Katalyst Design Emporium

For our final project, we were asked to create an illustrated self-portrait, and let me tell you...this was one of the more challenging projects thus far. I thought I had a pretty solid understanding of the gradient mesh tool, and this project humbled me with a quickness. That being said, I actually really enjoyed this project. While it's not perfect, I definitely learned a lot. One of my big takeaways is that you can't use gradient mesh on objects that have too many anchor points (my hair had a lot of anchor points). I used the freeform gradient for my hair color because I thought it was the best representation. I had a lot of difficulty with finding the right skin tone, too, as I'm pretty pale, but the closest colors kept coming out gray. My favorite part of the project is the way the gradient mesh on my t-shirt, I feel like I was able to get some pretty good movement in the fabric. 

This week, I spent a lot of time working with the gradient mesh tool, which is something I still find very intimidating. I wouldn’t say I’m confident with it yet, but I’m starting to understand how it actually works. The more I use it, the less scary it feels, even if it still fights me most of the time. Every time I think I'm getting the hang of it, it reminds me that I still have a lot to learn. The hardest part was using gradient mesh to make an illustrated self-portrait. I was getting VERY comfortable using the tool on banners to show movement, but faces are brutal. Every tiny color shift or misplaced point showed immediately. There were a lot of moments where it felt wrong, and I wasn’t sure how to fix it, but slowing down helped. I had to pay more attention to light, shadow, and subtle color changes. I’m still not fully comfortable with gradient mesh, but this week made it feel a little less daunting. We've learned so much over this month, and I'm really looking forwa...

The “Title First” Exercise Time: 3 minutes Materials: Paper or notes app (optional) Steps: Write down 5–10 imaginary titles. They can sound like books, artworks, songs, posters, or exhibitions.  Don’t explain them yet. Just titles. Pick one title that feels intriguing. Give it meaning.  In 2–3 sentences, describe what this thing actually is (a story, product, artwork, concept, etc.). My sentences: “How to Miss a Train on Purpose” “A Manual for Almost Decisions” “Things I Learned From Standing Still” "The Shape of Waiting" "Notes I Never Sent" My example: Title: “A Manual for Almost Decisions” Meaning:   An illustrated book that documents moments where you almost did something (almost quit, almost spoke up, almost left), and what those moments reveal about hesitation and choice. What I learned:   Starting with a title instead of an idea flipped my normal creative process. Instead of searching for the body concept first, the title's language itself became the spar...