When a bio major takes an art class

If you just look at my blog, you’ll know I’m not that great at drawing. It’s pretty clear that the only thing I know how to draw are people, and even then those people are frumpy and cartoony and disproportionate.

And if you read my blog, you can probably can tell I like comics. I do. One of my dreams is to, one day, publish my own comic book. Of course, with my art skills as they are right now, this probably isn’t doable. My imagination is restricted by my sheer lack of drawing skills. This is sad. This needs to be fixed.

So I thought that it would be a great idea to take an art class this semester. Foundations of Drawing 1, to be exact. I could learn art! Learn to draw! Improve my art skills!

Except, I forgot that this was college. Where we are graded on merit in addition to effort. Also, I forgot that I was a biology major.

My first day of class looked a little like this:

I was pretty nervous. I was the odd man out, after all. What was I doing here? I can’t draw the way all these kids can!

I knew I would have to try hard to get a good grade in this class. Our first assignment was to go outside and draw landscapes. So, on a nice fall afternoon, I went out and sketched…

The results were less than spectacular.

Our second assignment was about composition. We were to draw objects and try to frame them nicely. I tried my best, and…

I actually really love my art teacher. She’s super-nice, really fair, and very sensitive about critique. She understands people who are coming from another major, though she still expects you to produce good work. However, she’s also an art teacher. Like how some people don’t understand scientific jargon, I don’t really get art terminology.

So I was really nervous when I handed in my first graded homework assignment. Every homework we hand in is peer-critiqued. In other words, we hang everyone’s stuff up on a wall and bash them, one-by-one. I knew my homework was bad…

I’ve been struggling a bit this semester, as my classes (especially this one) have been more time-consuming. I was also convinced that I was going to fail this drawing class. I seriously considered dropping it, and called my sister in a panic.

I decided that it all hinged on what I received on our first graded homework assignment. The one where my composition was poor, that is. Our professor handed back our work…

I GOT A B! I got a B. Despite my art being awful, I didn’t fail!

And that is probably the only time I will be happy with getting a B.

9 thoughts on “When a bio major takes an art class

  1. This is me…in my Bio class…as a Poly Sci major…XD

    I’m glad you’re not failing Art, though! I know what you mean about time consuming semester. It’s CRAZY, right?

  2. I think I’ve heard of a couple of those terminologies. For one, I took art in high school, and I remember the teacher talking about bleeding colours; when the colours touch and disperse into each other. It’s kinda cool to watch.

    And I’ve heard of either dead space or negative space when looking at fan icons/avatars. When there’s a large space (for effect, I understand), I think that’s negative. And dead space I think just means there’s too much and it isn’t doing anything…

    But hey, congratulations on not failing!

  3. Hi Vy, i have a random little question for you, how often do you try to post on ur blog? Im trying to start my own blog and i dont know if i should blog once a day, once a week, or what. (by the way, i love ur blog:) u inspired me to start my own blog and i am a long time follower:)[for about a year now:)] )

    • Hey Gwen! Thanks for reading my blog for so long! I’m glad you could stick around 🙂

      If you’re interested, you should definitely start your own blog! I find that it’s a great creative outlet.

      I typically blog, well, whenever I can. When I started, I posted as often as 3 times a week. At the moment, I’m aiming for at least once a week. If you look through my calendar, you can see that my update schedule is pretty sporadic depending on how busy I was.

      Still, the key to a successful blog (a key that I TOTALLY don’t follow) is consistent updates! If your followers know when you’re going to post (as mine do not) they know when to visit your site. So you should keep a schedule that is realistic, and you know you can keep up with for a long time. What that schedule is depends on you and how often you believe you can post.

      I hope this helps! Good luck making your blog! (and link me, I’ll totally read it!)

      –Vy

  4. Pingback: I will never be an organic chemist, but I sure can draw spoons and cups. (Things I learned in college) | I think in comics.

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