Week 3: Article Illustration

Purpose

For this project, I read an article talking about student debt and how it's impacting American families. I wrote down some notes to gather my thoughts, and did some quick sketches of illustrations to portray a general concept in regards to the article I read. 

Sketches

Here are several of my sketches for the student debt article

Notes From Student Debt Is Transforming the American Family... 

• "The cost of a degree—and the “open future” that supposedly comes with it—has become one of the defining forces of middle-class life." ~ Hua Hsu
• Many middle-class families make financial sacrifices (invest, save, not racking up too much debt) for their children who're going to college. Even though there are loans students can get, depending how much money they borrow their debt may not ever go away.  
• The challenge of paying for college has become one of the organizing forces oof middle-class family life.
• Poorer families are able to receive Pell Grants, but that's still not enough to cover the entire college tuition. 
• Middle-class families who make approximately $50,000 or more are unable to receive Pell Grants.
• Richer families are able to "easily" and "smoothly" payoff their college debts.

The Results

This is the second illustration that's using a different medium (crosshatching, and pencil on paper). I know it looks like a quick thumbnail sketch, but it's supposed to look more cartoonish, and flimsy. Most of the images in the collage were difficult to draw so, I did my best to simplify them in a way that people could still know/understand what it is. I tried my best outlining the main parts in the photos, but there are some that could be improved. I was also considering actually ripping out similar items displayed in the collage, and use that for the second illustration.

My Thoughts On This Project

This project was really difficult for me. I wasn't really sure what medium to use for my second illustration since we had to display it in two different ways. I'm pretty sure we'll have to revise one of them or both for next week so, I'm not too worried with how the second illustration turned out. It's obvious the first one is much better though. If we have to improve both illustrations, I will try the idea of ripping out similar items in the collage and glue/tape/etc. onto the paper.