final – natcheng

2DII – Que Sera Sera Final

taking in comments from Mimi from last consultation, i decided to do food styling with photography for my final pieces.

the art direction with my final approach is a clean, not overdone, simple straight to the point styling.

before doing it, i had to study more on the kitchen environment of chefs, and their choice of utensils.

1. Pasta Chef

i looked at some images on pinterest to look at food styling but i felt that they were very rustic image driven, which is not the direction im heading for.

instead of looking at stylized visuals of food styling on pinterest, i looked beyond them by studying videos of chefs cooking pasta to see what type of utensils they use for their cooking.

i started seeing crockery such as tongs, spoons, the pan used for cooking the pasta, a white plate.

some of my process photos of executing my final work –

final outcome –

i used penne this time because it was way easier to control than spaghetti. i stylized the plate with tomato sauce (in reality its actually chilli sauce in a squeezable bottle), black pepper and corriander to give it not only a pop of colour, but also because they are relevant to the dish. the pan, tongs and spoon are placed halfway at the corner of the image so to not steal emphasis of the image. the cloth is placed because chefs usually clean the edge of the plate with it. i decided to place the ladle on the cloth because when i tried placing it on the bottom right during the styling process, it looked odd as there were too many silver cutleries on the bottom of the image, making it look heavy and uneven.

2. Pastry Chef

for pastry chef, it was slightly easier because there were a standard few crockeries that are mainly used. before researching i knew some elements that i could already play with – flour, eggs, whisk.

process photos-

final-

my name is created using whipped cream. the whole situation of the image shows the process of a life of a pastry chef. the supporting elements- whisk, bowl of batter, baking paper and tray, cracked eggs, flour and spoons. i scattered flour on the surface to create a more natural visual look of the image.

3. Grill Chef

in my previous 2 attempts (see previous 2 posts), they were names cut out from pieces of steak. as Mimi mentioned it was too direct, and creating grill marks on the grill is not possible, i decided to go towards a different approach this time by cutting my name on the piece of steak after cooking it. prior to this, i tried cutting my name when its raw, but it was impossible because of the tendons on the meat that made it impossible to cut through. i used a black background for this because i felt that it gives a better contrast with the green herbs. it also allows the steak to pop better, and i felt that it fits the mood of a grill chef – ‘dirty’; ‘unclean’ so to speak.

process photos –

carving the letters out on a raw piece of meat is impossible

i studied on how chefs cook their steak and the proper way of doing it is to baste it with melted butter with herbs, hence the herbs and butter on the grill pan. the types of saucers used for the butter and salt & pepper is for contrasting purposes. i felt that yellow butter on a black saucer would fit better, and salt&pepper would fit better on a white one.

final –

4. Executive Chef

executive chefs are the ones who plate the food before serving. this was a fun one for me to do actually because i had the chance to plate food and make them look pretty for the first time. but before doing it i have 0 knowledge on it so i watched some videos on how to do it.

i used a piece of meat from the steak i cooked for the grill chef because dont waste food!! i decided to rummage through my fridge and found half a un used onion, some cherry tomatoes and blueberries. and there, a dish is created.

process photos –

final-

the tomatoes, blueberries and mustard gave the entire dish a pop of colour, which is what i wanted. the herbs are used for garnishing. the char on the onions gave another level of colour and depth to it. the plate is surrounded with the sauces and garnishing because i realized that chef needs their elements close to them. i also realized that the elements are given in an entire serving. i came up with the idea of using the sauce to form my name because sauces are always used during plating, and i felt that it was the most interesting and relevant to the entire job scope of an executive chef.

some research ive done –

““Aside from taste, we eat food visually. The first thing I think about is coloring: You want to have a nice balance of color on the plate. For example, we serve a skate wing at Hinoki & the Bird that is served with bright orange sambal sauce on top and plated on top of a banana leaf. The skate wing doesn’t need a banana leaf on the bottom, but it’s nice to have a contrast of color—chili sauce is orange and green sets it off. It brings the plate to life.”—Kuniko Yagi, chef, Hinoki & the Bird, Los Angeles”

https://www.fastcodesign.com/3050217/how-to-plate-food-like-a-3-star-michelin-chef

the plate is surrounded with the sauces and garnishing because i realized that chef needs their elements close to them. i also realized that the elements are given in an entire serving. i came up with the idea of using the sauce to form my name because sauces are always used during plating, and i felt that it was the most interesting and relevant to the entire job scope of an executive chef.

i plated my food on the side of the plate because its creates a good composition and visual pleasantness. i also used a white plate to create a fine dining look.

–

to conclude this project, i felt that this was the most fun as i get to work with new mediums. ive learnt how to art direct a food shoot, and also get to experiement with food + learn food styling. i’ve also learnt that “its all about the idea, followed by a well executed job.” – Mimi

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 –

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.

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.

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.

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 –

analogous harmony, monochromatic harmony

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.

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.

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 –

analogous harmony warm, monochromatic harmony

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.

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.

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 –

analogous harmony cool, monochromes harmony

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.

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.

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.

emo – how did they come about?

Infatuation

“an intense but short-lived passion or admiration for someone or something”,

in my emotions post, i talked about how infatuation was linked to the heartbeat. in my final print, i took the visual image of the line that represents the heartbeat into context. since the meaning of infatuation is “…intense but short-lived passion…”, the intensity of the line breaks halfway, to represent the short-lived element to it. the intensity is represented through the messy, dense lines.

Sentimentality

“of or prompted by feelings of tenderness, sadness, or nostalgia”.

my emotions are raw and they flow like the ocean waves. hence i took this feeling and created a visual image of wavy, messy lines because they’re unpredictable; uncalled for. thick wavy lines are started off first to represent the wave of energy of sadness. the energy dies down hence the thiner and faint lines towards the end as they represent the sense of nostalgia that i do enjoy feeling.

example: you find an album of old images of your childhood. “*gasp* (wave of energy), old photos that i dont remember!” then you start flipping through the album.. “*aww* (tenderness, nostalgia) those were the old days that i miss…”

the lines were created using the end of the straw that i brought on the 2nd 2D class. the sharp end of the straw was dipped into calligraphy ink and was dragged onto the piece of newsprint paper to create my print.

Desire

“a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.”

desire to me means to want something so badly that you’d go reach for it and grab it.

the act of reaching out and getting out could be used literally in my print. this wax pen was perfect for it.

since desire means reaching out, there has to be a starting point. hence, i created my print by bridging out more lines from the starting dot, to represent the determination to want to get out and go grab for it.

Relief

“a feeling of reassurance and relaxation following release from anxiety or distress”

this was created using the marble technique (which was really fun to do). the black area represents the anxiety and distress, whereas the empty part area represents the sense of relief and relaxation.

(the marble technique was uploaded in the previous post but we shall refresh our minds again)

drops of calligraphy ink are added into the sink of water
swirls are created by moving the drops with a stick
newsprint paper is used to absorb the patterns

Optimism

“hopefulness and confidence about the future or the success of something”

as circles are not structured shapes and are free in the form, i feel that circles are a good positive representation for this emotion.

the lines that start off anticlockwise represent the negativity that looms the mind; that prevents you from feeling positive. the lines are dense and thick to show its strong power. slowly, with determination, the circular lines (clockwise) start to break free, and slowly it becomes sparse, to show the immense energy of feeling hopeful.

Bliss

“perfect happiness; great joy.”

bliss to me reminds me of a person whom is calm and at peace. wavy lines and circles are a good positive shape for this emotion because they are free form and provides an image of tenderness and positivity. hence my visual representation of bliss is represented through a mixture of them. the patterns depict ocean waves which are often described as calming elements, and that is an image im trying to achieve.

Amazement

“a feeling of great surprise or wonder.”

to me, swirls give me the sense of wonder. an example would be the glitter we usually see in disney films

so i took this idea of swirls for my print. i also did a mixture of black and white for an effect and play on colours, to give the sense of different and get people wondering how the grey came about. it also adds a softer image compared to pure black and white.

Surprise

“an unexpected or astonishing event, fact, etc.”

the term surprise automatically reminds me of things that we use to create the feeling, eg confetti, fireworks, balloons etc.

i do like the element of fireworks thus i managed to create the sparkly, fireworks effect with the use of paint on a dry brush. the reason why i chose to do it on black paper is because it works better with the sparkly effect i’m trying to create.

Astonishment

“great surprise”

the emotions astonishment and surprise are almost similar, but there is a greater intensity for astonishment. hence i took the similar idea of using white on black paper. acrylic paint is mixed with water and sprayed from a bottle.

compared to “surprise” where a dry brush was used to create the glittery effect, wet liquid acrylic paint is used here to create a higher intensity and thicker medium. also i decided to use the spray bottle because i do enjoy the messiness it can create through the splashes. those messy splashes represent the uncalled for great surprise element.

Ferocious

“savagely fierce, cruel, or violent.”

with ferocious, there has to have a visual image of something fierce. i felt that the visual image of lightning is a good representation of something fierce, and violent. just like how we get intimidated by thunderstorms and lightning, the emotion ferocious can be used to represent that.

Outrage

“an extremely strong reaction of anger, shock, or indignation.”

when you need to release your anger, you result to doing things that aid with that. in this case , outrage means to me venting my anger through something. hence using the brush to create a rapid movement is the most successful way to do so.

Jealousy

“feeling or showing an envious resentment of someone or their achievements, possessions, or perceived advantages.”

the act of jealousy can be done through lots of harming negative ways such as destroying / sabotaging someone else’s work. in this case, to recreate the act of destroy, clean brush strokes of white paint is used to paint over black paper. white to represent purity; in this case an innocent person’s work. then, black paint is brushed over in thick dry strokes to represent an act of sabotage; feeling jealous over his enemy’s clean, well-done work.

Hurt

“to cause pain or injury to (yourself, someone else, or a part of your body)”

Cuts and blood splats are some visual representations of being physically hurt. The sharp lines represent the cuts while the blobs of ink represent the blood. The sharp lines are created by dipping the palette knife with ink and hitting the edges of the palette knife on the paper, while the blobs are by using the flat surface of the knife and smearing it on paper.

Lonliness

“sadness because one has no friends or company.”

lonliness…. such a sad feeling to feel ain’t it?

in this emotion, i experimented with the marbling technique again but this time round with a different type of ink – acrylic paint! (can it work??)

it definitely didn’t give me with the marbling effect as the paint was too dense, so it sunk to the bottom of the sink.

i do like the grey background of my piece as it represents the dark, gloominess of one’s mind when they’re feeling lonely.

by using rice paper, i felt it would be a better paper medium to use as it absorbs ink quicker than normal paper.

adding acrylic ink into a sink of water

to my surprise, there wasnt alot of ink caught due to the high density and solubility of the paint.

however i was really happy with the results for this emotion because the little the better, right? i really like how the there’s just one lone dot in the middle, but an accumulation of ink blobs at the sides of the piece. this is a well visual representation of lonliness due to their contrast.

Agony

“extreme physical or mental suffering.”

i experimented with water colour for this medium. A few drops of black water colour ink is dripped on water colour paper (for better results), followed by dripping drops of water over it and swirling them to create a messy yet beautiful pattern.

the reason i used water colour for this emotion is to depict the teary / crying like effect when someone is dealing with agony. i quite like how it turned out in the end as it shows different black tones, just like how it represents the different types of pain when one is agonised. the lines are stretched out to represent the extremity of pain.

Anxiety

“a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.”

this emotion is recreated just by a dry brush. as anxiety means nervousness, the middle portion represents how one would feel when anxiety reaches the maximum. the dry brush creates a feeling of tension, speed (heart beat racing).

Hysteria

“exaggerated or uncontrollable emotion or excitement.”

as shown in a few posts back where i posted on my marble technique process, this piece was created using it. i really like how this turned out as we can see how uncontrollable the movement is, just like how hysteria feels like. the emptiness in the centre represents how one cant control his emotions – from feeling hysteric to being fine and back to its original state.

Distress

“extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain.”

this emotion was created using by rubbing the paper-like string with ink onto paper.

sharp linea and black textures were created with this experiment. i like how it turned our because the way i intepret distress is that everything is in a mess, painful and unexplanable. the sharp lines created from the edges of the string represents the pain in distress; something sharp. the black messiness represents the extremity, messiness of pain.