AY1718 S1 FDN2D G7

November 13, 2017November 19, 2017

Ego – Process & Final

♣ PROCESS ♣

mindmap

sketches

Based on the above mind map, after the consultation with Shirley, I decided to use iceberg, caterpillar, snail and candle to represent myself, and I sketched out all the compositions:

Me + Setting = Me or my reaction in the setting

development of ideas

Low-poly 3D model references

I created all the low-poly 3D models in Cinema 4D(C4D), and then adjust the background, layout and colours in Photoshop.

outcomes

Me + Setting = Me or my reaction in the setting

I decided to use monochromatic and analogous colours for all the four first squares which represent ME.

ME: Iceberg
SETTING: A noisy and crowded place
OUTCOME: Volcano

I start off the equation with me as an iceberg to represent myself when I am feeling down or angry, I don’t want to talk to anyone and prefer to stay alone. However, when being put in a situation where is crowded and noisy, the negative emotions will be built up, so I use a volcano to represent the moment that I am out of control. The colours used in the squares of setting and outcome are few groups of complementary colours (red&green, yellow&purple, orange&blue), which help to emphasise the ‘chaotic situation’ of both external (the setting) and internal (my emotions).

ME: Snail
SETTING: Amusement park
OUTCOME: Butterfly

I use a snail to represent myself when I am lazy to move and doing things slowly. However, when being put in an amusement park, I will turn into a little girl, running around happily and tirelessly like a butterfly. For the setting, I use triadic colours (red, yellow and blue) to show that an amusement park is a place with a lot of fun. I also use the green colour which is relaxing, and youthful. In the last frame, I use monochromatic colours of pink for the butterfly, as pink is fun and girly. In addition, brighter colours also tend to have a fun vibe.

ME: Caterpillar
SETTING: Food and snack city
OUTCOME: Dinosaur

The first square is of me as a caterpillar as I always try to live with a healthy diet habit, eating more vegetables and fruits, and staying away from fast food and snacks. So I use analogous and monochromaticgreen which is not only associated with caterpillar but also the keyword ‘healthy’. However, sometimes I need a ‘break’, which means I can eat whatever I want. When being put in a food and snack city, I will become a hungry monster and eat as much as I can. For colours, I use red, which is the complementary colour of green to represent the ‘delicious junk food’.

ME: Candle
SETTING: Winter landscape
OUTCOME: Fireworks

In the last equation, I use a candle to represent myself as sometimes I am not an energetic and enthusiastic person, however, when being put in a situation where the people around me are even quieter than me, I will become an active person who tries to break the ice between each other, like a fireworks rocket. However, as you can see in the last frame, the fireworks are still in white. A large area of white colour used for the setting to show the ‘silent environment’.

reflections

In project 3, different from the previous projects, we need to take colour harmonies into consideration for our compositions. To be honest, it is not easy to work with colours, as we have to think deeply about colour theory, and the connotations and emotions that come with the association of the colours we use. Understanding the colours schemes and how the colours work with each other will help us to create a better outcome in our work. Because there are no limitations to medium, technique or style, I decide to create my 12 compositions by using low-poly 3D illustration style. Therefore, this is also an opportunity for me to refresh my C4D skills and experiment in low-poly style.

♣ FINAL SUBMISSION ♣

November 13, 2017November 19, 2017

Ego – Research

♣ RESEARCH ♣

Yu Fukagawa

Yu Fukagawa, a Japanese artist and illustrator. With a few lines and sparse use of colour, this artist draws life with an amazing minimalist sense. His nuanced work also shows some humour and a playful style about the story of life and people. The lovely illustration below is a doodle teeming with randomly arranged people and icons, as well as the use of bright colours, create a sense of ease and humour.

Malika Favre

Malika Favre is a French illustrator and art director. Her approach to illustration is all about beautiful simplicity. She strives to find the essence of her subject by using as few lines and colours as possible, paring things down to convey the main idea. For example, The Leftovers (2014). This piece is a cover for the Washington Post summer Film & TV preview. An interesting design by using primary colours (triadic), geometric patterns, as well as the idea of showing body parts disappearing through optical illusions and visual tricks.

Timothy Reynolds

Low-poly is not all about portraits, as demonstrated by an American 3D illustrator Timothy Reynolds in his projects that explore the natural world with geometric forms. Here is a part of scenic illustrations that created for TwitchCon 2016 based on the theme “The Road to TwitchCon.”

Got inspiration from the work above, as I have planned to create a ‘food/snack city’ for one of my settings. I like the low saturation colours used in this work, and the contrast of complementary colours red and green also make the whole scene more interesting and vivid. I think this 3D low-poly illustration is the style that I am going to attempt in this project, combining with the use of creamy and muted tone colours.

Colour reference

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/302656037436731480/

Colour theory

Colour schemes

Color Combinations — https://www.wix.com/blog/2016/07/how-color-theory-can-improve-web-design/

Colour emotions

https://business.bridestory.com/blog/choosing-the-perfect-wedding-colours-for-your-clients

October 18, 2017October 23, 2017

Forrest Gump – Process & Final

Project 2-Forrest Gump Process & Final

Part 1-Design

Quote 1: “I want love…or death.” – Leon: The Professional 1994

https://giphy.com/gifs/love-90s-xjCn9uzHYsfPG

I broke down the quote into some keywords, and I tried to list down some visual elements that I could use to represent these keywords.

WANT: grabbing hand/outstretched hand, brain
LOVE: heart shape, rose, kiss, ring
DEATH: gun, knife, gravestone, raven, blood, skull

My first draft.

I used a bunch of roses to symbolise ‘love‘, a gun and a target icon to symbolise ‘death‘. When I was searching the visual elements online for the keyword ‘want‘, I suddenly changed my mind when I found the image of this gorilla, because I could see both craving and desperation in his eyes for love and death. I really love it. So I used this gorilla to symbolise ‘want’ instead of using a brain or grabbing hands. And there was a reason why I chose a gorilla over a human because humans are greedy and complicated, they always want more.

I tried to put the gun and the target along the 1/3 line by following the rule of thirds.

This is the second draft that I created.I shifted the position of the hand with the gun to the top left corner to create a diagonal arrangement. And it was also the farthest position from the gorilla in this composition, because I wanted to show that death is his last choice. But, he is not afraid of death, that is the reason why I put the gun towards the centre point of the target.

However, everything looked too dark except the target icon in this draft. I wanted to emphasise the words ‘love’ and ‘death’, so I inverted the colour of the target and changed another background of bloody rose.

Principle of design: diagonal arrangement, rule of thirds, contrast

Final Design:

Quote 2: “I am a princess.All girls are.” – A little princess 1995

**https://giphy.com/gifs/cute-girl-im-a-princess-QkLjyIPIi1nlS**

Broke down the quote into keywords:

PRINCESS: crown, dress, castle, flower
ALL GIRLS: mirror, different types of hair/dress/shoes

I wanted to compose a ‘crown’ myself by using a castle and flowers to make it more interesting, and the word ‘all’ reminded me that I had to think about what things that everyone can get it easily. So I used clouds in a castle shape for the top part of the crown, instead of using an image of an actual castle.

This is the first design that I came up with. I used the self-made crown to symbolise ‘princess‘, used different types of shoes as the background and a mirror as the face of the ‘princess’ to symbolise ‘all girls‘. But I thought the background was a little bit complicated and distracting.

Final Design (Second design):

For the second design, I used clouds to fill up the top part of this composition to show that ‘all girls‘ in the world are the princess. In the end, I chose the second design as the final one, because it looked more harmonious and visually attracted me more.

Principle of design: rule of thirds, repetition, white space

Quote 3: “I came here to make the world a better place, but I think I broke it.” – Zootopia 2016

https://www.tumblr.com/search/zootopia%20gif%20mine

WORLD: world map, earth, globe, universe
BROKE: shattered glass, debris, explosion
MAKE THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE: Policeman, Hero (Superman, Spiderman, Batman……)

In this composition, I used an exploded earth to symbolise ‘world‘, and an image of shattered glass as the background to symbolise ‘broke‘, and I combined the upper body part of Superman with a rabbit head to represent the one who was trying to save the world or ‘make the world a better place‘, but failed. I was trying to arrange all the elements in this composition by following the rule of thirds. And I used negative space to represent the universe, at the same time, it also helped to make the dominant elements stand out.

Principle of design: negative space, rule of thirds, contrast

Final Design:

Quote 4: “I just know I’m hungry…All the time.” – 17 again 2009

https://wifflegif.com/gifs/203692-zac-efron-17-again-gif

KNOW: brain
HUNGRY: mouth, teeth, stomach, plate, spoon and fork, food, snacks
TIME: clock, hourglass, sun and moon

I used a brain to symbolise the keyword ‘know‘, a spiral clock to symbolise ‘time‘ which also created a dynamic movement in this composition, and mouths to symbolise ‘hungry‘. In addition, I used spoons and forks to represent the second hand and minute hand of the clock to emphasise ‘hungry all the time‘. I placed the spiral clock behind the brain to show that ‘my mind is being trapped into the feeling of hungry’, and I used negative space to show that ‘my mind is going deeper and deeper into this feeling’.

This is the first draft that I created: Put the mouths in a diagonal arrangement to show that ‘hungry all the time’, from day to night.

The second draft:

One difficulty I faced in this composition was the choice of the visual element for ‘hungry’. In order to emphasise on the keyword of ‘hungry’, I decided to use teeth in the end. I duplicated the teeth pattern and adjusted them in different sizes and orientation, then placed them randomly around the edges of this composition.

Principle of design: negative space, scale, dynamic movement, repetition

Final Design:

This is the composition that I chose to print on my tote bag.

Part 2-Silkscreen

Print the chosen composition on 2 pieces of transparent sheets.

Coat the silkscreen with P5C blue emulsion, and put it into the dryer. When the screen is completely dry, paste the transparency on it.

Put it into the exposing machine for 18 seconds…..sorry for the blurred image.

Wash off the unexposed parts. !TADA! My design shows up! Then, mask the edges of the screen with tape.

Here comes the printing part, which is one of the difficulties that I faced during this project.

Before printing on the tote bag, I did the test printing on newsprint.

Uh ……………… what happened ………………….

Because there were a lot of empty spaces in my composition so that I had to put more black ink on it. Thank you for the help of my lovely friends, it was clear to see that the results became better and better.

Finally! I am glad that I got a perfect printing in the end 🙂

Part 3-Final Submission

Part 4-Reflection

I really enjoyed this project because I learned some new skills in Photoshop and had a fun in the process of silkscreen. I think the most difficult part of this project was the choice of visual elements, and how to compose them in an interesting way by using different principles of design. It was hard, but it was a good experience for me to practice and expand my design thinking and skills.

October 9, 2017

Forrest Gump – Movie Quotes

Project 2

Here are the 4 movie quotes that I chose from different movies:

#1. “I want love…or death” – Léon: The Professional (1994)

https://pgcooper1939.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/pg-coopers-movie-of-the-month-leon-the-professional-1994/

#2. “I am a princess. All girls are.” – Little princess (1995)

http://www.adorocinema.com/filmes/filme-47096/fotos/detalhe/?cmediafile=19899502

#3. “I just know I’m hungry…All the time” – 17 Again (2009)

https://www.movieposter.com/poster/MPW-40271/17_Again.html

#4. “I came here to make the world a better place, but I think I broke it.” – Zootopia (2016)

http://oscar.go.com/nominees/animated-feature-film/zootopia

September 18, 2017September 18, 2017

Colour Illusions and Emotions

September 6, 2017

Mark making Experimental Process

Foundation 2D Project 1 process-Mark making experiment

For the second and third week F2D lessons, we experimented with different techniques and tools to do mark making on paper! It was a process of discovery and exploration.

Tools I used for the second week: Leaves/Rocks/Roller/Paint brush/Monoprint/Soapsuds

-Leaves

The first tool I experimented with was different kinds of leaves, which was the tool that I posted on week 1. At first, I coated a leaf with block printing ink and stamped it on the paper.

Then I tried experimenting automatic technique, I dipped leaves in Chinese calligraphy ink, dabbed and swirled them on the paper without conscious control, just allowed my hand to move randomly across the paper.

Experimented with the same tool but different techniques, I tried monoprint technique with leaves.

-Rocks

The second tool was rock. I tried different mark making ideas by playing around with a rock, such as zigzags, loops, and scribbles.

-Soapsuds

I also experimented with soapsuds mixed with Chinese ink.

-Paint brush

Moving on, I tried playing around with a paint brush. Compared with leaves, paint brush was definitely a tool that easier to use and control. I tried spinning it on the paper to express the emotion of “glee”.

-Roller

The last tool I used was a roller. After coated the roller with block printing ink, I tried stamping and rolling it on the paper.

I had a lot of fun during the first experiment exercise and really enjoyed it. I will try to explore and experiment more mark making ideas with different tools and techniques after researching on emotions.

I decided my six emotions on the third week.

– Aggression

The idea was inspired by action movies. I used two palette knives with block printing ink to draw on the paper by using their sharp tips, edges and diamond-shaped bottom surface. Tried to create a scene of an intense fighting.

-Isolation

The idea was from a literary work called ‘Robinson Crusoe’, as the word ‘isolation’ reminded me of a small island in the ocean. The colour of dark grey also assists to emphasize on the feeling of fear and hopeless when someone is isolated and disconnected from the world.

This is the second attempt, I was trying to move the focal point to the left side by following the rule of thirds, instead of placing it right in the middle of the strip.

-Embarrassment

I think it is a feeling like the skin is being pricked by thousands of needles, and also comes with some feelings of fear and stress.

I was trying to emphasize the sense of pressure by cutting off the parts without black paint at the top and bottom.

-Disgust

The idea was inspired by nature. I used tissue with black acrylic paint to represent the rotten stuff. Then I paste some dried, finely cut leaves of tea on the strip to simulate the scene of swarms of ants gathering around. This kind of scene makes me disgusted when I see it in real life.

-Amusement

Blowing bubbles was one of the things that I loved to do when I was a child. I think it was full of joy and brought me a lot of happy memories. Also, the circular shape is an element of joy. Therefore, I was trying to convey the emotion of ‘Amusement’ through an amusing way, which was blowing bubbles directly onto the strip with a straw.

-Torment

Torment is a kind of feeling with severe mental or physical suffering. Personally, I am a person who is prone to headaches. When I got a headache, I would become irritable because I cannot do anything even fall asleep. All I did was scratch my head vigorously. Therefore, I decided to use scratches to convey the emotion of torment.

September 5, 2017September 5, 2017

Project 1-My Line is Emo

Foundation 2D Project 1: My Line is Emo

Aggression

Definition: A feeling of anger or antipathy resulting in hostile or violent behavior; readiness to attack or confront.

Self Interpretation: Angry feelings and associated with violent action, which remind me of weapons used in the ancient wars. The tools I used were Chinese ink, and palette knives with their sharp tip and edges.

The tools I used were Chinese ink, and palette knives with their sharp tip and edges.

Disgust

Definition: A feeling of revulsion or strong disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or offensive.

Self Interpretation: Things make me uncomfortable or make me tremble when I see it. Like vomit, rotten food, and dead animal or insect body, and swarms of flies or ants are attracted and gather around.

The tools I used were tissue with Chinese ink and a bag of dry tea. The final result also looks like the bacterial infection.

Amusement

Definition: Anything that amuses; pastime; enjoyment

Self Interpretation: The Circular shape is a kind of fun element. I was trying to make this mark through an amusing way. So the thing I did was blowing bubbles directly onto the paper strip with a straw. Tried to create an atmosphere of happiness and enjoyment with different sizes and opacities of bubbles. The splashes around also helped a lot.

The tools I used were Chinese ink mixed with liquid detergent and a straw.

Isolation

Definition: Far away from others or little in common with others

Self Interpretation: Different and distant from others and helpless, like a small island in the ocean. I placed the ‘island’ on the left side of the strip by following the rule of thirds.

The tools I used were tissue, Chinese ink, and a sponge.

Embarrassment

Definition: A feeling of self-consciousness, shame, or awkwardness

Self Interpretation: A feeling like being pricked by thousands of needles, and also comes with some feelings of fear and stress.

The tools I used were Chinese ink and cleaning brush.

Torment

Definition: A state of great physical or mental suffering; agony; misery.

Self Interpretation: A feeling of suffering or torture; like a fierce wild animal with unhealed wounds and being imprisoned in darkness.

I used a penknife to create the scratches on the paper covered with black acrylic paint.

Everyone has their own interpretation of emotions. Doing research is definitely one of the most helpful ways to open our minds. Besides, there is also another way to help us get inspiration, which is observing life. Art comes from life. : )

August 21, 2017

Mark making research

Mark making research

Mark making is a term used to describe the different lines, patterns, and textures we create in a piece of art. It applies to any art material on any surfaces and with any tools. Mark making is a fundamental element in making any type of art and it is how we begin to express emotion, movement, and other concepts we wish to convey in an artwork. It can be structured or uncontrolled. Most artists work with various kinds of marks in every painting, but there are also some styles just with one type of mark. It is easy to think of a mark as a building block for whatever we choose to create:

A single mark creates a dot.
An extended mark becomes a line.
A cluster of marks become a shape.
A series of repetitive marks become a pattern.

Mark making artists and techniques

https://www.thoughtco.com/jackson-pollock-biography-4141240

Jackson Pollock, an influential Action Painter. He is one of the leaders of the avant-garde Abstract Expressionist movement, and is considered as one of America’s greatest artists. He became particularly well-known for drip-painting, a radical new technique that he developed. But his painting materials and methods are not limited to brushes, and instead dripping, splattering, and pouring house paint from the can, also using sticks, knives, and trowels.

http://www.azquotes.com/author/11762-Jackson_Pollock

Many of Pollock’s paintings also display the “all-over” method of painting. In these paintings, there are no clear focal points, and everything is equally weighted. For Pollock, it was more about the rhythm and repetition of movement, gesture, and mark within the vastness of space as he conveyed primal emotion into abstract painting.

There are some mark making ideas that I am going to experiment with my own tools. Such as broken lines, interlocking lines, loops & scribbles, jagged zig zags, etc. And I hope that I can explore some more interesting mark making ideas during the experimental process.

https://www.craftsy.com/blog/2016/07/mark-making-ideas/

Bubble print/Marbling Techniques

There is an another interesting technique of mark making which is by blowing down a straw into a bowl of ink mixed with washing up liquid creates a number of ink bubbles. Placing paper in contact with the bubbles will burst them transferring a perfect, mirror image of the bubble structure. Similar technique and outcome using marbling inks.

https://meganaspery.wordpress.com/2012/03/31/mark-making-techniques/

Paper Marbling – https://i.ytimg.com/vi/T3qcCoJ70XY/maxresdefault.jpg

Painting with candle smoke

Painting with smoke or fumage is a technique by using the smoke from a lit candle to create images on canvas or a piece of paper. The technique is thought to have been invented and popularised by Austrian-Mexican artist Wolfgang Paalen. This technique can be used alone or combine with other traditional painting techniques to add more form and meaning to the artworks. And the effects can be stunning and interesting.

Candle smoke painting – https://feltmagnet.com/painting/How-to-Paint-with-Candle-Smoke

Monoprint techniques

A basic overview of monoprinting is that a monoprint is a one-off print technique in which an image, produced on a plate, transferred to paper. The printing surface can be any type which is flat, smooth, and non-absorbent. For example, plexiglass or thin sheets of metal such as cooper or zinc is a suitable material. The beauty of monoprinting lies in its spontaneity and its allowance for combinations of printmaking, painting and drawing media.

According to the research online, there are 3 main monoprint techniques:

The additive or light-field method, in which the image is painted by adding pigment onto the plate. so you can create your image directly on a clean plate.
The subtractive or dark-field method where the entire plate is covered with a thin layer of pigment using a roller, which the artist then works out his image by selectively removing or wiping some of the pigment with brushes, sponges, sticks, or other tools. Paper is then directly placed over the plate.
The third method is a combination of the two.

http://www.monoprints.com/monoprints.php

L: Basic etching, printed before the additional ink was applied with brushes.

Automatic techniques

Automatic technique is the process of creating art without any rational thinking, which also can be described as “expressing the subconscious.” In automatic drawing or painting, the hand is allowed to move ‘randomly’ across the paper. This unique method of art making has been largely used not only by surrealists, but by other modern and contemporary creators as well.

*Automatic Drawing by* André Masson https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/andre-masson-automatic-drawing

I hope that I can enjoy and learn through the experimental process. Create some interesting mark.

August 14, 2017August 16, 2017

Project 1-Mark making tools

Project 1 Process

Here are some tools that I am going to use for mark making.

-Leaf

-Rock