My Art History

Adobe Photoshop

I was born the year that Photoshop was made. And, because my Dad is a Graphic Designer, I had access to it from the very start. Because he was one of the very first people to use it, he had to kind of learn from scratch before there were even any classes out. This ability to learn a new language from nothing is how he can figure out any program even if he's never touched it before, and he taught me to use it in the same way. It was my coloring book. It was my markers. It was my sketchpad. I feel at home when I use it.

Adobe Illustrator

I started out using Illustrator very early as well, and before I could even walk, my Dad would sit me on his lap, hand me the mouse, and show me how to click "File" and open all of my favorite games and programs. How to use the different tools and make different shapes. How to adjust the settings and choose new colors. All of this is happy childhood memories for me, and I love working with Adobe products.

Sculpture

I started using modeling clay and Sculpey with my Dad. Sometimes it was at home, sometimes it was in the car. He showed me how to bake the clay, always on stone plates in the oven. I wasn't supposed to bake it myself because I could burn myself, but I felt like I could have easily done it. I made a frog, little people, lily pads, anything I could think of. We also made polymer clay beads often, and he showed me how to roll everything out evenly.

Acrylic Paint

I had already used tempera paints and watercolors by this point, but acrylic paints were really satisfyingly smooth and gave a bit of texture. We painted all kinds of things together, whether it was walls in someone's house or canvas on an easel.

Oil Paint

The first time I can remember using oil paint was when I was around 7 years old. I was painting people and dresses and landscapes, my brother was painting a firetruck. We practiced blending, and came back to our paintings later a few times because they take so long to dry that you really can wait until later to add more ideas. The texture of oil paint is also really satisfying.

Watercolor

I often used watercolors with my grandma on my Dad's side. This was just something we would do together on the weekends, and not in a classroom format, but we were practicing nevertheless. She never realized how beautiful her paintings were, and how striking the quick lines for flower petals always felt. My brush strokes were always so slow and careful that for a long time I had trouble emulating that quick, impressionist style.

3D Studio Max

I started using this at home with my Dad and my uncle, but later on learned it in high school and college more professionally. The very first thing I made in 3D Studio was a wonky pyramid, and it frustrated me to no end that I didn't know how to adjust its placement or size yet. Once I finally got the hang of the program, I uncovered the joy of hard surface modeling. I can still make organic models, but my passion is for structures, objects, and vehicles.

Bryce 3D

I had to complete Computer Graphics 1 before I could enroll in 3D Modeling at my school, but because my Dad and my uncle were so good at 3D Modeling I was really interested in how to do it. Bryce is a very limited program compared to 3D Max, but it's always good to learn multiple ways to do something if you want to actually be good at it.

Flash Animation

I had to take Computer Graphics 1 to enroll in TV Production class at my school. When I did, I also enrolled in Animation 1. That's when I started making an anime. I don't have a good converter right now for the swf files, but I have little scenes and snippets from the anime that I'm going to upload here.