GrowingupinaPakistanihousehold,my familyalwaysworebold,brightjhumkay (earrings).Ihadalwaysadmiredmy familywearingthem,andistheinfluence astowhyIpaintedthemaspartofmy Higherartfolio.Iusedmediassuchas acrylicpaintandpencilasthesearethe materialsIfeltthemostcomfortablewith. UsingphotoreferencesthatItookmyself helpedmetoimprovemytonal awarenessandbetterunderstand highlightsandshadows.However,ifI weretopaintthemagain,Iwould experimentwithdifferentmaterialsand mediastoimprovemyartskillsand understandwhatothermediasIlike using.
Inschool,myteachersnominated metodesigntheschools2026 PupilCalendar.Thiscalendarnot onlyshowsmyartisticabilities,but alsoothersindifferentyear groups.Thiswasawayfor studentstoexpressthemselves throughtheirart,notonlyfrom paintingsordrawings,butfrom sculpturesorevenphotos.
ThiswasamassiveresponsibilityandIknewitwasgoingtobechallenging.Tostart thisprocess,Ifirstdecidedonwhichapptouse:Designer2.WhenIopenedtheapp, Ifacedmanychallenges:howtostartandwhateachtooldid.However,Islowly understoodthisappandbeganworkingonthecalendar.Istartedbycreatinga messyguidetohowIwantedthiscalendartolooklike.Ihavealwayslovedour natureandwildlifeso,throughthatadmiration,Idecidedonaflowertheme.During thisprocess,Istruggledwithmanyaspectslike,howtocreatetheflowerborder,or howtomakethegridandnumbers.However,Islowlydevelopedastrategyonhow tocompleteeachpage.Atfirst,Ikeptprocrastinatingaboutdoingthecalendarbutas Igotmoreandmoreintoit,IrealizedIloveddesigningthings.Thisjourneyhad mademerealizeIwantedtodesignotherthingsforpeopletoseeandlookat.
Here,Iexperimentedwithdifferentpatterns usingtheink.
Inthisproject,Iexperimentedwithinkbydiluting somewithwaterandpaintingbackwards,painting thelightestpartsfirstandworkingtowardsthe darkershadows.Istartedbygettingrandom photosIhadtakenandcroppingthemtoaspecific partofthephoto.Ithenusedtheinktopaint:a newmediaIhadn’tusedbefore.Thiswasa challengingyetfunexerciseasitwasmyfirsttime workingwithink.However,Ireallyenjoyedthe processandthefinalresultasitmademerealize howmuchIenjoyedusingthistechnique.IfI could,Iwoulddefinitelytrythisagaininfuture projects.
Inschool,Iampartofagroup calledthe‘PeriodDignity’ group.Thisgroupspurposeis toraiseawarenessabout periods,whattheyareandto normalizethemasasociety.I madethisposterforpeopleto joinourcommunityviaateams code.Again,Iusedpinksand bluesasIreallylikedthiscolor combination.However,Iused pinktolinkwithourgroup,as ourlogoispink,whichlinksto ourmainaim.
Idesignedthisposterformy
Higherartfoliotopromote
musicianJamesMarriott’snew album,‘Don’tTelltheDog’.Iused variousshadesofblueasthatwas themaincolorinhisalbumcover.I reallyenjoyeddesigningthis, howeverIstruggledtofindthe rightsubjectmatterandwhereto putalltheinformation.Idoreally likethefinalposterasyoucan easilyidentifywhatitisabout.I alsolikethelimitedcolorpaletteas itmakesitstandout.
Theseposterswereprimarilytoinfluencestudentstohandin artworkandtopromotethecalendar.
Iwantedtousebright,boldcolorsthat wouldmaketheposterstandoutfrom others,soIdecidedtogowithpinkand blue.Ireallylovethiscolorcombination asthecolorscontrastwitheachother. Thecolorslinkwiththecolorsofthe flowers,creatingunity.However,during thisprocess,IstruggledtowritewhatI wantedtosayinonlyafewwords.I madesuretowriteaslittleaspossible whiletryingtosayalot.
Forthisposter,Iusedthe samecolorpaletteastheone usedforthecalendar,creating asenseofunitysostudents knowclearlywhattheposter isabout.Ireallyenjoyed designingthisposterasI alreadyknewhowIwasgoing todesignit.Forthatreason,it wasareallyrelaxing experience.
Inthisproject,Istartedby experimentingwith materials,usingjunktomakesomethingthat resembledabuilding.First,Igrabbedrandom objectsandtriedtocreateacompositionthatI liked.Itwasquitechallengingcreatinga compositionthatlookedgood.Ithenused materialslikeclayandtapetosecurethem togetherandmakethemintoacohesivepiece.
OnceIhadafullpiece,Idecidedtoexperimentwiththeobjectandenhancemy photographyskills.Iexperimentedwithdifferentposesandlighting,choosingvarious colorcombinations.Imadesuretousecolorsthatcontrastedwitheachother,like greenandpink,tocreatealmostcinematiceffects.Thisprojectcreatedanew perspectiveforme,thatyoucancreatesomethingoutofnothing.Ilikedthisprojectas itchallengedmetothinkoutsidetheboxandusematerialsIneverhaveusedbefore.
Ithendecidedtoexperimentwithposesandtakingphotosfromdifferentangles.Iamquite passionateaboutphotography,sobeingpartofaphotoshootwasareallyfunexperiencetobe apartof.Beforetakingthephotos,IrealizedtheobjectImadesortoflookedlikeacake,soI decidedtoposewiththeobjectbeinginfrontofme,asifitwasabirthdaycakeandIwas celebratingmybirthday.Thisentireprojecthelpedmetoadaptmycreativityskillsandtothink differentaboutmysurroundingsanddifferentscenarios.
YayoiKasuma,aJapaneseartist,wasmy maininspirationformynextbigproject. Hereccentricandboldcircularpatterns helpedmeunderstandhowtostartmy project.Heruseofcoloralsoinspired mynextsteps.
Tostart,Ibeganbypaintingasimilarpatternto Kasuma’sartoncardusingacrylicpaint.Iused thismediaasthatwaswhatIfeltmost comfortablewith.Iusedalimitedyet contrastingcolorpaletteastheybest representedme:pinkandbluestosymbolize thehappinessandoutgoingnaturewithinme, andbrowntosymbolizethefactthatI’mnot perfect,likeeveryoneelse,andthatIhavebad days.Itwasquitechallengingtoknowwhat colorsIwantedtouse,asIdidn’twanttouseas brightcolorsasKasumahas.Ialsowantedto seethisbeusedaswallpaper,andIfeelbright colorswouldn’tsuitsomethinglikethis.
Next,Idecidedtocreatea3Dmodel, usingthesamecolorpalette,ofaroom usingthesamepattern.Usingthick cardboardwasastruggle,asitwashard tocutitintosmallerpieces.However,it wasworthitasIreallylikedthefinal result.TheroomImaderemindedme ofastudiospace.
Atfirst,Istruggledmixingthe rightcolors.Imadethe backgroundtoodarkbutdidn’t realizesoIcontinuedpainting. Howeverafterawhile,Inoticed howdarkthebackgroundwas anddecidedtochangeithalfway throughpaintingthepinkcircles. Itwasasmallchange,butIfeel likeitreallybroughtoutthecircles andmadethempop.
Finally,withlittletimeIhadinthestudio,I decidedtochallengemyselfbycreatingalifesizescaleoftheroom.Iwantedtopushmyself andseemyroomcometolife.Imadesureto photographmyprocessthroughoutit.Thefinal productwasbetterthanexpected,andIwas surprisedImanagedtofinishitintime.The onlychallengingthingaboutthiswasthatIwas unsureIwouldbeabletofinishintime.This processmademerealizeIwantedtoexplore morepatternsanddesignfullinteriors,notjust walls.
Whenstartingthisproject,Istruggledto findwhatobjectstousetostampthe outlinesofthecircles.However,Ifound thatabucketwasperfectforthebigger circlesandaplasticcupwasperfectfor thesmallercircles.Iusedthemby applyingthepainttotherimsusing sponges,andstampingthemontothe wall.Ithenleavesomeofthemas outlines,orfilltheminusinga paintbrush.
Istartedbycuttingoutthepieces offeltandcoloredpaperand simplygluingthemontothe paintedpaper.Thiswasthe easiestandquickestoneto make.
Duringthisentireprocess,IrealizedIwanted toexperimentwithmaterials,soIgrabbed variousartmaterialsfrommyroomandmade thesamepattern,butatasmallerscale.This wasafunwayformetoworkwithdifferent mediasandusematerialsI’dneverthought I’duse,likepipecleaners.First,Ipainteda pieceofpaperyellowasthebackground,then cutitintofourpieces.Onepiecewouldbe differentmedias.
IwantedtouseamaterialIhadn’t usedbefore,soIusedpipecleaners. Itwasafunexperience,usinganew media.However,Istruggledwith glueingthepipecleanerstogetherto createthecircleshapes,butIreally likethefinalproduct.
IusedoilpastelsforthisoneasI wasunfamiliarwiththismedia.I didn’tknowhowusethemandit wasquitechallengingtocreatethe circleshapeorgetasmooth surface,butIquitelikethe roughnessandstreakinessofit. Youcantellit’shandpainted.