Friedricebucket

Time to dissect the Rainbow!

October 9, 2015 by Ong Yi Teck·0 Comments

When I think about colors, it reminds me of the rainbow and how we are always drawn by the beauty of it. It is the combination of the various colors that evoke all the different emotions in us and make us stare at them longer. Can you imagine if a rainbow is formed by a single color? It would be so boring, isn’t it? My point is that individual colors are represent a certain emotion and the combination of different colors will have different effect on our brains. So let us take a closer look on the different kind of colors and the emotion that they represent.

Primary Colors

Primary Colors are the root of every other hue imaginable. This means that, to achieve other colors, you simply have to mix the the primary colors together and depending on which are the base colors used as well as the proportions used, you are able to achieve different hues. The three Primaries are like the Parents in the family of colors.

In paint pigments, pure Yellow, pure Red, and pure Blue are the only hues that can’t be created by mixing any other colors together.

Secondary Colors

When you combine any two of the Pure Primary Hues, you get three new mixtures called Secondary Colors. They are considered to be the children in the family of colors and the 3 secondaries are Orange , Purple and Green. The equations below demonstrate how a particular secondary color can be derived from the primaries:

Yellow + Red = ORANGE

Red + Blue = VIOLET or PURPLE

Blue + Yellow = GREEN

Tertiary Colors

Mix a Primary and its nearest Secondary color on the Basic Color Wheel and you will get six new mixtures called Tertiary colors. The tertiary Colors are the Grandchildren in the family of colors.

Yellow + Orange = YELLOW-ORANGE
Red + Orange = RED-ORANGE
Red + Violet = RED-VIOLET
Blue + Violet = BLUE-VIOLET
Blue + Green = BLUE-GREEN
Yellow + Green = YELLOW-GREEN

This totals twelve basic colors that allows you to mix an endless variety of hues, tints, tones and shades.

source: http://color-wheel-artist.com/primary-colors.html

The Emotions of Colors

I am pretty sure most of us have already watched Disney Pixar’s Inside Out that was released this year and it was a great movie isn’t it? In case you have yet to watch ( which i strongly urge you to do so ), the story revolves around the characters that represent an emotion individually. As seen from the top photo, the characters are, from left to right, Anger, Fear, Joy, Disgust and sadness. And if we look closely at the individual colors that are assigned to each emotion, it seems that the colors are well suited and our eyes are able to link the colors to the characters smoothly.

Then again, you might think if it makes any difference at all. And the answer is simply, yes. Take a look at the image below.

I adjusted the hue levels of the same image presented earlier and this is the result. We can take a look at anger (left most), joy (center) and sadness (right most). This time around, anger is in blue color, and our eyes fail to pick up that sense of anger out of the character as compared to its original red color. This is because blue is a cool color while anger is considered a more spontaneous/ aggressive emotion. Therefore, the color blue will not match the character of anger. Similarly, for joy, the purple feels a bit out of place even though the yellow seems fine. and Lastly for sadness, Yellow is the complete opposite to the emotion because yellow, being a bright color, brings out warmth, vibrancy and positive feelings out of the subject. Therefore, we an say that each color has a unique characteristic to it and it represents an emotion.

Below is a list of the primary and secondary colors and their corresponding emotions

Red is the color of fire, blood and rose, so it is associated Anger, determination as well as passion, love
Blue is the color of the sky and sea. It may represent calmness, softness and confidence/stability.
Yellow is the color of sunshine. It’s associated with joy, happiness.
Green can represent greed and jealousy or zen/peace depending on the shade
Orange combines the energy of red and the happiness of yellow; represents enthusiasm, fascination
Purple is a very rare color in nature hence, it may be linked to gloominess/ unease or fear

source: https://resources.oncourse.iu.edu/access/content/user/rreagan/Filemanager_Public_Files/meaningofcolors.htm

Visual example of Colors

Time to give Nursery Rhymes a makeover!

October 6, 2015 by Ong Yi Teck·0 Comments

FOUNDATION 2D PROJECT 2: NURSERY RHYME

Before i start showcasing my exploration process and the final product, i would like to say that, during the course of this project, i have learnt a lot from this project. For a person with no prior background in Photoshop/ illustrator as well as the lack of experience in designs, this project has allowed me to step out of my comfort zone and expand my knowledge on digital art. After near 4 weeks of learning and practicing the us of the software, i was able to create the designs that i wanted at the back of my mind. There are still some rough edges that i have to work on but nonetheless, I am really proud of my work and i am satisfied with the final outcome.

My approach for this project is very different from project 1, where i spent a lot more time on the experimentation. For this assignment, i went with a trial-and-error approach. I would try playing with the different images that are available from the image bank on dropbox. Once i have found a composition that i think there is room for exploration, i would then work with it by adjusting the various elements in terms of positions and scale, followed by introducing of background and textures.

Originally, my compositions are pretty much literal and i was trying to produce designs that actually convey the rhyme i am doing. However, after consultation, i realized that we are free to explore our own interpretation of the rhyme and hence the definition of the rhyme becomes loose. What i did was to capture interesting certain keywords found in any line of the rhyme and make the design look slightly bizarre, hopefully able to capture viewer’s attention.

Without further ado, let’s get started! …

THE BAD AND THE UGLY

This was the first design i came up with for the line “there was an old woman who lived in a shoe”. As you can see from the example above, the design was rather literal, flat and there was a lack in background and textures. The way i composed this image was to have the shoe off proportion, bigger than that of everything else ( the shoe is like the size of an actual house). I placed in at the top right corner to give an impression of depth. The bed, the lady and the ducklings are all placed at the bottom to represent foreground. The proportions relatively to one another are roughly what we would expect in the real world. All in all, the design was boring there is nothing much going on to hook viewers attention.

My next design, i tried working on the exact same line and i took the literal approach as well. The differences this time is that i tried to compose my design in the center this time and the proportions are a little exaggerated. Also, the images i used for the design has a different texture individually. However, i stopped working on this design at this point because i did not like the design. It lacks rhythm as well as unity.

For the last experiment in this initial stage, i took a step back from composing an actual design to try experiment with interesting characters. My idea was to substitute the idea of ‘an old lady’ with perhaps an animal or an inanimate object with certain characteristics of an old lady. Basically, it is personification at work. For this particular image, i chose a grumpy cat as the character. It has the emotion that is synonymous to my perception of a grumpy old lady. And to make it more convincing, i added a few other elements to create that visual of an old lady. I placed a round glasses ( white circular lines) just above the nose, as well as those hair curlers around the head. I feel that there was a kind of unity between these elements in terms of the style and contrast, hence i decide to keep this for my next experiment.

These 3 images that you just saw are the few designs that i started off with. As mentioned, it was quite literal and rather boring after reviewing it. However, I took this time to get myself familiar with Photoshop as well as illustrator.

THE EXPERIMENT

After getting a hang of working with Photoshop and the different functions, my step is to explore the possibilities of creating designs that engage with viewers. For the images that you are about to see below, the designs are slightly more complex than the initial images because i incorporated more principles of design into each of the compositions.

This particular design was inspired by the line ‘She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do’. I represented the children with kittens so that in create a contrast from the old lady. To bring forth the idea of ‘too many children’ i duplicated the cats to fill the entire frame around the lady. On top of that, i varied the sizes of the cats and their orientations as well. This help creates a more dynamic and interesting design through the use of rhythm and proportions. However, due to the nature of these images, the tonal scheme lacks a contrast and may be a little confusing and somewhat distracting.

This was a variation of the previous image. Using the grumpy old cat that i have created during the 1st stage, i placed it off center so as to show an intentional imbalance of elements. Also, using the same idea of duplicating the cats, i have created question marks out of the tessellation of the kittens, which would symbolize the idea of having too many children and not knowing what to do. lastly, i created a backdrop out of the kitten paw prints. What i did was to arrange many paw prints in random direction but with a slight flow in it. i then duplicated the backdrop and have it offset on top of the bottom layer to create this’ blurred/ distorted’ look.

This design follows the same line but it was a whole different approach. I started by filling the background with a textured spiral. This helps in providing a variation in textures as well as a natural rhythm to my composition. The other elements that i have included are babies that represent the children as well as a hand that is reaching out of the page to represent the old lady. The way i composed this image follows largely on the principle of rhythm and proportions. I arranged the babies in a way that in spirals out from the center of the spiral and slowly increases in size. It creates an illusion that the babies are travelling out of the page in a spiral.

For the next few designs, they all follows the same line of “All the king’s horses and all the king’s men”. For this line, because there is a strong emphasis of scale and quantity, the approach was very similar across all the compositions, which is to create symmetrical, balanced compositions with repetition of elements. The first design was inspired the kings crown. I chose the crown as the base image and have the elements form the outline of the crown. The King is placed dead center and is bigger than all the elements in the composition to emphasize hierarchy. Followed by the soldiers, the horses and then a brick wall at the bottom. I like the design for the idea as well as the repetition of elements that gives some kind of texture that is similar to an actual crown. However, there was a lack in unity among the different elements and the vast amount of space surrounding the crown makes the design very flat.

For images 2 and 3 of the series, I tried experimenting with negative effect to create a different visual. Design 2 was largely inspired by poker cards with the inverted mirror image going on as well as repetition of elements. I opted for such a look as it gives an illusion of balance and symmetry even when there isn’t any line of symmetry. Design 3 was just an experiment which i stopped working on halfway because the idea i had in mind did not come out as expected. there was clearly a lack in all the principles of design, making it more of a still image rather than a design.

At this stage, i tried to incorporate the principles of design into my own work. Fun fact: i realized that i have a tendency to go designs that shows rhythm and emphasis after completing and reviewing my work but i guess it is consistent and it helps to have the 4 final work looking coherent beside one another.

THE FINAL ONES

And here are my final designs that i have reworked based on the selected 4 compositions that i like. Hope you guys enjoyed my works, looking forward to see the masterpieces done by the rest of the class. Till the next project that comes, cheers!

Time to understand more about DESIGN…

September 21, 2015 by Ong Yi Teck·0 Comments

WHAT EXACTLY IS ” PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN”

In a nutshell, the principles of design describe the ways that artists use the elements of art in a work of art.

What that means is that ( my interpretation) by varying the use of the different principles of design, your final product will be significantly different in the form of its aesthetics, as well as the message/ mood behind the piece of art. Personally, I feel that the elements of design are like our alphabets and the principle of designs are words and sentences that give meaning to our design. It is a form of communication and therefore, it is important to understand the key principles of designs and know how to use them correctly to achieve your intended outcome.

WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN

During my research for the principles of designs, the results I got were quite inconsistent with some listing extra principles. However, there are mainly 5 core principles that were emphasized, namely

Balance
Proportion
Rhythm
Emphasis
Unity

For the definitions that I will be quoting later in the post are adapted from https://www.getty.edu/education/teachers/building_lessons/principles_design.pdf

I chose the definitions used in this pdf as it is shorter and easier to understand.

BALANCE

Balance is the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, texture, and space. If the design was a scale, these elements should be balanced to make a design feel stable. In symmetrical balance, the elements used on one side of the design are similar to those on the other side; in asymmetrical balance, the sides are different but still look balanced. In radial balance, the elements are arranged around a central point and may be similar.

An example of symmetrical balance

EMPHASIS

Emphasis is the part of the design that catches the viewer’s attention. Usually the artist will make one area stand out by contrasting it with other areas. The area could be different in size, color, texture, shape, etc.

The designer uses a different colour ( red) to isolate the object he wants to focus on.

PROPORTION

Proportion is the feeling of unity created when all parts (sizes, amounts, or number) relate well with each other. When drawing the human figure, proportion can refer to the size of the head compared to the rest of the body.

RHYTHM

Rhythm is created when one or more elements of design are used repeatedly to create a feeling of organized movement. Rhythm creates a mood like music or dancing. To keep rhythm exciting and active, variety is essential.

Repetition, Alternation and Gradation are ways in which designers can create movement in their designs

UNITY

Lastly, Unity is the feeling of harmony between all parts of the work of art, which creates a sense of completeness.

Pattern is the key underlying structure– is the most fundamental element for a strong sense of unity. Consistency of form and color are also powerful tools that can pull a composition together.

Voilà!!! It is a wrap.

September 8, 2015 by Ong Yi Teck·0 Comments

After 4 weeks of research, drawing, cutting and pasting, I am proud to present to you my Final work for submission.

Just to sum up my overall experience, i feel that i have accomplished the designs that i have set out to do and i am satisfied with my work. I wanted my work to showcase my ” usual” drawing style and thus, the mediums i have chosen for the assignment are mainly graphite, charcoal, ink and Chinese ink. On top of that, because i am accustomed to drawing rather than design, i found abstract work to be a challenge and so, i have decided to take a more simplified and minimal approach.

From my designs, you can observe that my designs hardly fill the entire frame. As part of the minimalist approach, i have decided to have the lines interact with the spaces in the individual strips as i believe that the spaces play an integral role of carrying the meaning behind the emotions. Also, this give greater contrast to the subjects which are the lines. i believe that the way you manipulate a single line can be effective enough in expressing the artist’s, rather than having complex shapes or patterns.

As for my execution of ideas, it was a two-pronged approach for me. The first being, immersing myself into that emotion and just create lines out of instinct. These emotions are the ones which you can relate to. i like this approach as it is quite an accurate depiction of the emotion i am working on and you will never know how it turns out till you finished it. I did this for emotions like aggressive, indecisive and awkward.

Another approach being inspirations from the real world. What i mean by that is that i draw similarities between a particular emotion and real world objects that are normally associated with the emotion. I carefully studied the lines that represent the object or the lines that the object possesses and utilize the same concept for my strips. Take psychotic for example. Psychotic remind me of nerves and nervous breakdowns and thus, i tried to incorporate lines in my strip that looks like strands of nerves being pulled. Another case being sensual, where i took the strong curves in women bodies and have them drawn on the strips. I then create a smudge to bring out the contrast and accentuates the curvature of the lines.

And that is how i did my project: simple, minimal and elegant. Or at least i felt that way 🙂 ENJOY!!!

GOODBYE PROJECT 1. IT WAS FUN WHILE IT LASTED!!!

( Time for the next project )

What’s my (messy) thought process like?

September 8, 2015 by Ong Yi Teck·0 Comments

DISCLAIMER!!! I like to pen down whatever thoughts i have when i do my “brainstorming” sessions hence i apologies if my handwriting and organisation of ideas looks a bit unorganized and unrefined.

Hey everyone, welcome to my journal and the entire exploration process for my 1st 2D project entitled, ” A line is a dot that went for a walk”. Hopefully, you guys can get to know more about my work style and thought process. Also, in this post, you will be seeing the “evolution” in the development of my ideas from start to finish. Let’s get started.

1st stage of my journal: GENERATION OF IDEAS AKA THE SKELETON

After breaking down the emotions into their respective definitions and keywords from my initial research, i then took my own interpretation into some concept work. These process is where the ideas are all bare-bones and very rough sketches. Along with the sketches, i tend to label certain important notes to myself like the thickness of lines, possible type of mediums as well as some other alternative approach.

2nd stage of my journal: DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS AKA ADDING MEAT TO THE BONES

At this stage, after having a rough idea of what i am working with, i like to put all the ideas i have and collate them in one page of paper ( like the format of our submission). On top of that, i start to experiment with mediums, slightly. This gives me a good gauge to which medium is suitable for whichever emotions i am drawing. I would say this step really start broadening my perspective and is important for the subsequent development of my ideas. ( After all, a body cant function without MUSCLES, right?)

3rd stage of my journal: FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF IDEAS AKA LAYERING THE SKIN ON TOP

Following stage 2 of my thought process, I did further development of ideas that is similar the previous step, but on a larger scale this time. I went straight to experimenting with the canvas size that i will be using for my submission (A3). During this step, I have came up with few designs that i am confident and comfortable with and hence working on the actual canvas gave me the closest look to the final product. However, most of the works at this stage are basically playing with different strokes, mediums as well as textures. I try to experiment as much as possible so that i see what are the designs i can work with. It is like how a chef prepares the all the ingredient that will be useful, before picking the ones he needs.

4th stage of my journal: CONSULTATION AKA THE BODY NEEDS SURGERY!

During the consultation period we had in class, i gain valuable feedback for my work. Most of the strips that I thought are decent came out fine so i don’t have to much alteration to my original ideas. As for some others, I had to remove them out because they are not as strong in conveying the emotion and with the help of the teacher, i understood what are the changes to be made and came up with new ideas along the way.

Below are some examples of the strips that were rejected and removed during the “surgical” process.

5th stage of my journal: FINALIZING THE DESIGNS AKA RECOVERY PROCESS

At this point, i simply repeated stage 2 and 3 till i have came up with the designs that are satisfactory.

we are almost done … Stay with me !

6th stage of my journal: PUTTING EVERYTHING TOGETHER AKA PIECING THE BODY PARTS

This stage is self explanatory. By this stage i was done with my strips so i had to cut out the frames and mount them altogether. I shall let the pictures tell the story.

Final Stage: THE END!!! IT’S ALIVE!

So that wraps up project 1! It was definitely something new for me to be experimenting with lines and to understand more about the abstract world. I would say that i am really proud of my work and I am satisfied with the outcome. Thanks for checking out my journal! Here is to good grades, everyone. CHEERS! 🙂

Time to break down these emotions…

September 7, 2015 by Ong Yi Teck·2 Comments

“A line is a dot that went for a walk”

In order to start creating lines that represent these emotions,

i have looked up the definitions of these words

as well as coming up with my own definitions/ perspective on the individual emotions.

The definitions I have came up with are my guidelines to how i create my lines to bring out the emotions.

I then conducted my research on the various types of lines and

the meaning behind them to find suitable lines that can describe the emotions.

Also, i look up the works of various artists, studying natural lines that are found in our daily objects and environment.

PART 1: Definitions

Anxious: feeling or showing worry, nervousness, or unease about something with an uncertain outcome.

own definition: being worried as something bad is about to happen; uncertain.

Embarrassed: to feel awkward, self-conscious, or ashamed.

own definition: shying away from what one sets out to do.

Bizarre: very strange or unusual.

own definition: things that look alien, does not take particular form/ incorporate too many forms.

Exhausted: very tired.

own definition: there is a great drop in energy levels e.g. after a long run/ a long day at work.

Fragile: (of an object) easily broken or damaged.

own definition: glass cracking.

Systematic: done or acting according to a fixed plan or system; methodical.

own definition: has an order, pattern/ sequential. Firmness/ Rigidity.

Lyrical: (of literature, art, or music) expressing the writer’s emotions in an imaginative and beautiful way

own definition: smooth, simple and yet very elegant.

Turbulent: characterized by conflict, disorder, or confusion; not stable or calm.

own definition: Storm brewing; huge waves crashing.

Nonsensical: having no meaning; making no sense.

own definitions: Scribbling without thinking. messy, almost rubbish.

Psychotic: relating to, denoting, or suffering from a psychosis.

own definition: mad, crazy. Nervous breakdown.

Ambiguous: open to more than one interpretation; not having one obvious meaning.

own definition: multiple perspectives to view the subject. No definite “right” or “wrong”.

Distracted: unable to concentrate because one is preoccupied by something worrying or unpleasant.

own definition: unable to focus.

Sensual: of or arousing gratification of the senses and physical, especially sexual, pleasure.

own definition: intimacy between males and females.

Sloven: a person who is habitually untidy or careless.

own definition: being messy, sloppy.

Spontaneous: performed or occurring as a result of a sudden impulse or inclination and without premeditation or external stimulus.

own definition: outburst of energy/ extremely active.

Aggressive: ready or likely to attack or confront; characterized by or resulting from aggression.

own definition: rage, anger, violent.

Awkward: causing or feeling uneasy embarrassment or inconvenience.

own definition: uncomfortable, inelegant/ not graceful.

Indecisive: not providing a clear and definite result.

own definition: going round and round before coming to conclusion.

PART 2: Various types of lines and its meaning.

Dot – A mark on a point. The defining characteristic of a dot is that it’s a point of focused attention. As dots increase in size we start to see them as shapes ( mainly circle ), but they still retain their fundamental dot-like qualities and characteristics

Line – A line is a series of points adjacent to each other. Where a point has no dimension, a line has one dimension (length).

Thin lines are fragile. They appear easy to break or knock over. They suggest frailty and convey an elegant quality. They are delicate and give off an ephemeral air.
Thick lines on the other hand appear difficult to break. They suggest strength and give emphasis to nearby elements. Thick lines are bold and make a statement.
Horizontal lines are parallel to the horizon (hence the name). They look like they’re lying down, at rest, asleep. They suggest calm and quiet, a relaxed comfort.Horizontal lines can’t fall over. They accentuate width. They’re stable and secure. The convey an absence of conflict, a restful peace. Horizontal lines by their connection to the horizon are associated with earth bound things and idea.
Vertical lines are perpendicular to the horizon. They are filled with potential energy that could be released if they were to fall over. Vertical lines are strong and rigid. They can suggest stability, especially when thicker. Vertical lines accentuate height and convey a lack of movement, which is usually seen as horizontal.They stretch from the earth to the heavens and are often connected with religious feelings. Their tallness and formality may give the impression of dignity.
Diagonal lines are unbalanced. They are filled with restless and uncontrolled energy. They can appear to be either rising or falling and convey action and motion. Their kinetic energy and apparent movement create tension and excitement. Diagonal lines are more dramatic than either horizontal or vertical lines.Diagonal lines can also appear solid and motionless if they are holding something up or at rest against a vertical line or plane.
Curved lines are softer than straight lines. They sweep and turn gracefully between end points. They are less definite and predictable than straight lines. They bend, they change direction. Curved lines express fluid movement. They can be calm or dynamic depending on how much they curve. The less active the curve the calmer the feeling.

Zigzag lines are a combination of diagonal lines that connect at points. They take on the dynamic and high energy characteristics of diagonal lines. They create excitement and intense movement. They convey confusion and nervousness as they change direction quickly and frequently. They can imply danger and destruction as they break down.

Information adapted from http://vanseodesign.com/web-design/visual-grammar-lines/

By researching on the various types of lines and its characteristics, i then map out the possible lines that compliments the emotions, as follows:

Dot – Distracted
Thin lines – Fragile, Sensual, Lyrical
Thick lines – Turbulent,
Horizontal lines – Sloven, Anxious
Vertical lines – Systematic
Diagonal lines – Spontaneous
Curved lines – Sensual, Lyrical,
Zigzag lines – Awkward, Embarrassed, Indecisive

PART 3: Finding references/ inspiration from the art world and the real world

Lastly, to sum up my research work, i tried searching online for images with interesting lines that actually portray certain emotions, and gotten some inspiration from it. I have classified my image search into two categories: Art world and Real world.

From the arts, i did some searching on artworks from renown expressionists/ abstract painters that were listed in the lesson outline like Cy Twombly, Sol Lewitt, Ed Moses, Franz Kline etc. And although i did not research extensively ( so as to generate more original ideas by my own), it provided me with insights to how artists invoke emotions through their strokes of paint.

As for the real world, i had certain references in mind that is synonymous or symbolic to the emotions listed. For example, when i see turbulent, i thought of huge powerful waves crashing in the seas. I then looked up images on waves and carefully study the types of lines and its composition that would bring out the turbulence in the waves. likewise for sensual, i interpret it as the curves on women bodies and hence, i took reference from nude models and simplified the lines to its bare-bones, allowing it to bring forth the sensual feel.

Below are some of the reference images i used. ( Disclaimer: i do not own any of these images, all downloaded from google search. Just using it to illustrate my thought process here.)