All Wrapped Up

The teddy bear wrapped in tinted wrapping paper is now complete!  Here are some questions to analyze the work.

Artists Develop Art Making Skills
Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project?
In this project, I used prismacolors for the first time.  Through experimentation and practice, I learned how to layer colors to get the shades I wanted.  I also tried to learn how to make something in the drawing appear to overlap another.  I worked on making things lighter and darker by applying pressure differently with the prismacolors.
Did you gain skill with familiar materials?
I didn't use any familiar materials, since using prismacolors was all new to me.  The only regular pencil I used was to outline the basic shape of what I was going to draw, since it would be more difficult to erase prismacolor.

Artists Reflect
When did you step back and analyze you work during this project? 
I analyzed my work in this project whenever I darkened or lightened an area to see if it looked realistic enough and to be sure that the change wasn't too sudden or odd looking.  When I was creating the shadow, I also stepped back to make sure it looked alright and fit the rest of the work well.  
Did you consider how ideas would work before you tried them?
Yes, I thought about how the composition would work out before trying any new ideas with adding different colors and exaggerating highlights.  On a separate sheet of paper, I tried out different methods of creating the colors on the wrapping paper by mixing reds and pinks and eventually got something that I thought would work well enough.

Artists Create Original Art
How did you use your own unique ideas in your work?
I wanted to use a teddy bear in my art piece because I find teddy bears absolutely adorable.  I then tried to think of different see-through things that I could put in front of a teddy bear, and decided on clear wrapping paper.  I didn't have any clear wrapping paper at home to take my own picture, but I did have wrapping paper tinted pink that was still transparent.  I decided to use that and wrapped a teddy bear up in wrapping paper, adding a ribbon as a last minute thought.  I took pictures of it to use as my sources and to try and make every idea in the work unique.  
Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original?
The only source I used for inspiration was looking up different transparent things to try and get an idea of what I could use.  I got the idea of clear wrapping paper after seeing cookies wrapped in plastic wrap.  I used my own idea of using tinted wrapping paper instead of having it completely see-through like the original I was inspired by.

See Through Project (In Progress)

For this project, I decided to try using tinted see-through wrapping paper instead of something completely transparent.  I wrapped it around a teddy bear, adding a bow to it to make it look more complete, and took a few pictures to try different angles.  I then made a quick sketch to see if the colors I wanted to use would go well with the paper I chose.  I tested the blending of colors to see how I could use the prismacolors best to portray the wrapping paper.  

Once I had planned everything out, I started to draw the final project.  I started with the teddy bear itself, then added the wrapping paper and tried to show the basic highlights and darkened areas, along with where you could see straight through to the teddy bear underneath.  

I pushed the colors a bit more to create more contrast between the lights and darks, then began on the background.  I drew the shadow from the teddy bear onto the white blanket underneath, then tried to show the way the blanket folded up in regions, putting less detail the farther back the drawing goes.  I drew the basic outline of the door and poster in the very back.  

I added color to the back to complete the background.  Now the drawing is almost complete, just in need of a few more details and darkened/lightened regions.  

Ant on a Book

The piece is now complete!  Now here are some questions to analyze the work...

Artists Create Original Art
How did you use your own unique ideas in your work?
For this project, I wanted to try and do a unique point of view that I didn't see very often.  I like reading a lot, so I decided to include a book in the piece.  I eventually decided on taking my own picture of a page at an angle.  I wanted to use a cute, well-known book, so I chose a page from "Horton Hears a Who" with a recognizable quote.  
Did you use a source for inspiration, then combine it with your own ideas to make it original?
I got my inspiration by looking around my room for things that could be looked at from an interesting perspective.  The book was probably my only source for inspiration, and I decided to add more to it to make it even more unique by putting more books in the background and placing a cute bookmark in the shape of a bow on the book itself.

Artists Take Risks
Did you try something that you weren’t sure about as part of this project?
I decided to try and use a page of a book with words, which I was worried about at first.  It was challenging to get the letters at the right angle and have them grow and shrink in the correct proportions.  In the end, it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped it would, but I have definitely improved compared to when I first started the piece when it comes to angling and proportioning things properly.  
Did you pick a material or technique that was new or different over something that was familiar?
I chose to draw the words at an angle, which I had never tried before.  At one point, I considered giving up on the lettering and choosing a simple picture book instead, but I decided to just keep trying to get the words on the page right.  Trying to get the shading look alright for the dark blanket underneath the books was also a challenge, especially since I had to exaggerate some of the darker and lighter areas of it to make the change noticeable since in the original picture I took the color was basically the same throughout the whole thing.  All in all, I tried a few new things which didn't turn out as bad as I expected in the end.

Artist Develop Art Making Skills
Did you learn new techniques or processes as part of the work for this project?
I learned how to look at things more carefully from different perspectives, especially when it came to text.  I also learned how to shade better and how to portray different textures and shapes through the direction my pencil goes in.  I feel like I have improved a little when it comes to working with drawing pencils in general.  
Did you gain skill with familiar materials?
I have worked with drawing pencils only a few times before, so most of this was all new to me, besides when I practiced in class.  Compared to the first day, I have definitely learned a few more skills when it comes to shading and putting in details.  I now know how to gradually lighten up on my pencil as I'm shading to give more of a dimensional appearance and where to create sharp lines of light or dark to show edges or boundaries.

"Look At That View!" In Progress

Almost done with the piece at this point, just need to make a few minor adjustments and add some more details.

Candy with Prismacolor

This was done with three shades of green prismacolors, yellow, and white.