Point of view – 做。

Project 2 – Point of view | Final

Hi, this is Mr. Long neck (In other words, long neck also means ‘reaching out to connect’ , which is why I chose to name this project as long neck series.) Today, we will be exploring some aspects of social media , Instagram in particular. So why social media? In today’s world context, you can see how social media have impacted our lives as well as our dependency on them. Parts of social media language and actions are actually around us too hence, in this project, I wish to present them in the form of daily lives scenarios in hoping to inject some humor as well as to serve as a possible guidance (a mini introduction to some key actions on Instagram as these functions tend to be misused/over-used online at times) for new users on Instagram. Now, let’s see how these social media actions would have been in real life context.

Before I start, Here’s how the idea came about! ?

While working on the first panel, the final idea of using bottle as a metaphor crossed my mind as I was thinking how to better connect my pieces together. Having bottles in two of my composition and not the rest leads me to thinking how I could better link all these pieces together. Knowing that it would be really inconsistent and random if I were to leave the two composition and illustrate something else in the rest of the panels, I decided to relay all of my panels by using bottle as a metaphor. I tried to brainstorm how bottle could actually be used for each statements without it feeling too random and forced upon. As I work on the possible ways, I realized there are actually many possible ways than I thought and I start to visualize how I would form them visually. (Coincidentally, long neck can be used to describe bottle?)

Here’s my final six artwork,

Final-02 — Click to see the textures and details. I have incorporated layers of textures in some of the panels to suggest a different atmosphere. – mostly grainy, grungy, subtle cross lines and noise patterns etc.

Final-03 — Click to see the textures and details. I have incorporated layers of textures in some of the panels to suggest a different atmosphere. – mostly grainy, grungy, subtle cross lines and noise patterns etc.

A walk through for each pieces,

For better conveying of message, I’ve make my images into a form of small animation that roughly speaks the idea of my intended message. (PS: Some textures are not included in the animation pieces, in case you wonder why some of them looked different from the ones posted above.)
Emoticon from the point of view of real life context is disguise.

Emoticon is basically a tool creates to allow us to express our emotions virtually through adorable little face icons etc. Just like the abbreviation, LOL (laugh out loud) is often used virtually even though you don’t particularly feel that way in real life. Hence, emoticon in real life context is like a form of disguise. In this case, instead of bottling up your thoughts, you bottled up your real emotion/feelings. I presented it in a form of masks (often used in context like role-playing or used to disguise/deceive), whereby layers and layers are constantly being switched/replaced whenever and wherever. The real feelings/emotion was never once shown which explains why the bottle is tinted green to indicate the transparency of one’s emotions (Generally, one can never be fully clear of one’s emotion unless it’s being expressed).

Hashtag (#) from the point of view of real life context is Classification.

Hashtag (#) is used on Instagram as a tool to categorize/classify things so you can easily locate stuffs as well as get engage and discover people who share the same common interest as you. (Such as, #HHN5 , #NDP2015 can easily link you to photos of people who had participated in these events as well.) However, nowadays hashtag are often used randomly as a trend/icon, whereby people used it as a way to gain followers etc. In the form of real life context, I will identify hashtag with sorting up of stocks in supermarkets whereby items are carefully classify under different categories to provide better shopping experience for shoppers. Another possible scenario would be, classifying peoples in different categories (stereotyping), however I find that this is not so appropriate to be used for this hence I strike off this idea.

Follow from the point of view of real life context is affirmation/acknowledgment.

To follow someone on Instagram, might means befriending with them virtually so that you can get engage/subscribe to their updates. To be allowed to follow them also reflects their willingness to open up to you. Similarity, in real life context, I would relate this to getting consent from someone to get beyond their personal space. It’s like visiting someone’s house and getting welcome into their space. On the other hand, it could simply means getting engage in a conversation with someone. In this case, the glass bottle represents the personal space of one. To be invited into this space to engage in a conversation is similarity like the follow button on Instagram. One only allows you to follow them if they feels comfortable for you to cross their personal boundaries.

Update from the point of view of real life context is sharing of information.

To update your Instagram, simply refers to uploading of photos/videos etc to share with your followers. Basically, sharing anything. Similarity, in real life context, I would relate this to sharing of information such as news, broadcasts, announcement or simply talking/sharing to your friend about your latest pet. In this case, sharing of information is shown through the action of emptying the bottle which also means ‘pouring your hearts out’. Similarity, to update on the other hand, is like pouring whatever content on your mind out to share.

Block from the point of view of real life context is restrictions.

To be blocked on Instagram, is generally most peoples’ nightmare. As this means they could no longer get access to the updates of the person they are being blocked by (In another way, it’s like being placed in a cold freezer-neglected and excluded. Hence, cool colors is used in this composition to express loneliness and segregation). It’s like literally building blocks up to form walls/barriers so as to prevents the other party from intruding into your territory/space. Similarity, in real life context, I would relate this to being locked up in places or being held up by thoughts and perspectives. To be locked up, limits and restricts you from doing anything you want. (Uses gigantic haunting dark shadow to depicts the fear of being restricted that is secretly haunting inside each of us as well as the need to be free. The bottle reflects how it feels like to be restricted, with limited space within the bottle that leaves the character gasping for air. In this case, the only way to escape is generally by breaking the glass, similarity it also means by breaking the transparent boundaries/barriers set up by the particular user.)

Tag from the point of view of real life context is identification.

To be tagged on Instagram, can either be a nightmare or a kind of acknowledgment/recognition. I have seen cases whereby people use it as a form of recognition to recognize someone efforts such as tagging them on photos of pastries/gifts that was baked/bought by them. However, according to the developers of Instagram, tags are actually designed for users to use it to notify their friends when they upload photos or photos that includes them. Hence, to be tagged in real life context can be like a form of identification, just like the name tags that some of us used to pin on to our blouse/shirt or the brand labels found at the back of your daily apparels. It’s there serving as a form of identification/identity. It came off loud and clear even without any form of verbal communication. Thus, in this case, I presented it as a product being labelled/tagged with visuals indicating it’s on sale! Subject is also deliberately placed in a transparent package to highlight the transparency of tagging (It’s there for everyone to see). Lights are cast onto the subject itself to bring the subject to the center of attention to indicate the clarity as well as the effects of tags on Instagram.

Overall, I uses complementary colors in some of my panels (Like green and pinkish red etc). This colors was also picked with reference on the kind of colors editorial illustrators would use (usually very vibrant and saturated colors). I purposely kept white borders in these pieces to ‘frame’ them as well as to draw the viewers’ attention to my content. Referencing from my artist references/mood board, I picked up techniques like connecting of borders with objects by using similar colors so that they feels like one as well as trying my best to keep my background minimal so that the subject is clear. Lastly, shadows and contrast are also used to create volume and dynamism to my objects, not forgetting the small details such as reflections on the glass bottles are carefully illustrated with the intention to make it as convincing as possible.

Below are some photos of my work,

LNSphotos-01 — Test prints on different kinds of paper. I kind of like how the wrong prints (the b/w prints) came out. Prof Joy also pointed out about unintentional lines formed when printing via inkjet printer which I didn’t notice initially.

LNSphotos-02 — Close-up shot of textured effect printed onto paper as well as pieces covered with literal filters.

LNSphotos-03 — Shots of the final piece printed on smooth matte cartridge paper. Uses this type of paper as it reminds me of the little postcards found in some magazine (for instance, smith journal etc) in between pages.

In conclusion, I’m quite satisfied with the outcome of this project as it have been a really longgggggggg and slow brain baking process for me, really glad that it kind of turned out better than the possible worst scenarios I have thought of initially (while I was stuck). It took me quite awhile to pick up keywords and brainstorm ideas for each of the statement, what makes it even tougher is having to illustrate aspects of social media in real life context (but this is definitely one of the best way to convey the message more effectively).

This project definitely stretched my brain and expanded my mind in a way. ? In terms of execution wise, I picked up a new technique of illustration ; incorporating textures in my illustration/digital painting (something that I will definitely make use of in future)! I have also slightly grown more sensitive towards contrast and colors than before (Colors was really one of my weakness even before I joined ADM as I have this tendency to use muted colors for my work, thankfully not this time round)! Not forgetting, while documenting these pieces to update, I learnt how to animate them as well (Not the best but am glad that I manage to make it :)).

However, given a chance to re-edit these pieces, I would add in more details on each character in terms of their outfit and hair (as I felt that the characters can be further elaborated). Additionally, I would include words in my other three panels and add in more bottles and human for panel 2 (#Hashtag) (both suggested by prof Joy) to make it more consistent! Last but not least, really thankful for all the kind feed backs and I am quite excited for the new project! ?

With this, I shall end off this post with one of the feed backs I got from one of my classmates, which I find amusing in particular! ?

FullSizeRender — Didn’t thought of it till you mentioned! Really so much of coincidence, hahaha! ??

Lastly, don’t forget to check out the WIP here, if you haven’t! ?

Project 2 – Point of view | WIP

Print — So.. earlier this week, I carelessly deleted one of work file for this project while replacing my dying hard-drive for my laptop but good news is .. thankfully, I still have one initial WIP file (with big shapes but no details) with me! Which makes redoing it less painful, sorry if some of the details isn’t the same as before! – Tip: remember to open up any file to check before deleting!

Back to point, just like Mr. long neck’s longggggggggg neck, this is going to be a longgggggggggg post, will be covering my initial steps in this post as well. ☺️(PS: Organized my stages of progress in segments using lines, hope it’s clearer!)

Like everyone else, I’ve my own fear too. I used to have ‘Aichmophobia’, a fear for sharp objects, but for my case, particularly penknife and stitching. I was greatly traumatized by an accident that happened when I was 9. 8 years later, I am faced in a situation whereby I have to deal with pen knives almost every week that it soon becomes a habit and eventually got me out of this trauma (hmm, a blessing in disguise probably, haha!), it was definitely a long process as whenever I held on to a pen knife, my palms gets sweaty and shaky. What adds on to this is having to hold on a pen knife using my scarred hand. Thankfully, now it’s no longer an issue anymore! (Okay, enough of my long-winded story. Now, back to point.) ☺️

This is why I decided to start off this project with the topic on fear as fear is something everybody has experienced throughout their lives. I looked into both rational and irrational fear and came out with three concepts (being: (1) Point of view from a person who suffers from social anxiety, (2) Some irrational fears social media have caused and lastly, (3) using face which I consider as the most vulnerable part of one to portray each rational fear. After my first consultation and further brainstorming, I decided to further develop concept (2). In terms of our current context, I thought that concept (2) will be better understood by some after all it’s regarding social media!

With this, I came out with a few sentences based on some of these popular social networking sites/applications commonly used in today’s world context. Also managed to bounce off some ideas during lunch with Desiree and Jie lin which derived me to my final concept of bringing social media context into real life. ☺️

Sentences I came out with :

(initially wanted to create humor as to remind one that social media actions are not a big deal so there’s no need to worry/put so much stress when being excluded/neglected on social medias. As research have shown that communication/actions on social medias tend to affect users emotionally.)

(1) Blue tick is a silence form of acknowledgement.
(2) Tagging is just a label.
(3) It’s important to have your own opinions. Don’t follow.
(4) Befriending with you virtually doesn’t make us friends in reality.
(5) Virtual likes can’t buy you real likes.
(6) Emoticon is more than just an icon.

stage2-01 — **Initial conceptualize stages** – mind map, ideas and finally, a concluding mind map.

During my second consultation as a group, some classmates pointed out that there might be ‘noises’ in my work, whereby my viewers might not be able to visualize my intended message in some of my panels, which I kind of agree as well. Was also discussing whether to use a single panel or several panels for each statement to narrate the point across as several panels tend to works better in narrating without words as audience can always look at the next panel to figure out what’s happening in the previous panel. However, there’s too many considerations/concerns to be wary of, particularly space and time constraints. Thus, classmate suggested to include sentences or words in panels to hint audience about its content. Was still in confusion after consultation, thankfully Prof Joy offered some time to clear up my doubts. Prof Joy suggested using real life situations to illustrate each social media context so that viewers can better interpret my point. She also suggested to focus on one social media, to narrow down my focus so that it will be easier to tackle them.

Drew up a concluding mind map to refresh my mind that evening. Decided to put my focus on Instagram, one of the widely used social networking service catered for one to record moments through capturing photos and videos to share with their friends. Identified and looked up on the functions of some of the commonly virtual actions such as tag, emoticon, hashtag, follow etc before drafting out my final point of view statements. Additionally, to avoid clashes, I picked out 6 actions that are slightly more different with one another, below are the 6 actions I’ve picked out.

In social media context,

(1) Emoticons – is to express your emotions virtually.
(2) Hashtags – is to categorize topics to allow users to engage with people of common interests.
(3) Follow – to follow is to get engage with someone’s updates or to make friends.
(4) Updates – is sharing snippet of your daily lives.
(5) Un-follow/Block – is to unsubscribe people from viewing contents you’ve shared.
(6) Tag – to notify your friends that you’ve upload images & they’ve been tagged in them.

6 finalize point of views that I’ll be looking at :

(1) Emoticon from the point of view of real life context is disguise
(2) Hashtag from the point of view of real life context is classification.
(3) Follow from the point of view of real life context is affirmation/acknowledgment.
(4) Updates from the point of view of real life context is sharing/broadcasting.
(5) Un-follow/Block from the point of view of real life context is restrictions.
(6) Tag from the point of view of real life context is identification.

Of looking at references,

Joan cornella-01 — Initial artist reference – Joan Cornella. Whereas, for my finals pieces, I further proceeded on to look into other illustrators such as John Holcroft, Emiliano Ponzi, Tom Haugomat and Malika Favre.

With the intention to portray my work in a less intimidating and witty yet thought provokingmanner , I looked into some examples of how humor was usually presented in editorial design. Why editorial design? Since my concept is ‘bringing digital context to real life context’, I thought editorial design/prints is a great reference to look into.(* Mood Board – Click to view style & references I’ve gathered/referenced to.)

Characteristics of their illustrations :

(1) Usage of color blocks.
(2) Clear focus on subject (with minimal background in some pieces).
(3) Usage of textures.
(4) Great contrast of shadows.
(5) Flat illustration style.
(6) Similar usage of color for object and border makes them feels as though they’re one.

Of designing character,

**Exploring character style** – to find the ‘ideal’ type that gives off a sense of humor. Picked out a particular distinct feature from some of my them to finalize my character design.

LND — **Finalize Character – Mr Long Neck.** (Think the neck can be longer though, hahaha ? )

Of brainstorming,

Referencing from examples prof Joy suggested, I came up with some new ideas for each statement as well.

Emoticon in real life context,

Panel (1) : is like invisible imagery of another you.
Panel (2) : is like disguise/hiding your real emotions.
Panel (3) : is like an act of role-playing.

initialdesign2 — Initial ideas for **‘Hashtag’**.

Hashtag in real life context,

Panel (1) : are like a fashion icon/trend/accessory.
Panel (2) : are like seasoning to your food, which adds on flavor to them.
Panel (3) : are like an act of categorizing/stereotyping.

initialdesign3 — Initial ideas for **‘Follow’**.

Follow in real life context,

Panel (1) : is like welcoming someone into your house also known as personal space.
Panel (2) : are like shadows, the more you follow, the bigger it gets.
Panel (3) : is like having cliques and getting engage with each other lives.

initialdesign4 — Initial ideas for ‘**Update’**.

Updates in real life context,

Panel (1) : is like the updates of prices in stores.
Panel (2) : is like pouring out thoughts from your head.
Panel (3) : is like opening up your heart to someone.

initialdesign5 — Initial ideas for **‘Un-follow/Block’**.

Un-follow/Block in real life context,

Panel (1) : is like winding down your window blinding so you don’t get distracted.
Panel (2) : is like locking up your personal diary.
Panel (3) : is like being left alone at home while your mum goes shopping.

initialdesign6 — Initial ideas for ‘Tag’.

Tags in real life context,

Panel (1) : are like brand name tags/labels attached onto your clothes.
Panel (2) : are like your personalized name tags at work/school.
Panel (3) : are like items tagged with sale. (Loud and clear!)

Of trying out,

Initialstyle2 — **Digital painting test-out –** Played with some textures and brushes too! Was trying to test out varies style in each panel so there’s a mix & slight differences in each panels. ( Hopefully, you can tell!)

Decided to illustrate using vector art as well to try out which way works the best. Attached below are some of my illustrated results referencing some different styles from my mood board:

With this, I decided to execute my ideas in the form of vector art as I personally felt that it looks more ‘complete’ and feels more digital which can better brings out my concept of bringing the context of social media (digital) to real life context (Paper). Additionally, I seek my sister’s view on this as well, she personally feels that the latter (vector art) works better aesthetically and conceptually if I’m going towards a clean look. Thus, I have decided to go with… vector art!

Sorry for the long-windedness but do check back for next post which I will be covering on the final pieces! ☺️

Project 2 – Point of view | RII

Hi, here are some quick updates after Monday’s sharing session! 🙂

Came across this “short film following behind the back of a paranoid, neurotic man named Terry as he wanders through the streets of Manhattan. Past memories and his irrational inner thoughts soon plague his every move. By channeling a form of mental time travel, he attempts to overcome these past anxieties.” – It’s interesting how this was filmed from a third person perspective, which really does incite a feeling of paranoia. The inner thoughts of this individual was also well executed as it makes me feels like I’m a part of his inner world.

Lastly, here are suggestions suggested during class on Monday’s sharing discussion,

(1) Consider what kind of fear you would like to convey, irrational fears or rational fears?

(2) The choice of medium used as it plays an important role to instill fear. For instance, color pencil might not convey this feelings of fear as effectively as water color etc.

(3) Consider playing with perspective? For instance, frying an egg, you might like to include the audience into the scenario by doing it in a first person point of view. This might actually instill some fear in the audience as they might think that they are actually in that scene!

(4) Consider the choice of paper and its gsm. A lower gsm paper might instill a different kind of fear,maybe? – Painting on toilet paper and making sure it doesn’t tear might portray a certain fear?

(5) Consider using photos to convey fear? or through exaggeration?

In the meantime, I’ve decided to look into irrational fear which is also known as phobia, which encompasses social phobias and other specific phobias of specific objects/environment. Now, back to sorting out some thoughts and thinking what I can proceed on from here. 🙂

Project 2 – Point of view | R

Hi, here’s some research done for project 2. Was inspired by this particular author (Fran Krause) who makes comics about irrational fears (Known as Deep dark fears), whereby people would submit an entry of their fear while he make a comic about it. I thought it was something reallyrealllly interesting (really like his work as his work conveys different irrational fears in a less intimidating but fun/engaging manner. Sometimes, while reading them, I find that most of these irrational fears tend to relate to me as an individual as well and I can’t help but to nod in agreement to most of them even though it’s irrational. Hahahaha! It’s definitely enjoyable to read them >:D ) .

Here are some of his works,

Here’s a few point of views that I thought of so far,

Fear from the point of view of the dead is cremation.
Fear from the point of view of a performer is audience.
Fear from the point of view of Courage is an enemy.
Fear from the point of view of me is a prison.
Fear from the point of view of a toilet paper is being stained.
Fear from the point of view of an eye is contact lens/sunlight.
Fear from the point of view of face is failed plastic surgery/distortion.
Fear from the point of view of an egg is frying pan.
Fear from the point of view of a child is shadows/mirrors/dentist.
Fear from the point of view of heart is death.
Fear from the point of view of skin is injection.
Fear from the point of view of darkness is light.
Fear from the point of view of an abused victim is a haunting ghost.
Sewing from the point of view of fear is surgery.

Meanwhile will brainstorm for more POVs!

Below are some inspirations that is interesting in terms of execution, other than these examples, we can also play with negative spaces and apply gestalt principles into our work.

gibbon_2400 — Thought this was an interesting use of representation by connecting the monkey with the roots of the tree to convey the idea that the lives of this wildlife animals is entwined with the trees.

plastic-01_aotw — Clever use of graphics to convey the message I thought. Explaining the main hidden heavy consequences behind all inconsiderate disposal of plastic and the reason why one should always consider before disposing any plastic.

wwf_rhino_day_2_aotw — Thought provoking advertisement!

wwf_rhino_day_3_aotw — Thought provoking advertisement!

To more updates! 🙂