Link to original post: [drupal=5090]Adventures of an artist[/drupal]
It was about this time last August that I first arrived at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I remember everything: the sleepy ride from the bustling suburbs of Cleveland to the cramped Steel City, nestled against pillows and blankets amoung my other material possessions that were making the trek with me, and moving furniture with my roommate Diana (who is awesome). I remember getting my ID photo taken after waiting in line for what seemed like forever. And, I remember dreading my first day of classes because I had Color Theory at 8am the day after orientation. It's been a wild ride so far these first 3 quarters, full of new friends, drama, silly school fun, happiness, anxiety, depression, and lots and lots of drawing.
I've always wanted to be an artist. When I was little, I always asked for art supplies for Christmas or birthday presents. I started off doing cartoon work, which honestly is so awful I don't even want to talk about it. I eventually moved onto anime, which I have been drawing since about 5th grade. No matter how much my parents pleaded or yelled, I was always drawing. School? Drawing. Homework? Drawing. Weekends? Drawing.
Drawing has been an escape. I was really shy during grade school. Mixing that with the fact that I was a girl who liked anime, played video games, and was artsy in a school where that was uncommon made me an easy target for bullies. I didn't have much of a social life outside gaming with two of my best guy friends (one of whom is my boyfriend of almost two years, the other is like a brother to me), so I spent a lot of time at home on weekends, drawing or gaming. That was my life. It seems sad and pathetic at times, and I was pretty pathetic at some points, but honestly I wouldn't trade it for the world. This was time spent honing my imagination and helping me to realize that I need to work hard to improve.
Despite the fact I was the artist in my high school class, I still was not even close to being on par with professional work. NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. But, I kept working. I eventually started taking art classes that didn't help too much, but I had access to supplies that I was usually too broke to get my grubby little hands on. I learned how to use markers, inks, paints, pastels, and charcoals. I liked trying out different media and styles. Only thing I disliked was the fact that my teacher was scary and how she kept telling me to 'stop drawing anime' for classwork........even though I had already stopped on my own accord.
Hidden Message Show
Left: Gaia Avatar (LOL) drawn in inks and crayons; Right: OC drawn in inks and Neopiko/Prismacolor markers
Senior year became the year I actually decided to stop goofing off and actually get my work done. During the summer, I attended the AiP summer studio camp thing where I took Game Design classes taught by actual GAD teachers for a week and met a lot of my buds who I hang with at school now....including my roommate Diana! I also managed to up my GPA to look better for colleges, score pretty well on my SAT and ACT, and applied for a lot of scholarships. The scholarships I applied for were mostly contest based. I worked my *** off for months on most of the pieces, trying to get everything just right. Hard work pays off though....1st place in the AiP Portfolio contest (Game Design AND Best in Show) and 4th in the AiP poster design competition.
Hidden Message Show
Character concept art for portfolio competition
Summer came and went with a bit of new art and a lot of fond memories, and that brings me to my time here. I have taken 3 quarters of classes, 2 quarters having core GAD classes. I am hopefully impressing my teachers, since they're all fantastic artists and will help students who really really want to get into the industry. But, the biggest thing that has come out of this all is the fact that I have improved. Drastically. I've learned how to make my work more dynamic, more anatomically correct, more colorful, and I learned perspective. By the way, perspective is tough. If you want to be an artist...LEARN IT. I am happy with the work I have done, and despite some struggles with figuring out if this is really what I want to do, I am happy with the path I'm on.
Remember, if you love to do something, work your hardest at it and enjoy what you are doing.
-- Alyssa (aka Lokii)
interested in seeing more work, tracking my derpy improvement, have questions, or seeking help on a job or with your own work? Go to my website or PM me here on SWF.
It was about this time last August that I first arrived at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I remember everything: the sleepy ride from the bustling suburbs of Cleveland to the cramped Steel City, nestled against pillows and blankets amoung my other material possessions that were making the trek with me, and moving furniture with my roommate Diana (who is awesome). I remember getting my ID photo taken after waiting in line for what seemed like forever. And, I remember dreading my first day of classes because I had Color Theory at 8am the day after orientation. It's been a wild ride so far these first 3 quarters, full of new friends, drama, silly school fun, happiness, anxiety, depression, and lots and lots of drawing.
I've always wanted to be an artist. When I was little, I always asked for art supplies for Christmas or birthday presents. I started off doing cartoon work, which honestly is so awful I don't even want to talk about it. I eventually moved onto anime, which I have been drawing since about 5th grade. No matter how much my parents pleaded or yelled, I was always drawing. School? Drawing. Homework? Drawing. Weekends? Drawing.
Drawing has been an escape. I was really shy during grade school. Mixing that with the fact that I was a girl who liked anime, played video games, and was artsy in a school where that was uncommon made me an easy target for bullies. I didn't have much of a social life outside gaming with two of my best guy friends (one of whom is my boyfriend of almost two years, the other is like a brother to me), so I spent a lot of time at home on weekends, drawing or gaming. That was my life. It seems sad and pathetic at times, and I was pretty pathetic at some points, but honestly I wouldn't trade it for the world. This was time spent honing my imagination and helping me to realize that I need to work hard to improve.
Despite the fact I was the artist in my high school class, I still was not even close to being on par with professional work. NOT. EVEN. CLOSE. But, I kept working. I eventually started taking art classes that didn't help too much, but I had access to supplies that I was usually too broke to get my grubby little hands on. I learned how to use markers, inks, paints, pastels, and charcoals. I liked trying out different media and styles. Only thing I disliked was the fact that my teacher was scary and how she kept telling me to 'stop drawing anime' for classwork........even though I had already stopped on my own accord.
Hidden Message Show
Left: Gaia Avatar (LOL) drawn in inks and crayons; Right: OC drawn in inks and Neopiko/Prismacolor markers
Senior year became the year I actually decided to stop goofing off and actually get my work done. During the summer, I attended the AiP summer studio camp thing where I took Game Design classes taught by actual GAD teachers for a week and met a lot of my buds who I hang with at school now....including my roommate Diana! I also managed to up my GPA to look better for colleges, score pretty well on my SAT and ACT, and applied for a lot of scholarships. The scholarships I applied for were mostly contest based. I worked my *** off for months on most of the pieces, trying to get everything just right. Hard work pays off though....1st place in the AiP Portfolio contest (Game Design AND Best in Show) and 4th in the AiP poster design competition.
Hidden Message Show
Character concept art for portfolio competition
Summer came and went with a bit of new art and a lot of fond memories, and that brings me to my time here. I have taken 3 quarters of classes, 2 quarters having core GAD classes. I am hopefully impressing my teachers, since they're all fantastic artists and will help students who really really want to get into the industry. But, the biggest thing that has come out of this all is the fact that I have improved. Drastically. I've learned how to make my work more dynamic, more anatomically correct, more colorful, and I learned perspective. By the way, perspective is tough. If you want to be an artist...LEARN IT. I am happy with the work I have done, and despite some struggles with figuring out if this is really what I want to do, I am happy with the path I'm on.
Remember, if you love to do something, work your hardest at it and enjoy what you are doing.
-- Alyssa (aka Lokii)
interested in seeing more work, tracking my derpy improvement, have questions, or seeking help on a job or with your own work? Go to my website or PM me here on SWF.
