~Finalising ~

1. Assembly Line Worker

After doing up the piece itself, I planned to present it to viewers through photography instead of the actual one (also taking in mind how Joy suggested to deviate from 3D stuff). Hence, I wanted to explore a lot with the shots and take from various different views and ways so that I can get the best shot that best depicts my idea.

Layout explorations:

A. Softer light & shadow x Simple composition

B. Ray of sunlights x Simple composition

C. Softer light & shadow x Complex composition

D. Harsher light & shadow x Complex composition

 *Possible project tryout in the future?

This is not a layout/composition exploration but while i was taking the shots of my work, i chanced upon this casted shadow of an ‘S’ and thought that it was rather beautiful yet interesting and it definitely has room for future further developments.

Presentation explorations:

Since Joy suggested during the first consultation to do away with 3-dimensional works, I decided to stick to presenting it by photography. Instead of just using it as a medium to capture the work, I wanted to fully utilise this medium by making edits, filters and adjustments to enhance both the aesthetics and also conceptually as well.

A. Filter – Tom (Pixlr ; default)

As many of the negativity of such factories/industries are make known to the world nowadays is by newspaper report, hence black and white is to resemble that of a newspaper clipping. One can argue that technology is so advanced nowadays that pictures can be printed in colour now. However, i felt that assembly line workers are more prominent in the older times where technology was not as advanced.

     

B. Filter – Sanna (Pixlr ; subtle)

Adding on to the point above, to current date there are still some assembly line workers still doing the work manually and are not yet being replaced by machines. Hence, with this point in mind, the factories would tend to try and cover up their negatives/faults to maintain their reputation. Similarly to how the companies work, this filter sort of beautifies the image, in a way covering up for the bad parts but the critical flaws can still be seen.

      

C. Filter – Ingrid (Pixlr ; subtle)

The idea for this filter is totally opposite from the first two mentioned above. Instead, in this filter, it sort of sharpens and makes the image rather grainy/coarse-looking which sort of portrays effectively how tough and hard it actually is for the people working in this industry. In a way it can depict the working environment/conditions realistically.

      

C. Filter – Combination

2. Video Game Player

Since my overarching concept is about subtle glitches & consumerism, I decided to not colour every square (pixel) fully. Some appear faded while some appears the proper fully coloured square.

Below is an example:

3. Fashion Designer / Textile Designer

After looking over where my progress was currently at for this work, I felt that something was still not right because of the spacing between each letter. I felt that they were too cluttered together which does not fit in with what i think of the job. I feel that in this industry, every piece of cloth they create is meaningful and each hold their own importances. They’re all unique pieces and they are each given adequate time limits for the audience to admire.

Therefore, i wanted to capture all those in my typography work and this is what i came up with:

I decided to do away with the various colours schemes to make it look more sophisticated and glamorous, just like how the fashion/textile designers tend to work towards. Instead I tried out with black pen and the shiny/slightly glittery colour pencils .

4. Gardener

For the backgrounds I planned to use individually or combination of  maybe blues, greens, reds & greys, blacks and white. Why those colours?

1. Blue: calmness, serenity
2. Green: nature, envy,
3. Red: blood, pain, passion
4. Grey, black, white :hidden negatives/flaws, unknowns, overlooked

Here are some tryouts with background exploration:

Fences because gardens usually requires such high-maintenance that there is often a divide to prevent outsiders from ruining it.

I decided to also tryout without the backgrounds i initially tried out with as it would also be hard for me to put in my illustration on it if i wanted to do mixed medium since it will be too cluttered. Therefore, i decided to leave it simple and plain but i explored on the various colours that are suitable for my idea.

Exploration of Mixed Medium:

 

 

Basically what i did from my previous update on OSS was to develop the ideas further and to finalise the respective designs. (I won’t be writing on the concept/idea/story behind the works in this post, but just the physical process developments). Here is briefly, my current progress:

1. Assembly Line Worker

I decided to work with a dull colours (black , white, brown) for this design.

I felt that the second style would be more appropriate and suitable for my concept instead of my initial style hence i decided to work with the tighter and more controller curls.

Process:

*Note: Final design still unconfirmed, may do more explorations.

2. Video Game Player

A problem arise while i was about to do the actual piece. The problem was there was insufficient space (A5) for me to execute my initial idea (using the many pixelated characters, stacking/connecting them to form the alphabet). For example, one alphabet would have taken up almost half the paper and for this design i wanted it to be a total of seven alphabets (Siew Hua).

Therefore, this led me to kind of tweak my ideas to satisfy the assignment’s requirements.

I decided to keep one character for one alphabet but it still retains the concept of how the character is a part of the letter (as seen in the above picture.)

3. Fashion Designer / Textile Designer

For this design i explored further with the choice of medium and choice of background before finalising it.

I felt that even though it can still bring my message across, it was not pleasant to the eyes in terms of how it look aesthetically. Additionally, aesthetics is a strong factor in this fashion/textile industry.

I always believed and thought that illustrating white on black has this attractive quality to it hence i decided to explore in this area as well.

However, after trying the various mediums, i still felt my original choice of medium and colour for it was still better. (black pen)

I encountered many problems such as smudging and how the medium and/or colours and/or background do not blend well together.

*Note: Final design relatively confirmed but might have some changes.

4. Gardener

I researched on the exact plants that i was going to work with. Since my overall concept was going to be about consumerism, I searched up on the most expensive flowers and these were the results:

Value: $3 Per Stem

This is an expensive flower and is a very popular option when it comes to special occasions. On the other hand, they are great alternatives to peonies and roses too. They come in multiple colors and few of its colors are there year round while other color variations are limited to early summer and spring.

Value: $3 to $8 Each

Stephanotis flowers are otherwise called Madagascar Jasmine. These tiny, sweet scented, star shaped white flowers are commonly seen on wedding occasions. The best thing about this flower is that they are easily available. However, they are pretty expensive on peak seasons.

Value: $12 to $15 Per Stem

Peonies are certainly beautiful and this is the reason why they are expensive too. Their price varies though. The peak season is April, May & June. During these months, the cost of this flower goes really high (up to $15 to $20 each). Peonies usually cost twice than roses and are bigger too.

Value: $20 Per Bloom

Gardenias are obtainable all year. This richly perfumed flower is classically cut by the grower just to have its stem less than 1-inch long. You will see florists using them in corsages and bouquets with little wire & tape. Gardenias do not come cheap for the reason that they are unique and give off a great scent. Gardenias are magnificent when you see them float in glass bowls. Moreover, if they are kept this way, they last for 1 week but you require changing the water every day or at least once in 2 days.

Value: $ 10 – $35 Per Bundle

These lavender colored delicate flowers are greatly admired for its looks. People often buy them to decorate their garden. However, they require great attention and 100% care, else it easily withers away. This expensive flower blooms annually & is 5-cm in diameter. Lisianthus can easily grow from 15cm – 60cm in height. It has delicate, ruffled and wide oval petals. Lisianthus flowers come in multiple colors like pale purple, lavender, blue violet and white. The reason as to why they are been sold for high price is that they are long lasting — it can survive for 2 to 3 weeks even after it is cut from the stem. Since these are extremely fragile, they earn the name — “Paper Flowers”.

Value: $15 to $50 Per Bundle

Nicknamed as “Lady’s Tears” because of the way they appear. They are harvested once in a year and they bloom during May month. They have an amazing smell and even have the ability to survive few weeks after its been plucked. It is well liked for its dainty and delicate appearance. They have bell-shaped blooms. Its stalk goes up to 15-30 cm tall and are surrounded by 2 long leaves whereas the flowers reach about 5mm – 10 mm in diameter. They are expensive for the reason that they require high maintenance.

Value: $6.5 Per Stem

This is another most expensive flower in the world. They are grown at Eastern Asia, Southern America & few parts of Asia. This flower is admired for its matchless circular bunch of small flowers in every stem. Shrubs basically grow around 1 – 3 meters tall — right from their early spring until late autumn. You can see these flowers mostly in white blooms, blue, light purple, violet and even pink. Hydrangeas easily droop & wilt. These flowers are commonly used during occasions, especially on weddings. The reason that they are expensive is that it takes huge effort to produce & cultivate.

Value: $ 7 to $10 Per Flower

This beautiful flower is expensive as well. It is native only to Asia and South Africa. Apart from being expensive, this cute little flower is rare and distinctive too. It has extended tendrils, which support bloom’s weight. The leaves are about 3-meters long and are admired for ostentatious flowers with flexed petals. These come in oranges, yellows, deep reds & yellow-green.

Value: $600 to $1000 Per Bud

Even in the year 1673, this flower was sold for 10000 gilders. Can you believe that? Now, this explains why this flower is so expensive even today. Since it is considered historic, every bud will cost you between $600 and $1000. Not only is this flower exceptional but also rare.

Source: http://www.magazine8.com/15-most-expensive-flowers-in-the-world/

Instead of my initial illustrative idea, I wanted to change the technique and push the idea further by doing it with mixed mediums or digitally.

^ Artist reference: Danielle Evans /  Aleph Corporation (refer to research post)

Some problems i faced while making these designs digitally was the colour adjustments, trying to piece them to form how i want my alphabet to look and also it took me quite some time to crop out the images individually.

(For mixed media idea): Tryout with different pen/markers/pencil on the paper I’ll be printing on (probably matt paper)

Similarly i also faced problems with some medium smudging  and unsuitable to use with my choice of paper.

*Note: Final design relatively confirmed but might have some changes.

While i was working on photoshop, i found these fonts rather interesting because it converts the alphabets into the respective plants/symbols as seen below.