Que Sera Sera – Final

Dreams & Reality

overall_01
Overall Composition

Tone

The tone for my assignment is element of surprise, challenging the assumptions that the audience have, comparing both Dreams and Reality of an individual.

Animation Curator

Animation Curator [Final]
Animation Curator [Final]
Animation Curator [GIF]
Animation Curator [GIF]
Message: Singapore restrains the creativity of Singaporeans, thus, we have to take risks and pursue our goals.

Concept: Yes, Singapore encourages creativity, but government still censors the media. The plate of gold represent the incentives that encourages artists in Singapore to generate creative content. The Merlion represents Singapore trying to devour anyone who drops into the water; limiting the creative contents. I showed the character jumping off the platform to grab the gold, this illustrates that we should should not be afraid to take risks. We should venture out of Singapore to pursue our dreams and make a name for ourselves.


Naval Officer

Naval Officer [Final]
Naval Officer [Final]
Message: Having a job in the government sector doesn’t guarantee a stable career.

Concept: The rice bowl represent the job I am earning a living from. It is of porcelain material, which shows that it is fragile. Many people think that people who signed on to the military earns a lot and is well taken care of by the Government, but it actually depends on the performance of that individual. The responsibility is huge and we must be tactful and capable in whatever we do. Thus, this composition is to force the audience to think in our shoes.


Hairdresser

Hairdresser [Final]
Hairdresser [Final]
Message: Not all hairdressers are college drop-outs.

Concept: Many people think that hairdressers are those who could not get into universities, thus resorting to Beauty and Wellness industry. I beg to differ, I feel that it is a job for anyone who has a passion in it. Students who graduate with a degree can also step into this industry. The brush strokes represent creativity and hard work of an art student who is still pursuing his education. It represents hair too, the colours apply to both elements in a design (that a student studies) and the aesthetics of hairdressing patrons who wants their hair to be coloured with. The hair clipper represents “tool” – for job and education; a tool to get the job done.


 

Backpacker

Backpacker [Final]
Backpacker [Final]
Message: Parents doesn’t like their kids to explore around the world when they are young. They think that they should save up for Mortgage.

Concept: Most young adults have the desire to travel to foreign countries, as illustrated by the backpack. The compartments of the backpack represents the 5 “C”s of Singapore – Cash, Car, Condo, Credit Card and Country Club. These are the ideals that most parents want their children to achieve. Tied down by these expectations, these young adults’ freedom are restrained.


Challenges Faced

Naval Officer: It was difficult to achieve a balanced lighting for the porcelain bowl as the specular highlight (white spot) was too jarring. If I reduced the glossiness of the bowl, it will not look like a porcelain bowl, but a just a matte texture. Thus, I did post-processing to balance the image.

Hairdresser: It was a difficult time to come up with a good visual representation for the Hairdresser job as I have tried to use paintbrush bristles and real hair to form the composition previously, it just didn’t work out.

Backpacker: I wanted a minimalistic approach to the whole composition, but it was too limited to illustrate Country Club and Condo with just the compartments of the backpack. Thus, I had to display it in the background, which made the whole composition very cluttered.

During the printing process, it was a challenge to pick a suitable paper. I test-printed my designs on Toile-M, Zeta Hammer B and White Card. Toile-M had a canvas texture but it made the printing look uneven. Zeta Hammer B was the paper choice I used for last semester’s Ego project. In this semester, I felt that this choice will not work out as well because the texture appears to be like a cartridge paper, it had a rough surface, which does not work well with the glossiness texture I had with Naval Officer composition and other flat solid colour designs. I decided on using White Card for all my compositions, it have much a smoother surface and made the white colour in the compositions stand out more.

Que Sera Sera – Process

Animation Curator

I have decided that traditional animation can work for this design. It is able to illustrate the essence of being an animator and bring across the point of creativity being constrained in Singapore.

g_animation_bw02

I have drawn them in different layers, namely: Background, Merlion, Character, Water and Pot of Gold.
It has a total of 26 frames, I have applied some of the 12 principles of animation in it. However, I will be only using some of the frames, to form the final composition. The final composition will be a Capital ‘G’ formed by the Gold pendulum and the Character jumping. The Merlion will also form a ‘G’ when it jumps out of the water.

Message: Singapore restrains the creativity of Singaporeans, thus, we have to take risks and pursue our goals.


Naval Officer

I decided to model a porcelain bowl with Navy pixelised texture in 3D. I searched for a pixelised texture and colour-corrected it to resemble a Navy military uniform. The intention of using a bowl is to represent a job that we earn a living from. I have added a pair of chopsticks for scale comparison. I have utilised the pixelated texture to form my name. The lighting was difficult to achieve as the material attributes is reflective; it was difficult to balance between a shiny texture and reducing the distraction of the specularity.

Message: Having a job in the government sector doesn’t guarantee a stable career.


Hairdresser

img_8141_01_oss

This was my initial idea, using paintbrush, layering scissors, hair and hair clipper to form the letterform “G”. However, the backdrop seemed like from a surgical setting. Joy suggested to use the bristles of a brush to form the letterform. However, the post processing seemed too forced with digital imaging.

jenifer-blanco-monzon-1

I have decided to reference from Jenifer Blanco Monzon as her style is minimal and yet best illustrates her message and object. My composition is made up with a hair clipper, brush strokes and a two toned background. I used “J’ as my initials as “J J CHUA” was the name that my peers in Navy call me.

paintbrush_j_03-small

This colourful brush strokes also represents Hair. Which links creativity, education and passion together.

Message: Not all hairdressers are college drop-outs.


Backpacker

backpacker_01

This was my initial design. It was supposed to be an alphabet “G” formed by travel stamps and building chops on a passport. The background didn’t work out great, thus I had to change the entire look of it.

E77219-famf-ho12NIKEHOOPSELITEMEDIUMDUFFEL

My inspiration comes from the different compartmentalisation of items. Each compartment can represent different things that we are concerned about. My composition is a backpack with 5 ‘C’s of Singapore, represented by the 5 compartments. The 5 ‘C’s of Singapore – Cash, Car, Condo, Credit Cards and Country Club. The backpack represents the desire to travel as a young adult, but the 5 ‘C’s are the mindset of parents, holding them back from doing what they want. They are the restraints that most Singaporeans have. As there are a lot of content in the composition, I decided to use solid colours to balance with each element.

Message: Parents doesn’t like their kids to explore around the world when they are young. They think that they should save up for Mortgage.

Project 1 – Que Sera (Research)

In this project, we are to create Typography graphics using part of our names to illustrate our future jobs. Hence, we have to come up with the concepts for typefaces and letter forms.

The names/nicknames that I will be using are: Gerald, Gerald Chua, GC, JJ.

The jobs that I wish to pursue: Animation curator, Naval Officer, Hair Dresser and Backpacker.


The following are the artists that I have researched for visual reference.

Artem Sukhinin

 

Friendly Robot

Woody Pirtle

Jenifer Blanco Monzon

jenifer-blanco-monzon-1

Budi Kwan

Monique Goossens

Peter Saville

Ivan Capote

Dario Devic

Like Minded Studio

Jon Contino

Stas Gotsulyak

SAWDUST

Marion Luttenberger

Alessio Joseph

Melanie Burk

Sabeena Karnik


Challenging Assumptions

To convey intended message to audience and challenge the social stigma towards selected occupations.

Animation Curator:

  1. To produce films that appeal more to teenagers and adults, rather than focusing on kids
  2. Singaporeans are afraid to explore, pursue their dreams thus the industry is still small in Singapore

Naval Officer:

  1. Not all naval personnel are divers
  2. Not all naval officers work in a submarine
  3. Working in the government sector not necessarily secure a stable income

Hairdresser:

  1. Not all male hairdressers are flamboyant
  2. Not all hairdressers are drop-out students

Backpacker:

  1. Senior Citizens are still fit and able to backpack
  2. Parents doesn’t like their kids to explore around the world when they are young. They think that they should save up for Mortgage