2D Project 3: Final (Zine)

‘TRANSIT IN VIETNAM’

This is the final product of my zine titled ‘Transit In Vietnam’. It speaks about my adventures and the modes of transport I took during my week-long backpacking trip with a bunch of close friends from Ho Chi Minh City all the way to Nha Trang in Vietnam. The zine visually narrates about the hectic traffic in Ho Chi Minh City, a train ride across different states and the journey to the white sand dunes in Mui Ne.

Click here to see the process 🙂

I incorporated the idea of each spread being a different place in Vietnam and accompanying it with minimal texts so I could let the pictures speak for themselves instead. Initially there were some printing problems and it didn’t exactly turned out as how I wanted it to be. However, I managed to recover from that mistake and work my way around it and eventually it turned out pretty decent.

Overall, I’ve really enjoyed the process of making this zine, as I sift through the various travel photos I took over the years and carefully ‘curating’ them to my zine. This photo zine was also driven by the idea of my travel photos being stagnant in my hard drive. This project has allowed me to showcase these travel photos visually and yet tell a story from start to end. I’m also thankful for the valuable feedback and ideas Joy has given me as well as learning InDesign which can potentially help me in my future projects.

2D Project 3: Conceptualisation Of Ideas

We were tasked to create an 8-page zine where we can choose to explore our past works or work an entirely new creation. After going through numerous thought processes and conceptualising, I decided to do a photobook zine where I put a bunch of photos into an 8-page zine. The central focus I am looking for in my zine is my travels in the past few years.

I went to search on various travel magazines and zines that could possibly inspire me as well as how I want the layout of my zine to be.

Here are some of my inspirations:

Cereal magazine

Kinfolk

These 2 magazines contains similar styles and I love their minimalistic approach on their photos and text. Everything looks very clean and easy to absorb and it just looks aesthetically pleasing.

Some other inspirations:

I’m inspired by how the layout of the zine can be very simple to give a clean look to the overall zine and the photos are not overwhelming to the eyes.

Initially, I started with 3 main countries that I would like to feature. Mainly, Australia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Each spread will consist of photos from the mentioned countries.

Here is some examples of the first draft.

First Draft

Second Draft

After reviewing the first draft, I decided to change my focus to one country instead that features 3 main places I’ve visited in that country. For this, I wanted to include short texts about each place, giving the readers a brief context of the place that is accompanied with the photos.

Third Draft

After going through consultation with Joy, she suggested I needed to find a unique selling point for my zine and what I am trying to tell people through this zine. She suggested that I could document my journey from one place to another place. For example, taking a train and taking a bus in different countries so the underlying concept is about commuting to different places. I then decided to incorporate my drafts and this idea together to form my final draft. I kept texts to a minimum and instead only wrote the name of the place in one of the photos.

There was still more ideas that I needed to explore to make it work but I know roughly what I was aiming for and how the concept in my head should turn out physically. My next post will be the actual final piece of the zine.

The binding method I will be going for will be the pamphlet stitch binding and the type of paper I’m using will be between 200-250gsm matte paper.

Pamphlet Stitch Binding

4D, Class Activity: Artist Statement

Azmir explores the different side of the Singapore nightlife, through a documentary that brings you to the western side of Singapore, the Jurong Fishery Port, that only operates while most of the people in this tiny island are sound asleep. He showcases a stark contrast between the bustling fish market and what goes on behind the scenes before the fishes arrive to the neighbourhood markets as well as scenes from the quiet neighbourhoods of Singapore. Drawing inspiration from Ben Brown’s ‘The Great Big Story: Journey to a Costa Rican Food Forest’, the documentary aims to put in light the hard work and dedication of the fishmongers that works through the night to bring fish right to your kitchen.

2D Project 2, Week 10: Final (Point Of View)

Object: Cardboard Box

This series is inspired by the idea of how we see ordinary things and what it means through the eyes of different individuals. A cardboard box is something we normally see on a day to day basis, be it by the street, in a convenience store, etc. These cardboard boxes have a lot of uses and meaning to different people and I wanted to portray their perspectives through my illustrations.

A cardboard box from the point of view of a warehouse is a piece of puzzle.

Explanation: This is basically through the eyes of a warehouse where they usually categorise lots of packages and boxes neatly. I wanted to portray the idea of how there will always be a perfect spot for each of these boxes and how they always seem to seamlessly fit into the spaces in between each other.

A cardboard box from the point of view of a child is an imaginative space.

Explanation: This was inspired by how, as a child, even the simplest of things can be an entertainment. A cardboard box to a child, is a whole new world. With their wild imaginations, the idea of using cardboard boxes can literally take them to places.

A cardboard box from the point of view of a cardboard collector is his next rice bowl.

Explanation: A cardboard box to a cardboard collector is a day’s job. In Singapore, it’s very common to see the elderly collecting cardboard boxes just to make a living. The hardwork they go through going to different places, collecting cardboard and flattening them just so they would earn enough to feed themselves is really disheartening. Sometimes we tend to take for granted the things that we deem as trash, but to others, it could mean the world to them.

A cardboard box from the point of view of a cat is temporary solace.

Explanation: This was inspired through a youtube video that showed how cats are content with sitting in a cardboard box, no matter what the size and how many cat toys are surrounding them. I wanted to portray how in the busy world we live in, the constant noise and hectic life, a cardboard box to a cat would mean a temporary place of peace.

A cardboard box from the point of view of a postman is a responsibility.

Explanation: A cardboard box in this case, is a form of responsibility. The cardboard box is seen as people’s packages and as a postman, he has the responsibility of delivering these packages to each individual.

A cardboard box from the point of view of a techie is a visual revolution.

Explanation: Modern technology has changed the way we experience and see things. This was inspired by google cardboard and how it has taken our visual experience to a whole new level. It has allowed humans to be at another place or a different dimension with just a cardboard box. The invention of the google cardboard has revolutionise the way we are able to experience digital media.

Process (Work in progress)

This was the some of the process shots I took during the production of some of these compositions. I tried with different ways of producing the composition (with lines and without lines) and see what works for me. It was a tedious task trying to line up the points together and picking the right colours to gel seamlessly.

This is the basic outline of the shapes I used before adding colour.

For some of the illustrations, I had to refer to image references off google to get the basic shapes right before adding my own flair to it.

I tried using a different shade of the same colour to achieve the shadow effect, making it look 3-Dimensional but yet showing its flat 2D components.

Some of the compositions were made with the whole object involved to get the basic shapes before resizing it down to the main focus of the subject matter and then cropping out what was not needed.

I laid out all the 6 compositions together in the same project to see if the colour theme matches with each other and whether the compositions co-relates with one another. Then, I will do slight changes to individual compositions to match the rest.

I used this website http://www.colourlovers.com/ to get ideas of different colour palettes that works well with each other. It took a while to understand how the colours would work in my composition but I slowly worked it out.

Since it was my first time using Illustrator, it took me a few tries before I managed to slowly ease into the workflow of the software. With the basic knowledge that I had of other Adobe programs, I was able to adapt quickly to the new software. I also had the help of youtube tutorials to overcome some of the basic functions that was needed to create these illustrations.

Reflection

Overall, I had a good learning experience taking up a new direction in my art journey. Going out of my comfort zone/style and challenging myself with a whole new different way of presenting my work was definitely an enriching experience. I am also glad that I had a lot of encouragement from friends and Joy with my work and I’m definitely looking forward to explore more of vector illustrations in the future. 🙂

4D Project 2, Week 9: Final (Sound and Image)

We were tasked to create 2 stories from 2 different genres using nothing but only sound effects.

For this project, I chose task 1 as I felt that it gave me more freedom in being able to play around with the different sounds to create the stories that I want to portray.

We were given different genres to create our stories and these are the 2 that I find intriguing to explore and create my story from.

1 ) War

Synopsis: This story begins with a guy in his house, making a cup of coffee. As he sits down and reads his newspaper, an overhead plane crash accompanied with machine guns startled him. He hurries over to the door, knocking the things around the house, to check on the situation. He opens the door and a war breaks out right outside his house. He runs out of his house, avoiding the bullets and shrapnels and falls to the ground. He stands up and continues to run to escape from the war into the forest where he passes out.

Influenced by the movie ‘FURY’

I decided to go for this genre because I am always intrigued by war movies and how they use multiple layers of sound to create a specific battle scene. The time and effort put in to create such a battle scene interests me to challenge myself to try it out.

Camera Warfare by Devinsupertramp

A more quirky representation of how war is presented through the use of cameras as rifles and how sound is layered to give off this ‘war’ effect.

Workflow

Just for the war scene, it took me multiple layers to achieve the effect. I had to experiment with different types of gunfire, explosions, and the main character running at the same time. After reviewing a couple of times, some of the sounds felt like they did not complement the other sounds and I had to re edit a few parts, removing sounds and adding sounds to the spaces that felt empty. It was a tough process deciphering each different sound as it involves lots of different layers altogether.

2 ) Horror

Synopsis: The story begins with a guy walking in the forest. As he is making his way through the forest, he stops and notices an abandoned cabin in the middle of the woods. He knocks, hoping to get a response from someone. With no responses from his knocks, he opens the cabin door. He walked around the house and rummage through the items in the drawer. As it was dark in the cabin, he managed to find a matchbox and lights up a matchstick. He walks further into the cabin and opens up another door. A zombie chanced upon him but he manages to shoot the zombie down with 3 shots. After the scuffle, a woman crying for help knocked on the door and he hurries to the door to let her in. He opens the door, and is then eaten alive by a horde of zombies.

Influenced by ‘The Walking Dead’

This story is inspired by the walking dead. I personally like the horror genre of the show and how they use sounds to accompany the grotesque imagery in their scenes. The idea of using multiple layers of zombie noises, clothes ruffling, screaming, blood dripping for this scene has allowed me to better develop my story to make it more believable.

Workflow

More of the layering of sound effects are done at the last part of the whole composition. I had to try to make it as real as possible to that of zombie films. I also incorporated some distance towards different sounds to give the idea of how close the main character is towards the audience and I had to consider things that were happening in the background. I also made use of panning for some of the walking parts to give the audience the idea of the main character walking from one end to the other end. I added a constant cricket sound which was influenced from the walking dead to portray the still atmosphere in the whole composition.

Reflection

Overall, I felt that I’ve learnt a lot about the use of sounds and how sound plays an important role in our visual experience. I realise now how a lot of effort is put into sound in movies, even with the simplest scenes. It has been a great learning curve for me and hopefully this knowledge will help me with my final project.

2D Project 2, Week 7: Conceptualisation Of Ideas

Brief

We were tasked to select a subject/topic and express it in 18 different points of view.

I wanted to use something simple, either an everyday object or a topic that we disregard often or something we tend to overlook as we lead our daily lives.

Objects/topics that I considered:

A piece of bread
A cardboard box
A piece of wood
Fridge
Relief
Comfort
Freedom
Light

A piece of bread

A piece of bread from the point of view of me is comfort food
An oven/toaster from the point of view of a piece of bread is a tanning salon
A piece of bread from the point of view of a baker is a masterpiece
A dough from the point of view of a piece of bread is family

Cardboard

A cardboard box from a point of view of a cat is a comfortable resting place.
A cardboard box from a point of view of a sneakerhead is a fresh pair of kicks
A cardboard box from a point of view of a child is a playspace
A cardboard box from a point of view of a homeless man is a night’s stay
A cardboard box from a point of view of a cardboard collector is livelihood
A cardboard box from a point of view of an art student is a masterpiece
A cardboard box from a point of view of a techie is a 21st century invention
A cardboard box from a point of view of a postman is responsibility
A cardboard box from a point of view of a retrenched man is disappointment
A cardboard box from a point of view of a warehouse is a piece of a puzzle

Fridge

The fridge from a point of view of a sweaty man is temporary bliss
The fridge from a point of view of a midnight snacker is a guilty pleasure
The fridge from a point of view of a murderer is an accomplice
The fridge from a point of view of a hotel guest is indulgement
The fridge from a point of view 0f time is paying the bills

Light

Light from the point of view of ‘late-worker’ is guidance/a way home (Street Lamp)
Light from the point of view of a timid child is comfort (night light)
Light from the point of view of a party animal is a future hangover/night of impulse
Light from a point of view of a student is burning the midnight oil (Desk Lamp)
Light from a point of view of a beach bum is a pursuit of beauty (sun)
Light from the point of view of (phone)
Light from the point of view of a minimart is paying the bills

Comfort / Relief

comfort

ˈkʌmfət/

noun

a state of physical ease and freedom from pain or constraint.

“there is room for four people to travel in comfort”
the easing or alleviation of a person’s feelings of grief or distress.

“a few words of comfort”
- Comfort from the point of view of a warm summer is an ice cream
- Comfort from the point of view of a backpacker is a night’s stay
- Comfort from the point of view of an eskimo is a cup of hot chocolate
- Comfort from the point of view of a marathon runner is an ice pack
- Comfort from the point of view of a cat is a cardboard box
- Comfort from the point of view of a jeep is a dirt road
- Comfort from the point of view of a beach bum is the sound of the waves
- Comfort from the point of view of voyager is reaching the shore
- Comfort from the point of view of an OCD person is a neatly arranged shelf
- Comfort from the point of view of a horse is a grassy plains
- Comfort from the point of view a diver is going into the deep ocean
- Comfort from the point of view of an artist is a brush/canvas
- Comfort from the point of view of a soldier is a homecooked meal
- Comfort from the point of view of an adventurer is the outdoors
- Comfort from the point of view of a child is attention
- Comfort from the point of view a homeless man is a good shower
- Comfort from the point of view of a bookworm is a library
- Comfort from the point of view of a bear is a fresh catch
- Comfort from the point of view of a photographer is the click of the shutter
- Comfort from the point of view of a daydreamer is a quiet space
- Comfort from the point of view of a writer is a pen

Double Exposure

Luke Gram

Vector Illustrations

Surrealism

Inspiration of people and their comforts

Inspired by http://www.jasperjames.co.uk/project/people-and-places-2/

Food Landscapes Inspiration

Subversive Food Landscapes By Barbara Ciurej And Lindsay Lochman

An Art Exhibition Of Everyday Objects By Sou Fujimoto

2D Project 1, Week 6: Final

Hello my name is..

and I’m an adventure seeker

I love the idea of going out for an adventure, finding new and incredible things, and just being curious about the world. It has always been a dream of mine to want to travel to different parts of the world, experiencing new cultures, be it the city life or the countryside. I am inspired by the videos that I watch on Youtube almost everyday about how travelling brings new experiences that are never taught in classrooms. Finding adventure in a place is something I am working towards, going the extra mile to see places and do things I never thought of doing.

The items displayed in the photo above are some of the things that represent adventure to me. I included my feet as part of the photo because they are what I rely on to go for these adventures.

Hello my name is..

and i’m a tree hugger

I’ve always been passionate about nature and the environment since I was young. I enjoy going for walks in nature reserves, the parks and just being out and about. I included my hand as part of the photo as it resembles my idea of wanting to lend a helping hand for the environment in the future. I feel like right now, I am not doing much to help in the conservation of earth but I hope to be able to participate in conservation projects in the future. This is also in relation to my idea of seeking adventure.

Hello my name is..

and i’m observant

I’ve always been an observant person. I am quick to notice certain things in the environment. Sometimes, I just tend to notice things that people normally overlook and analyse them more in-depth in my head. The binoculars view implies the idea of using a binoculars as being observant, to look out and see things beyond what people actually see. It always amuses me sometimes at how I can remember small little details of people and objects around me that people don’t really take notice of. In addition, being observant feeds my habit of people watching. While waiting for my bus, I will sit down by the bench and just watch people go about in their daily activities. It is always interesting to see people’s reactions, how they walk, what they are carrying and I just wonder like where they are from, where are they going, who are they meeting etc.

Hello my name is..

and i’m a visual storyteller

I’ve always been fascinated about cameras and different tools of storytelling. I developed a strong interest in photography and videography since I entered polytechnic back in 2010. My interest amplified when my mom bought me a Canon DSLR as a birthday gift and up till today, I am still using it for different purposes. As the years went by, different cameras were introduced to me and I was intrigued at how each camera has its own way of defining itself and its delivery methods. Therefore, I am now using these tools as a way of telling my stories. I like to film and take photographs when I travel to different countries, and put up short videos on Youtube so I can share it with the rest of the world. It is one of my ultimate goals to travel around the world and film. Also, the reason I chose to photograph parts of my name in different polaroids and then combining it together because its with these different parts of my life, when brought together, becomes a whole picture.

Overall, I had a good learning experience from making each individual composition all the way from the thought process up to the execution process, facing certain problems along the way but eventually finding out the solution to it, as well as the generous feedbacks from my classmates during consultation and during my presentation 🙂

You can view how I did all of these compositions here, BEHIND THE SCENES!

2D Project 1, Week 5: Behind The Scenes

This is the behind the scenes of my final product for Project 1! If you’ll like to check it out, click HERE!

Adventure Seeker

For this piece, I had to go around the house finding objects and items that meant ‘adventure’ to me. Initially, I wanted to play around with the idea of negative space which was brought up by Daniel during the group consultation. However, after much consideration, I felt that the use of negative space would mean that I would have to find even more objects around the house and that was already a challenge to begin with. I decided to settle with my initial idea of using objects to make the typeface instead which require less work. Below are some the images that eventually led to the final output of this piece.

Setting the scene

Making sure the items are placed properly

Side perspective of the scene

Test shot #1

Test shot #2 (without shoes, tighter crop)

Tree Hugger

For this piece, there were a lot of hands-on work to be done prior to the execution.

Firstly, I browsed through the internet looking for a suitable font. This font is called ‘Cheddar Jack’, I typed it out on photoshop and printed it out to act as a template.

Once printed, I cut away all the white spaces to form my template.

I laid the template over a piece of cardboard to create a much more sturdy template as compared to paper.

Just like in step 1, I cut the negative spaces out.

Materials for the next step

Next, I used PVA glue and sprinkle the moss over the top.

Completed product

Next, I had the idea of placing it on my arm because it relates to my idea of wanting to lend a helping hand in conservation projects in the future. It took me several different shots and how its placed to get what I want. As the sun was setting, I had to make a quick decision of which composition that I want in order to get the best lighting possible. In the end, I managed to get exactly the perfect shot which is in the other OSS post.

Test shot #1

Test shot #2

Test shot #3

Test shot #4

Observant

My initial idea for this piece was that I wanted to feature myself holding a pair of binoculars looking out and fitting letters of my name in between the lens, but after the group consultation, they suggested that I can consider using the inside view of the binoculars, basically in the perspective of the user using the binoculars. Therefore, I resorted to the use of Photoshop to bring out the binoculars effect and create my typography from there.

I started out with an A5 sized blank canvas.

Next, I found the binoculars effect on google and decided to put it first as part of my composition.

Next, I used a photo from a photowalk about a month ago in Coney Island. I really love this photo as it fitted with my overall theme of having earth and nature tones.

Next, I typed out my name letter by letter and painstakingly placed it in different parts of the path/forest. I decided it was best if the letters were spaced out throughout the composition so it doesn’t look like its squeezing to one side. Then, I played with the opacity of the letters so it does not look as striking and bold to make it fit into the forest. I also erased parts of the letters so as to make it appear that the letters are sort of hiding behind the trees and leaves (gives more depth to the letters).

I went to look at more examples of how the view of a binoculars should look like and I added more details to it, giving it a measurement bars, making the whole binoculars effect more realistic.

Visual Storyteller

For this piece, there were a lot of preparation work to be done before actually getting to the final product. Firstly, I engaged the help of my friend who is good at doing typography to mimic a font called Edo SZ.

We first tried it on paper first to get the feel of how it is going to turned out.

As I wanted the ‘paint’ look, we used gauche paint and a thick paintbrush. After numerous tries on paper, we were confident enough to do it on the acrylic piece itself. The idea of painting it on an acrylic piece is so that I could manipulate the background easily. As it is transparent, I was able to hold it up to any background that I want with ease and took a polaroid photo of it. Below are the shots that I manage to take with my polaroids.

It wasn’t easy trying to frame the shots and getting the polaroid to come out the way I wanted. It took me a few wasted tries to finally perfect the form that I wanted. As it was taken with a polaroid, it felt like a surprise every time the photo comes out because even though you frame the shots, the outcome will be slightly different even with a slight change in lighting conditions.

The whole acrylic piece itself against the background.

Visualizing the outcome of the final typography with each picture combined

Putting it together.

Test shot #1

Test shot #2

Test shot #3

2D Project 1, Week 5: Work In Progress

Ever since the last update, the attributes has since then been brought down to 4 instead of 6. Therefore, the finalised 4 attributes I will be doing are as follows:

1) Adventure Seeker

2) Tree Hugger (Nature-Lover)

3) Observant

4) Visual Storyteller

After much deliberate thought and research about the main concept that links all 4 of my attributes together, I’ve decided to go with the idea of incorporating the use of body parts/senses for each attribute. The final outcome of the 4 attributes will be an A5 photograph of my executed idea.

Last week, we had a group consultation where we share the ideas that we wanted to execute and get feedback from our classmates. I believe the group liked my idea and were excited to see what the final outcome was going to be and there wasn’t really any major changes to my initial idea. Throughout the consultation, they had some interesting inputs and ideas to other people’s work that I could possibly incorporate to my own work as well.

Adventure Seeker

For this attribute, I want to play with the idea of using items I can find around my house that spells adventure. Using these items, I will then make out my name out of these items and surround the typography with other items to complement the whole idea of ‘adventure seeker’. I will feature my feet for this piece.

This is roughly the look that I’m going for.

Tree Hugger (Nature Lover)

For this attribute, I will be doing something similar like the image below where I will use moss to be placed on a typographic template of my name. This template will then be placed on my hand which will then be photographed on a tree.

An example of moss typography

Observant

For this piece, it will mainly be digitally manipulated. The letters of my name will ‘interact’ with the environment through the view of a binoculars.

This is one example of how I intend the final outcome to be

Visual Storyteller

The process for the final outcome of this attribute will be tedious.

I will be writing out my name on a piece of acrylic sheet using white paint. This gives me the ability to manipulate the background to whatever I want because it is transparent. White paint is used because the colour stands out on any background.
Next, I will be taking photos of different parts of my name placed on different backgrounds using a polaroid camera.
Once the polaroids are developed, I will then rearrange them to make out my name again. I will then take a photo of the arranged pieces and will be accompanied with items that I use to visually tell my stories. 🙂

Rough idea

As of now all the works are currently in the progression stage. The final outcome will compose of just A5 photographs with those 4 attributes. Hopefully, everything will turn out as planned and I’m looking forward to see the works of my other classmates!

2D Project 1, Week 4: Conceptualisation Of Idea

Attributes selected:

Adventure Seeker
Embracing nature (Nature-Lover)
Organised
Attention To Detail (Observant)
Determined
Resourceful

I started out wanting to do 3D typography, where I place objects relating to that specific character trait in a form of my name. However, after much consideration, I tried my hands on Photoshop to get the basic idea of roughly what I wanted my end goal to be.

This was an attempt at finding images around the web relating to the idea of ‘Adventure’ and using these images to form letters of my name.

Next, I moved on to the character trait of ‘Observant’.

Change of Ideas

After consulting with Joy, she suggested I look into the concept of how I can better create the character traits to be more interconnected with each other. To have a central idea that revolves around these 6 traits instead of painstakingly doing each separate trait with a different idea.

After much consideration, I decided to change the idea and take photos surrounding the theme of how my journey in the wild brings out the characteristics listed. Basically, it is like a movie where it is a journey through each character trait listed above.

As of now, I will keep exploring and do more research to see what suits me best for this project.