// N u r s e r y R h y m e // Process & Final Work

Rhyme: There was an Old Woman That Lived in a Shoe

Chosen Line: She had so many children she didn’t know what to do

 

 

Thought Process

Part 1: coming up with objects

Part 2: Incorporating design synectics and adding more relatable objects

Final Work

 

When I looked at this sentence, I was compelled to picture how the poor woman would actually look being caught in that situation.

This led me to come up with these objects to include inside my sketches

  • eyes that looked afraid
  • hands that were cringing

Shocked MomScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.03.24 PM

I went on to think of iconic people that had many children that include

  • Mother Teresa
  • Angelina Jolie

Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 2.33.24 PM

 

However, after consultation, Mother Teresa was said to be too literal.

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Since Mother Teresa was rejected, I decided to work on Angelina  instead.

Children in Angelina’s eyes. That was far too creepy. But I was inclined to play with the idea of freaky, and got inspired by the Myra painting, of collaging children in the image.

Process 1

Angelina JolieMarcus-Harvey-Myra Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.27.03 PM

As for the cringing hands and afraid eyes, I felt that it needed something more to get across that line of the rhyme.

 


 

Part 2: Incorporated design synectics to produce different variations

I went on to break the sentence down into two parts to choose more objects to be included

 

She had so many children

she didn’t know what to do

After analysing…

Babies. Children. I definitely needed them in my mood boards to get the first part of the line across

Baby sucklingScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 2.44.12 PM

More, more. Give me moaaaaaar

I also thought of more elements / objects in my sketches that are associated with babies or kids that include

  • pacifier
  • milk bottle
  • lollipop
  • breastfeeding
  • peaceful napping

Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.05.12 PMScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.01.52 PMwomanScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.03.24 PMBaby suckling

Having these objects ready I was almost good to go, until I contemplated on its composition.

Thank God for the enlightenment of Design Synectics I was able to churn out a couple of designs easily after applying the elements.

Repetition 

maxresdefault posterizewomanScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.01.32 PM

 

 

Radial form

url Freaky baby with mouth open inspired from Ju-on. Inspired process 4

Baby-suckling-300x200Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.01.52 PM Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.00.52 PM

Yes that’s breastfeeding

 

Process 2

Inspired by a radial / circular design and made me think of a whirlpool, to communicate the mental state of the woman when “she didn’t know what to do”

3701243308_0f9776a4b4_nwomanScreen Shot 2015-10-13 at 11.27.56 PM

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.22.18 AM lalala

Final design 2

Design whirlpool movement illusion background. Abstract hexagon distortion geometric backdrop. Vector-art illustration

Process 3

I liked how the radial form brings across the meaning and at the same time creating some level of aesthetics. Therefore, I worked closely on the radial theme. Kids laying down on the floor and taking up a formation that looks like snowflakes. Inverted the colours to accentuate the mood. More radial form was added later on, in a form of thin lines to give the picture a fuller look. More will be explained at the final work section.

 

Radial 1.2 WhiteRadial 1.2 Black

Final work 3

Radial 1.2

 

Scale (and juxtaposition)

a-baby-lies-on-his-back-drinking-milk-from-his-bottleScreen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.01.09 PM

 

Repetition & Scale

baby crawlingScreen Shot 2015-10-13 at 11.03.52 PM 

Process 4

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.36.00 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.35.36 AM

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.35.48 AM Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.14.10 AM

Since I was bringing across the line “She had so many children she didn’t know what to do”, the old woman was probably creeped out by the number of children she has. This one shows her point of view that probably freaked her out. This was inspired by a previous variation.

 

 

 

Parody

 

 

00-edvard-munch-the-scream-1893 il_570xN.699425646_kjkm

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.08.30 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.08.45 AM

 

Scale

Screen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.12.14 AMScreen Shot 2015-10-14 at 11.10.54 AM

 

 


 

 

 

Final 4

Screen Shot 2015-10-12 at 3.27.03 PM Design whirlpool movement illusion background. Abstract hexagon distortion geometric backdrop. Vector-art illustration

Surrounded Radial 1.2

Final 4 shows different aspects being in the situation of “She had so many children, she didn’t know what to do”

  • Emotional
  • State of Mind
  • Point of view
  • How society views her

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Printed Mood Boards

Angelina Jolie: This represents the emotional state of the woman, having so many children just like the celebrity. Angelina was a of social icons with many children, therefore I chose her. I portrayed her to look emotional, as if all the children were looking at her, wanting to be adopted. However, she already had so many children, she didnt know what to do and sheds a tear, which reflects her blood daughter Shiloh as well as one of her adopted kids.

 

Whirlpool: This reflects the state of mind of the woman, as she freaks out with the multiple trails of kids stepping all over her, literally. This links back to the first assignment of using lines to portray an emotion. Whirlpools in radial form depicts a person’s mind that’s going out of order, like how she is caught in the situation of having too many kids.

 

Baby Ambush:  This is a way to allow audience to be in the shoes of the old woman, which adds creativity with the perspective used. The “panic eye” is scaled to be bigger than the baby to show her immense state of distress.

 

“Snowflakes”: Looking closely, these are kids multiplied and arranged in a formation of a snowflake. My idea of this was picturing the old lady bringing all her kids to a store, where one by one of them wants to buy something and lays on the floor to in that position throwing tantrums when she says NO. (Inspired by a condom commercial). She gets embarrassed and her eyes show embarrassment, as if hiding and fading away, as well as being lost as society judges. The lines that look birdnest emotes the tingling feeling in the nerves when someone is embarrassed in a situation. The canvas was changed from black to white to accentuate the mood. Lines were added in for the embarrassing effect.

 

 

Re-telling Myths: Greetings ADM

Greetings ADM

 

Animators, graphic designers and film critics. These are just some of the dreams and aspirations of the students in ADM. As arts students, we are really hardworking and hardly get much sleep. Staying up late on campus to work for that A grade is detrimental to our health but yet the sacrifice is worth to pursue those dreams. However, during these unholy hours spent in school rushing for a submission, are we really left alone?

 

Sayings of a masked figure lurking with a rose around the ADM campus after midnight have been passed down since the first batch of students, along with a warning to students to avoid the second floor.

Previous incidents or sightings claim that this figure targeted those burning midnight oil. His modus operandi included catching and choking victims before dragging them off, and also ambushing students taking a dump by offering them toilet paper from behind.

 

In some ratchet cases, victims described their encounter with the demon as ‘hauntingly beautiful’, and bite marks were found all over the student’s body and neck after a gratifying night.

 

However, no one really knew why he held a rose.

 

During the start of the recess week, something unexpected happened. The school’s OSS portal was hacked by the masked figure, who promptly flooded it with warning messages:

 

“Greetings ADM. I have warned you but not all have complied. Free yourself from the compound after dark or expect me.

IF YOU DO NOT SLEEP, I WONT LET YOU DREAM.”

 

 

Enter Van. She is an ADM freshman with an exceptionally inquisitive nature and perpetual habit of staying late nights. After the hacking incident, she decided to get to the bottom of the matter that night by meeting with this mysterious entity, and to uncover the meaning behind the rose.

 

Van decided to take this chance of a lifetime and worked on her assignments in the 4D Foundation computer lab past midnight, as told explicitly NOT to. It was when the clock showed an inauspicious timing of 3:17AM, when smoke suddenly filled the area.

 

Curiosity had killed the cat and was now coming for Van. At the back of the lab stood the black figure, appearing into focus after a blur. He wore a voluptuous cape and donned a Guy Fawkes mask, and radiated an air of menace that left Van covered in goosebumps and cold sweat. Van gasped as she turned around, not daring to face him and hoping that he would leave her alone. But as she stood there trembling, she could hear the soft swishing of the cape growing louder as the figure made its way towards her. Then the room grew quiet, and Van almost jumped in fright when she felt the warm breath right behind her ear.

 

“Do you accept my rose?” asked the mysterious figure, as he moved to face her, all the while caressing the rose on Van’s helpless face. “If you do, I’ll hand you this briefcase filled with money, turn your grades into straight A’s, and complete all your assignments on your behalf, including the myth poster for 4D.”

 

“However, in return, someone you do not know will die.” The thorns of the rose pricked Van’s forehead upon the last sentence. The masked figure moved in closer to Van and continued, “And if you don’t…are you really sure you don’t want it?” he asked slyly as he broke into a sinister laugh which filled the corridors across the foundation rooms. He moved in even closer, so much so that their noses were almost touching.

“I’ll return once you make the decision.” He whispered. “Post the rose on your OSS should you choose to accept. This is the price you have to pay for disobeying. And Remember, remember, the week of 5th October.” (The deadline of our myth poster and synopsis.) Van closed her eyes to take it all in, and when she reopened them, the figure had disappeared.

 

Fast forward a week. Since that fateful incident, Van had experienced many sleepless nights thinking about the handsome offer and the huge price to pay. She could also feel herself being drained physically and mentally by the huge pile of assignments that she knew would be impossible to complete within the short deadline.

 

At the same time, the figure had been haunting her as she held onto the rose wherever she went. (Comedy elements of Vendetta tailing her around ADM, onboard the campus shuttle bus, eating with her at the canteen as Van looks extremely out of sorts and Vendetta accidentally walking into a nude model session.)

 

Finally, when the stress and temptation built up so much she felt she was going to explode, Van decided to accept the figure’s offer and posted a picture of the rose on OSS during her 4D foundation class. Almost immediately, the classroom door creaked open and the masked figure stood there, framed in the doorway.

(Screen will show an inception scene of the exact scenario in class appearing on screen.)

 

The figure made his way to Van and handed her a briefcase filled to the brim with money. “I see you have accepted my offer. This is your cold hard cash and your updated grades.” Inspecting the cash and grades, she broke into a smile as the whole episode was finally over when she remembered, “Since I accepted your rose…did..did someone just-”

 

“Just die? Yes they did.” said Vendetta. “I need my rose back. I’ll offer it to the next student with the same terms and conditions. I can assure you that it will be offered to someone you do not know.”

 


 

Based on the Myth : The Slit-Mouth Woman

Originated from Japan

Genre: Horror

Original target: Children

The woman will ask the child, “Am I pretty?” If they answer no, they are killed with a pair of scissors which the woman carries. If they answers yes, the woman pulls away the mask, revealing that her mouth is slit from ear to ear, and asks “How about now?” If the they answers no, he/she will die. If the person answers yes, then she will slit his/her mouth.

 

Moral of myth: Rumoured sightings of the slit-mouthed woman scared children so they avoided staying out late alone.


 

Myth remade: Greetings ADM

Logline: An arts student pays a huge price for not paying the sleep debt for rebelling the masked figure that lurked around the ADM campus after dark.

Genre: Mystery / Thriller

Myth remade: Art students

Purpose: Freak the students of ADM out so they will avoid staying in campus till late and serve as a reminder to get more sleep

Premise: I chose ADM itself as it will be utterly relatable. Along with the situations we’re facing, the proximity between the characters and audience will get the audience intrigued.

Archetype: Van depicts a typical ADM student that stays up late to rush for assignments. Her curiosity also portrays our inner inquisitive nature.

 

Perspective retold: Myth is retold in the perspective of the victim as to why they stay out late and not have enough sleep.

 

 

Moral of remade myth: As mentioned in the purpose, the plot aims to creep out especially the midnight oil burners in school with the insecurity that a masked figure will appear, so they will stay home and hopefully be asleep instead.

Elements of the film V for Vendetta was also incorporated in this story and explanations will be saved for another post.

 

COMING SOON