Post Secondary Art Portfolio - Donovan

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For the longest time, I’ve wanted to create. Which is why this project is the first step toward creating for a living. The ideal career path is joining the videogame industry. Videogames provided an escape and sheer joy for me growing up when times were tough. To put it plainly, I want to give people that same feeling.

My project for the semester is an art portfolio inspired by the Red River College Digital Media Design Course. I will be pursuing the course for my post secondary education which will also lead me toward my dream career path. Seven prompts were included in the portfolio requirements, each providing a creative challenge for myself to either hone or learn new skills. Two of the seven prompts were written pieces: a resume providing my work experience as well as skills, and responses to a questionnaire which gives the reader insight as to why I am submitting to the course, my skillset, and my creativity, respectively. The remaining five prompts are different art pieces. With each prompt I decided to challenge myself and create each piece in either a new medium or new art style. I designed a logo for a hypothetical product, created a realistic self-portrait with pencil, designed the box art for a videogame for a different videogame console, constructed a physical model chair out of fabric and chopsticks, and lastly, a piece of my own choosing.

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Prompts One and Two: Resume and Q&A.

These prompts were the only written portions of the entire project. I will not be spending too much time explaining these, as they are not the most important pieces of the portfolio. First, the resume encompasses everything I have done with work and volunteer experience as well as highlighting my skills. As a resume should. The responses to the Q&A were taken from the previous years’ Red River College Digital Media Design portfolio requirements. The first question asked why I would be applying and how I discovered the course. It was a straightforward response. The second question asked me to list my technical skills and experience with certain software. The final question had asked me to create different scenarios in a hypothetical situation. These two prompts were the easiest to complete due to the simple requirements.

Prompt Three: Self-Portrait

I knew going into this project I wanted to stay within my realm of expertise when it came to my art skills. It had never really occurred to me to attempt a fresh style. Realism was never something I had wanted to work with, due to how difficult I initially thought it was. Though once I had found a rhythm of light pencil strokes with smudging, it became enjoyable. There was a gratifying feeling of satisfaction when I managed to create depth with layers of pencil strokes, especially with the helmet on the top left of the shelf in the background. To present the piece digitally, I had to scan the image. Once scanned, I applied a few touch-ups where touch-ups were needed.

Prompt Four: Videogame Box Art Redesign

This piece is the one that challenged me the most. My art style prior to this project had always been paper, pencil, and ink. When it came to creating digital pieces, it was daunting. Work with colour? Outrageous. However, if I wanted to turn art into a career, I would most certainly have to utilize colour. The premise for the piece was to take a pre-existing videogame’s box art and redesign it for a different videogame console from a different era. I spent time drafting ideas for different videogames on different consoles, and eventually I narrowed it down to one. I took one of my favourite videogames, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and redesigned it for one of my favourite generations, the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). Skyrim was released for a modern generation, PlayStation 4, XBox One, and Nintendo Switch. So, I scoured images of videogames for the SNES, and they all had something in common. Bombastic, bright colours. Some had an airbrush art style, while others were pixels. To really push my limit and traverse a new plain of art, I created the piece with both the colours and an airbrush style in mind. What really stood out to me the most, as well as what I am the proudest of, is the logo design and colour scheme. The bright blue background with a bright logo made up of warm colours that pop. To take it a step further, I added a damaged box effect to the edges of the image, giving it a weathered, aged look.

Prompt Five: Model Chair.

It began with a question. What kind of chair speaks to you? Odd, I know, but it needed an answer. I began with multiple drafts of chair designs, each with a distinctive design. I hovered around a singular idea, shapes. Each design would be reminiscent of a singular shape, and after a voting session amongst peers, I had come to a decision. I began creating a more detailed draft of a chair inspired by circular shapes. I wanted the seat and back portion of the chair to create a cylindrical shape. The pillow, which would be attached to the top, would also be a cylinder of sorts. Even the chair legs were round. Then came the actual construction of the chair. What was the most enjoyable (and most painful) portion of the creation? The hand stitching. I took pieces of cardboard, cut them into the necessary rounded shapes, and proceeded to stitch the fabric around them. I then stuffed the parts of the chair that had cushion and then attached each piece. The chair legs were spare chopsticks that I had lying around, which I had to cut and file down to adequate length. Once the legs were prepared, the final additions were added, namely the small pillow that rests on the cushion. All that was left was to put my technical skills to the test. Photography was not something entirely new to me but adding final additions in photoshop was. Funnily enough, the photoshop portion of this project was the most enjoyable. There were tiny specs of dust on the shelf around the chair and book in the image, which I had to remove with the brush tool in photoshop. That is when I realized the prompt had finally come together. A finely stitched, well crafted chair amidst objects to evoke what type of environment you would find such a chair.

Prompt Six: Logo Design

This was the first art piece I created for my project. I had experience in graphic design with creating logos and posters for events, so naturally I homed in on this prompt. To create such a logo, I referred to the Red River College Digital Media Design portfolio’s requirements from the previous year. The previous years’ logo prompt had asked the applicant to create a logo for one of three products. Two of the three seemed boring and not much room to spread my creative wings. Funnily enough, the one that did was a logo for a children’s VR game that simulates a goose flying. The title of the game is Goose Vamoose. Immediately I drummed up the idea to have the V in the title be prominent. At first, the V would represent a flying v formation that geese, well, fly in. Then the idea morphed in the V being the goose itself. The font is a cutesy, bubbly, almost childish style, which of course is the intended purpose. I chose a colour scheme that would work well with a blue background, as well as adding an exclamation point. The added punctuation is meant to excite the consumer; give the child who may be purchasing it a feeling of, “oh this must be exciting!”

Prompt Seven: Personal Work.

Growing up, I often found solace in the world of comic books. I always aspired to be like the heroes on the page; no matter what past they had or where they came from, they always strove to be the best they could be. In truth, comic books are the reason I do art in the first place. When it came to this prompt, I took it in a unique direction. I expanded on the word, personal. Originally, the prompt called for my own work with absolute freedom to create whatever it is I wished, but I wanted to incorporate the personal aspect. So, I created a piece inspired by the 60’s era of comics. The art depicts a battle between my favourite hero and his arch-nemesis. I wanted to continue working with colour as it is something new. I wanted weird, I wanted colourful, I wanted strange. That is exactly what I received. I drafted designs and played around with imagery of psychedelic weirdness and confusing shapes, and eventually wound up with a concoction of shapes and colours that caught the eye. The shading technique was also new. Usually, I use a simple crosshatch technique, though the comics of the 60’s did not have incredibly detailed shading. Instead, it was simplistic, with solid black shapes and lines. I incorporated the shading technique of yesteryear with the colour scheme and eventually I ended with what you see before you.

If you had asked me at the beginning of my high school journey what I would do with my life, I would have given no answer. If there was one decision I made throughout these four years of my education that helped shape who I am today, it was joining Propel.

I was always a big picture kind of person. I would envision the end and how amazing it would be, but I would never give much thought as to how I would get there. That type of mindset had plagued me since I was younger, and it was quite difficult to break. At the beginning of my semester, I had told myself and others that it is important to get out there and try different things when approaching a project. As the humblest person I know, I will admit I was a hypocrite. I had my mind set on what I wanted to achieve and there would be nothing changing it. Of course, it did change. Through some conversations with my peers and educators, my mindset began changing. I began to lay the groundwork for completing my project, and to compare this semester to my previous one this was a big step up. My previous semester I had barely anything to show for my time spent in the course. This semester though, I have achieved more than I thought I could. Not just with my work ethic and mindset, but with myself.

As I was growing up, I would get lost in comics, videogames, movies, and books. They functioned as an escape when life became a nightmare that I wanted nothing to do with anymore. I would become attached to characters and they would act as inspiration and motivation for myself to be a better person and stand up for myself. That is the reason I want to pursue a career in the Gaming Industry as a Character Artist or Concept Artist. I want to be a part of something that can give someone a similar feeling to what games and comics gave me. I want to create something that will bring someone else joy in life. I want something with my name on it that will prove to the world that I was here. I know exactly the type of person I am and what I want to do with my life, but thanks to my time in Propel I have learned how to get there.

The experiences I have gained from this course are ones I will never forget. Seeing the people I have met be filled with determination everyday filled me with my own. People were struggling, people were succeeding, people were failing. Nothing stopped them. I was always afraid of failing. Though I eventually learned from my own hypocrisy. The only way I would be able to pursue anything in life is by trying. So with my final project, I tried many different things. I stepped out of my comfort zone and pushed past the limits I had given myself. However, I would not have been able to do so if it were not for the people in Propel. I ended up breaking a lot of eggs, and so did many others. So, I leave you with this. Go. Go and break some eggs of your own.

Post Secondary Art Portfolio - Donovan

Post Secondary Art Portfolio - Donovan

Prompts One and Two: Resume and Q&A.

Prompt Three: Self-Portrait

Prompt Four: Videogame Box Art Redesign

Prompt Five: Model Chair.

Prompt Six: Logo Design

Prompt Seven: Personal Work.

If you had asked me at the beginning of my high school journey what I would do with my life, I would have given no answer. If there was one decision I made throughout these four years of my education that helped shape who I am today, it was joining Propel.

This is Donovan Stevenson, signing off.

Stay Classy.