HOW I SEE RHYMES

We were given quite an interesting task. Essentially to make images that represent the each rhymes of a nursery, in which we take a look at three nursery: “Hey Diddle Diddle”, “Humpty Dumpty” and “There was an Old Woman Who Lived in The Shoe”.

Guided by the principles of designs that I previously research, which are balance, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, proportion, rhythm, unity and variety, I experimented with different lines of the nursery rhyme to make interesting composition.

However, before we could star creating our composition we were told to find different elements that are related to the nursery to create the images. Then to give the effect of either halftones, posterize or threshold using Photoshop or Illustrator. It was very handful to learn more about both of this application, because I believe they will be handy in the near future.

Since each group consist of 7 people are in charge of a nursery, in total we have around 210 images to play around with. And played with them I did.


Hey Diddle Diddle

Hey diddle diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle,
The Cow jump’d over the Moon,
The little dog laugh’d to see such sport,
And the Dish ran away with the Spoon.

This was the group I was assign with. As a child I was quite familiar with this rhyme. And I find this nursery very peculiar. What’s the meaning behind it? Compared to the other two, “Hey Diddle Diddle” doesn’t have any explicit meaning. Some say it’s about corruption, others just labelled it another silly rhyme. Even today people guess about the intended message that is hidden behind it. Quite odd indeed.

I used a lot of the radial symmetry in the compositions. A lot of halftones. And loads repetition. I feel dizzy just making them!

Hey diddle diddle, The Cat and the Fiddle

Hey Diddle Diddle! The Cat and The Fiddle

The Cow jump’d over the Moon

The Cow Jump Over The Moon

The little dog laugh’d to see such sport

The Dog Laugh To See Such Sport 2

And the Dish ran away with the Spoon

ggg


There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do;
She gave them some broth without any bread;
Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.

I find this nursery quite depressing. Such a cruel mother? But then again, she had so ‘many’ kids. With this nursery I used a lot of threshold effect to achieve that sense of a dark atmosphere. Compared to “Hey Diddle Diddle” I use less repetition and decided to put less inside each composition. A couple of the lines I experimented with the invert effect. It gave the same composition of different ‘feel’.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe

There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In A Shoe

She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do

She Have So Many Children She Didn't Know What To Do

She gave them some broth without any bread

She Gave Them Some Broth Without Any Bread She Gave Them Some Broth Without Any Bread 2 She Gave Them Some Broth Without Any Bread 4 She Gave Them Some Broth Without Any Bread 3

Then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed

Then Wipped Them All Soundly And Put Them To Bed 2Then Wipped Them All Soundly And Put Them To Bed


Humpty Dumpty

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again

Oh my. This rhyme was a struggle. Indeed it was. Nothing much to say other than this was my least favorite composition. In fact my composition succeeded in living up to rhyme, as in it was quite a ‘disaster’.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall

 Humpty Dumpty Sat On A Wall  

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall

Humpty Dumpty Had a Great Fall

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men

All The King's Horses and All The King's Men

Couldn’t put Humpty together again

Couldn't Put Humpty Together Again

Quite honestly I don’t know why I struggled that much with this rhyme.I didn’t have a clear dirrention. I suppose I was much more interested in the other two.

Nonetheless I don’t really find them appalling. I just wanted to use different elements to use in my compositions. They may not look as harmonious as the others, but I’m still proud of them.


Overall this process not only made me learn new things about design, but also on what ‘works’ and sometimes what ‘doesn’t work’ in a composition. How we view something and our mind translates them.

It was exhausting, but really FUN to do!