This project is an aim to understand the consciousness of our own identity (hence the title “EGO”) through simple mathematical equations, which were:

__________ + __________ = ME

__________ – __________ = A BETTER ME

__________ x __________ = AN IDEAL ME

__________ +/- __________ = ME IN 5 YEARS

In this project, my main focus was on colour; to create aesthetic value via colour harmonies, and more importantly, using the right colours to convey the intended characteristic or mood.


__________ + __________ = ME

SAD/SOMBRE + SLOTH-LIKE = A SOMBRE SLOTH

SAD/SOMBRE:

sombre

In this photographic image, my objective was to show a more serious side of myself. Many of us experience inexplicable bouts of melancholy and disheartenment, and I feel that these moments, as much as I dislike them, are what gives me the time and mood to think deeper and to reflect on myself. I often end up pondering on the raison d’etre of my very being, and this is not a side that I usually show others because it is hardly called for.

For this photograph, I chose to keep it black and white. Many pictures with serious notes tend to be monochromatic in nature, and with good reason. Humans see the world in colour, and a rendition of the world in monochrome makes us pause and look closely. Removing colour from a picture helps viewers to focus on the emotional state of the photograph, as black and white portraiture lets the audience see faces and read eyes without distraction. The colour black also encourages us to look at the negative side of life, which is the essence of this picture that I am attempting to convey.

SLOTH-LIKE:

RESIZE slothlike

While some people see this as being very ‘zen’, my parents perceive it as me being sluggish and unproductive. Either way, I portrayed a sloth to define my slow and unhurried nature.

I did not want to use any bold or striking colours in this digital painting, nor did I want too fancy a background. From my past research, analogous colours should be used to create a serene and comfortable design. Simplicity and Peacefulness were my targets for this composition, which led me to use colours which are in said harmony.

A SOMBRE (ALBEIT COMICAL) SLOTH:

sad sloth

This was an attempt of a humorous combination of the previous 2 pictures. The pose of this sloth is almost identical to the pose of myself in the first picture.

In this case, the monochromatic colour is used firstly to bear heavy semblance to the first picture, and secondly to create a stark contrast between ‘comical’ and ‘sombre’, especially when viewing the equation as a whole piece.


__________ – __________ = A BETTER ME

AMBITIOUS – ABSENT-MINDEDNESS = A BETTER ME

AMBITIOUS:

AMBITIOUS

During the idle time I had before the semester began, I experimented with landscape digital painting and I decided to have a go at it for this project. I wanted to represent hope in this painting, very much like my ambition to one day be able to create compelling stories through animated films for both young and old. For this composition, I drew a lone figure ready to scale a mountain to convey ambition.

I used primarily warm colours here to evoke energy, optimism and confidence. I was worried that the lack of colour contrast would cause this image to appear dull, so I played with a wide range of tonal value to avoid too much subtlety.

ABSENT-MINDEDNESS:

absent minded

This digital painting is left deliberately dark all over, very much like a failing effort to remember something. Casting a black vignette around the image is an attempt to show that the hiking bag has been forgotten on the seats.

Despite the overall dull piece, I decided to choose colours for the bag to have it still stand out despite having similar tonal values to the rest of the image. I therefore used an RGB triadic harmony for the bag.

An Earlier attempt which did not work out too well:

left bag copy
Looks kind of like a cheap flash game

A BETTER ME:

RESIZE a better me

This is one of my favourite pieces which turned out well for me. The subject in question (who remembered his equipment bag this time) is now perched at the top of the mountain, a signifier of success. This is complimented by warm sun-rays greeting him, seemingly congratulating his achievement.

Again, varying tonal range is used conscientiously to create a more impactful digital painting. Here I used both warm and cool colours to create an aesthetically pleasing contrast.


__________ x __________ = AN IDEAL ME

TALKATIVE x DEPTH = SPEAKING WITH DEPTH

TALKATIVE:

talkative

What better way to convey a talkative character than with multiple open mouths? In this piece, I drew inspiration from pop art, which usually use bright, contrasting colours to create a pop-out effect. For this piece, I drew a single mouth with a Wacom tablet and duplicated it 4 times (hooray photoshop) before filling each quarter with solid colours.

While the whole composition is in tetradic harmony, within each quarter, split complementary colours were used. This is to evoke a whimsical and lighthearted disposition; i.e; loud and ‘outspoken’ colours with hardly any depth. All the colours are fighting for attention since they are all a variation of direct harmony. The result is colourful and cheerful, yet messy at the same time.

(Note: For some reason the colour appears a little off when uploaded on this site. E.g; the top left quarter background colour is supposed to have a much more discernible purple tint to it. Here it looks almost bluish.)

DEPTH:

RESIZE speaking with depth

Rather than creating a literal image, I drew abstract lines to express the idea of depth. This reminded me of our First 2D project (a line is a dot that went for a walk) for obvious reasons.

Using Gold lines against a black background gave the lines a 3D effect. I also added subtle blue-purple shadow lines (direct harmony of gold, which is yellow-orange) beneath the gold lines to further accentuate the depth of the gold lines.

SPEAKING WITH DEPTH:

RESIZE speaking with depth copy

This piece was rather fun to experiment with. Drawing ideas from greeting cards I came across, I attempted to make a ‘3D’ paper card mouth of my own.

I interpreted the multiplication of the previous 2 images as speaking with depth, so I set the “Depth” image as a background and attached the 3D mouth on it. The mouth carries literal depth of its own as a result of being folded at calculated edges.

To me, speaking with depth means that sometimes it is better to imply than to state the obvious. The result is an implied mouth that carries the right colours for a mouth, but does not entirely look like one either. For example, teeth are not drawn on the white strips, but the placement of the strips alone would imply that they represent teeth.

Earlier experimentations and process shots:

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__________ +/- __________ = ME IN 5 YEARS

WORK HARD +/- WORK SMART = A SUCCESSFUL ME IN 5 YEARS

WORK HARD:

RESIZE work hard

I painted a cartoon image of myself attempting to create a life-sized replica of a stone henge, on a hot day, with a wooden mallet. This is my portrayal of working hard (not smart). The colours are highly saturated with the intention to show that it is a hot and sunny day.

In this composition, I made use of split complementary colour harmony; Blue and green, with a hint of red to stand out. A red shirt is used also to express the uncomfortable heat that this cartoon self is feeling under the sun.

 

Image (1)

Scanning a pen-drawn image to edit digitally.

WORK SMART:

work smart

In this drawing I tried to visualise the conditions that Thomas Edison tirelessly worked under in finding the right material for a light bulb filament. Instead of inventing the light bulb (which has already been invented as depicted), this cartoon self is working on inventing a robot drone.Image (2) (1)                      Another pen drawn scan.

Tonal value is played with here to create depth via emitted light and cast shadows. Blueprints are masking taped to a yellow wall to create direct harmony, and the central subject is wearing red to be at the centre of attention.

A SUCCESSFUL ME IN 5 YEARS:


RESIZE success

The cartoon self here is only shown in a silhouette, gazing out at the drones carving out an endless line of easter heads complete with full bodies. This is to illustrate success from combining the two ideas of working hard and working smart. In 5 years I will most probably have graduated from ADM and I hope that by then I will have found a career doing what I like to do, which is helping to create impactful stories, and hopefully go on to create stories of my own eventually.

Image (3) (1)

                      More scanning.

In this piece, I select colours to subliminally convey emotional values and characteristics. A large portion of this composition are painted with cool colours; Blue represents idealism and order, authority and contemplation. Green evokes growth and rejuvenation. A black silhouette is used here to embody deep strength and sophistication, as well as power and control. The drones are kept white while emitting transient blue light trails to accentuate futurism.


Some initial sketches:

IMG_0863

Rendered calculator buttons to attach to the mounting board:

math symbols

Presenting “EGO” 🙂

IMG_1011