Meta World – Background [Foundation 4D II]

This post aims to give you better idea of the meta world I’m writing about. (I received feedback that my chapter posts don’t really tell much without a backstory – but I actually intended to give small snippets of information that you’re supposed to pick up on to help you piece up the world. Something or somewhat(I try at least) like the Harry Potter series(and Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them) in the sense that she gives parts of this larger world bit by bit through each book released. Each time, it gives you a better idea of what’s going on and more in depth understanding of the characters, world etc.)

 

General World Story & Inspiration
Environment
This world is very colourful. It’s generally made of very brightly coloured buildings – think pink, blue, yellow houses or towers standing side by side. There is no real order in the colours, they are very haphazard in nature as they are chosen by their owners to represent themselves. The colour of your house is one of the few means to express your inner feelings/soul. Yet there are some buildings which are white or black. These can be either due to the owner’s personal choice or the Authority. (The Authority doesn’t always mandate you paint in black or white, they can enforce another colour such as turquoise etc)
This world is heavily flooded. There are no pavements/dry walking land. Rather, there are waterways. People here use special umbrellas turned upside down as their mode of transport. They sit in the upside-down open umbrellas and cruise to their desired destination. Mysteriously, the rain flows upwards instead. This was inspired by my imagination, Magic the Gathering(especially Minamo on Kamigawa!!, Kaladesh, Zendikar, Mercadia) and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH1mJpOnxDE. In a way, I guess all these water and rain are a sadness projection of my personal mind which is also a contrast to the happiness(colourful buildings) in my mind.
People
The people in this world are faceless. As they do not have faces, they project their emotions through body language and the colours of their buildings. They are black and almost silhouette like. In a way, I feel that it represents how I feel as a person as someone constantly being ignored and looked down upon, that I’m just a sad faceless person. I am also inspired by No-Face from Spirited Away. There’s this very transparent-translucent float-y yet grounded quality of it that I like. 

Chapter-ing
Each post, I start with the keyword given for the week (for example AUTHORITY) which is the idea that the post wraps around. The next line is either “-Jadeite-” or “-Yat-“. They are the main characters(or only characters in this series. The chosen name will signify the character’s point of view(,thought process and opinions) the particular post is done in. This was referencing Twilight series(I bet you are heavily judging me now). Somehow it was this series that reminded me how the book was split into different point of views. They weren’t explicit(by giving the name in which the particular chapter was written from), however I decided to be more explicit in mine as they are really short stories hence I felt it would give the reader a clearer picture.

Characters:
-Jadeite-
This character is modeled after me.
This meta world is based on my psychological world and how I feel. Oh and how I talk too. I have a failure in expressing myself in words(be it written or speech). Which is reflected in the very choppy and speech-like writing style(because speech style is less formal, less emphasis is placed on grammar).
Also, I think in a very coded/quite not understandable manner. When communicating with most people, I find that they often don’t understand what I’m saying or my jokes. I guess I have a lot of implicit and coded words. They are very specifically chosen. (So if you are reading the posts, read in a sequential order as each post has *ahem hidden ahem not really actually* elements related to the previous few!)
I also love nature and immersing myself in it. It’s very calming and poetic for me. I especially find it delightful just by observing flowers and birds. Hence I try to reflect my love for nature through how I prefer living in a more nature-sque surrounded house or how I love the water which is a prominent source in this world.
-Yat-
This character is modeled after my boyfriend.
He has this contrasting behaviour whereby he has OCD in how things should be done/organized yet he’s messy at the same time. He has this compelling urge to drink water in gulps of 5, or have colours arranged in an organized ombre rainbow. You will see how this manifests throughout the chapters.
He also has this artisan creative part of him. He loves handmade things. He feels that there’s meticulous skills and emotional investment apart from time and energy being put in to create the final product. He stands by this strongly as he feels that the product is more valuable and meaningful this way. Which is reflected in Yat being a artisan umbrella maker by trade in this meta world. His hobby is making ocarinas from scratch and playing them in his free time. He feels that music is a platform for feeling himself, reaching towards his soul. Each ocarina becomes a medium to transport him back to different memories.
Another prominent trait is that he takes a lot of pride in and feels immense enjoyment when taking on or fulfilling a different role that no one else is willing to do and/or is being needed. This is explored as he is one of the last few remaining umbrella artisans despite the huge demand for umbrellas as the work is too tiring and time consuming.

 

 


Inspiration Pictures: 

Magic the Gathering


Chiaroscuro Life Drawing & Watercolour Grouping Heads [Foundation Drawing II]

For lesson, we had model Kim to pose for 1hr 20mins. Today was concentrating more on the lights and darks. We used charcoal. I find it very hard to not concentrate in getting the form right. Also, I still struggle with identifying and creating mid-tones. I’m still terrified about drawing the head.

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For the second part of lesson, we have a white female head in the center of the room. We are to observe how light falls and try to paint it using water colour. We got to draw a rough outline in pencil. In some ways, the pencil lines did help a frazzled me figure out roughly where to paint what, but it also did limit me in that I couldn’t step out of the safety net of the confines and paint more “freely” – like I was quite caught up in getting the features right.

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Also, after the painting dried, I felt that I could be more daring and use stronger, darker colours(after seeing the brown part behind the ear dry) as everything now has roughly the same tones, making it look very boring.

Weatherly Animal Drawing [Foundation Drawing II]

The homework was for us to look through The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals. I did the homework on my sketchbook so I’m uploading it here instead.

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img_7394We were to pick an animal from the book and copy it.

img_7395Using the same animal, rotate it’s neck to another position.

img_7396Using the same animal, rotating the neck and body.

 

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Meta World “Authority” [Foundation 4D II]

AUTHORITY

-Jadeite-

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I honestly don’t know if it is a blessing or a curse.

Who are the Authority? They are the most respected people in the world. They hold control over us. They are correct, always correct. We have no ability to say no. No authority to oppose the Authority. No say. Their opinion is bigger than yours. More important than yours. They are everywhere, they are respected. However, I don’t ever remember seeing them. There’s never a figure. Just the name Authority. Sounds quite impressive. The Authority. Imagine being able to control others and change their choices. And to be revered. They’re been in power since, since forever? As long as we could remember anyway.

Then again, I might not be sure. In more insidious ways than we consciously realize, or me, fully anyway.

Any way.

I hopped onto my umbrella and went out. I cruise out.

I see the white and am reminded of my neighbour’s house’s old colours. It used to be a bright lovely orange colour. It reflected her personality very well – someone who is joyful, enthusiastic and creative. She is an artist, and loves crafting homemade origami. How dreadful it was to hear her cry and scream in protest, yet they did not heed her. They ignored her and continued repainting it swiftly with white. Are they trying to stifle her self expression, or impose ideas onto her?

I got lucky. They have not dictated that I change my building’s exterior colour. It’s a lovely shade of lavender purple. A soothing and gentle colour. I really hope they don’t ask me to repaint it to something else. I hate that thought.

How dare anyone tries to change my taste and preference. Then again, it’s the Authority. Their word is law. They are revered. I am nothing but a small fry.

Ah. It’s getting to me again. I leaned slightly to the right of my umbrella and ran my arm through the water. I shut the world out, letting my sense of touch dominate me. It was as if I could feel every droplet rush past my hand. The coolness of it calms me and brings me back to the present. I’m going to meet Yat. Thinking of meeting him is making me a little excited. My heart starts to race in my chest again. There’s something about him that makes me enjoy spending time with him…

 


 

Inspiration

 

1984first.jpg

1984 Book

Dystopian novel by English author George Orwell published in 1949, set in a world of perpetual war, omnipresent government surveillance, and public manipulation. The tyranny is ostensibly overseen by Big Brother, the Party leader who enjoys an intense cult of personality, but who may not even exist. The Party “seeks power entirely for its own sake. It is not interested in the good of others; it is interested solely in power.” (Wikipedia)

This is reflected in this chapter’s idea of – The people have not even seen the authority before, even though it has a vast influence over the world.

 

5 Monkeys And A Ladder Psychology Experiment

The Famous ‘Social Experiment’: 5 Monkeys and a Ladder


(disclaimer: it is a made up experiment but what I’m referencing is the herd behaviour this experiment talks about)

Whereby people just accept the rule as it is and do not question it, for out of fear at first then out of normality. – As seen in my story of the Authority being able to control the colours of the buildings, basically stifling the people’s ability to express themselves (since it was established in “Home” that buildings were super colourful in this world as people use it to express themselves(outwards projection) as they have no facial expressions. Also in a way, a policed manner of revolting against oppression?

Meta World “Home” [Foundation 4D II]

HOME

– Jadeite –

 

“MAKE IT STOP!”

My head hurts. I can’t stand to move or open my eyes. I just want to lay here – curled up in a ball. Information overload. The world whirls around and whirls past me. It makes me awfully dizzy, awfully nervous, awfully stressed.

It’s like this day in day out.

I pluck the courage inside me, feel my heart pound, hear it pound. It’s super loud, as if the whole world can hear my heart racing like a mother elephant protecting her young. I lift an eyelid, the world rushes in. The light, the colour. It bombards me. Yet I persist. I flutter my other eyelid open.

I held my breath. The world I live in, the place I call home is lovely. There’s no fault in it – overall anyway. Don’t be mistaken, it’s a pretty place…

I take my time. My heart slows to a gentler, constant beat. Anyway, yes back to my earlier point, I am privileged to live in a colourful and vibrant world. People express themselves through colours. It mostly manifests itself in the form of building colours.

I live in a quieter part of this nation – a choice I consciously made. It’s a bit more green and has nature. I guess you could say it helps to calm me down, lesser sensory overload. The colours are not competing and shouting at you, trying to draw your attention to it. It doesn’t do that to me all the time though, just sometimes, yet I never understood the circumstances in which I get overwhelmed, paralyzed and want to shut out the world.

In a world so chaotic, I find refuge in the sounds of water trickling, rushing and splashing. I’m thankful for the poetic properties the waterways, despite being rowdy at times, and the greenery provides. Sometimes, I run my fingers through the water, touching it, it reassures me. To me, it is a safe zone, a sense of comfort, away from the imposing bright buildings.

Large Forms in Chinese Ink [Foundation Drawing II]

For the second lesson, we learnt to prime our papers for charcoal drawing next week. We first applied a layer of gesso. After that dried, we applied a dilute mixture of black and yellow ochre gauche paint. It created this murky greenish hue that is actually quite nice the more you look at it. By appling gesso, it allows for better charcoal adhesion. Also, which a slight background colour, the whites(chalk) pop out better, creating more contrast.

After that we tried Chinese ink on rice paper. We were to draw the big shapes randomly and then try to “see” an animal. Then proceeding to draw out the rest. We were also meant to paint randomly. Then from there we see the “big shapes” such as the body and we try to draw the rest of the animal. I personally found it challenging trying to see an animal out of literally nothing.

I find it very hard to control the water. But prof says that the uncontrollable/mistakes can be used to our advantage. But I’m not of so high level yet.

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Revision of Box Anatomy & Life Drawing [Foundation Drawing II]

For the first lesson, we went through what we have done for last year – especially the anatomy part.

Model Kim came and we practiced life drawing again. I’m still using the box method to guide. Hopefully I can be more confident and draw without it soon. :/

During the sketching time, I was struggling as I was trying to comprehend that the box for the torso is bigger than the ribcage but Kim is muscular and has a rather inverted triangle shape. So that was confusing.

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The optional homework is to sort of analyse the way Ilya Repin paints figures (I think). So I decided to do 3. I’m still trying to get the pelvis part right as that confuses me quite some bit. I try to keep remembering that the pelvis barely moves compared to the torso.

duel-between-onegin-and-lenski-1899-ilya-repin-editedDuel between Onegin and Lenski (1899)

preparation-for-examination-1864-ilya-repin-editedPreparation for Examination (1864)

unexpected-visitors-1884-1888-ilya-repin-editedUnexpected Visitors (1884 – 1888)


 

The other homework was to copy the 2 pages of Michael Hampton’s book. (In sketchbook).

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