The Conductor: A Junior Self-Portrait Illustration by Rachel Uyeda (2012)

The concept for this photo was to portray metaphorically, an internal truth about myself and how that affects interactions with the outside world. I chose to portray my bossiness and how that relates to the public's perception of myself. The whistle, the musical note, the stop sign, and bell all represent objects that have a directive quality to them. The conductor stands in front of a fading auditorium filled with chairs, but instead of a plain jacket, the conductor is covered with black stripes. At first though, one might perceive the conductor as black with white stripes--we do not know who she is at first.

Learning to use Adobe Illustrator was very difficult for me. The overall experience was filled with trials and tribulations, but I got the hang of the tools in the end. I used the pen tool to trace the photos and then filled them with the colors. Like learning any new language, one must be patient with the rules as well as herself. Every component of this picture was made using the pen tool amongst the gradient tool and the use of layers.