Project 03 – Ego

Hello! 

At the start of this project, I wrote down on how I should go about with my thought processes as shown below:

thought-process

…Something like that.

Well then, let’s get started.


Personality Traits

I took the 16 Personalities Test (also known as the Myer-Briggs’ Test) and thought about my personality for quite a while.

I am an INFJ-Advocate:

infj

Some key personality traits (that I’m very conscious of):

  • Reserved
  • Emotionally stable
  • Detached
  • Daydreamer/ head in the clouds
  • Nature-lover
  • Goes with the flow

I like happy things, and I enjoy being happy!


Personal Symbolism and Image References

Nature-lover + Surrounded by Nature = Zen

Wisteria – A Calming Sight

  • One of my favorite flowers is the wisteria; From the many pictures I’ve seen on the net, I’ve always imagined myself in the picture itself, surrounded by the wisteria.
  • Just imagining it gives me peace. I love nature very dearly.

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Reserved + Uncomfortable Social Situations = Suffocation

The Great Egret – Observation and Judgement

  • I often alight at Marymount station and walk along the canal to get home. I see an egret (sometimes a small gray one) from time to time, perched on the opposite of the canal (where no humans can get to them). They’ll look at me as I walk past, and I’ll stare back at them (because I find them pretty and interesting). If I stare for too long, they’d feel threatened and fly away into the trees.
  • Funny enough, I feel the same way during social events – reserved.
  • Observing people before I act. Making the correct judgement in forging new relationships. I don’t “hate” anyone, but if I get a feeling that someone doesn’t seem to like me, I’ll stay away from them.

great_egret_sydphillips

Goldfish – A symbol of death.

  • When I was young, I used to keep fishes as pets together with my father. We would take care of them splendidly well — providing the correct minerals and pH levels in the tank, cleaning the tank regularly, properly introducing the new fishes by adjusting the water temperature…
  • But the only fish that we could not keep alive for long was always the goldfish. It’s eerie, but I’ve always associated goldfishes as pets that would not live for a long time.

fantail-6

Go with the Flow + Disruption = Anxiety

Water – Flow

Skeletons and Ribcages – Death

  • Skeletons remind me of death. It is a very common symbolism among many.

 

Head in the Clouds + Fantasy Fiction = Triumph

Video Games – An interactive storybook

  • The video games I play are usually under the genre of RPG (role-playing games), and it’s something I grew with. I enjoyed the video games that I played very much as they had stories to tell; characters to relate to, environments that helped establish the story.
  • I feel that video games are what gave me most of my imagination as a person; I would say that without growing up with video games, I probably wouldn’t be in art school at this point of my life.

Color Analysis

I first picked color schemes that I liked via colourco.de ; This is a website that I use when I want to play around with colors.

Here is my chart of color schemes:

 

color-scheme

I didn’t go with mood boards because it’s rather distressing; I’d come up with too many color schemes. Listing the colors I found appealing would be better in terms of organization.

I grouped the numerous color schemes according to their similarity and got 4 distinct groups of colors. [C – complementary, M – monochrome, A – analogous]

Afterwards, I added a few more color schemes in order to balance my colors (after the lineart)

color-scheme2

The Color Decision

Analogous Colors – Personality Trait (First Row)

I personally feel that my character traits are strong and weak at different times – I react differently in different settings. Analogous colors hence represent this fact; my personality is not toned in one color, but similar colors/colors side by side.

 

Monochrome Colors – Setting (Second Row)

untitled

An environment or situation, to me, is dyed in one color, but of different tones.

 

Complementary Colors – Outcome of Me (Third Row)

Settings influence my behavior, and how I react to people’s actions and the stimuli around me; that’s why I see it as not just one color, but different colors.


Sketches

After pinning down the settings, symbolism and colors, I put them together:

  • Head in the Clouds + Fantasy Fiction = Triumph

head-in-the-clouds-sketch

video-gamess

triumphants

  • Reserved + Uncomfortable Social Events = Suffocation

reserveds

s

suffocation

  • Go with the Flow + Disruption = Anxiety

go-with-the-flowsketch

disruptionsketch

anxiety-sketch

  • Nature-lover + Nature = Zen

nature-lovers

surrounded-by-natures

zens

 


Final Outcome

Head in the Clouds + Fantasy Fiction = Triumph

Head in the Clouds

head-in-the-clouds

Fantasy Fiction

video-games

Triumph

triumphant

Personally…

I’m always told by people that I’m “in my own world” and things like that; and I agree wholeheartedly. If you catch me staring into space, I’m probably thinking about fantasy fiction and very often, video games.

Triumph is a depiction of what I feel after I play a video game/read a book — I feel that I’ve won and conquered; I have control over the character in video game, and when I win a battle, it of course feels triumphant.

With regards to colors…

I chose the pastel pink color scheme group for this equation as it best represents fantasy to me; it brings out a very pixie feel to it.

Go with the Flow + Disruption = Anxiety

Go with the Flow

go-with-the-flow

Disruption

disruption

Anxiety

anxiety

Personally…

I am a person who is very easy-going, and people do say that I’m accepting and very open to other’s opinions. But when others come into conflict with my moral values/ actions, I tend to get very perturbed and then, anxious. (I have no idea why, it maybe the consequences of being an INFJ-A).

With regards to colors…

I chose the deep blue and red color scheme group for the equation. Red and blue are my favorite colors, and the dark tones of the blue and red really bring out the melancholy of the “Outcome” panel. Deep red is the color of blood, and the analogous blue-green colors have this calming feeling to it.

Nature-lover + Surrounded by Nature = Zen

Nature-lover

nature-lover

Surrounded by Nature

surrounded-by-nature

Zen

zen

Personally…

As a christian, I really appreciate the people around me, and especially nature. I love flowers, trees, and animals! I feel a huge sense of peace within when I’m surrounded by nature.

With regards to colors…

This time round, I went with realism over the choice of colors – green and blue for leaves and flower colors respectively and the color of purple for the wisteria flowers.

Reserved + Uncomfortable Social Situations = Suffocation

Reserved

reserved

Uncomfortable Social Situations

uncomfortable-social-situations

Suffocation

suffocation

Personally…

As an introvert, I dislike being in uncomfortable situations. I’d feel very suffocated if I was forced to speak to a crowd that I’m not familiar with.

With regards to colors…

I wanted to bring out the white colors of the great egret, so I selected a color scheme group that would allow for the whiteness of the egret’s feathers. One of the color white’s symbols is safety, which also brings out the idea of being “reserved”; being careful and cautious.


Final Presentation and Mounting

2016-11-18-15-26-01

Reflections

This project was… even more tiring than the last. I had fun exploring color schemes, but it was tough trying to analyse myself and thinking about life. I did have fun doing something that I was familiar with; to be honest, it takes a lot of courage to print out my own digital art and even present it to the whole class. I’m glad that this project gave me the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and show what I love to do to the class.


Artist Inspirations 

Toi8

Toi8’s a Japanese artist which I’ve been inspired by for a very long time. He mainly does art for games, manga and animation. I love the colors he uses for his compositions, and I especially love his lineart.

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uczz1kw8j3wis4mozkug4

Loika

Website: http://www.3daysmarch.net/

Loika’s natural compositions are beautiful, and the colors Loika chooses are very natural; which I enjoy very much!

tumblr_nzgiltrzju1qgb4moo1_1280

tumblr_ofwmps1u4u1qgb4moo1_1280

 

Amei Zhao

Website: http://seventypercentethanol.tumblr.com/

Amei’s series of original art, The Nameless and the Scientist, is a favorite of mine. Amei does many beautiful concept and environmental art.

tumblr_ngaocy3idh1qct03ko1_500

tumblr_oaya6veo3b1qct03ko2_500

 

 

Project 2: Movie Quotes, Design Drafts and Artist Inspirations

Here are the movie quotes, synopsis, as well as the dialogue leading up to the quote. The quotes are in bold. (Quote breakdown — keywords and ideas associated with them are also included).

I have also placed the design drafts under each movie section.


NON-STOP (2014)

Synopsis:

Bill Marks, a former cop dealing with his daughter’s death by drinking, is now a federal air marshal. While on a flight from New York to London, Mark gets a text telling him that unless 150 million dollars is transferred to an offshore account, someone will die every 20 minutes.

Dialogue:

Jen: Are you asking me if I saw someone else go in, or if I killed the captain?

Bill: did you see someone else?

Jen: …No

Bill: Then that’s the question.

Jen: You’re a dick.

(Bill starts to suspect Jen, talking about how she possibly choose the window seat right next to Bill and asked him a personal question. Jen gets exasperated, and says that she was the only one who stood by him the entire time; then she starts to share about her heart failure and how she might die anytime. She walks out, and Bill pours her a drink, then apologizes.)

Bill: I hate flying.

Jen: Really? I’ve always kinda liked it. You know, six hours in the same spot. Nobody get to you, nothing to do but just be present.

Bill: There’s no control.

Jen: Control is an illusion. There is no control. Over anything.

ns1

ns2

ns3

QUOTE BREAKDOWN:

  1. CONTROL — dog leash, steering wheel, controller…
  2. ILLUSION — mirage, virtual reality, dream…

Design Draft:

non-stop-c

Symbolism:

The controller represents the perception of control. The cord connecting the controller to the heart is broken, suggesting the lack of control. I decided to add in the context of the movie here, in which Jen Summers is unable to control her lifespan, thus the human heart represent Jen’s own heart/life.


KIKI’S DELIVERY SERVICE (1989)

Synopsis:

Kiki, a young witch-in-training, has reached the age of 13. According to tradition, all witches of that age must leave home for one year, so that they can learn how to live on their own. Kiki, along with her talking cat Jiji, fly away to live in the seaside town of Korico. After starting her own delivery service (using her broom as the delivery vehicle), Kiki must learn how to deal with her new life, especially after she loses the power to fly.

Dialogue:

Ursula: Magic is like art. I, too, don’t paint very well sometimes.

Kiki: Really? What do you do then?

Ursula: don’t look this way.

(Kiki goes back to her original pose.)

Kiki: Before, I could fly without giving it a thought. Now I can’t even begin to remember how I ever managed to do it.

Ursula: All you can do when it gets like that is struggle. Draw and draw again.

Kiki: But if I really can’t fly…

Ursula: I stop drawing… I take a walk… Look at the scenery… Take a nap… Or even nothing at all. Then all of a sudden I want to draw.

Kiki: Does that really happen?

Ursula: Sure it does! Now, look sideways.

kds1

kds2

kds3

About Ursula…

  • She became Kiki’s friend after meeting her when Kiki was on her first delivery
  • She is an artist, and in this context, she is explaining to Kiki about what artists commonly have — art block.

QUOTE BREAKDOWN:

  1. STRUGGLE — flail, trying to take control, repeatedly try to do something
  2. AGAIN — repetition, retry

Design Draft:

kikis-delivery-service-c-min

Symbolism:

The swallows represent Kiki, who is struggling to fly again, thus the repetition of movement in the swallows. The feathers represent the struggle, whereby feathers often fall off birds when they take flight. The feathers and the swallows are continuous in a circle which shows repetition and highlights the attempts of “trying and trying again”.


THE LION KING (1994)

Sypnosis:

A young lion prince is born in Africa, thus making his uncle Scar second-in-line to the throne. Scar plots with his hyenas to kill King Mufasa and Prince Simba, thus making himself King. The King is killed and Simba is led to believe Scar that it was his fault, and so flees the kingdom in shame. After years of exile, he is persuaded to return home to overthrow the ursurper and claim the kingdom as his own, thus completing the ‘Circle of Life’.

Dialogue:

Adult Simba: I know what I have to do. But going back means I’ll have to face my past. I’ve been running from it for so long.

[Rafiki hits Simba on the head with his stick]

Adult Simba: Ow! Jeez, what was that for?

Rafiki: It doesn’t matter. It’s in the past.

[laughs]

Adult Simba: Yeah, but it still hurts.

Rafiki: Oh yes, the past can hurt. But from the way I see it, you can either run from it, or… learn from it.

[swings his stick again at Simba, who ducks out of the way]

Rafiki: Ha. You see? So what are you going to do?

Adult Simba: First, I’m gonna take your stick.

[Simba snatches Rafiki’s stick and throws it and Rafiki runs to grab it]

Rafiki: No, no, no, no, not the stick! Hey, where you going?

Adult Simba: I’m going back!

Rafiki: Good! Go on! Get out of here!

[Rafiki begins laughing and screeching loudly]

lk1

lk2

lk3

QUOTE BREAKDOWN…

  1. PAST — time, clock, steps taken, road
  2. HURT — pain, blood, tears
  3. RUN — looking away, turning your back, flying away from a predator
  4. LEARN — avoiding mistakes, education, facing an enemy

Design Draft:

the-lion-king-b

 

Symbolism:

The rabbit represents Simba (heir to the throne, thus the crown), who is timid and afraid of facing his past (where he blames himself for his father’s death). The clock shows the essence of time/Simba’s past and how long he has been running from it. The past can hurt, as shown by the blood splatters on the clock. The swords symbolize Simba learning from his past.


HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE (2001)

Sypnosis:

Harry Potter thinks he is an ordinary boy celebrating his eleventh birthday, but hs is far from right. A giant named Hagrid appears and gives Harry the all important news — He is a wizard. Now Harry’s journey in life gets more intense as he travels to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to learn the trade of being a wizard.

Dialogue:

 

Dumbledore: It does not do well to dwell on dreams, Harry, and forget to live.

QUOTE BREAKDOWN…

  1. DREAMS — dreamcatcher, sleep, illusions, mirage
  2. DWELL — remain, longing, encircling
  3. FORGET — lose sight of something, emptiness
  4. LIVE — living things like plant vines, spring

Design Draft:

harry-potter-b

Symbolism:

The figure reaching out from the top right hand corner represents Harry, who is staring into the Mirror of Erised. The vines represent the living world/reality in which Harry is in. He is reaching out to his parents, represented by the two fox figures who are together. The fox figures are treading on the ground with graveyards, representing the dead/the underworld. Also, take note that only the figure’s arms are beyond the area of vines — it represents the part of the quote “forgetting to live“. 

In short,

  1. dwelling on dreams — Harry longing for his parents (reaching out for them)
  2. forgetting to live — Harry possibly losing sight of what his actual reality is/the living present

 


ARTIST INSPIRATIONS

KEN TAYLOR

Biography

Melbourne based Illustrator & Designer Ken Taylor works primarily within the music industry and is predominantly well known for his striking rock posters. Ken started in Perth Western Australia doing posters and album artwork for local bands. In 2001 He moved to Melbourne and slowly started to create a name for himself within Melbourne’s music scene. In 2006 he went out on his own and started to work full time on music based artwork.

Personal Opinion

I personally enjoy Ken Taylor’s artworks and they are an inspiration as they include huge amounts of detail, and the layouts, use of space and colors are very striking and pleasing to the eyes.

anyfortytworld-480x678

Any Forty

bon acl

Bon Iver — Austin, TX

sigur-ros

Sigur Ros — North Charleston

 

KARA WALKER

Biography

Kara Walker is known for creating black-and-white silhouette works that invoke themes of African American racial identity. Her subjects, often scenes of slavery, conflict or violence, are rendered in a style recalling traditional African illustration and folklore of the pre-Civil War United States; the works preserve and draw critical attention to these earlier cultural epochs. Working in collage, Walker cuts out and affixes black or white paper directly to gallery walls, and utilizes light projectors to cast viewers’ own shadows into her silhouetted narratives, creating a deeply engaging experience. Despite the oftentimes sombre nature of her subjects, Walker relies on humor and viewer interaction. “I didn’t want a completely passive viewer,” she has said. “I wanted to make work where the viewer wouldn’t walk away; he would either giggle nervously, get pulled into history, into fiction, into something totally demeaning and possibly very beautiful.”

Personal Opinion

I am astounded by how impactful Kara Walker’s artworks are — the silhouettes are void of color and facial/bodily details, yet the dynamism of the poses brings the message across very strongly.

larger-1

Untitled (Tomato Patch Girl)

larger-2

African/American , 1998

larger

Auntie Walker’s Wall Sampler for Civilians, 2013

 

 

DOTDOTDOT

Biography

Dot Dot Dot is a pseudonym for a mysterious Norwegian stencil artist. Like Banksy and many stencil artists before him, he prefers to remain annonymous, this has as much to do with his long graffiti career as it does with the allure of anonymity.

What we do know is that he was born in Oslo, Norway and first started graffiti in 1997. He has operated under several pseudonyms, but when he successfully shifted to a more conceptual and figuratie style, settled on Dot Dot Dot.

He began focusing on stencil work in 2007 and in the last few years has become regarded as one of the country’s leading street artists.

Personal Opinion

Similar to Kara Walker, these works of Dotdotdot below are very miminal and just contain silhouettes, but they bring the message across with a huge amount of impact.

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Toxic Thinkbell (Yellow)

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Weapon of Choice (Black on White)

Character Design

We had to design characters for the 4D assignment using the techniques of add, subtract, substitution and superimposition that we learned the other lesson.

PROCESS: I drew my images then superimposed textures to the garb of my characters.

TOOLS USED: Paint Tool SAI, Photoshop CS6, textures

TEXTURE SOURCE: 

http://blaxbla.deviantart.com/art/Vintage-texture-set-3-192008546?q=boost%3Apopular%20vintage%20textures&qo=52

and

http://texturesource.tumblr.com/post/31216910645/ofabeautifulnight-deactivated20-11-hq-floral

IGNITE

poster

STORY SYPNOSIS

In a world where magic and dragons exist lies a flourishing kingdom of three nations that have been united a century ago by the Hero King. The Hero King possessed the great power of control over time, and this power was passed down to the following generations of kings. As time passed, the power weakened and in this present day, the king can only predict the future of a person with the touch of their hand. The king of the present time called forth the next generation of representatives to validate their candidacy and bestow upon them the blessing of the Hero King. However, on that fated day, the flames of darkness engulfed the palace, killing the king. With his final breath, he commanded the three young rulers to find the person whom he had passed on his power to, and ultimately, confront the enemy of the kingdom.

CHARACTERS

amr 01

Amr 

Next Great Knight-in-Command of the land of mercenaries, the Clockwork City. Her father, Arthur, is the current Great Knight-in-Command. At 18 years old, she is the first upcoming female Great Knight Commander to be appointed. She wields two swords, and is famous for her Defensive Sword Arts. Nicknamed as the “Unbreakable Shield”.

[Extra: When she was 13 years old, Amr adopted an orphaned baby phoenix sparrow when she was out training in the outskirts of town at dawn. She named it Aurora.]

campana 01

Campana

At 10 years old, she is the youngest witch to be appointed as the next Head Magus of the land of the Magi, the Great Tree. A complete genius — high affinity with all elements of magic, excellent in her theory, but still has much more to learn.

taiyo 01

Taiyo

Next clan head of the Blue Kitsune which is the current leading clan of the land of the Ninja, the Bamboo Grove. The Blue Kitsune are known for their humorous but perceptive nature. 21 year-old Taiyo is no exception, and he is famous for his peerless stealth and handling of the Fukiya and Fukibari.