Things will never look the same again.
The most basic component to any portfolio is the still life. Most people dread the thought of drawing something sitting on a table. But a still life doesn't have to be fruit in a bowl or flowers in a vase. At its most basic level, a still life is a drawing of anything that doesn't move. Sure, you can prop something into the corner of a room and draw it. But here's a short list of other things you can draw.

Machine parts.
Take an old manual typewriter or sewing machine (make sure it's not a valuable antique first!) and tear off its cover. Draw all the gears and complex mechanisms. Or lift the hood of a car and draw the engine parts. Make sure the whole piece of paper is covered with machine, no negative (blank) space showing.

A green pepper.
Cut a fresh pepper in half pepper and draw the innards. Again, make sure to cover the piece of paper with pepper (no, not literally).

Anything in your basement.
Water pipes, basement wood beams, piles of boxes; any environment, for that matter, will do. The top of a staircase looking down, the row of lockers in your school hallway, and the pile of clothes in your bedroom are other great challenges.

Architecture.
From a suburban ranch to a historic museum, buildings are wonderful to draw. Either draw the entire building from a distance, or better still, focus on a small section of a building; the decorative peak, the windowsill or an ornate brass doorknob.

If you think a still life is just too simple, try bottles. Get three square mirrors and arrange them like the corner of a room. Place several clear bottles, glasses or crystal on the mirrors and draw. Use something in color, either colored pencils, pastel or paint. Simple, right? Notice how every time you move your head an inch, all of the colors and shapes change. Everything is reflecting everything else, or is transparent. Simple.

It is important you work from real life. However, what materials you use and the size you work in is up to you. If you want to create a 3 foot square drawing of a pepper, great! If you prefer making smaller drawings in a sketchbook, that's fine too. Pastel, charcoal, ink, and paints are all fine materials to use. Don't feel every detail has to be perfect, allow yourself to experiment with these materials. Remember: have fun.

Mirror, mirror on the wall.
Perhaps the most difficult subject matter to draw, paint or sculpt is yourself. Working from the human form is very difficult; we have such a personal attachment to other human beings, and we think we know what people look like. When a drawing doesn’t look quite like that person, we notice right away and it is frustrating. When you are the subject matter, it makes it even harder. But that frustration is usually worth it. Self-portraits can be the most satisfying, interesting work in a portfolio. Because not only are you making a drawing or painting of your face, you are also making a statement about who you are. The following are two kinds of self-portraits you can try:

Make a realistic self-portrait.
Using traditional materials like oil or acrylic paint, make a painting of yourself from a mirror. Set up a light source on one side of your face so the lighting is more dramatic. Paint what you see, including any background. Break things up into shapes and colors instead of “eyes”, “nose”, and “mouth”. If you get frustrated, take a break and come back, refining the details as you go. Don’t be afraid if what you start with doesn’t look exactly like you, just keep working on the areas that don’t work.

Make an expressive self-portrait.
In this self-portrait, use non-traditional materials. For example, paint on a piece of wood or burlap instead of canvas; or use jelly beans instead of paint. Then, instead of trying to make the painting perfectly realistic, make this self-portrait be about who you are in the inside. Sure, it can look like you, but what else can the viewer learn about you through the image of you? Be inventive, explore the materials and create something that is completely “you” (even though it is you). Figurative work, self-portraits in particular, are excellent pieces to include in any portfolio. Don’t feel limited to one or two self-portraits. If you enjoy them, do a whole series and include all in your final portfolio.

A Play on Words.
Choose one of the following words:

anxiety    ricochet    combine
camouflage    struggle    solidify
synchronize    surround    distill
shatter    destroy    quiet
disintegrate    liquefy    struggle
wrench    support    swing

On a 12” x 12” illustration board, express the meaning of the word you chose using only the letters in the word.

Location and arrangement of the letters on the page will create the feeling of the word, but choosing the appropriate font is just as important. Some fonts (also called typefaces or typestyles) are fat; some are thin. Some have little bumps on the edges of letters (called serifs), and some don’t. The variations are endless.

If you have access to a computer, look at the various fonts available. There are font sets that can be purchased which have hundreds of different typefaces. Most art supply stores have books full of different font samples, and you can always look through magazines and advertising to see how vastly different typestyles can be. Pick a font that works best to convey your idea. Trace the letters onto separate pieces of tracing paper and move the pieces around to arrange the exact location and size of each letter.

Your final piece can be drawn on a board with ink, or generated from a computer.

A picture is worth a thousand words (give or take a few).
Go to your local library and pick any fictional novel that you have not read. Don’t look at the cover of the book (no cheating!). Pick a page at random and make a photocopy of that page. Write down the title of the book and the dimensions of the book (measure the back). Put the book back on the shelf.

Now make a new cover to the book based on that information. Make an illustration that is exactly twice as big as the original. (For example, most paperbacks are 4” wide x 6.5” tall, so the artwork would be 8” wide x 13” tall). Use any materials you like: watercolor, colored pencil, ink, airbrush, even drawing software on a computer.

You can either make an image that narrates the text you selected, or you can take the various elements in the text and create a non-narrative image using those elements. Work from photographs, from real life or imagination. Come up with the most creative solution with the text you’ve been given. Make sure to include the title in your image. You can either include it on your original artwork, or you can add the type to a piece of clear plastic called mylar and lay it over the original artwork. This is a method often used by professionals, since the type in the final product is usually computer-generated, not drawn.

If you’re serious about your illustration, make a color photocopy of the final art at 50%. Notice what looks better in the 200% original and what looks better in the reduced photocopy. Illustrators usually work at 200% which allows the finished product to look tighter and more finished.

Finally, go back to the library and read the book. Compare your cover to the book. How did you do?

A Day in the Life.
Create a series of five or more photographs which document a day in your life. You don’t have to pick a “big” day like New Year’s Eve, just a full day. Use whatever photo equipment you have, whether that's a cell phone camera, a small digital camera, or an expensive DSLR camera.

Within a twenty-four hour period, take at least 50 photographs. Try to capture what makes your life unique through the camera lens. Photograph things or people who are special to you, or photograph the events that fill your days. Avoid situations when friends or family will not act naturally. Try to capture a real or honest moment, not a posed group shot.

The next day, pick at least five images that best convey your recollection of the day that have interesting compositions. The objects in the photograph should be arranged in an interesting manner, have a strong sense of light and capture the “decisive moment”. The term decisive moment was coined by Henri Cartier-Bresson, an early 20th century French photographer. He felt that within a given event, there was only one moment when that event could be captured perfectly, and the camera lens had to be open at that moment; one moment too soon or too late and the photograph would be diminished.

If you print the photographs yourself, make them at least 8”x10”, and try to make the print quality as consistent as possible. Mount the final five photographs on separate boards, but arrange them horizontally in the order you feel best illustrates the day.

Build a better mousetrap.
We’ve all heard the phrase “Build a better mousetrap and the world will come knocking at your door”. Well here’s your chance. Come up with an idea for a new mousetrap. As with all products, you have to follow several strict criteria.

• The mousetrap must be an object of beauty.
• The mousetrap must catch one or two mice, but not kill them.
• The mousetrap can be baited but not with poison or drugs.
• The mousetrap must be innovative in its approach.

Once you’ve come up with an idea of how to catch a mouse, make drawings to show not only what the trap looks like, but also how the trap works. (For example, “The mouse walks onto a metal switch to get the cheese, which releases a metal bar...”)

Don’t forget to make it beautiful as well as functional. Choice of color and form should be a combination of functional reasons (mice like green) and aesthetic ones (green sells mousetraps, according to the latest edition of ‘MouseCatchers Quarterly’). The final step is to make a model of the trap. Make it out of whatever materials you are familiar with: cardboard, balsa wood, clay or styrofoam. Paint the model to match the colors you’ve chosen, and remember to give the product a cool name so the world will come knocking!