Illustrator and Graphic Designer
The next day, T’ahna message me that the supervisor wants me to add, In partnership with (ELRO) Elenor Roosevelt High School. T’ahna also sends me the school logo to place it on the poster.
I went back to Photoshop and put it in the school logo. I have to edit the placement to fit. Then I switch to InDesign and add the small details information under the title. Finally, I sent the files through dropbox and message T’ahna about the change. Now, I’m waiting for another project.
I join a Clip Studio Paint Webinar and the event starts at 2:00 pm. The webinar is about how to draw faces with the artist, Ergo Josh. I know this artist through his youtube channel for giving tips on drawing and getting more recognition on Instagram. When I was waiting for the webinar to start, I got scared when I saw the microphone icon and I thought that we are going to have a video group chat.
In this webinar, he shows the viewer how to draw a human face and explains the different female and male face anatomy. He also mentions websites and programs of 3D models of human faces.
There is a chat box where people can ask questions about what material he is using, his progress, and anatomy references. Near the end of the webinar, the host would ask questions that people ask from the chat. Josh talks about his experience as an artist and a content creator. He mentions that he fails classes because he was drawing in class.
Ergo Josh gives a tip to the artist that we should draw when we are relaxed and calm because it makes out work look better. He mentions that the artist draws better in class than they did at home because they don’t care about the result. I find it interesting that artists are struggling to produce good work because they are stressing to get a perfect result. It’s because I had the same experience when I draw every day.
I learned so much from this webinar, and I hope to see another one from the Clip Studio Paint Website.
The webinar is recorded and post it on Youtube
The next day, I started to draw the thumbnails. My thought process for this design is that I think about the symbolism for women. In the first design, when I read the word GLOW, I thought about the symbolism of shining bright. In the second design, I did three different ideas by using the female sign. In the last design, I wanted to have a silhouette of the female face from the side view.
I started working on the design in Adobe Photoshop because I’m more comfortable with the program. In Photoshop, I design the background, and then I switch to InDesign to put in the text. When I finish with this design, I scrap it because of the white bars didn’t line up perfectly, so it looks unappealing.
For this design, I did the same process as I did from the first design. I went with this one because the design is simple. I try to use the symbol to lead people’s eyes from the title to the small text.
I went back and did a different version of the same design. I’m satisfied with this version. I switch the color, change the font, and added the blue to make it pop.
However, I wasn’t satisfied with the color and the title font. I made the color pink more vibrant and changed the title color to dark blue. I message T’ahna the poster design through Facebook Messenger. She forgot to mention that their school can only print in black and white.
Alright, no problem. I made it black and white on photoshop and then sent it again. I put all my files on Dropbox, and T’ahna can send all the JPEG files to her supervisor.
It has been 3 weeks, I wait and wait. I haven’t heard back from Erik nor Helen. I stayed secluded in a deep depression that seemed endless.
But then, T’ahna came through. She hooked me up with her middle school job. They want to hire me to help them design a poster for their new class called GLOw (Girls Lead Our World). The supervisor gave me a small brief:
GLOW Poster
Girls Lead Our World
-Monday 3-4:30
-Advocate
-Representation
-Gender Equality
-Women’s Issues
I wrote all this information down on my small sketchbook.
It’s time to get that job. I’m going to go in there, march straight to the supervisor, look him straight in the eyes, and ACE THAT INTERVIEW!
For the interview, I wore a black button-up shirt, back pants, and my black boots. I took the train, and I made it about 5-10 minutes early. I didn’t go in quickly but instead went to Duane Reade first to buy a bottle of water. After that, I went in. I have 5 minutes left before the interview, and I waited at the front desk. Then, I met with the director, Ali. We both introduced ourselves, and we interviewed in an empty room.
The way the interview went, Ali talks about the company and what they do. He then talks about my portfolio and resume and then talks about his backstory because of my career experiences. He told me that he used to do graphic design and illustration when he was young. I was surprised that I didn’t need to talk about myself. He read my cover letter and my resume. He also didn’t ask me any questions about what I do, my plans in the future, etc. I only asked him questions about the company and what they do. After the interview, I gave him my business cards and two of my stickers. He then asked me if I want him to show me around the workplace.
I say, yes. I’m glad that he asked me that because I never had another supervisor showing me around their workplace. This makes me think that I did ace the interview.
I forgot to take pictures of their company, but this is how the room looks. The back of the room is their workplace. Their workplace is dim, but probably because of the afternoon time. I saw maybe around 35 employees working. Their tables are adjustable, and each table has two computers. Ali then explains the workplace and what their employees are working. After that, I went home and wrote a thank you email to Ali.
The next day, Erik emails me about taking the next step after the interview. He also added me on LinkedIn.
I was shocked, but also joyful that had never happened to me before. I message Eli about the interview and all the good news.
After the interview at CPC, Helen emailed me that she’s sending my portfolio, cover letter, and resume to the youth program supervisor. So, I have to wait probably for a week.
While waiting, I apply to Toymail, but I didn’t hear them back for a couple of weeks. Then, I went to the communication design Facebook group to see if anybody posted a spring internship job. I saw one for IA Interior Architect from Professor Eli. He wants us to email him our resume and portfolio so he can send it to the company.
I quickly edit my resume and my portfolio. I finally send it to Eli. After that, he replies to me that I send my resume, portfolio, and cover letter to Erik. Before I sent my stuff to the company, I have Eli read over my Cover Letter and then send it to the company.
The next day, I got an email back from Erik, and he says that he will forward it to their director. About an hour later, I got an email from Ali, the director, saying that he wants me to set a quick interview on Tuesday at 2:30 pm.
I went to The Center for Fiction event on February 19, 2020, for free from Professor Woolley. The speakers at the event are Vita Ayala, Robin Ha, Khary Randolph, and Joseph Illidge. This event helps me to understand the comic book industry and knowing about these artists’ challenges of doing comics.
Robin Ha is an author and illustrator for Cook Korean!: A Comic book with Recipes and Almost American Girl. She talked about her process and her achievements before she started doing comics. She also explains her life of being an immigrant experience from Seoul and the reason why she started illustrating her memoir graphic novel.
Khary Randolph is a comic and animation artist who works for DC Comics, Marvel, etc. I remember him from our school art gallery from last semester. He talked about working in the comic industry.
Vita Ayala is a writer for The Wilds. Vita and the rest of the speakers talk about the diversity in comics and explains how other people feel having people of color in comics.
After the talk, people ask some questions that they want to understand more about their process. Then, we had a book signing from the 3 artists. I didn’t have a book for them to sign, but I wanted to ask them questions and try to network with them. I asked Khary Randolph about the challenges that he had of doing comics. After that, I asked all both Khary and Robin if they have business cards. They didn’t, but then I asked them if they have an Instagram or LinkedIn so I can follow them. Finally, we had a group photo with the speakers. Before I have to go home, I gave them my business cards and stickers for saying thank you for answering my questions.
Well, today is the day. Today is my first interview. I wore casual clothes, but I still keep it professional. I made it to their company building in 3 minutes early. There was a front desk who doesn’t speak a lot of English. I don’t know how to speak Mandarin, but I try to tell him that I want to meet with Helen. Then, he told me, in Mandarin, to write my name, and he went to the workplace to find Helen.
After the 5 minute pass, the supervisor meets up with me. He told me to follow him to his office, and Helen is with me with a notepad and a pen. The supervisor named is Steve. He starts the interview by asking me to introduce myself. For the introduction, I told them that I’m a senior at CityTech. I major in Illustration and Graphic Design. After that, Steve explains about their company, the programs, and what they do. He told me that their work doesn’t have an art-related internship job. It’s mostly social services jobs, but he thinks that I could make posters for their program for a future event. Helen then told me if I want to work with seniors or the youth program. I told her that I want to work with the youth program. After a couple of small talks, I talk about my internship requirements to them because they need to know what my class needs. In the end, Steve gave me his business cards, and I gave them both of my business cards and stickers for taking the time to interview with me.
Before school starts, I started to apply for Psyop, Titmouse, and Roof Studio. I should have had applied more, but all the companies that I wanted are in the summer. Then, from those three companies, I only heard from Titmouse and I didn’t get accepted. I started to panic because I don’t have an internship yet, and school starts in 3 days. I thought to myself, “I may have to drop the class, but I need to graduate.”
I remember that I used to work for CPC (Chinese-American Panning Council) in the SYEP (Summer Youth Employment Program). I went to CPC in Brooklyn to see if they have an internship available. Luckily for me, they do. I met with Helen, who is a Senior Service Coordinator. She told me to email her my resume and portfolio.
After that, I went home, fixed my resume and cover letter, and sent everything to Helen. The day after that, Helen wrote me back, and she said that she will send my resume and portfolio to her supervisor. Finally, on Wednesday, Helen sent me an email that the supervisor wants to interview me on Friday at 2:00 pm. Oh boy, I’m nervous, but also ready.
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