Lore VII: Courage

“Real courage is when you know you’re licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.”
― Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird


What is courage?

Is it about shooting that dying second shoot with the whole stadium watching you? With the immersed pressure crushing on you, you release the ball from the tip of your finger. You watch as the ball flies through the air and towards the rim. It is time to settle this once and for all…

Is it about knowing that you are screwed when your last magazine is used up? You tighten your bayonet as you watch an endless flow of the enemy streaming up the post you are guarding. No reinforcement, no backup plan and definitely no miracle…

Is is about confessing to your crush? Knowing that you are gambling on the chance that the two of you may never have a chance to be purely friends again for a chance to hold her hands for the rest of your life.

“Hey, can I ask you…

Is it about holding on to your belief of doing art and design instead of going into more conventional courses such as business or engineering? You know that your future might be in jeopardy next time but you go ahead with your plan anyway.

“Dude, you can’t feed yourself with your passion…

It is about believing in God when God is no longer around. Oppos, did I just said God is no longer around?

So sorry…

My name is ___ and I am __. [PROJECT SUBMISSION AND REFLECTION]

“I’ve never viewed myself as particularly talented. I’ve viewed myself as…slightly above average in talent. Where I excel is with a ridiculous, sickening work ethic. While the other guy’s sleeping, I’m working. While the other guy’s eating, I’m working. While the other guy’s making pancakes, I mean, I’m making pancakes, too, but I’m working really hard at it!”

-Will Smith

*DRUM ROLL*

*DRUM ROLL*

*DRUM ROLL*

Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you my final products for my 2D typography assignment. PURE last minute HARD WORK. Enjoy! 


1. My name is

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and I am factory chimney.


 

2. My name is

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and I am cracked land.


 

3. My name is

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and I am melted ice.


 

4. My name is

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and I am landfill.


 

*Reflection*

I certainly had a lot of fun rushing doing this project. Beside experiementing and learning about the different types of materials used for the project, I gained much fruitful knowledge about the environment issuses around the world. I learn that it is important to balance economic growth and the conservation of our natural environement. We should not wait until it is too late to start conserving and protecting our earth, the only place that we know can sustain life. Every small conservational contribution we give now will go a long way in the making of a better and cleaner earth, our home.

“Only when the last tree has been cut down, the last fish been caught, and the last stream poisoned, will we realize we cannot eat money.”

-Cree Indian Prophecy

My name is ___ and I am __. [DEVELOPMENT AND EXECUTION]

Finally doing the actual models after weeks of research and sketching. Finally…

The making of the factory chimney model.

I started with the construction of the factory chimney model. I use toilet rolls and masking tape to form the overall base structure of my model.

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I added in strips of wish mesh to create an overused feeling for the chimneys.

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Aluminum foil is added in to create a more industrialized feel for the overall presentation of the model.

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The structure is then sprayed black to emphasise the negative effect it has on its surrounding environment.

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Black paint and pieces of meshed wire are added to the base of the structure to signify that it is an age old problem and is corrupting the environment.

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The final product!

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The making of the cracked land model.

The second structure I did was the cracked land model.

I started with the creation of the cracked surface using linocut. Linocut is usually used for creating templates for printing. However, in my case, I used it to create the surface of cracked land.

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The linocut design with its main lines done.

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The linocut design with finer details being added in.

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Brown spray was added on to give it an earthy texture.

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Brown crayons were crushed to add a sense of realism to the overall model presentation.

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The making of the melted ice model.

The melted ice model was the next in the queue.

I first cut out the foam pieces needed for this model. The foam pieces would serve as the melting ice.
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For the base, I poured blue paint onto a piece of cut foam board to create the ocean surface.

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After the blue paint settled down on the board, I added on the foam pieces onto the paint.

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Small drops of blue paint is added onto the foam pieces to enhance the presentation of the model.

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The making of the landfill model.

The last model I did was the landfill structure.

I started the project by cutting up materials such as waste paper, old clothes and other materials that are considered trash. It would be used as the main element for this landfill model.

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After cutting up sufficient materials to be used as trash, I moved on to designing and producing my name initials.

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I applied double sided tape to my name initials structure so that it will stick to the trash materials I made.

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The name initials were put into the bag full of trash materials so they will stick to the initials.

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The initials were put into crushed charcoal to give them an ageing effect.

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Additional crushed charcoal was added to the model to further enhance the look of the structure.

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And Voilà I am done!!! 

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My name is ___ and I am __. [RESEARCH II]

MY NAME IS ZHOU YANG AND I AM A FACTORY CHIMNEY.

The first 2D typography is about building factory chimney structure to convey the seriousness of industrial pollution.

Industrial pollution affects the environment in many areas. It infects water sources, diminishes soil quality and discharges harmful substances into the atmosphere. Throughout history, many environmental mishaps were caused by industrial disasters. Some of the accidents are so serious that they are still causing harm to the environment.

Below are some information on the causes and effects industrial pollution has on the environment.  

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Causes of Industrial Pollution

1. The lack of pollution controlling policies: There is a serve lack of effective policies and poor financial and authoritative backings which gave plenty industrial institutions to ignore laws passed down by the environmental board. This would lead to uncontrollable pollutions that affected the lives of millions of ordinary people.

2. The lack of planning in industrial growth: In many industrial estates, companies neglected the rules and regulations set by the environmental board which lead to different forms of pollutions that caused serious environmental consequences.

3. The lack of vision to use up to date technologies: Many industries still use outdated technologies that produce a massive amount of unwanted waste. To ward off high expenditure, many companies continue to use outmoded methods to produce state-of-the-art merchandises.

4. The massive number of small scale industrial institutions: Hugh number of small scale industrial institutions do not have sufficient funding and require government funding to keep their businesses running are often overlook by environmental rules and regulations. This results in a massive amount of waste release into the environment without any authoritative control.

5. The lack of efficiency in waste disposal: pollution usually happened because there is a lack of efficiency in disposing of waste. Exposing to pollution over an extensive period of time will lead to many irreversible health problems.

6. Hugh consumption of natural resources: Companies need an extensive supply of raw materials in their production process. This requires a lot of minerals to be extracted. The extraction process will cause many environmental issues.

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Effects of Industrial Pollution

1. Water Pollution: Many of the industrial plants require a massive volume of water for their production process. During the process, the water will come into contact with toxic substances. When the water tainted with such toxic substances are released into the water bodies, it will cause long term damage to the eco-system.

2. Soil Pollution: It is inflicting serious damages to the agricultural sector and causing harm to local vegetation. People that are in contact with such soil over a long period of time will also develope health issues.

3. Air Pollution: It causes a sharp rise in various respiratory illnesses. It is a serious issue that affects us on a daily basis. With the rise in the number of active industrial estates, air pollution will be a persistence problem on the environment and people.

4. Wildlife Extinction: Natural rhythms and patterns are affected by industrial pollution which in turn causes severe damage to wildlife. Wildlife lost their home as their habitats are being destroyed. It becomes harder for the environment to recover from natural mishaps. Industrial accidents such as factory fire and oil spills also cause great environmental impact in a short period of time.

5. Global Warming: Industrial pollution has been a crucial factor in the sharp rise of global warming. Greenhouse gases released by factories go into the atmosphere and damaging it. It leads to the melting of glaciers in both poles which will, in turn, causes serious environmental consequences.

 

MY NAME IS ZHOU YANG AND I AM MELTED ICE.

The seriousness of global warming is the second message I want to send out through my second typography design.

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Cause of global warming

The rise in temperature over the last half-century has been due to the increased concentrations of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases are the gases that lead to the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect

Sunlight is absorbed when reaches the Earth and maintain the earth’s temperature to make it suitable for living. While most of the remaining sunlight travelled back to the atmosphere, some of the longer wavelengths are absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere before they are lost into space. This process warms the atmosphere. It helps to reflect back some of the heat energy that would otherwise lose into space. This process is called the “greenhouse effect”.

Global warming causes by greenhouse effect

The increased in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere leads to more heat energy being reflected back to Earth. It leads to consequential warming of the earth which resulted in global warming.

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Effects of global warming

The two major effects caused by global warming:

1. Increase in temperature by 3° to 5° C (5.4° to 9° Fahrenheit) by the year 2100.

2. The sea levels will rise by at least 25 metres (82 feet) by 2100.

Other Effects of global warming

Global warming leads to the change in the amounts and patterns of precipitation. It leads to the increase in regularity, span, and magnitude of extreme weather events, such as the hurricane, floods and droughts. It also causes many other global issues such as the reappearance of diseases such as malaria in areas where they have been doused.

 

MY NAME IS ZHOU YANG AND I AM CRACKED LAND.

My third message is about the damaging effects of deforestation.

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Reasons for deforestation

1. Clearing of land for urban development

2. Cutting down of tree to provide raw material for production of commercial products such as paper and furniture

3. To produce luxury consumer goods such as palm oil

4. To make room for keeping cattle

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Methods for deforestation

Burning of trees and clear cutting are conventional ways of clearing an area of the forest for industrial development.

Clear cutting: The removal of a large number of trees from an area all at once. It causes serious damage to the eco-system as many wildlife are left without a home and its environmental effects will last for over an extensive period of time.

Burning can be completed swiftly over a massive plot of land. Another more traditional method will be the slash-and-burn technique which involves cutting down patches of trees, burning them and cultivating crops over them. When the land is no longer fertile, the farmers will move to new plots of land and repeat the same process.

Effects of deforestation

The forest is a crucial environmental element that affects every living thing on the planet. When the forest is being dramatically changed, it will set off a series of damaging chain reaction to the world.

Loss of species: About seventy percent of world’s wildlife live in forests and are losing their habitats due to deforestation. It will lead to massive species extinction, damaging the eco-system. Medical research and locals will also be affected as they depend on the wildlife for various purposes.

Water cycle: Tree is crucial in the water cycle. They absorb water during rainfall period and produce water vapour which is released into the water cycle. Trees also help to keep the water bodies clean by preventing polluted runoff.

Soil erosion: Tre roots keep the soil together. Without the support of trees, the soil will be easily washed or blow off. It will cause serious consequences to the agricultural sector as the crop growth will be troubled.

Global Warming: The cutting down of trees will lead to an increased of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases contribute to the rising of the earth temperature will lead to global warming. Global warming will lead to many environmental consequences such as rising of sea levels and the loss of species due to the unfavourable environment.

 

MY NAME IS ZHOU YANG AND I AM LANDFILL.

My last message deals with the consequence of overconsumption.

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Overconsumption

It is a situation whereby the usage of natural resources overwhelmed the pace that the environment can replace. Over time, it will lead to the downgrading of environmental spaces and causing irreversible damage.

Overconsumption is closely tied with the problem of overpopulation. With the population growing at a frightening rate, raw materials are consumed at an unhealthy level.

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Effects

Overconsumption will reduce the earth’s carrying capacity. In the long run, the ecological health of earth will be seriously affected. The natural resources on earth will be depleted to a point that it will take centuries for them to recover or never at all.

In the end, all these issues can lead to unavoidable confrontations over declining natural resources.

Solution

The most practical solution to overconsumption is to slow down the consumption rate of natural resources. However, it will lead to a negative effect on the economic growth of countries. Therefore, countries invest in alternative methods such as renewable energy and recycling technologies to smoothen the negative effects of the decrease in the usage of raw material for commercial production. Movements and lifestyle changes related to overconsumption such as green economics, freeganism and downshifting are necessary in order for reforms to take place.

 

My name is ___ and I am __. [RESEARCH]

Finally doing the most painful part of the project – writing about the blood, sweat and tears and the amount of time I procrastinated I went through doing the six four 2D typography A5 postcards. It was fun nevertheless. So enough of me bullshitting, let’s move on to how I got started with the project and how I move on from there and all the other stuff.

Lets-do-demotivational-meme1It is a project that…never mind I forgot what the brief says already. Anyway, the project is about using your name or your name initial to do some inspirational typography A5 postcards based on the sentence:

“My name is ___ and I am __.”

 

So primary school.

So basically I have to write something like – My name is Zhou Yang and I am a hero. Something along that line. You can talk about jobs you want to do or what you want the other people to know about you or some other stuff. Basically as long as the things make sense (hopefully) and it sounds cool and awesome, you are on the right track.

Initially, I wrote down things like:

My name is ____ and I am

a carpenter

awesome

a superhero

a thinker

tired of life

a hunter

addicted to books

a Digimon tamer…

Yeah, stuff like these…

seriouslyAfte writing down some of the possibilities about what I can be or what I can do, I find that they are all too common. I mean I could have written: My name is Zhou Yang and I am a policeman and someone else could have written: My name is so and so and I am a fireman. There is no much difference. No matter how you tell people why you want to be a policeman, nobody going to care. It is just another SAD ORDINARY story that never got materialised.

Therefore after much thoughts and many bowls of instant noodles, I decided to use this project to send out messages.

Okay due to my lack of efficiency in ang mo English, I shall use an example to explain.

For example:

My name is Zhou Yang and I am skipping my meals. (Ha ha. Who am I kidding?) Okay, enough of jokes. This sentence is to bring about awareness on people suffering from anorexia by drafting  a sentence saying that I am skipping my meals. Hopefully, you get an idea of what I am going to do.

Therefore, I change my focus on what kind of message I want to send out to people through my project.

After a few rounds of brainstorming with many more bowls of instant noodles sacrificed, I decided to work on the idea of environment issues. I feel that it is something happening on a global scale and is something that is closely related to our life.

So here are some development sketches I did:

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Visual references:

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By compiling and analysing my research and sketches, I decided on the final four I am going to work on:

My name is Zhou Yang and I am factory chimney.

My name is Zhou Yang and I am melted ice.

My name is Zhou Yang and I am cracked land.

My name is Zhou Yang and I am landfill.

Lore III: Book of Life.

Book-of-Life

God has a collection of books which recorded down all the things we do and say. One of the book is call the Book of Life. It noted down the names of every believer who is intended for after life in Heaven. Those names that are not found in the Book of Life will be toss in hell and suffer for eternity. There are other books that recorded down all the sins we have committed and also all the good deeds we have done. However, it is vital to recognize that if a person’s name is not found in the Book of Life, he will be toss into hell no matter how much good deeds he had done.

security_safe_door_grille_steel_store_bank_design_hd_picturesDuring the post judgement day period, the Book of Life was kept in the Parallel to aid the judge in trialling the offenders. The book contains immerse power that can determine if the offence committed is enough to send the offender to hell or he deserves a second chance by placing him in the redevelopment programme.  However, the importance of the Book of Life became increasing insignificant as the severity of corruption became out of control in the Parallel.  The rich and powerful used their wealth as their out of jail card while the poor suffered the consequence of unfair trials. The book was soon left in a heavily guarded safe room for years as its service was not longer needed.

During one of the the routine safety checks conducted by the angels, the book was found to have vanished from its safe room. Rumour has it that God took it for an unknown purpose. But nobody genuinely knew what happened to it. It could be anywhere, in anyone’s hand.