks, you'll still be able to take small breaks and feel less overwhelmed.

So like if you have 3 essays and 2 tests within two to three days of each other, tell yourself you'll write 2 essays and study for one test on the first day or that you'll write one essay everyday and study on the last two days. If that makes sense lol.

this doesn't mean to over schedule your life!! i don't write out time stamps for every break, i just like to do assignments a day or two in advance so that I can take breaks if that makes sense.

Step 3. Do your projects/essays first. I've always been someone that likes doing projects before studying for tests. Because projects/essays are something that have tangible ends,, you'll feel a lot more productive/better getting those out of the way. The exception to this is if you have a big test coming that's before your essays/project, study first lol.

Step 4. Make study guides. Ik it's annoying, but you're more likely to study more if you have a cheat sheet you can just look over. More on this in general advise.

-- This is just general advice. ---

Tip 1. Study guides are life savers. It's one thing to have all of your notes, but typing/writing everything you need so that it's in one place makes it so much easier to take advantage of small moments. I do best on tests when I make my study guide in advanced and then just reread it a bunch the night before and then right before the test.

If it's a harder topic with more information and you think you need more time with the info, I still think a study guide is a great way to just have something that you can look at whenever you have a a few minutes. You're more likely to study more when you have something that you can just pull out and read a few times than if you just have miscellaneous notes you have to waste time looking for/gathering.

Tip 2. Plan/accept study breaks. Sometimes you just need to do something else. It feels like you're wasting time, but if you're super tired/overwhelmed, you're definitely not working efficiently, so if your body is telling you to walk around for a little or scroll on your phone for fifteen minutes or do something else to mentally get away, accept it.

Tip 3. Don't fall for the 11:59 trap. This might just be bc I'm a night person so I do a lot of homework late at night, but I think knowing something is due at midnight adds some extra stress. It makes it harder to take breaks and gets more overwhelming bc the deadline is right there.

I like to make the day before the 11:59 deadline my personal deadline. Ofc there are exceptions to this, like if the assignment is smaller,, like a discussion post or just answering some homework questions, and you know it won't take up your entire day and you'll have time, it's okay to leave it. Especially if you have larger assignments or other things to study for.

Tip 4. Do the harder assignments first. This may be personal preference, but I always do the more draining assignments first. This doesn't always mean the longest/objectively the hardest. Sometimes it's just getting your least favorite/worst subject out of the way so that you can check it off your list.

Tip 5. Personal reward system. This is why it's good to have hobbies! it's not a good idea to make needs rewards, like food/water and bathroom breaks,, please don't do that!!

but the amount of times i've told myself that if i finish/get to a certain point in an assignment i can go onto tumblr and read a fic is insane 😭

small rewards like that that are just fun are super helpful,, so if you have any hobbies that are like reading, scrolling on your phone, watching a certain show, etc,, you can use that to motivate you as long as you can quantify it.

Like don't say you can scroll on your phone as a reward unless you're done for the day, say you can scroll on your phone for X amount of time so that it doesn't take up the entire day,, if that makes sense lol

that's why i tend to like other rewards better, because phones aren't set up to have a natural, satisfying end. But if you tell yourself that you can watch an episode of a TV show or read a specific fic or read a chapter of a book,, you'll feel better when it's over. That's more of a personal opinion though.

sorry for how long this is 😭i hope it helps

[abraham-z3]

Art Class Final Portfolio

Abraham Z

Day 1: Boxes

Gesture Drawings:

Gesture Drawing- Later in the Semester

Contour Drawings:

Negative/Positive Drawing:

Blind Contour Drawing:

Composition Analysis Drawing:

Cross Contour Drawing:

Cross Hatching Drawing:

Ink Assignment:

Ink and Color Assignment:

Note: I was not there for class that day, so I could not color the model for reference.

Museum Sketch:

Sketchbook Drawings:

Note: Some of these sketches revolve around the layout for my Final.

Midterm

Artist Statement:

For this art project, the objects I chose to draw are just some of the few items that I believe represent me. While posing these objects, I wanted to go for a triangle-type arrangement, making sure that each object felt close to the others, showing unity. While some of the trinkets I chose are small in size, they have a lot of meaning behind them, each one representing a part of who I am as a whole. It took a whole week to complete this assignment, it totaled of around 40 hours give or take. I had the weekend to work on it the entire day. For the final result, I feel as if I more then exceeded my expectations on not only the assignment itself, but what I'm capable of doing as an artist. If there were any changes I would've done, I feel like they just be too minimal to notice. All in all, I had a fun and interesting time with this project.

Final

Artist Statement:

For this art project for my final, I was told to create a comic involving a museum, naturally, I had at least 3 ideas already in mind. Unfortunately, thanks to some clearer instructions, my creativity was dwindled a bit. Nevertheless, I came up with a simple story of a security guard getting woken up from a nightmare. The whole comic is just the museum guard making fun of multiple exhibitions until he stumbles upon a giant fish skeleton. With his back turned, the skeleton moves to scare him, causing him to wake up, realizing it was all a dream. The whole piece was just me dissing the confined box I was put in when creating this project, my ideas and chance of bigger storytelling, limited. Working on this project started off with such a drag, the paneling wasn't too hard to come up with, although the perspective was tricky...I had a good sketch created by the 3rd day, and had to draw it to scale on the 4th. Inking and painting it, however, was quite time-consuming. The painting alone was quite tiring, went for a monochromatic color scheme to save on time. All in all, it came out quite ok in my opinion, not my best work, but it will do. One thing I most definitely would change if I could is the colors, just adding a few more touch-ups on the piece would do such wonders in my opinion.

Extra:

Inking- Pre-Painted Version

Portfolio

Final Thoughts:

I'll be honest, this entire course was an incredible use of practice for me, using what I had already knew about art from sketching and inking and pushing it further with each new assignment was nothing more then exciting. My favorite piece throughout the whole portfolio is the Midterm project; it helped me push my sketching skills to their very limits and helped me see just what I could truly do. While having quite a small time frame for some more "ambitious" projects, I can say with confidence that I learned and practiced quite a lot throughout this course.

[anibalglez]

FINAL CURATED PORTFOLIO & Artists Statements.

GESTURE ( FROM SECOND DAY OF CLASS)

CONTOUR ( SECOND DAY OF CLASS )

BLIND CONTOUR

5MIN POSE (first weeks of class)

BLIND CONTOUR POSE

DRAWING EGGS

BLIND CONTOUR HANDS

STUDIES OF SKULLS

THORACIC CAVITY & *PELVIC STUDY (Spine in lieu of Pelvic study)

SKELETON STUDIES done IN CLASS

PEER PORTRAIT

SELF PORTRAIT /3 VIEWS

PERSPECTIVE STUDIES(3 FIGS color)

MIDTERM

Museum of Contemporary Arts of North Miami Visit

FINAL PAINTING (ONE)

ARTIST STATEMENTS

-MIDTERM:

In my self-portrait, I depicted myself wearing a football shirt from AJAX, a legendary club in Europe. Holding a football in my left hand, I aimed to showcase my deep passion for the sport, which has been a significant part of my life since I grew up playing it in Spain. In my right hand, I held headphones, symbolizing my daily reliance on music, without which I feel incomplete. The background featured a grid structure that I incorporated as a nod to my studies in architecture, where grids play a crucial role in design organization. To reinforce this connection, I included a quick sketch of a two-point perspective structure. Overall, the portrait captures multiple aspects of my identity and interests, blending my love for sports, music, and architecture into one cohesive depiction. Crafting this piece was both enjoyable and meaningful, allowing me to express myself through a blend of visual elements that represent who I am.

-FINAL:

In my final project, I wanted to show how people have been feeling during COVID-19 using drawings inspired by ancient Greece and my architecture studies. I picked three poses that represent different aspects of the pandemic.

The central figure stands with one arm extended, representing the necessity of social distancing. This figure turns their back to the other two, emphasizing the physical isolation that many have experienced. Their posture embodies the cautiousness and wariness prevalent in our interactions.

On the left, another figure stands in an awkward position, arms folded protectively over their chest. This stance reflects the discomfort and uncertainty that has permeated social interactions during the pandemic. By facing away from the other poses, showing how disconnected we've felt.

The third figure lies alone on the ground, portraying a sense of boredom, this is something that has affected numerous individuals during periods of lockdown and isolation.

To add my architectural studies into the painting, I depicted the figures as if they were statues reminiscent of ancient Greek art. Adorned in traditional Greek attire such as robes and gladiator sandals, they stand amidst columns and other architectural elements evocative of ancient Greece.

-CURATED PORTFOLIO:

As I wrap up this semester's portfolio, I'm excited for my transition to FIU after my time at Miami Dade College. Initially hesitant about drawing classes, I found unexpected joy in figure drawing and painting.

Among the materials we used, charcoal pencils stood out as my favorite due to their versatility in achieving different tones.

My favorite assignment was the Midterm, where I challenged myself with a self-portrait. Using familiar materials boosted my confidence and resulted in a successful drawing.

I faced obstacles in figure drawing initially, specially I had never drawn figures and I have always been afraid of drawing persons since I found it as one of the most difficult things to do, but the structured approach of the class, breaking down each step, for example, the skeleton, egg and hand studies helped me overcome my fears. Looking ahead, I aim to grow my knowledge in architecture.

In conclusion, this semester has been a journey of growth and discovery. I'm grateful for the opportunity to expand my skills and look forward to applying them in the future.