TP: Process IV

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Off to the last! Mountains!

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I initially wanted to add my chinese characters into this piece20160215_032727-min

I found many many inspiring examples on pinterest.

from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695843988/

from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695843976/

from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695843970/

from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695843961/

from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695843959/

I really like this layering of the sky instead of the actual mountains to show the illusion of having mountains. I found out that the importance of knowing where my light is coming from, and the sense of planes is very important for this piece. So while designing, i have to be consistent so that the cut out wouldn’t look like flat triangles in the end.

Of course, i have to seek help from a actual picture to complete my design.

from http://mypages.valdosta.edu/asmccoy/U3A2.html

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My piece before i started cutting!

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Done!

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With all the pieces done, the next step is the presentation.

I feel that if these pieces are not “frame” up, they do not feel complete as they seem like actual artwork itself.

Deciding between a portrait framing or a landscape framing…

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Decided to go with the landscape framing so that i can encompass everything including the captions nicely inside!

 

My final four:

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TP: Process III

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With the completion of branches and water, I have decided to go with roaring waves and mountains for the final 2 piece.

Making of waves:

I was influenced with the japanese style waves, which I did for my last semester EGO project too. I like the strength that it gives and also the creativity that I am allowed to go with it.

References:

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Strong, determined waves

Strong, determined waves

 

Initial planning for the waves and how to incorporate my name into it.20160215_032708-min

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decided! since waves are pretty flexible XD

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I choose a warm colour theme for this but i made sure that the hue will not clash with other blues in the series. To balance out, I will add a layer of dark blue behind

This really took me a long time to cut due to the tiny turns and complexity

This really took me a long time to cut due to the tiny turns and complexity

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i was so afraid that these would break

i was so afraid that these would break

Managed to complete this eventually~ and time to move on to the last of the series!

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Complete!

TP: Process II (water)

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As i wanted to go with the theme of nature, after branches, the next element that came to my mind is water. Initially, i was wondering how should i make water interesting when it is just water?

Before:

For my letters, i was only trying to create it as it is. Looks unnatural and too simple

For my letters, i was only trying to create it as it is. Looks unnatural and too simple

I found really good references of water cut outs on pinterest. It reminded me that water could contain so many things! Fishes, seaweed, bubbles, plants, etc. I was really inspired by the fishes and found out that it is the perfect element for my initials.

References for this piece:

from pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695785442/

I really love the idea of have the white frontal piece to add visual interest and flow to the whole piece! from: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/293508100695788902/

The main keyword for this piece would be flowy and deep/layers.

WIth these reference, I have decided that i would make the 2 fishes show G and L.

Design exploration of how the fishes would look like

Design exploration of how the fishes would look like. Had fun doing this!

 

Actual making of this piece:

I lifted the layers up to see how i should arrange the different layers of water

I lifted the layers up to see how i should arrange the different layers of water

Make shift light box!!

Make shift light box!!

after i sketched out the layers, its time for me to carve out the fishes!!

after i sketched out the layers, its time for me to carve out the fishes!!

first completed fishes!~~

first completed fishes!~~

I would firstly sketch and cut the main subject so that i can get a sense of space they occupy and what i should do with the other layers.

TP: Progress and questions

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After consultation with Prof Ina, we have decided that the cut outs worked really well for the project and suggested that I should continue with all the other 3 with cutouts.

I scanned them before I taped the pieces together.

Scan 7 Scan 9

These 3 will make 1 set for “branches”.

for the second set, i decided that i would go with “water and fishes” In which, the fish will represent my initials.

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2 of the many layers for this 2nd set

I am pretty happy with the results for this 2 sets. However, what could be the remaining 2 sets?

One could be waves ( japanese style…) …

TP: Branches are complicated

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With the idea I came up with in school, I went home and tried with the few ideas I had.

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I sketched out the patterns of the tree branches on a A5 colour paper

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Cutting out! Its the first time i am doing this

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Create another layer? Framing?

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These drawing and precision cutting took longer that I expected it to be. However, the final results look interesting. I plan to prop and separate each layer with a thick tape so that there will be more depth between the layers.

 

Other than this, I also tried the “sharp blade leaves”

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It did not turn out as good as i expected it would be. The problem for this was that i would need a accurate and exact type font so that it would not look amateur and unfinished.

TP: more new References

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With my first round of trial and error, I decided that those are not going to make it. I went online and Pinterest to search for more inspirations related to nature!

(click to view individual image)

This got me interested in papercuts and tree branches. After brainstorming, one of my new ideas was to integrate branches and cut outs to form my typography. Other than the reference picutres i found above, I had been taking photos of trees the past few days, it acted as an inspiration trigger too, realising again how pretty and unique trees are.

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Photos by me while taking the bus

 

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My aim was to hide myself (my name) within the branches. It is going to be a layered paper cuts

What i plan to do is to reference the photos of the trees i took, to create a natural looking branches canopy.

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Inspired by the first grass cutout. I wanted to change my chinese font to a grass looking with sharp blades

 

TP: Getting inspirations from creating

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After the first look and consultation with Prof Ina, I decided that the keywords for this project would be “nature” and “watercolour”.

These 3 are the ones that I found the most interesting and related from the pile of references that I found.

leaves,cut outs.

leaves,cut outs.

ice cream?! wow

ice cream?! wow (using the raw materials)

tie up with the water colour?

tie up with the water colour?

With all these references, even though I am still clueless, I thought it would be good for me to start on something so that I could kickstart the project and have an idea of what I want to do.

And so I went out of the house and collected a bunch of fallen leaves.

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The first work i started with.. I splattered some watercolour over the leaves, trying to create the outline of the small leaves

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The silhouette created of the leaves

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Printed the ink on the leaves

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I remembered the importance of the leave looking natural. I picked one with holes eaten by caterpillars and broken. I painted over it, hoping that the paint would seep through the holes and create a crisp outline

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I wanted to try to create the effect like the first reference i found.. Cut my name out. I didnt want the letters to look exact, hence simple cuts are made. However, the letters became quite illegible. If these cuts were on paper, they might have work out much better.

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I wrote “GEK” with glue and splattered torn leaves on it

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The result: it stuck surprisingly well, didnt it? I like the “natural” feeling of these letters

These methods may work for small tests but if it were to be a proper submission, I think that it will look sloppy… Hence, off to find more new inspirations! However, i like the theme of nature and i will continue to stick with it for now!