We were told to bring any kind of bag and a particular object as an inspiration for the bag design. Before doing some drawing exercises, we learned some basic drawing principles, including perspectives and lines. At last, all of us designed bags using the items we brought by adapting the features of the items we brought.

I myself brought a Carhartt denim tote bag and a used food can. During the class, I faced some problems when creating the bag designs. I found myself struggling to develop ideas when designing, it seemed like I wasn’t really able to adapt both of the items to my sketch. I feel like I am too focused on trying to alter and produce something new in such a short time, finding the ‘right’ concept in my mind rather than taking real actions when designing. Besides, it’s not like everything has to go through a big change so as to make a difference. One of the reasons for my struggles is because of time management. As I was afraid of running out of time, I quickly drew the bags without going through the planning stage carefully. Therefore, I wasn’t satisfied with them although I ended up with some designs. That is when I came to the realization that having created more product choices doesn’t mean it’s great if it’s without structured planning. Moreover, the difficulties I felt were also due to my drawing skills, I am unable to draw some parts exactly how I imagined them and I was upset about it. This made my progress in class slow. Eventually, I continued to develop my designs at home, where I found the idea of making use of a cardboard box as an inspiration. Honestly, making mistakes has taught me lots of lessons, they make me aware of what I have to keep building on. Moving forward, I will try to be nice with my ideas rather than overthinking them. I should accept the fact that some things take time to develop, and this includes my skills in drawing and developing ideas. Not worrying too much about what others may think and better manage my time so I can get my work done in the time allocated. Last but not least, practice taking things slow and have a well-thought plan.

I personally believe that drawing is always a great learning experience and being able to recognize my strengths and weaknesses can aid me in developing my skills in drawing. Understanding myself can certainly help me achieve my goal of gaining drawing ability. Knowing this, I’d say one of my strengths is that I am curious and enthusiastic, thrilled to learn about new things. In other words, I enjoy being part of the learning curve. Being able to draw something and being pleased with the result is very intriguing for me even though it means I have to go back at it from time to time to reach a point where I’m satisfied with the results. I have also come to the point where I am aware that sometimes my drawings don’t always need to be perfect in every aspect for me to reach growth and that creating mistakes can sometimes lead to interesting outcomes. However, I’d say one of my weaknesses is the lack of exploration and motivation to learn about the techniques, which consequently affects the outcome. To be honest, I am still struggling with composition, perspective, color, and more. That said, I can’t always draw something exactly the same as what I pictured in my mind at times. I realize that I also tend to be impatient in the planning stage, as stated above, thinking that I have them fully figured out when reality doesn’t always seem and work that way. I suppose weaknesses can become strengths with dedication, hard work, and determination. Looking back, I can say that my drawings have gotten better and I wouldn’t be where I am if I didn’t make an effort to improve them.

Since drawing is vital in expressing one’s creativity, I will make it a habit to draw regularly in order to hone my skills. Starting by drawing simple things around me which is to be done by observing my surroundings. This way, I can improve my mistakes made in the previous drawings by carefully analyzing the parts. It is also important for me to not only explore techniques and styles to assist me in building my creativity but also experiment with different mediums, tools, and materials. I am sure that by doing this, I am able to see myself improve and grow, and as time goes on I will have a better understanding of the principles. On top of that, I believe it’s a good idea to sketch using others’ work as a reference and a guide so I can form a more precise outcome because I’ve done the mistake of not looking at drawings enough. By doing these, I am definitely sure that it is going to be easier for me to express my ideas over time if I am fully determined and dedicated to the habit, which will increase my overall performance as well.