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a. What is one thing that your learned specifically that you did not know before?

One thing that I learned specifically that I did not know before was the subject of orthagonal lines. I did not know about orthagonal lines or how they could portray a third dimension.

b. How did leaning this thing make your drawings better?

Learning about orthagonal lines made my drawings better by helping me with realism. For example, with edges of furniture or windows, I did not know how to make it seem as if they were a real object and not just a drawing. Now I know that you can connect orthagonal lines from the edges of the object to the vanishing point and turn it into a three dimensional drawing! It makes everything more realistic!

c. If you did this assignment again, what would you do differently?

If I did this assignment again, the thing I would do different would definitely be keep better care of my paper. Though I made sure I didn’t rip it severely or sit on it, or put it in my bag, I rolled it the wrong way multiple times, which put the drawings on the outside which made a lot of dirt marks, and ripped it on the edges, too. Though I cleaned and taped as best as possible, it would’ve been in my best interest to have taken better care of it.

d. What is your advice to someone who has never drawn a one point perspective drawing before?

My advice to someone who has never drawn a one point perspective drawing before would be to understand how simple it is. As long as they are focused and can draw a straight line, they should have no problems making it look great! There are only three lines after all -- horizontal, vertical and orthagonal. It’s really that easy.

e. What resource helped you the most and why?

The resource that helped me the most was the step-by-step tutorial on drawing a room, because it was very specific to what I was having trouble with. But more informally, the other best resource at a close second were my classmates, because they knew what I was having trouble with and how to explain and help by being engaging, unlike the website.

The N Section

In the N section I was working on the drawings of cartoons. But it wasn’t just a 2D drawing.I was asked to focus and apply my skills in order to make a 3D drawing. The focus was to make these cartoons look real. This collection brought together a collection of shading methods and drawing techniques with a focus on creating the illusion of third dimension.In these drawings I was taken step by step through the process of drawing characters with facial forms, textured hair, feathers,3D eyes,hairstyles, animals and proportions. I’ve done this by drawing outlines of figures with neat lines, shading, sketching shapes and forms,grids and by making multiple illustrations. In order to create these shapes I needed to sketch cylinders, spheres, curves,triangles and shadows of those shapes. The skills that would be presented will show the steps I’ve made to improve my art from beginner level to intermediate.The hardest part of creating these drawings would have to be shading. The reason I say this, is because you have to focus on shading light and dark areas, crosshatching and hatching which is the focus of a line drawings shadow.

I feel that this section of art expresses the character of cartoon drawings. Seeing art in 3D form changes a persons view on the piece. It becomes more appealing to the eye. What makes this art unique, is the step one takes and how someone is able to draw shadows and figures in many different ways to get the same outlook or vision.

I did this section because instead of deciding to do four day art I decided to go with two day art. This gives myself more practice with different skills and helps me perfect certain things, that I may have been struggling with. The emotions that I am trying to convey in my work is to be able to look at my piece and smile or maybe even see something, something like a cartoon. What makes my art unique is that I take the time to make sure my drawing look like a professional artist. This art creates a very happy and enlightening tone.

When drawing, I use a couple of tools. For these drawings I used a pencil, eraser, charcoal, and a pen. With my pen , I outlined my figure that I was going to draw. Then proceeded to use my charcoal and charcoal to shade and finish my drawings. By outlining my drawings in pen, it added a 3-D effect to my drawings. What makes my drawings unique is how dark they are. This adds more of a heavier tone.

While doing these drawings, what has motivated me to create my art, would have to be the techniques these drawings require. I see these as challenges and in the end I feel like I’ve accomplished something. When looking at my art I would like for people to understand that this is my first time drawing 3 dimensional drawings. I would like the viewer to put on artistic glasses and see everything as a piece of work that could possibly have a story about it or where it has came from. Maybe see my work as a beginner/intermediate level drawing and picture the tone in the drawing and maybe how dark the drawings are. Does it paint a picture of the characters emotions? Or does my work leave you feel like you don’t know what it is? When I look at my final work I see exactly what it is supposed to be seen. But depending on how neat or how dark the characters have been drawn, I think about maybe what the cartoon is thinking, or maybe what cartoon this character could be placed in. I enjoyed this section.

O section

In this section I am working on exaggerating facial features of certain characters.When exaggerating certain features, this dims the light on less attractive features. The goal from this section is to enhance my ability to provide diversity in shading methods and drawing techniques.As I went through each drawing, I was able to work on drawing different facial expressions. But these weren’t expressions we use everyday, such as happy, sad and mad. These were expressions like gentle, mischievous,quiet. When using these terms , you wouldn’t think this is what you people are saying to explain peoples expressions. This usually explains people personalities. But what this section does is highlight things that people do not usually see when looking at someone.

In my art I had to focus on trying to texture my drawings.The skills and techniques used to do these drawings are graduated shading techniques, squirkling, which is drawing and shading rounded lines, hatching and crosshatching. What this did is help define three-dimensional forms and great texture to hair and face. Other skills used to create these characters includes usings a grid to help sketch accurate proportions and identifying and rendering values according to a dominant light source. The goal of this  section is to draw the face of a person as a cartoon that could be transformed into a puppet, doll, or stuffed toy. When viewers look at these drawings, I would like for them to see the emotions of these characters and I would like for them to look at how these different techniques were used and where in the drawing they were used.

P and Q section

From all of the assignments that we have had during this art course, to me I thought that this particular assignment was more on an intermediate level. I was working on making places and things. The one thing that I have learned about doing this assignment was using skills like visual interpretation, a creative imagination and great hand coordination for drawing. From my past experiences with the different assignments the teacher has provided me, it seemed as if the other assignments that we’ve previously had was much more difficult than the assignments that I have had in the past. Assignments such as simply drawing a room. The challenges that I faced during this course would have to be illustrating while retaining patience.Although it was very difficult in the beginning I had to identify the exact things I needed to work on and try to practice the skills on my own. With full practice and dedication I would have to say that as of right now I have mastered what it takes to illustrate. If it had not been for the dedication and support I would not have become the student I am today in the class. Therefore it is with great pleasure to have had the opportunity to participate as a student in this class. In the near future I plan to excersise my artistic abilities further and I hope to teach others what I can do as an artist.

R Section

In this section I will be focusing on color basics. The tools I will be using in this section is colored pencils and oil paints, paint brushes and paint.I will be practicing making colors from their primary color. There are warm and cool colors, I am using the color wheel to explore these colors and see where they fit on this wheel.This section will enhance my painting experiences What makes this artwork unique from others is the certain way the strokes of paint are formed. Another thing that will make this unique is the colors in the painting.I like to add lots of color to my paintings, I do this to portray more life in my work. I would like for people to understand that while looking at this art I want them to see a solid foundation of various aspects. Remember to view this art through the lens of color and understand the intricacies of color.When doing this art, I was able to discover many different basic information about paint brushes that I did not know before.Such as how hard you should stroke the brush to add different texture and which way you should stroke the brush to form a perfect color or form.  

S Section

In this project I am using color pencils to draw objects. I’ve chosen to use color pencils because they help to create such subtle illustrations and they bring 0ut the bold colors making it more appealing to the audience. The basic skills that this assignment covers are, shading, overlapping colors and burnishing. These are the three basic skills one must incorporate in color theory.With only four colored pencils and a fine-tip marker, I used these materials to demonstrate skills of dry-mixing colors.I dry-mixed these colors to portray a soft delicate drawings such as portraits, flowers and zany cartoons. What makes this art unique is the beautiful delicate patterns. It’s almost like layering the paper. the surface or the first layer is the outline or color and the second is shaded with color pencils to enhance the color and texture. When looking at my art I hope the viewers see the levels of shading and how the pattern defines the cartoons and how I applied my basic skills and technique.  

T Section and U Section

This is more of an advanced level of art. In this section I was working on expanding my drawing and measurable skills.Because we were so far along in our art, it seems as if this work was made for students that already have good technical skills.I wanted these drawings to look very realistic, and photorealistic. It was not very easy drawing  insects, birds, and mammals. It was a very fine technique I had to apply to this. But by rending the illusion of fur, eyes and other features, it became easy. The challenges I had in this section would have to be making everything on animals look realistic and animals forms exactly proportioned, while still being able to make various shapes and characteristics. By outlining shapes, it defines the shapes a bit more. Then by adding a shadow to so, can make a structure of a face or neck look stronger or stand out more.I really enjoyed this section, simply because I love animals and I have a certain passion for them.

The way I completed these drawings are by doing three simple steps. First outline the proportions and shapes, and finally use hatching to define the three dimensional forms and textures. I used many patterns and focused on capturing shadows, I’ve done this so the viewers will be able to identify the animal. This is a very heavily illustrated section.  In this section I would like for the viewers to see how the animals faces look like animations. I would like for them to look at the patterns and be able to identify the animals.I would also like for the viewer to look at how I faded out a drawing by graduating the shading to white around the lower sections of my work.I most importantly would like for my peers to be able to look at my drawing for reference possibly and follow my drawing, and maybe will be able to break down the process, set up a grid and use their own photo for theirs to look just the same as mine.

         Have you ever heard the cliche that success comes with hard work? Or generally the phrase that ‘’improvement requires some serious conviction and will’’?

I know the second one may sound a little strange and vague, but that summarizes what I had to do to get to where I am at today, not only academically but in life. Let me elaborate more on my academic and social jump from what one would consider ‘’the class dummy’’ and a very reserved person to the outgoing and academically exceptional individual that I am today. I can say for one, that it simply was not just run-of-the-mill activities that coincidentally brought me to this standing point.

         The old school I attended from Kindergarten through ninth grade was originally called Renaissance Advantage Charter school but, however due to a shift in the management of the school and the desire to have the name after the recent senator Hardy Williams, It is now called Hardy Williams Academy Mastery Charter School. I felt very comfortable going into my freshman year at Hardy, which seemed like my senior year in the sense that we were in the same building as K-8, so I had a strong feeling of maturity going in and not remembering the fact that I was still just a freshman. I was prideful in fact and I felt as though I was one of the most intelligent and brightest of students among the entire student body, and most of all I was optimistic that due to Mastery principles and implements, I thought that my classmates and the student body would change. No more people disrupting in-class learning or just creating an overall unhealthy school environment for both the teachers and other students.

         Through my experiences at Hardy, I observed that kindergarten was fine, elementary school was okay(though a few bump and grinds); however, when middle school hit, that was when the peer pressure and the distractions came. What worsened it was that the fact that many of my classmates came from unscrupulous, one parent households that was centered around ghetto principles. I needed to realize that it was never any of my classmates’ fault that they came from these types of families and environments because I realized getting older that people were products of their own environment. And as I succeeded into high school, these ghetto principles still surrounded me and the more I was around them, the more I wanted to dress like a ghetto person, talk like a ghetto person, act like a ghetto person, you name it. I was easily goaded into doing stupid things which would certainly prove troubling for my academic career and even life.

         My classmates noticed that I was not fixated on all the wrong things like girls, money, or just acting like a fool in general, so this is what made me stand out in a predominantly black neighborhood school. I am an original first generation African immigrant, and I had not grown around the customs of what my fellow classmates at Hardy conformed too. I was always taught that education was the most valuable thing in life and my love of learning was a reflection of that. I appeared to be one of them, but my behavior shown otherwise, you could say that I did not ‘’fit the stereotypes’’, and this was seen as perverse in the eyes of a student body like this. In effect, I was ousted from group conversations, people did not really desire my company, and I was mocked and often patronized for being a ‘’good student’’.

         These effects did not only exhort me to develop a bad temper, but It increased my desire to be just like everybody else. Let’s not forget that Human beings are social creatures and we have an innate yearning to be apart of the group or be actively engaged in conversations and social interactions, so I did what was necessary to find this sense of social fulfillment. Even if it meant risking my academic record and reputation. It was finally half through the school year after many unpleasant ordeals that I declared I could no longer be apart of such a school system and I had to find a school where my academic energy and drive would be appreciated. Not to mention my school, which was still just a new high school, was devoid of an abundant of extracurricular opportunities and electives that would prove beneficial in preparation for college.

         Ever since I was young I had aspirations to become a doctor, I declared at 13, in 7th grade at Hardy, that I would become a neurosurgeon against my dearest friend who declared he would become a cardiac surgeon. So we vied to get on the path of those aspirations, not being aware or having knowledge of any of the components demanded for that field of education, so later at 16, I narrowed my choices to just becoming a doctor and officially sacrificing myself and my mind for only that goal, because I believe that god wanted me to become a doctor. I am a devout Christian and I was taught that if god called you to do something, you would have to sacrifice your soul, body, and mind to fulfill that request.

         So I realized that if I did not get myself in order or find a way to adjust my circumstances and get on the right path, I would never achieve such an aspiration. So I decided, that the following year I would admit to SLA, seemingly only a dream school to me from the description of my neighborhood friend Jovan Lewis. I was enamored by SLA and my desire to attend it increased. I figured, this was the school that would help me achieve my goals, what more could I want? A science school, I loved science, a school with no uniform(not really a significant factor in my desire to be admitted), and most importantly I did not have to be constricted by the Mastery principles which consisted of complete quietness during classwork or lessons with all fixed times for questions and discussions. Because of that, I went out of my way vigorously to be admitted into SLA, even if that meant constantly asking my friend Jovan, who attended SLA, questions and digging deep to find information about SLA.

         I was so elated after being accepted into SLA that I was yelling in the ear of my acceptance caller (Jeremy Spry). Frankly, when I initially came into SLA, I thought I was going to be okay, the first thought that went through my head was ‘’Ahhh, nothing to worry about, I’ll be ok, I’m going to show these people what I’m all about’’. At my old school, I was top dog, I acquired nearly every award at my eighth grade graduation including the principal award. I’d always be the one to answer questions and give constructive feedback during class discussions and my classmates admired me for it. This increased my confidence profoundly, even when going into SLA.

However, when it actually came down to it, after cycling around many classes within my first week at SLA, I found myself lost on every subject. I barely understood the material that was being taught and I barely raised my hand to answer questions, that normally if a teacher would ask, I would be able to swiftly answer. Consequently, my grades reflected on this and I was failing more than one class with interim reports left and right for my first two quarters. I was confounded by the amount of knowledge my classmates possessed on many levels; I was in disbelief that I, Osman Bangura, was being outperformed tremendously.

          Soon enough I realized I had to adjust and find a way to improve and meet expectations. So after much pondering over a stretched period of time and experimentation, I devised a convenient study plan in which allowed me to study extensively and successively, and also I realized I would need to be reading more because these were crucial skills that I was lacking: reading and studying. Soon enough, after making these adjustments, I began noticing the positive effects that it had in my life, which changed my experience and student life at SLA.

           I began actively engaging in class discussion, and my vocabulary, verbal fluency and grades automatically increased, in addition I became very studious. All the effects of my hard work, I never had to work as hard at Mastery because the work given to me was definitely not as hard and thought provoking. I gotten nearly all As from the third Quarter of my sophomore year at SLA and my classmates began to see me differently and even compliment at times whenever I made sensible arguments or answers.That was then truly began to realize that I was not a failure or stupid, and simply that anything in life that is worthwhile requires conviction, desire, and ardor- all conventions that led to my current position.

           It took stone cold hard work and a willingness to change. If I never wanted to change, I wouldn't put myself in a position to be subjected to such dynamics in the first place. For example, I didn't have to change schools or change the people who I associated with, I could have stayed at my old position and not have experienced a single change; however, it was not long before I realized that it not just on the case of whether or not I wanted to change anymore, it was that I needed to change. I always knew that I was intelligent, but I did not ever get enough encouragement or support needed to unleash this intelligence. From the starting of the school year in 2013, (when I first transferred into SLA) to where I am now I realized that I had culminated greatly.