(The cover page on the printed album. Pic cred: The author.)

A tribute art album to my time at OSC

My CAS Project has certainly transformed from my initial idea! For instance, at first, I wanted an album with 23 digital artworks. However, due to time constraints and printing issues, I realized that this was not something possible. Therefore, I looked toward another form of art that I was experimenting with for a while now – transmuting photographs into something abstract and artistic.

I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to converge the photographs in my camera roll with my creative side, this way, I’d directly be making a tribute to the memories I’ve made at OSC.

Thus, I chose interesting or nostalgic photographs that I’d accumulated during my last 4 years at OSC. Afterward, I envisioned how I could change these photographs in order to convey my feelings at the time or make them utterly bizarre! My goal with this album was to find a way to express my emotions and create artwork that will make people stop and look – I wanted to make this in a way that the audience would find new details of the artwork every time they look at it.

(What a typical work setup would look like. Pic cred: The author.)

Thus, I added very tiny details to a lot of my art. It was quite interesting to see how normal photographs could become so different after playing around with them for a while.

Below shows an example of a photograph I used.

(Eleez, Huirong, and Hyunjin sitting. Pic cred: The author.)

However, after changing some properties and layering a lot, I was able to turn it into this:

(The final picture. Pic cred: The author.)

In that way, I believe that my tribute album is a lot about transformation – to represent the way that I have transformed over the course of my time at OSC.

During the process of this CAS Project, I used MediBang and was able to develop my digital art skills and expand my tools kit immensely. I discovered new tools to change certain characteristics that I’d never even looked at before! It was amazing, and I will definitely be continuing this form of artwork in the future.

(A collage of my favourite artwork. Pic. cred: The author)

This album may not have been exactly what I had initially planned, but I think that’s fitting! My ideas and identity transformed significantly during my time at OSC, much like the way that I have transformed these photographs. I think, above all, this album is a representation of me.

Click here for the PDF version of my art album – you can also find a physical copy with Ms. Lockwood in the library!

Learning outcomes:

• LO1 – Strength & growth
  • I definitely saw immense growth in my artistic skills and form of expression. With this project, I become more confident in my digital toolkit and was able to find talent in digital artwork outside of simply drawing.
  • I saw my progress as, at first, I wasn’t sure what I was doing when making the artwork! Eventually, I learned to grow sure of myself and knew what I was doing and why I chose specific tools.
  • I believe I saw growth in the way I was able to reflect whilst making these artworks as well. The entire creation process was very nostalgic as some of these pictures were years old!
• LO2 – Challenge & skills
  • I did come across technical challenges such as the pixel quality and how the printing process will work for this CAS Project. However, with the support of my parents and communicating with the printing company, I was able to sort things out. 
  • Additionally, I believe it was rather challenging to put myself out there. As this art album is an expression of my feelings, it felt rather baring to print it out – yet, with confidence in my skills, I empowered myself to do this. 
• LO5 – Showing perseverance and commitment
  • I think that I have shown immense commitment to digital art over the course of the DP program. And as it slowly (actually – quite quickly!) coming to a close, I believe that art is one of the things that I have indulged in the most.
  • It has been quite interesting to observe how my digital art skills have developed over the last two years, and I think that I have been able to gain a deeper understanding of character anatomy, coloring, and nonconventional digital art. 
  • My creative side was definitely stimulated significantly during the CAS program, and I believe I have developed and refined my skills to be utilisable in the future as well.