#capstone process binder

[la-mousme]

HIS 5925 History Harvest Reflection

I attended the History Harvest this past Saturday, and the experience is one I will not forget as it confirmed my interest in history and working for the community. As I get closer and closer to capstoning, there is still this concern of whether this path is the correct for my interests; however, in scanning and looking through Judy Ulster’s family photos and archival documents. That interaction with Mrs. Ulster is what gave me the confidence to keep going forward and to push through self-doubt.

            Anyway, in discussing my actual role in the harvest, I worked with DJ and Casey in the scanning area, along side with Jesse and Kat to guide us in the process. DJ and I worked on separate scanners and eventually working with separate families in scanning their documents. The process consisted of the scanner itself, organizing the scanned image file, and writing the metadata for the file. The work was simple and to the point, but the process was painfully time consuming as we had to write their information on each sheet. Scribing metadata is what limited how much I was able to scan into the RICHES database, in which we were only able to get through a quarter of the way through out of two binders filled with documents. The documents ranged and were organized to military regalia, obituaries and funeral arrangements, wedding certificates, and family photos.

            I was also given the opportunity to scan larger artifacts under Dr. Robkins, using the “Eva” and “Pete” scanners (their professional titles of the technologies I cannot remember). Dr. Robkins walked through with me how to scan the object, the position, the speed at which the scanner can read, and how to manipulate the scanned image to create a digital 3-D form. This proved to be much more complicated; however, coincidentally uses the same techniques that I have used in animation software.

            The overall experience was fun and eye opening, watching the community come together in preserving history. Seeing individuals of all ages preserving their history and heritage.

[ryanycpsarts-blog]

[odnawn]

Process Binder #4

The past few weeks, I have made a lot of progress in regards to my Capstone Project for CPSA250/CPSA201. Not only did I fully complete my first portrait of Jean-Michel Basquiat, but I also completed my journal entry in connection to my visits to the Freedom School in DC with Do Better. In fact, I also have gotten well into working on my presentation through Prezi for ArtsFest and will post a link to it. Below is a portion of my journal for my Do Better visit:

During my visits to the DC Freedom School with Do Better, a community service-centered student organization that has chapters at the University of Maryland, College Park, Morehouse College, Bowie State University, and Howard University; I have had the opportunity to truly see the importance of representation manifest with my own two eyes. I have been blessed enough to have had countless opportunities to interact with and develop mentor-mentee bonds with children who look like younger versions of myself, and take me back to a time where I once did not love myself, people, history, or culture; and had no idea how to.

After volunteering with organizations and initiatives including the Blue Drop Initiative, the Slam the Gap Initiative, America Counts; and even my actual paid junior and senior counselor positions with Forcey Day Camp, one would think that I had reached my maximum potential and hit the quota on knowledge of the importance of representation. This presumption is false.

At my last visit to the Freedom School, I saw things beginning to come full circle in regards to the kids. Although I have not been able to visit too often due to scheduling conflicts with my internship at the Office of Community Engagement last semester or my job as a Marketing and Technology Assistant with the Office of Multi-Ethnic Student Education this semester, many of the kids recognized me immediately - even with yet another different hairstyle than what they had seen during my previous visits. Not only did they recognize myself and my two peers that I went with, Liz and Maimouna, but their faces literally lit up as the light bulb went off in their heads. With the Black Panther soundtrack blasting in the background and its bass making the gravel quake, we moved on to play “Red Light, Green Light” with our scholars and, dance to other current hits that they were familiar with. hen the sun eventually set, we read books with them inside to place an emphasis on and plant seeds of literacy and scholarship in young, impressionable framers of our future.

[hjonescpsarts-blog]

Sketches for the upcoming project.

[rachelscpsarts]

While executing the paintings, I mainly updated the progress on my snapchat rather than on here, so now I will be going back posting some of those images to reflect upon them.

- - -

The process for Raven was definitely the longest out of all four paintings – likely because it was the most ambitious composition and because it was the first one I began, so I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to express with it and experimenting with the paints and methods of applying it. For example, the pattern on the shirt was completely freehand, and thus ended up being less intricate. Originally I had wanted to use gold watercolor or ink for it, but all I had on hand was acrylic, which is a lot less flexible. It ended up working but not quite matching my expectations. I don’t think I quite consider this one finished, but somehow people seemed most impressed by this one out of the four when I displayed it.

[alexiaoscpsarts-blog]

What’s it’s Been Like Meeting Different Women of Color:

In the end, we interviewed 14 different women of color; asians (south and east), middle easterners, africans (west and north), caribbeans, latinas, and women with mixed ethnicities. It surely was an experience meeting with all of them and listening to what they had to say. Just like what Merissa and I wanted, we wanted to hear something different from what we tell ourselves everyday. 

As two black women of the same age and living situation, our experiences as women of color are close to being the same; because we had a variety of women, we received multiple answers to questions we always ask ourselves. However, there was one question that ultimately united all of us together; what do you love about being a woman of color? Every single woman we interviewed responded with, “I love being different”. There’s such a liberating and exhilarating feeling connected to having another culture tied to you. As we all learned to accept and love who we are in a society where misrepresentation is prevalent, our culture is what pushes us up. 

If we had more time, I would have loved to meet up with other women of color. Many of them told us to continue with this project if we could. It’s something we’ve been thinking about actually. We now know that we aren’t the only ones who find this topic so important and close to our hearts.

[sarahrkcpsarts]

CPSA 250: Individual Capstone Research Practicum Learning Agreement

Name: Sarah Kim

Email: skimviolin@gmail.com

Advisor: Harold Burgess

Weekly Meeting Time: Wednesdays 5:00-5:50 PM

Purpose/Mission Statement: Put this in the form of a few sentences about what you hope to accomplish this semester. What will the end result of your project be? What will you learn or gain from the experience? Do you have other goals?

My goal for this project is to prepare and perform a Sophomore Violin Recital.  After this project, I would have learned how navigate the recital booking software for the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center, three new complete pieces, how to collaborate with fellow music colleagues in the recital preparation process, and how to order catering for an estimated audience size.  Finally, by receiving feedback from important music faculty and music major colleagues, I would have the opportunity to learn the mistakes from this experience, and to ultimately better my performance energy for future recitals.

Learning Objectives:

These are more specific than the mission statement. Be sure your objectives are clearly stated and respond to what you expect to do, learn, and experience as a result this project. Please list at least three. These should scaffold toward your final project.

I will reserve the Leah Smith Recital and Lecture Hall for the performance and the Student Lounge for the reception.

I will plan a recital program in consultation with my private teacher, Dr. Stern, and my capstone faculty advisor, Harold Burgess.

I will learn the following three new pieces:

Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata no. 1 in g minor

Jean Sibelius Violin Concerto

Josef Suk 4 Pieces for Violin and Piano.

I will prepare a 30 minute reception taking place after the recital, with light refreshments.

Workshop Process:

How will you complete the project? What research or preliminary work is required? What materials will you need? What steps will you take to create the finished project? How will you perform or present your work?

How will you document your work and research in your process binder/notebook?

I will complete this project over a span of three months, January through March, in order to appropriately prepare the repertoire and organize the logistics of the concert.  The preliminary work of booking the recital hall and reception area, as well as the planning of repertoire was completed before the start of the new year to ensure maximum time for solely music practice and preparation.  In order to finish the project, I plan to prepare the assigned repertoire, perform the recital, and hold the post-performance reception.  This project will be performed on April 5th at 7:30 PM in Leah Smith Hall.

I will document my work and research in my process binder by posting audio and video clips on my Tumblr page.  These clips will show the gradual evolution of the music preparation process, from sight-reading the music to the final performance.  

Resources:

Please include a list of resources you have used/may use in the planning and execution of your project. You may include books, websites, music, video, personal communication, etc.

Repertoire Recordings:

Josef Suk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhbzZ5Y7yXs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_M0f5ii12iU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8nvLIl7YZ8

Bach

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTUWCr3IXxw

Sibelius

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsbrRAgv1b4&t=622s

Project Timeline: Include dates and deadlines set by the course syllabus, as well as self-imposed benchmarks for what you would like to have done at certain points in the semester.

Faculty Advisor meeting: February 15th 11:00 AM, final plans for capstone and Learning Agreement

Repertoire Check-in: February 25th, have performance ready the Sibelius and Bach.  Memorize Suk.

Second Faculty Advisor meeting: Week of March 25th, address progress of capstone

Repertoire Check-in: March 18th, have performance ready the Suk, prepare encore piece

Catering order: March 25th, finalize menu and expected audience number

Sophomore Recital: April 5th at 7:30 PM

Third Faculty Advisor meeting: After April 5th

ArtsFest Opening Gala: Friday, April 26th, 7-9 PM

ArtsFest Full Exhibition: Saturday, April 27th ,10:30 AM - 3 PM

Academic Showcase: Friday, May 3rd, 4-5:30 PM, Edward St. John building.

[evanwilliamson-blog]

We rehearsed the piece, and I got a decent recording of it. This will help me figure out what I need to rework in the editing stage.

(Recorded on Monday, April 2nd, 2018)

[martinmcpsarts-blog]

Complete Process Binder

Complete Process Binder

January 29 - I picked a song for my project

February 5 - I  started forming images in my head in relation to the lyrics of the song

February 12 - I started a couple of the larger sketches

Over the past couple of weeks, I did a few sketches that started to form the cornerstones of the video.

06 March 2019 - One strategy I will sue to boost my capstone creativity is Boredom. I already use boredom as a creative process but it is usually not  directed at the  project. Over the course  of this week I will try and funnel the energy into this project.

March 12th– Started to research Danger Incorporated. Found out that they are an Atlanta based, Cloud rap music group that is signed to Awful Records/RCA Records. Active since 2015, they have released two albums: “Are You Afraid of the Danger Boys” in 2016 and “Danger Reality” in 2018.

March 14th– Did some more research on Danger Incorporated today. They don’t have much information about themselves online! Danger Incorporated is comprised of Louie Dufflebags and Boothlord. The two have known one another since elementary school but it wasn’t until later in life that they came together in life to make Danger Incorporated.

March 19th– Louie Dufflebags and Boothlord both idolize Yung Lean, a Swedish rapper who produced music spanning genres like hip hop, cloud rap, emo rap, and punk rock. Both artists are heavily inspired by Yung Lean and share two tattoos of the rapper.

March 22nd– Danger Incorporated also citied inspiration from artists like J. Dilla, King Krule, Arca, Smerz. These artists contributed a mix of genre influence from punk rock to hip hop to electronic and experimental. This inspiration can be seen in their music that doesn’t quite fit into any one genre.

March 26th– I started to try and find out why Danger Incorporated started making music and what their motivation was to help me better interpret their song. In interviews the go on to say that they make music for themselves and do it for the love of music itself, they aren’t focused on any of the other things that come with it. They started making music from their love of music and the fact that there wasn’t much to do.

March 30th– Started to explore the song lyrics (Diamonds by Danger Incorporated) to form scenes using the information on their background. The line “Danger Boys, we are many/ Danger Boys, we are few” made me think back to an interview they had where they said that there were only a few people on their wave.

April 17th - I started to move from incomplete sketches to more finalized looking drawings. I took the outline of the sketch and refined it. Taking color inspiration from their hometown of Atlanta and colors used in the albums of those that inspired them.

April 18th - I started to put the pictures together over the music, animating things like the circles seen on the right hand side of the photo. There isn’t much left to do but a few more drawings,  put the pictures in their correct places and animate.

Advisor Conference Reflection - During the advisor conference, something Iearned and wanted to implement was making some of the drawings abstract instead of doing the exact translation.

Second Look Reflection - One of the suggestions was to watch a music video carmen by Stromae. I have seen the music video and enjoyed watching it and have decided to incorporate a little of the style.

Project Pitch - Outline: Introduction to what the research question in my project is. Explain how the question is answered in through the project.

[vincedprocessbinder-blog]

Learning Agreement

CPSA 250: College Park Arts Scholars Capstone: Solo Project, Spring 2018

 Name: Vince De Guzman

Email: vince.012999@gmail.com

 Advisor: Harold

Weekly Meeting Time: 12:20 pm

 Purpose/Mission Statement: Put this in the form of a few sentences about what you hope to accomplish this semester. What will the end result of your project be? What will you learn or gain from the experience? Do you have other goals?

 This semester I hope to accomplish something I have never done before. I have no experience with the visual arts or with programming myself with no direction. I want to create an android app that combines these different passions of mine, art and programming. The result is an app where people can create different emojis to use in messaging and texting. I will learn the difficulties of creating both art and programming as these two skills have different difficulties to them. I would also like to publish this app to the app store and maybe improve upon it in the future.

 Learning Objectives:

These are more specific than the mission statement. Be sure your objectives are clearly stated and respond to what you expect to do, learn, and experience as a result this project. Please list at least three. These should scaffold toward your final project.

  Learn how to create an     android app

Have a finished product at     Arts Fest with a demonstration and if people want to they can download it     on their own android phone

Learn different methods to     create pixel art

I want to experience the     final product coming together displaying my passions, the arts and     programming

 Workshop Process:

How will you complete the project? What research or preliminary work is required? What materials will you need? What steps will you take to create the finished project? How will you perform or present your work?

 How will you document your work and research in your process binder/notebook?

 I will complete the project by first familiarizing myself with the software I’m using, Android Studio. I will go through many tutorials and create the UI for my project. Afterwards, I will focus on creating my own pixel art emojis drawing inspiration from many different artists and the way they used pixel art to capture different emotions. Finally, I will combine both the UI and my art style to create a finished product. At Arts Fest I want to have a downloadable app, so people can download the app if they want to, but I would also have my laptop showcasing the app and the code if people are interested in that. In my process binder, I will show all my inspiration and weekly updates on the state of the project, whether it is improving the UI or drawing different emojis.

  Resources:

Please include a list of resources you have used/may use in the planning and execution of your project. You may include books, websites, music, video, personal communication, etc.

 https://developer.android.com/training/index.html

deviantart.com

youtube.com

Photoshop

 Project Timeline: Include dates and deadlines set by the course syllabus, as well as self-imposed benchmarks for what you would like to have done at certain points in the semester.

 2/21 – 2-minute presentation on the UI, I have so far

2/28 – Have the framework finished

3/7 – Make sure the app is functional and doing everything I want it to

3/14 – Work on the design and make the GUI more modern and intuitive

3/28 – Have the UI finished and start working on the pixel art

4/4 – Combine both pixel art and the UI to create a finished app

4/12 – 4/19 – Finish the app, tie up some loose-ends and present during peer review

4/26 – Finalize my presentation and get ready for Arts Fest

4/28 – Arts Fest

5/2 – Dress Rehearsal for Academic Showcase

5/4 – Academic Showcase

[zackrcpsarts-blog]

Final Reflection

What was the most challenging aspect of completing your project, and why? (This might be technical aspects, time constraints, problems that arose, etc.—be honest, this is your space to reflect!)

I think that the most challenging aspect was sticking to a structure. I feel like my creative process is all over the place and thus following a strict schedule and structure was pretty difficult. I found myself having to modify things randomly as a result of a random creative development. Also because my creative drive comes about at random times, sometimes it doesn't work well with a schedule.

2. Looking at your learning agreement(s) on ELMS, how do you think you succeeded (or not) in completing your Learning Objectives? Which ones did you fulfill? Which ones did you not fulfill? Why?

So I technically pretty much failed my learning agreement. I only stayed true to one out of my three goals. The goal I stayed true to was the first one “Learn and coherently be able to articulate the basics of using Logic Pro X”. The other two I didn't so much. I attribute that to what I was talking about in the response to the first question. My creative process caused me to change the general structure of the project.

3. What were the most helpful aspects of the (semi) weekly class meetings? What would you like to see added or subtracted for next year?

I think that the classes were good for keeping us on task. They were good for keeping us aware of important deadlines coming up. It was also nice to see the journeys of others who were working on their capstones alongside you. I don't think anything about the classes needs to be changed.

4. What part of the project were you most proud of? Why?

I was most proud of my presentation. I hate giving presentations and I get extremely nervous before them. Im proud of the fact that I was able to give good presentations at both Arts Fest and Academic Showcase. I also was very proud of the fact that I was able to get a job opportunity form my Academic Showcase presentation.

5. What part of the project would you have changed if you could? Why?

I wouldn’t change any part of my project. I think that it is perfect the way it is. I think that all of the failure and hardship and little mistakes that I made kind of contribute to the project’s character. I guess if I HAD to change something, I would have tried to find a better microphone for recording my voice because at some times my voice sounds a bit distorted in the videos.

6. If you had to offer advice to next year’s Capstone students, what would it be?

I would tell them to keep an open mind throughout the whole capstone project. I say that for a couple of reasons. One reason I’d say that is because many of the things that we are required to do, for example the process binder updates, can seem tedious and meaningless in the moment, at the end of the project you will actually see their worth. I also say that because I think that everyone is going to want to change their project in some way at one point. I think that is is important to be open to making that type of change wherever necessary in their project.

[kelsyscpsarts-blog]

Capstone Agreement Form

CPSA 250: College Park Arts Scholars Capstone: Solo Project, Spring 2018

Name: Kelsy Song

Email: ksong1@terpmail.umd.edu

Advisor: Montse

Weekly Meeting Time: Friday 2:20pm

Purpose/Mission Statement: I hope to learn more about controlling the manual settings on my Nikon D3400 camera so that I can take photographs with purpose. I also hope to gain photography editing skills. The end result of my project will be a poster board organized with the fashion photography photos I take over the semester. The beginning photos will be taken with the “Auto” function and then the following photos will be taken with manual settings. The photos in the end will be edited using Photoshop to display the clothes in a better manner. My goal is to show my growth in photography skills over the semester in the slideshow as I research articles and learn more about specific tips from the CPSA201 photography workshop.

Learning Objectives:

·     Learn how to balance ISO, shutter speed, and aperture when taking photos

·     Take a variety of shots in creative poses that can provoke reactions and or grab the attention of the audience

·     Become familiar with using Photoshop to edit photos

Workshop Process:

To complete my project, I have to research the concept of fashion photography and research how to take photos that portray clothing in the most attractive way. I’ll also need to research famous and successful fashion photographers to learn about their processes and read their advice on how to take the best photographs. Once I understand the concepts and steps on how to take the photos, I’ll need to learn photo editing skills and find accessible websites. I’ll take the steps of researching photography skills for my Nikon D3400 camera, going on photoshoots, learning how to use Photoshop, and editing photos. I’ll present my work with a poster board with my fashion photographs at Arts Fest. I’ll also have a list of steps and tips that I found helpful in learning about fashion photography to demonstrate my thought process throughout working on the project.

I’ll document my work by uploading pictures from popular fashion photographers and fashion clothing photos that inspire me on my CPSA Tumblr account. I’ll also upload a few pictures from each of my photoshoots onto Tumblr to mark my growth as I develop photography taking skills and editing skills.

Resources:

·     Photoshop and or other photography editing websites

·     Fashion magazines

·     Poster board

·     Possibly another SanDisk memory card

Project Timeline:

·     Meet with my advisor and review my Learning Agreement - 2/2

·     Find creative fashion photography photos with concepts that I want to incorporate in my photography and go on my first photoshoot using the “Auto” function - 2/3

·     Research fashion photography more deeply and find professional photographers that inspire me - 2/5 to 2/11

·     Learn about the processes of other fashion photographers, update my process binder -2/12 to 2/18

·     Turn in the revised copy of my Learning Agreement – 2/14

·     Watch videos and or read articles on settings for my Nikon D3400 camera and organize my previous research more formally on a Word Document, update my process binder – 2/19 to 2/25

·     Present a 2-minute presentation of my capstone project, exchange Critical Response Feedback with a partner and record it in my process binder - 2/21

·     Go on my second photoshoot using the “Auto” function – 3/3

·     Go on my third photoshoot using manual settings – 3/10

·     Watch videos and or read articles on how to use Photoshop, update my process binder – 3/12 to 3/18

·     Meet with my advisor and review my progress – 3/14 to 3/29

·     Go on my fourth and fifth photoshoot using manual settings – 3/17 to 3/23

·     Begin editing photos from the fourth and fifth photoshoots using Photoshop – 3/24 to 4/1

·     Present a 2-minute presentation of my capstone project since the first presentation – 4/11

·     Continue editing photos from previous photoshoots using Photoshop - 4/2 -4/15

·     Order photos from Shutterfly or another reliable website – 4/16

·     Develop final list of steps and plan the final arrangements of the photos– 4/17 to 4/26

·     Present my project at ArtsFest – 4/28

·     Meet with my advisor for the final faculty advising meeting – 5/2 to 5/9

·     Present my project at the Academic Showcase – 5/4

·     Turn in Final Advisor Conference Reflection – 5/14

[sophiescapstone]

Process binder 3

This week I did work on my first 2 piktocharts which I presented in class. The first one is just an overview and layout of the entire project, which I thought would be nice to use to explain the purposes for the project and how it works in general. On that piktochart, I’m eventually going to link the other 3, which are the 3 lessons I’m creating. Included is the piktochart I’ve started for the first lesson.

https://create.piktochart.com/output/28525336-capstone https://create.piktochart.com/output/28646070-lesson-1 

I did my critical response with Briley (I’m attaching it as a photo because I didn't originally type my notes onto Tumblr and now it won't copy correctly).

In regards to what I thought about the process: I think it was very helpful. I knew that Briley would be honest with me. I really appreciate her statements of meaning and the ideas she came up with for my questions/her opinions. It made me realize then I might be a bit in over my head in terms of what I envision my final product being. I want to do all three projects, so instead of cutting down on those, I might make a more brief lesson plan for each, so that I can focus more time on what’s important/so it is easier for the viewer to take in.

[hjonescpsarts-blog]

Here are the completed painted pages.

Reflection...

1)              What was the most challenging aspect of completing your project, and why? (This might be technical aspects, time constraints, problems that arose, etc.—be honest, this is your space to reflect!)

The most challenging aspect of my project was learning and applying new techniques in a limited amount of time. I had never used photoshop before and it was challenging to teach myself. I wasn’t able to move as fast as I had expected which meant I fell behind following my timeline. Using an unfamiliar medium also caused me not to be satisfied with the amount of detail in my work.

2)              Looking at your learning agreement(s) on ELMS, how do you think you succeeded (or not) in completing your Learning Objectives? Which ones did you fulfill? Which ones did you not fulfill? Why?

I did successfully learn how to structure a comic, develop skills in photoshop, and further develop how to draw the human body. Every step of my project required me to apply all my learning objectives. I didn’t quite master photoshop but I did gain more experience. If I had more time I would’ve been able to successfully check that off on my list.

3)              What were the most helpful aspects of the (semi) weekly class meetings? What would you like to see added or subtracted for next year?

The most helpful aspects were getting critiques from my classmates. It was nice having people see the project develop overtime, so they could give relevant feedback. I would like to see more sharing of work and less on how to share. One class was pretty sufficient in teaching us how to properly critique.

4)              What part of the project were you most proud of? Why?

I was most proud with the final product. I had blended photoshop and water color pretty well so the colors and characters were really vibrant and sharp. I was most stressed about the neatness of the comic and having painted the frames gave me the control I needed. However, photoshop helped me with editing and adding more details that I didn’t have time to add by hand. Overall it was really nice in the end.

5)              What part of the project would you have changed if you could? Why?

I would have added more dialogue and frames to my project. I feel like I did the bare minimum and would have loved to have had more to present. If I was more confident in my work I would’ve printed the final pages to have a hard copy to display. I also didn’t produce art as frequently as I wanted which took away from a part of my overall project which was to release chapters every couple of weeks.

6)              If you had to offer advice to next year’s Capstone students, what would it be?

I would tell next year’s students to do a project that they had always wanted to do but never put in the time to try. Many artists this year were given the chance to work on projects they always wanted to delve in. However, it’s important that they set attainable goals. Personally, when I started to fall behind it started to deter me from working at all. I became easily frustrated and wanted to scrap the whole project. Stay true to yourself and do what’s realistic.

[rachelscpsarts]

IT’S 4AM but this marks like? 2.5/4 done w sketches? I’m really happy w how Robin turned out :) definitely still need to tweak some things w/ Raven though…something is off and I’m not sure what. but for now time to sleeeep

[alexiaoscpsarts-blog]

How I’ve Changed as an Artist:

Not only has this capstone given me a chance to explore different drawing and watercolor techniques, it has also showed me how much I have developed as an artist.

I’ve been drawing for a very long time; if I were to go back to when I can remember, Sonic characters were all I drew. Now, I’ve had experience using so many mediums and drawing in different styles. I can say that I’ve grown to develop my own style of drawing/painting based on artists I’ve observed in the past. My ability to draw from a reference picture has improved as seen from progress photos and videos for my capstone; although guidelines are not a bad thing (they are actually really important), I have grown from having to entirely depend on them to using them only when I need to. In addition to this, I can definitely say that my ability to use watercolor paint has grown along with my experience. It took a while to realize that watercolor is more versatile than it appears to be. 

Of course, there are still spots I still want to improve on. I did not delve into perspective very much for this project, mostly because it makes me very uncomfortable. When it comes to facial features, I’m entirely confident. When it comes to backgrounds, I struggle quite a bit. I sort of regret avoiding the implementation of architecture in my capstone for this reason. However, I’ve been playing with this in the World Building Workshop. Another thing I still struggle with is drawing hands. I had the chance to include hands in many of these portraits, but I purposefully avoided them to make it easier for myself. There’s something about appendages that I just find too difficult to draw. Since I am not finished with all of the sketches, I will try to include hands more to further challenge myself. 

When it comes to art, whether it is visual, performance, etc., you are always learning. This is why I find it important to reflect back to previous work; surely with experience and active attempts at learning, anyone can improve!