ego – execution

my concept is time based on the 4 seasons. its a series of development of myself through situations in the idea of time passing.

in spring, i start off as a seed. as spring is a season of personal growth, i put myself as a person that grows through making decisions. as im an indecisive person, i require friends to make decisions for me. from that, i can fully breathe and have a clear mind.

spring –

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triadic harmony, monochromatic harmony

the colours for spring is quite pastel like, pretty and colourful. because my colour scheme is triadic, i had to keep it low tone so it won’t be too jarring.

i took this opportunity to apply some knowledge on colour emotions, previously studied from my study on colour emotions for my presentation.

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this box depict me as a decision maker. the pattern of circles represent my choices; often overwhelming i cant make up my mind. the scribbles in the dream bubble represent me overcomplicating my options although they are as simple as ABC.

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the little blue seeds represent my friends. often, i require people to make decisions for me. hence, we see here the little seeds answering my question.

the colour red represents anger. red is also a colour for something to stand out. hence i used red mostly in this situation because it’s a heated situation of debating, thus i feel its a great colour out of the other 2 to represent what im trying to communicate.

i used blue instead of using a darker shade of red as the shadow for the speech bubble in my 2nd box because it gives it a subtle pop of visual interest.

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in this box, we see a germinating seed. the background is half applied to represent that i can finally breathe. the flowers represent the beautiful aspect of spring; in this context they symbolize a depiction of a clear mind through the flowers.


in summer, its a season of energy and vitality. i feel energized whenever i have my camera with me. the colour scheme rotates around mainly with yellow because it being the recognized colour for summer. also yellow is a symbol for happiness, which is what summer is about.

summer –

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analogous harmony, monochromatic harmony

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the symbols of lightning represent the energy whenever i have my camera with me. also, building up with the last box from spring, the germinating seed gives it a pop of emphasis with a yellow background because they’re complementary colours.

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this box represent the act of photography-ing. the mountains and trees represent scenic views, which is what i enjoy taking most. the colours used here are kept to their original natural colours.

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a flower has bloomed here! it represents me as a person who has grown, full of energy, because of the amount of new photos taken that i can use for my portfolio.


autumn represents middle age, knowledge and wisdom. hence i feel that a good way to represent this is when i travel. i gain knowledge from learning about the city’s culture, talking to people, eating local food, etc.

autumn –

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analogous harmony warm, monochromatic harmony

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as described, i do love to travel. the stamps at the background represent the collection of stamps. as orange is a colour that symbolizes “energy” and “excitement”, i feel that this colour scheme is appropriate for my context of travelling.

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this box represents my setting of travelling. different world icons are illustrated and are set on their appropriate continents.

the darker shade of orange as used for the continents gives it a level of depth to the composition. it brings out the monument icons.

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me, the flower, has bloomed even larger! it depicts the amount of knowledge i absorbed, causing it to grow larger as a person.

the foliage represents my amount of knowledge collected. the colour of the leaves harmonizes one another, giving it a pleasant visual interest.


winter represents death; the end of a cycle. in literature, it can also symbolize sadness, which is what i did in this last equation. the colour scheme for winter is the most perfect for my context as well. the colour blue represents sadness, calmness, stillness.

winter –

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analogous harmony cool, monochromes harmony

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since orange and blue are split complementary colours, my flower definitely stood out.

the red strands represent my emotions (hur hur, project 1); frustrated, emotional; emotional pain. the circles being blue, they complement my emotions too, and also since circles are organic shapes.

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i wanted to create a setting of quiet and stillness. from the window at the back, you can see raindrops. this creates a mood to the setting. the lighted ray shines at a corner of nothing-ness, which is what i create to depict a scene of emptiness. i do like how the dark blue is able to create a mood of stillness.

=

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in my final box, i finally caved in to nature’s work. the “depressed me” is withered, and this is shown by petals falling. the blues definitely create a somber aesthetic look to it. also the emphasis is still kept despite the contrast of white (snow) in the background.


aaaand thats it for this project! it started off difficult for me but i enjoyed the execution part. i enjoy illustrating and im glad i managed to do it for this project. i’m looking forward to improving my skills and to create great work just like from my artist research.

time to get a wacom because i cannot tell you how painful and limiting it was to illustrate with a mouse and touchpad. 

ego – WIP

so in this project, i started off with deciphering who i am as a person.

NATALIE CHENG –

introvert

enjoys quiet time alone

emotional

bubbly

outgoing

enjoys travelling

amateur photographer

there were lots of pre-planning and research that i had to do before starting on the execution of the project.

from those traits that i discovered about myself, i came out with some rough initial equations during the earlier start of the project –

me + quiet alone time = refreshed

me + photography = a happy me (and because i have new content for my portfolio)

me + travelling = eye-opened, knowledgeable me

me + clouded in emotions = cloudy / blurry / blue me

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then the tough part arrives…

i wanted to break away from the normality and direct way of approaching this project. instead of being something that i like, or being “my favourite animal / food”, i wanted to approach “me” in an abstract, conceptualized and have in a deeper meaning to it.

….. but i couldn’t think of any.

this project started to get really difficult and brain sucking. it was tough to think of something that symbolizes me yet tell a story about my personality.

so i thought, i thought, and i thought hard.

i started to list out the things that i like.

NATALIE CHENG ENJOYS –

food

flowers

photography

styling

cooking

travelling

so from these points, the most apt subject that i could work with that also holds a symbolism to things would be flowers!

also, since this is a colour project, i could definitely play on the colours of flowers to tell my story.

hence, i came out with this concept of me being the different type of flowers in different settings that holds a symbol of importance as well.

me = flower.

white chrysanthemum + funeral = me crying, drowning in sadness

sunflower + graduation = me happy, joyous

red rose + date = me feeling infatuated, in love

pale muted colored lilies + wedding = a bloom of new life

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i was inspired by one of my reseached artists, Pam (refer to previous post) on her usage of illustrations + photography for her paintings.

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i was also inspired by mostly exhibition works like these

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since this project is super open to mediums, i thought of using real flower petals to represent “me” as a flower. i also wanted to use photography in my setting, and a mixed of both for my final outcome.

however, shirley said that it is a bad idea because the flower petals will rot and it won’t be a pleasant sight after 🙁 she also mentioned that taking photos of the settings will be a challenge (eg, funeral), how will i able to capture it in the right manner to suit what i want to communicate. she also told me to think about my concept harder and bring it higher because it currently doesn’t represent me.

ARGH. i wanted to rip my hair apart for the next few days because IT IS SO TOUGH TO CRACK THE BRIEF IN MY OWN SUBJECTED MANNER. 

(but never give up)

so, its another round of research and thinking.

i am going to keep my flower concept because it is okay. but how am i going to improve it to keep it relatable to me? okay, i remembered that my original initial equations are good. so i will combine them both together.

the tough thing now is to relate flowers as a symbol and back at me.

there are 4 seasons – spring, summer, autumn and winter. i thought of a really good idea to use this concept of time to represent me as a person whom grows overtime as time passes.

SO. i did a research on what each season symbolizes.

SPRING

The cycle of life is beginning.

Youth & childhood.

New life emerges from plants. Rain nourishes new life.

Buds, flowers, birds, butterflies, sunshine…all good.

Think: A fresh start. A new beginning. Rebirth.

Another transitional season, spring is a time of phenomenal renewal. The earth reawakens from her slumber, and explodes with new life. In our own lives, Spring can be symbolic of starting new projects, sewing new seeds and coming forth with new ideas. This is also a time to contemplate health and physical well-being too. Be refreshed and prepare for your soulful debut!

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SUMMER

Life is in full swing.

Young adulthood

Energy & vitality is abundant.

In a word – ‘PARTY!’ And our host is the sun whose presence is fierce and utterly forthright on the scene. Days are longer and the rays of the sun dissolve all shadows in our lives. No hiding, no secrets, no darkness. Summer is a time of light, joviality, expression and wholehearted action. To be sure, this season is symbolic of the vitality inherent within every heart.

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AUTUMN

Life is reaped and winding down.

Middle age.

A time to count one’s blessings.

It’s a season of transition, it embodies a culmination – it’s Nature’s ‘last hoorah!’ before retiring into winter’s slumbering mood. This is a hustle-bustle-boogie down month as preparations are made. Autumn is symbolic of the activity inspired by the fire-glo radiance of the changing foliage we see this time of year. This is a time of taking stock of all the bounty and provision we’ve been afforded. A time for itemizing our blessings and recounting our joys.

Autumn in the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts
Autumn in the Pioneer Valley region of Massachusetts

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WINTER

Life is dormant or dead.

Old age & death

It’s a season governed by the recluse, the hermit. Activity gives way to dormancy. Life is still, indwelling and silent. This is a time of introversion, contemplation and going within. Symbolic winter invites us to quiet the mind, still the soul, and crystallize our inner workings. This is a time to ice skate through winter whites as a means of gaining purity and clarification.

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research info extracted from

http://lzmarieauthor.com/seasons-in-literature/

http://www.whats-your-sign.com/symbolic-meaning-of-seasons.html

then i realize that my original equations are able to tie to the 4 seasons!

spring = a new life

indecisive me + friends making decisions for me = able to think clearer and breathe

this symbolizes me as a person whom make decisions that enable me to grow as a person.

summer = energy and vitality

me who has the passion for photography + photography-ing = a very energetic and happy me.

i get super energized when i take photos because it develops my skills and passions and i enjoy what im doing. also i get new photos for my portfolio!

autumn = middle age, which can represent knowledge, wisdom.

me who loves to travel + traveling = knowledgable, eye-opened me

i definitely learn heaps while traveling. the people, culture, the city. it definitely makes me grow as a peson and widens my horizon of knowledge.

winter = death

emotional me + alone time = depressed me

i realized that i need people when im having one of those days. however if im left alone when im feeling super emotional, i’ll feel really crappy.

AND MY CONCEPT WAS APPROVED.

so i emailed shirley with some quick initial sketches and these were her comments.

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i took some time after to work on them.

here are some of my final sketches.

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also i took some time to work on the colour palette.

i researched on the colour palette for the different seasons as well.

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okay that’s it for my research phase!

the next post will be on my execution process.

ego – artists research

here are some works by various artists that inspired me throughout this project —

Illustrators

Jeremy Booth 

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i especially like his illustrations and his use of triadic colours to create depths and shadows in his work.

Davide Bonazzi

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the style of illustration is similar to Jeremy. this is something that i hope to explore in this project. also his use of just the 3 primary colours – red, blue and yellow, in different shades is so simple yet i must say complex during his creative process. to create something minimal yet complex is really tough.

(also this series of his Day Trippers is sooooo cute!)

Tom Haugomat

i stumbled this series of illustrated posters while scrolling through Behance.

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i absolutely love it. there’s definitely an interest in me on flat design. but what i adore most from these is that the use of colours to create depth and the 3D-ness in them. especially using darker tones to cast shadows in the design.

Mixed Media

Robert Mars

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his use of triadic colours to create pop art, which he is known for. and really interesting way of using mixed media.

Pam Lostracco

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this artist used photography and illustrations on his painting. i was super intrigued when i stumbled upon this. i think its a really clever subtle and delicate way of creating art from photography.

Artists

Marcel Dazama and Raymond Pettibon

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Edward Hopper

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classic, and always a favourite.

Photographers

Francois Beaurain

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definitely seeing them being feasible in a flat design illustration.

Samuel Burgess-Johnson

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loving the use of split complementary to create visual contrasts in colour.

 

Other inspirations

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