About Me
Ngoc Doan
The first art class I ever took was in high school during my freshmen year. Before that I did not know much about art. The only art supply I used was color pencils.
During that first year, I learned how to use watercolor and acrylic paints. I got more experimental and started mixing medias together to create more detailed work. By the end of high school, I moved on to painting on canvas and wooden panels. It was not until the start of my second year of college at Sacramento State University that I discovered digital art.
Since then, I mainly focused on digital art. I decided to enroll at Sierra college last summer to learn Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Dreamweaver, and Lightroom. I have learned a lot so far but there is always room for improvement.
Procreate
Procreate was the first program I fell in love with using for digital design. I tried testing out different digital drawing programs, but I always came back to Procreate. Unfortunately, that application is only offered on Apple products, but I decided to invest in an iPad just so I can use it. Overall, this is my favorite application to use for digital art.
2021
Lucky Me
I got the idea of designing omamori after coming back from my trip to San Jose this summer. While walking around Japan Town I discovered a bookstore that sold omamori. I loved the little charms so much that I bought some for my friends and I. Omamori are little amulets that provide various forms of luck and protection.
Maneki-neko
This is one of the two lucky cats that I designed. The other one is white with blue details. I got the inspiration to draw lucky cats after eating at a ramen shop. While standing in line to order I saw two big cat statues at the register. I decided to take a photo of them and use it as reference for this piece.
2020
Regal
This piece was an old piece that I would occasionally go back to and make slight changes. My main subject of inspiration used to be drawing people but gradually I start to venture out and tried different things. Looking at it now, I am still not satisfied but some pieces are never meant to be completed.
In Between the Lines
I got the inspiration for this piece from kintsugi. Kintsugi or kintsukuroi is Japanese method of mending broken pottery. Artisans would use lacquer and mix or dust over gold, silver, or platinum to attach the broken pieces of pottery together. The lower half of the skull is made of porcelain mended together using kintsugi. The yellow flakes on the clouds are gold.
Illustrator
The first time I used Illustrator was last summer in class AAD 60. I remembered it being the hardest program I had to learn that semster. I would get very fustrated becuase the program would abruptly close on me. During this semseter I took another class that used Illustrator and I have gotten a lot better at it. I see a lot of improvement in my skills and wish to continue growing it.
2021
Social Media Illustration
This illustration was created for one of my assignments this semester. I really liked how it turned out because it was the first time I learned how to use the 3D tool on Illustrator. At the start of the semster I did not know much about the program but this is proof of my improvement.
Bowl of Love
This illustration is a symbolize way of how I interpreted the word love. I call it Bowl of Love because it reminds me of my mom's cooking. She puts in a lot of effort to make my favorite dishes and that makes me feel loved. I dedicate this illustration to her and all the things she does for me.
Photoshop
Photoshop is my favorite Adobe program so far. The first time I used photoshop was last semster in an introduction to photoshop class. I really enjoyed the lessons and projects. I used the skill that I learned from class to edit my own photos. It is an enjoyable program that you can use to make your imagination come to life.
2021
Starbucks Ad
This was a project for one of my classes last semester. We had to create an advertisment for any company we want to. I decided to do Starbucks. The photo of hand holding the cup was taken by me. The background and life ring was sourced online. I had to edit the lighting and shadows to make everything look more believeable. Overall, I liked how it turned out and would like to do more things like it.
Quote Poster
For this poster I had to pick a quote and create an image that represented the quote. I really like the saying "Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it". I believe that people should slow down during a busy day and enjoy their surroundings. The concept of my poster is a hand holding a rose, half of the rose is alive and the other side is wiltering away.