Assignment 1

"Instead, it exposes what human beings have done with, for, and against images in order to communicate ideas that are important to them and to their society. We don't often acknowledge the central role that images have played, and continue to play, in shaping both our collective culture and the individual human psyche, but the impact of images is profound."

This quote was very interesting, because it helped further my understanding of art history and what it does for society. What message(s) it can spread and help visualize different cultures. That art can make you feel many things and what it is trying to convey.

"When we encounter a work of art in any art history class, we are missing not only this rich historical context, but also the physical work itself. In other words, we are doubly at a loss."

The art piece is a piece of history, it is a time that we may never not see. Historians fill in the context for us, but there is more than one way to see something. Not only is the history withering away, but the art piece itself is withering away.

I don't have many artist that influence my work, however recently I've enjoyed Guillermo Del Toro's and Tim Burton's work. I love the storytelling elements and how the character designs is affected by the environment. They treat the setting, costumes, and color schemes as its own character. Other influences are horror and romance films or playing storytelling games such as It Takes Two. Another artist that I try to think about is Cindy Sherman and she puts herself into her own photography, I was first introduced to her when I was a Junior in high school. And as of last spring, Norman Rockwell and how he created his own reference and the work behind his work. Artist I want to look into are more horror artist like mangaka, Jung Ito, and graphic novelist illustrators. I'd also love to explore illustration, comics, graphic novels, as it is something I want to know more of and want my future career to be. 

Tim Burton's, Trick or Treat (1980) 

Guillermo del Torro, Page from Notebook 3, ink on paper 

My Work:

Nightwalkers (Adobe Photoshop, Digital Painting) (2025)

La Llanora (Adobe Photoshop, Digital Painting) (2025)

Homage Painting (Adobe Photoshop, Digital Painting) (2025)

Hideaway (Black/White Charcoal) (2025)

Untitled (Gouache) (2024)

I am an illustration major, for the past couple of years I've worked in different mediums, but mainly I use Procreate. As of last semester, I started digitally painting on Adobe Photoshop. My artwork consist of storytelling and creating characters, over the last few months I've tried to create a world for my characters and give them some lore. Seeing other artists online on different online platforms and watching films influences my work, like how in Guillermo del Toro's movies a mortal can fall in love with a monster. Also, growing up I think that the franchise Monster High, Ever After High and Scooby-Doo influenced me as well. How being different from the crowd is okay. My family, friends, and classmates help me stay motivated, watching them do their work and seeing it amazes me and helps me to keep moving forward.

My goal is to start writing a graphic novel for my characters. Each of them have their own internal battles that they are going through. On top of that, they are blamed for people going missing by a society of vampire hunters, just because the main characters are vampires and one of them has a history of people going missing. However, I do want to give representation in anyway I can that fits the story, because it does make me happy when characters are represented in little ways.