Highlights of Spring Semester 2026

Happy Summer, Guys!

For me, this past semester has been a real slow season of blogging. As I mentioned before, Sophomore year kicked harder than I expected. I have to admit that stepping away from blogging for a season was not an easy choice for me. There were many times I wanted to fill you all in on what was new, what was frustrating, and what was exciting, but time slipped away.

Eventually, I decided to focus on healing, learning, and reflecting. In other words, I wanted to soak everything in so I can be a good steward of what God has blessed me with, good and bad. Although so much has happened from my recent volunteering at an elementary school to my time at FAEA, let me start with the takeaways of my spring semester, and I will soon talk about the other updates later. :)

Figure Drawing III

Takeaways

• This course took a whole different format than what I was used to. We focused on experimentation rather than how-to explanation, so I learned many ways to approach figure drawing!

• No method is one for all, nor set in stone. Depending on the circumstances (model's body type, drawer's mood, different medium, etc.), the appropriate method will be different.

  • Calligraphy (Consider each pose like a C, O, M, S, and I)

  • Cookie Cutter (Outline the figure based on strict observation)

  • Bean/Pilllow - Imagined the torso like a bean, and see the stretching/pulling as a “pillow”! (The corners of the “pillow” can be viewed as arms/legs!)

  • Stick Figure – Treat the model as a stick figure

  • “Slow” drawing – “Snail” across the form without any changes (Sometimes, I had to spend 40 minutes drawing the figure “slowly”

  • NuPastel – There are two ways to do this. The first way is to use a light-colored pastel to mark out the whole figure, then go around with a dark color and smudge! Then, repeat this process one more time. The second way is to start with the dark-colored pastel, and then use a LIGHT-colored pastel around it and smudge. We complete the whole drawing by using light and dark pastels alternately. I personally liked the first one as it's more straightforward in my opinion!

  • Busy Bee (a favorite of mine) – Use a crayon and scribble around lightly and loosely. Dance around to form a figure amidst the vapor! Or think of this as forming a “wire frame” before sculpting the details.

  • Straight Lines (I often use this on objects, but find it so hard on figures) – Use lines to approach forms. I need to think sculpturally and angularly as I “slice” out the subject!

  • Ink and Brush – Use a sumi brush and let the ink define the contour of the forms. Then, shade with dry brushing! ^^ (I really struggled with this one because I need my construction lines!)

  • Found Object (Surprisingly, I LOVED this one) – Scout out different objects outdoors (sticks, glass, rope, flowers, anything!), and dab into the ink to draw.

  • Palette Knife (my friend Kiara LOVED this one) – Use palette knives with black paint to carve out the forms, and then apply different greys mixed with white! (Pro tip - Don’t be like me and bring a small palette, bring a paper plate with a big surface area to mix.) At some point, we did mixed media, adding charcoal and pen.

  • Other explorations – we also did café drawing and ballpoint pen.

Peer Advice

• Part of the reason that I chose this class was because this professor focused on practice rather than accuracy. It sounded scary to me at first, but I realized that the goal was to draw more to bulk up my visual vocabulary so as to achieve perfection in the long-run.

I Wish I Knew

• I wish I had studied anatomy a bit more before coming to class. I think it would have given me the foundation and confidence to be more flexible with different media.

• I also wish that I had broken my habit of “chicken scratch lines” sooner; learning to be confident in my lines is still something I’m working on. This also would have freed me, so I could make marks first and adjust later.

Favorite Memory

• After the midterm, my professor came up to me smiling and said, “You turned a corner, my friend!” This sums up the semester. Even though I still have so much to improve in figure drawing when looking ahead, I feel I have grown so much when looking back. :D

• I had two great friends in this class, Kiara and Havanna. I really enjoyed having both of you. Since we were allowed to talk while drawing, Kiara and I would tell each other stories and mess with each other (playfully, of course.) We gave each other confidence boosters and ideation tips. I always looked forward to this class because of this! Our conversations had kept me going even on days when I was super tired.

• Kiara and I have another friend, Izzy. The three of us have begun hanging out more for food adventures and movie nights. Last year, we watched Dogman, and our new venture is Monkie Kid! We finished the first season so far! I think it's definitely a fun series to watch. Season 2 will be our next movie mission in the Fall!

To make up, my mom made sure to take a picture at the ice cream place before all gone.

From left to right: Izzy, Kiara, and me

Photo Credit - My Mom

We forgot to take pictures when the food was served, so here's us with the takeout!

From left to right: My mom, Kiara, me, and Izzy

Selfie Credit - Izzy

• We had naïve drawing contests on coming up with the worst drawing. Whoever did the worst drawing would get a prize – a squishmellow. This was one of my favorite memories, but I never won. Havanna had won the first one, so when our professor went around throwing free squishmellows, Havanna got a second! She was so kind to give it to me. :) Later, she won another contest. Well-deserved indeed! As a side note, I named my baby squishmellow "Detrix!" He wishes you all a hearty hello! :)

• Another time, my professor showed us his comic book collection and sketchbooks – it was so cool to look through them; I felt such an honor and privilege to see his work! Also, I truly enjoyed his demos in this class. I could have watched him draw all day.

Personal Reflection

• I realized that the upper body has three parts, which is why I usually drew torsos super short!

• I realized that I struggle a lot with sighting angles – doing it right would have made my drawing more accurate!

• After getting in the groove in all classes this semester, I think Figure is the one class I still have to kick my butt at before everything falls into place. So, there’ll be lots of figure drawing this summer. (Fortunately/Unfortunately, I’ll have two figure classes next semester.)

Illustration 2

Takeaways

• Similar to how a director places a camera, we compose the “scene” in an illustration! Bonus tip: This is why moving the “camera” around the scene or changing perspectives is critical. (Worm's eye view looks from the ground level, looking up to create a powerful, intimidating feeling. Bird's eye view is from above, creating a feeling of overseeing the big picture!)

• An illustrator's role is different from the author's. Authors tell the story; illustrators take what the author says and unfold it visually. This doesn’t mean illustrators must draw out all the answers/details in the story; instead, illustrators focus on sowing suspense or hints to answers.

• My professor learned this from his mentor: The ideas don’t come from your head; that’s only the start – the ideas come from the page!

Peer Advice

• Our class was super talented, so my professor asked some of us to give demos!! My favorite demo was using gradient maps. To achieve a more natural outcome, it’s so helpful to set the blending mode to soft light. I also learned from another classmate to use the multiply blending mode instead of the color blending mode, so I still keep my values! Lots to experiment with this summer!

• Havanna told me this GREAT digital tip! ^^ I've been hooked ever since and used this tip for the Sticker assignment (and got my FIRST 100)!!! Whenever my colors aren’t looking “right” or “cohesive”, on a new layer, put any color of your choice and change the blending mode until the colors “click.” Havanna says it’s essentially like adding a mother color to everything! ^^

• I also really have to thank my mentor, Mili, for sticking by me this far. Illustration was something I stressed out often, and she always encouraged me to look at it positively. She gave me great drawovers when I got stuck. She also gave me an extra pair of eyes to examine my paintings for improvements!

What I Wish I Knew

• I kind of wish I didn’t put so much pressure on myself at the beginning and simply trusted myself. When I began to do that, I loved art again, and the outcome was much better.

Favorite Memory

• The turning point for me in this class was when I finally got a good critique for my Historical Portrait assignment! I felt that I was finally able to express my inner artistic voice!

• I had the same professor for Illustration 1, and I love him with all my heart. I had many wishes for his class since the beginning, and they all finally came true.

  • Calling me “rockstar” – he does this when he’s so happy about something we did. He did this after I took notes during his demo on how to paint digitally by starting with greyscale and then moving to color. :)

  • Calling me his “hero” – similar to one before! This is usually a compliment that he gives when we’re listening to his advice, haha. He did this when I took a self-reference for my cookbook illustration! ^^ (He loves self-references!) Yes, I actually cooked everything, including the spaghetti, the meatballs, and the sauce myself, and plated everything before taking pictures. If you're interested, my sauce recipe is here! :)

  • Swearing at my drawing. I do not cuss personally, but when my professor cusses at our work, it means we really did something good to make him proud. This happened in our last critique (on the same cookbook illustration assignment!) He cussed at my onion, and I’ll treasure this moment for a long time. :) He later said it was “spectacular” which I think is a much nicer compliment.

• This was a pleasant surprise when he told me at the end of the semester that he was really proud of how far I’ve come. This has meant the world to me and was the absolute icing on the cake for the whole semester! ^^

• Havanna and I were in this class together as well, and I still remember the one night that our friendship grew. It was one of the hardest assignments we had so far, we had to combine different style paintings into one painting – it was called “Soup/ Fushion”. I was panicking, so I reached out to her at midnight. To my surprise, she was still awake and gave me great feedback. Thanks so much, you made me feel so much better.

• We had a party to celebrate the completion of the semester. We were spoiled with lots of food. Much to my professor's disappointment, he ended up having to playfully threaten us to eat more junk to secure our grades. I think our stomachs are far too small and too healthy for him, haha. My favorite was the Lofthouse Sugar Cookies. To me, they speak of childhood joy.

Design & Type

Takeaways

• Type and design affect us all, whether we realize it or not!

• Design is more about composition and layout rather than drawing skills (though they do elevate the design as an art piece!)

• Enjoying the process is the key to good projects.

Peer Advice

• I’m so thankful to my friend Kat who told me the possibility of taking this course first instead of Digital Illustration. This was such a gentle introduction to the digital realm and it makes me feel more ready about digital illustration next Spring. It also made me realize digital is not as scary as I thought.

What I Wish I Knew

• I wish I stressed less about this class; I think I was lucky to be in a class with all illustration majors, so the lesson plan fit perfectly. Our end project was long but very illustration-focused.

• We also had an opening project before our semester-long project. The process was so much faster than I expected! I loved the poster!

Favorite Memory

• I had great friends in this class who cared for me even though I was the only Sophomore in this class. They made me feel included and loved so I feel type class wasn’t so bad. :)

• My other favorite memory was screen printing that we did at the end of the year! Up to that point, I was always too scared of messing up to try new things. However, as I finished my project early, I thought why not? I screenprinted three tote bags! It was not that scary at all; indeed, it was easier than I expected! :) I’m so pumped that I want to experience more in my junior year! ^^

• I had the sweetest professors this semester. For this class, my professor was kind enough to bake cookies for us one day. These are the BEST sugar cookies I've had in a long time. I hope to recreate them one day. These were the bomb!

Personal Reflections

• I learned how impatient I was in this class. My professor stressed a lot about us taking the time and the process to figure things out. I realized how soon I wanted to come up with the right answer right away. Sometimes, I'll just gotta take the time to come up with more alternatives and compare! There may not always be a right and wrong, too!

Painting 2

I am saving the best for last on this one! Much to my surprise, this was the class I learned the MOST from. I was also surprised by how much I enjoyed this class. There's so much that I'm excited to share with you all, so I'll soon post in a separate blog including a surprise video. :D If this interests you, please subscribe here to get a notification when I post! :D

For now, it’s bittersweet to call this semester “over.” It hits me that I am now halfway done with college.

It still doesn’t feel real to me.

Till Next Time,

Isabelle

"If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit." ~ Leviticus 26:3-4