Graphic Design: The Drawing Concepts

The first painting that we had to make for the Drawing Unit was one that was inspired or created from a series of photos we had taken. We were to pick a photo we thought suitable for the assignment and play around with it in photoshop, specifically with color, contrast, exposure, and posterization. The end result of the photo was one that was slightly abstract that set a mood and created, as well as directed a clear message. 

This is a photo of my younger cousin during breakfast. The photo was taken a little bit prior to me moving back to New York. I chose to use this photo because I felt that it conveyed a feeling of contentment, confusion, slight melancholy, as well as some mystery. This specifically has to do with my event because I was starting fresh in a new city and my life for the upcoming months was to be quite confusing and all over the place, as well as sad and melancholy. The upcoming months that followed my move were something that was constantly on my mind as well as a mystery in itself.

This is the photo post-photoshop. My favorite part about the composition is the number of colors present and all the intense shadows and highlights. 

Once I was finished with the photoshop step, I printed the photo onto tabloid paper (11x17 in) and then transfered the photo to illustration board using transfer paper.

After transferring each individual line with use of the transfer paper, I proceeded to paint. 

 The color palette from my paining

This is the finished piece. I put a lot of time and effort into it. I hope you like it. 

The Event

One of the first assignments, and for me the most difficult, was to brainstorm an event in our life that would fuel our inspiration for the various projects and assignments that we were to make and design.

My Event was me moving back to New York, from Greece, and the transition that I had to endure and experience.

Can you give me a word that would describe the transition from Perfection to instability?

A little bit of a character

Who are You, and Why do I care?

My name's Alexander Menjivar. I am 16, and art and design student living in New York. I currently attend Parsons' Pre-College program in hopes of building a strong, precise, and innovative portfolio. 

I lived in Scarsdale, New York till the age of 13, then proceeded to move to Greece with my family. I attended an International School called, The American Community School of Athens where I made the biggest transition in my life so far. When one moves into High school, they discover so many things about themselves and really decide what their likes and dislikes are and that transition helps to shape them as a person for their future in life. After living in Greece for two years I moved back so that I could attend Parsons' program and develop my portfolio further in a more stimulating setting. The change from a very comfortable, laid back, greek life to bustling New York was really intense and quite the dynamic. I made a lot of changes and realized a lot about my interests and goals. 

My interests are mainly in fashion design, but I'm obsessed with drawing and crafting the utmost intricate and detailed of things. 

I'm all about substance and effort. 

My thinking is always towards the 'Why?', when I'm learning something. I really like to explore the psychology behind our actions, as humans, and to find out the reasons we do specific things, act certain ways, or like specific aesthetics. 

A couple of individuals who inspire me to work harder and achieve my goals are: Andy Warhol, Alexander McQueen, Damir Doma, and the list goes on. 

Im very committed to my work and I'm always trying to improve my techniques in doing things, if not learning complete new ones, and I feel that distinguishes me as a person in this crazy world we live in.