Portfolio Blog Post!

As you know from my All About Me page I love to doodle and express my thoughts through art.  For the past four weeks our PLP 8 maker class has worked on digital sketching skills to better future learning. In this unit I have learned so many new techniques and skills when using my Apple Pencil.

When I first was informed that our subject focus would be drawing, I realized that I was in for a treat. Although I knew that I was not a talented artist and I hadn’t touched a paintbrush for quite a while, I forced myself to tackle this project with a growth mindset. Starting this unit with this mindset has helped dramatically. Throughout the course of our learning we were asked to complete a variety of art styles using Apple’s Everyone Can Create Drawing book.

Definition of empowerment:  The process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.

For us as students this question mainly focuses on the idea that “Students leverage technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving, and demonstrating competency in their learning goals, informed by the learning sciences.”

 

 Skills & Name Art

In the four weeks of learning the many techniques and skills of digital drawing, I believe that I created some very well crafted art pieces and designs. The first assignment we were given in this unit was definitely one of my finest. After getting familiar with the many tool in sketches pro we were asked to illustrate our name using different fonts and patterns that were listed in the book. I thought that it was during this activity when I started to see improvement in my art skills. I also started to realize how much I can use what I am learning to my advantage in other sects of school.

Sketch Noteing

Our next technique that we learned was sketch noting. Out of the five activities we completed, I know that I will use this method the most. Learning skills in sketches pro to express my thoughts through little doodles and eye-catching titles was fantastic, especially knowing that I will use them in the future. Creating this on sketches pro provided much more of a broad colour tool selection which definitely worked to my advantage.

Self Portrait

Our third task was great example of how working on a digital canvas can really make my job easier. Personally, I am not a skilled portrait artist, but with the assist of the layers tool in sketches pro and the ability to match colours, my self portrait drawing turned out quite realistic. After finishing my final product, I was astonished how well it turned out.

My opinion that my portrait skills were minimal, quickly diminished and I started to feel that I had a new found skill for drawing portraits. All because of the advantages that drawing digitally had given me, I started to feel empowered as a learner.

Still Life

Our fourth art piece brought the most challenge and took the most time out of the five tasks. With our experience with layers and our advancing skill level, we were asked to complete a realistic drawing using the pencil and smudge tool in sketches pro. Once again, having the advantage of the layers tool which allows you to trace an image, I felt that I curated a very well made art piece that portrayed both the angle at which the light was shinning and the shadows that the bowl of apples created.

 Logo

Our last technique that we learned in this project was my favourite to complete and what I thought was my best work. For this activity we started off by being taught about logos and what makes a successful logo. With the help of keynote and sketches pro, I created a surf brand logo that surprised me once again. I made a few different variations using different fonts in sketches pro.

Throughout the course of this project, technology has empowered me as a learner countless times. Whether it be using the layers tool on sketches pro, or discovering the endless knowledge of the digital art tools, these resources have helped me dramatically in this unit. Now that I have these techniques in my repertoire, I will be much more confident in the many projects to come. Hope you enjoyed and make sure to comment your thoughts or any questions below.

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