collage

There are 3 posts tagged collage (this is page 1 of 1).

Zine for Kampong Glam (Part 5 – Early Concepts)

To show the transition of the day to night in my zine, I would pick out elements that stand out during the day and the night so to narrow down on what to show in the zine before even actually deconstructing it into graphic forms.

Things that stand out during the day:

  • retail shops (fabrics, carpets, perfume shops)
  • eateries – not too many people except during lunchtime
  • more tourists & tour groups
  • graffiti (particularly stands out in the day, vibrant colours, tourist attractions
  • shophouse windows (colours and patterns)
  • palm trees

Things that stand out at night:

  • pubs & bar
  • eateries (more people compared to during the day)
  • signboards (colourful and bright, LED, alternating colours)
  • lamps (exotic patterns, middle-eastern look)
  • multiple coloured shadows on walls (see more here)
  • lights from surrounding buildings
  • ground-up lighting

Things that stand out throughout the day:

  • the Sultan Mosque (a prominent feature in the day, lit up through the night)

Moodboard & Artist Reference

Since we are not encouraged to do photography style, I figured that I could use illustrations for the graphic forms of the zine. As for the type of illustration style, I would think of flat vector-based illustration as it would help bring out the play with colours and would also allow me to do overlays and layerings without it being too messy.

Artist Reference

Malika Favre

One particular artist works that captured my attention as an inspiration for the zine is the works by Malika Favre. I loved how she used flat vector illustration and minimal use of colours and details but could create a variety of graphic shapes and forms.

La Documenta by Malika Favre (http://malikafavre.com/la-documenta)

I loved how even by using 2 colours (not including the white) the artist could form a crowd and many different people with minimal or very minor details.

The Traveller by Malika Favre (http://malikafavre.com/the-traveller)

Part of the 3 illustrations under The Traveller series, I liked how the artist has used a similar pattern for the floor tiles as the patterns I spotted on some of the exotic lamps during my night visit to Kampong Glam. I could attempt to do something similar for my zine maybe.

Part of the Christmas in Bologna series (http://malikafavre.com/christmas-in-bologna)

Part of the Christmas in Bologna series (http://malikafavre.com/christmas-in-bologna)

Part of the Christmas in Bologna series (http://malikafavre.com/christmas-in-bologna)

Part of the Christmas in Bologna series (http://malikafavre.com/christmas-in-bologna)

For this series, Christmas in Bologna, I could easily relate how the artist illustrated the windows, patterns and walkways with the many shophouses, walkways, and windows at Kampong Glam. I could possibly try a similar style for my zine for this.

Adam Koon

Another artist work that I was inspired by is the works by Adam Koon. I particularly liked how he used irregular shapes to make the works look more fun and not rigid. His use of colours even though is also minimal still manage to make some of the elements in the works stand out more, hence, visual hierarchy. He has also added some textures and minimal line works in the works, making it stand out more and have a more overall impact.

Moodboard

Adding on to the artist reference, I have also created a mood board for the zine. As mentioned earlier, I plan to use flat vector illustration + use of vibrant colours throughout, which are the colours that can be seen in the graffiti and the shophouses at Kampong Glam. For the night scene, I plan to use a similar style but with a darker background. The illustrations will also begin to overlap and overlay each other, the effect which I found on the walls which is the overlaying coloured shadows. The colours would be more saturated and bright to contrast with the dark background.

Laying It Out

Before I would actually deconstruct the content into graphic forms, I would lay out the content first.

Front and back cover

Since it will be a day and night zine, the front and back cover would be bright and dark respectively. So the readers would know that the book is about day and night, respectively. As for what is on the cover, I would plan to put what would be easily recognisable as something very Kampong Glam – the shophouse windows.

First spread

The first two pages would be to show what goes on in the day. So as mentioned earlier:

  • retail shops (fabrics, carpets, perfume shops)
  • eateries – not too many people except during lunchtime
  • more tourists & tour groups
  • graffiti (particularly stands out in the day, vibrant colours, tourist attractions
  • shophouse windows (colours and patterns)
  • palm trees

It would showcase what is prominent during the daytime.

Middle spread

The middle spread would be most important as it showcases how the place changes from day to night, which is the transition of Kampong Glam. The content would feature some of the elements from both day and night, in a way blending both together, hopefully seamlessly.

Last spread

In contrast to the first spread, the last spread would be showcasing what is prominent in the night. The pictures will be overlapped in a way to show the double imagery mentioned earlier.

  • pubs & bars
  • eateries (more people compared to during the day)
  • signboards (colourful and bright, LED, alternating colours)
  • lamps (exotic patterns, middle-eastern look)
  • multiple coloured shadows on walls (see more here)
  • lights from surrounding buildings
  • ground-up lighting

Comments on the first draft:

  • give a thought about pacing & breathing space
  • pages too cluttered and filled
  • allow the reader to stop & rest
  • front and back cover too minimal as compared to the inner pages
  • include some design principles for the layout of the pages (middle spread is a good example/attempt)
  • have direction and flow for the spreads
Links

Project Ego

We have reached the last project for Foundation 2D. For this project, we are to create 12 image compositions (4 sets of 3), where one image representing yourself adds with another image that represents a situation which will then form another image.

Me + Situation = Imagined outcome

For this project also, we are finally allowed to use colour. With that said, we have to show our understanding of the use of colours and the colour theory in our compositions.

Me and the Situations

So before we go into the compositions, we have to decide what or how to represent “me” and what sort of situations to put “me” into. To think of the different representations of myself, I think of how I see myself in life, my hobbies and my interests. And to think of the situations, I thought of things that happen in my life, short or regular, that I think would have a good way to represent or situations that have created an impact in my life.

4 representations of “me”
  1. An empty canvas – I chose it to represent my interest in art and have always been involved in art since I was very young. Empty, because I am still looking for a style that truly represents me.
  2. The sculpture “Kouros” – I learned about this sculpture in an Art History class. The sculpture is one of the early attempts to create a human. It is imperfect and can be improved, which represents me – imperfect and can/willing to improve.
  3. A camera – This item would definitely represent my hobby which is photography.
  4. A sloth – Well, this is the best default representation of me. When I am not designing or out taking photos, I very much love to sleep and sloth around, literally. I am also a late bloomer. It used to take me a much longer time to grasp something compared to others.
4 Situations
  1. Family gatherings – No matter how much I hate it, I have to go through it. Every year. Most of the time I will wait for time to pass and I just cannot wait for it to end.
  2. Shopping – Either window shopping or with the intention of buying something, retail therapy is one of my favourite pass time. I will normally put in the effort to dress up to go to town and meet up with friends to chill till evening.
  3. Travelling – It is a yearly event to travel with my family and it becomes a time to unwind and just not think about work or school.
  4. Sports – I really hate playing sports. I could just be one of the most unsporty guys out there. I really hate it since young and I really really hate PE lessons.

Draft

The Designs

There are 4 sets of 3 designs, 12 designs in total. Each of the 4 sets, as mentioned earlier, has a design that represents “me”, followed by a design that represents a situation, which is then followed by a design that represents an imagined outcome.

I am also going for the vintage-style digital collage, inspired by Hannah Hoch’s works. So my designs will have several images which if combined creates another image. The images will also be blurred slightly and have grainy noise added to it to add to the vintage look that I am going for.

I am going for an achromatic colour palette as I feel like I have a dull life at that colour palette would the best way to represent it. It also adds contrast to the background which will be coloured. The background will be coloured instead of the objects to represent how each situation and element represents and contributes to my life in general rather than the objects specifically.

First row

The first “me” is represented by an empty canvas. It represents my artistic side as well as me still looking for a style that represents me. In a way, I’m an open empty canvas.

The first situation is shopping, represented by shopping bags. It is something that I do occasionally during my free time, either for window shopping or with the intention to actually buy something.

The imagined situation is actually me, what used to be an empty canvas has now been painted on, representing me having found a style. So what contributed to the style are the other elements in the design. On the right side are paintbrushes which represent my friends who normally help to influence the style that I go for. While on the left are artist’s palettes with handles which represent shopping bags, the “paint” that style or design the canvas.

Second Row

The second representation of me is with the Kouros status. I learned about this statue in art history class which is one of the first attempts by artists to create a sculpture to represent a perfect human being. As nice as it looks, it is still imperfect and there are many more improvements that can be made, which are the many improvements that take place throughout history. Which in turn represents me in life. I am still not “ideal” or “perfect” in a way. What I am now can be further developed and further improved over time.

The second situation is travelling, represented by the aeroplane windows. It is a family past time to travel overseas together every year. There is a view of the Nyhavn in Copenhagen through the middle window to represent my most recent travel there, which will then follow up to the next design.

For the imagined outcome is that me, the sculpture, end up carrying all the luggage bags during the trip. This actually happened during the trip with my family to Copenhagen where I was the only child there and I had to carry my parents and my own luggage bags.

Third Row

For the third representation of me, I have chosen the camera because it is the best way to show my passion which is photography. So I combined the camera with human legs to represent “me”.

The fourth situation is with my relatives. Either during the festive season or during family gatherings, socializing with my relatives especially distant relatives is not something that i like to do.

So for the imagined outcome is me, represented by the camera and legs like the first frame, is hiding behind time. In a way, I am waiting for the time to pass.

Fourth Row

For the last design, I chose a sloth to represent me in my default mood. Sleeping and just being lazy is just me when I am not doing anything. So in the design, there is a sloth with sleepy eyes and mouth sleeping on a pile of pillows under a blanket and a couple of Zs floating in the air.

The last situation I picked is sports. It was one of the lessons during primary and secondary school that I really hate and makes me realise that I am not a sporty person and that I cannot do sports.

So to represent my hate for sports, I put the sloth in a situation where the sloth became the ball and is being kicked around with a worried and terrified face.

Project Ego – Research

We have reached the last project for Foundation 2D. For this project, we are to create 12 image compositions (4 sets of 3), where one image representing yourself adds with another image that represents a situation which will then form another image.

Me + Situation = Imagined outcome

For this project also, we are finally allowed to use colour. With that said, we have to show our understanding of the use of colours and the colour theory in our compositions.

Colour Research

Different colours play a part in giving different meanings in design. It can be used as a symbol to represent different emotion in art.

  • Red – used to represent danger, anger and violence. It can also be used to represent love and passion.
  • Orange – used to represent creativity, passion, energy & endurance
  • Yellow – Life, energy, hope, wisdom, happiness
  • Green – Growth, health, envy, inexperience
  • Blue – Calming, freshness, purity, hygiene
  • Purple – Royalty, wealth, power
  • Black – Death, mourning, witchcraft, evil, fear
  • Grey – Boredom, decay, old age
  • White – Peace, purity, goodness

Knowing all these, I will implement the colours into this assignment to represent the different emotions that are represented in each artwork (square).

Artist Reference

So we are to look for 3 artists with styles that we could use in our works and pick one from the 3 that we would like to use as a reference.

I was planning to do digital collages for my works as I feel like trying that out and it would be interesting to see how it is used to represent the different elements in each composition.

Man Ray

The first digital collage artist that I found in Man Ray. I find that his works are mainly real images, somehow overlapped or manipulated with another image, creating a really interesting composition. Some of his works look like it is a double exposed photo.

Max Ernst by Man Ray (1934). Image from https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/423056958727760690/

Eventhough I think that his style looks great, I think it would be too much of an effort to recreate it into my compositions.

John Stezaker

I really think John Stezaker’s works are unique to himself. Most of his works are a composition of two or more portraits or faces and combined seamlessly into one face or portrait.

Marriage L by John Stezaker (2007). Image from http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/john_stezaker.htm

Marriage VIII by John Stezaker (2006). Image from http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/john_stezaker.htm

As much as I think his works look great and unique to his own, I think it will be hard to express other elements in the composition that does not involve portraits or faces.

Hannah Hoch

The last of the digital collage artists that I came across is Hannah Hoch. Her style of collage is mainly combining different cut-outs of images and creating another image from them or just creating a composition from it with each cut-out representing an element in the composition.

Flight by Hannah Hoch (1931). Image from https://www.artsy.net/artwork/hannah-hoch-flucht-flight

Hannah Hoch will be the artist reference that I will be using for my works because I feel that it is an interesting way to represent the elements in each composition and the overall look and feel gives a unique look to it.

References