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Before & After Drawings

The drawings below were produced by students of mine in my Intro to Animation / Illustration classes at San Jose State University.   Both drawings are self-portraits in charcoal, (with a couple exceptions) and were completed three months apart.

Students complete the first drawing over the first weekend of the semester.  The drawings are collected at our next class, and I hold on to them until the last week of the semester when the final self-portraits are due.  The final projects are "conceptual" self-portraits, that are supposed to communicate some primary aspect of their character through the image itself, or through the process with which the image was made.

 

On the last critique day, as students come in to hang their final piece, I hand them their first drawing to hang up next to it.  It's one of the most rewarding days of the semester as the students have truly forgotten what their first drawing looked like, and how far they've come.

Of all the thrills I've had professionally, seeing these drawings, and seeing the students develop so much over the course of the semester is without a doubt, one of the most rewarding experiences I've been a part of.  While these pairs are especially dramatic examples, the typical student makes similar gains over the course of the class.

 

Jean Chan
September 2003     December 2003

Lisa Larson
September 2003     December 2003

Paul Nelson
September 2003     December 2003

Tom Doerr
February 2003     May 2003

Zachary Knoles
September 2002     December 2002

Johanna Enriquez
September 2002     December 2002

Audrey Lee
September 2002     December 2002

Jason Chen
February 2002     May 2002

Peter Gikandi
September 2001     December 2001

Ruben Duran
September 2001     December 2001

Yuchin Teng
September 2001     December 2001

Ashley Harris
February 2002     May 2002

Margie Stern
February 1999     May 1999

Jose Gutierrez
February 1999     May 1999

Ian Ameling
February 1999     May 1999

Renee Cerda
February 1999     May 1999

Colin Fix
February 1999     May 1999

Carole Gonsalves
February 1999     May 1999

Theresa Fong
February 1999     May 1999

May Lo
February 1999     May 1999

Yukari Yamano
September 1998     December 1998

Armando Castellanos
February 1998     May 1998

Patty Pinedo
February 1998     May 1998

Kwang Park
September 1998     December 1998