Typographic Portraits

In this assignment, we were supposed to portray our names using an object or description.

First of all, I started by listing out a list of objects that I could be, things that were representative of me. This list included being a log, a goldfish, a sponge, being chubby, being heavy (whale? whale-son?), being boring (linking back to being a log?), being easy-going (water?), being stubborn (rock?), a radio, and also a vase.

After which I started coming out with random doodles that came to mind from this list of words.

Initial ideas
Initial ideas

After that, I shortlisted 6 of them (log, goldfish, vase, rock, sponge, and water) which was the initial assignment deliverables. After the requirements drop to 4 pieces of deliverables, I decided to drop the idea of goldfish and water.

 

Here are the completed pieces, as well as some of the more interesting processes.

The first one would be the vase. I chose to portray myself as a vase because when people call you a vase, they mean that you are a bimbo and have no substance. On the contrary, I believe I have substance and would want to show it, thus making a vase to play with its meaning.

My name is Wil, and I am a Vase.
My name is Wil, and I am a Vase.

This was done by painting ultramarine blue watercolor onto white paper, before cutting them out and sticking them onto black paper. This idea of using chinese ceramic designs came to mind immediately upon thinking about vases, probably because of learning Asian art history in another module.

A Qing dynasty pottery.
A Qing dynasty pottery.

After my painting was done, I added a layer of transparency sheet (those used on OHP in primary schools) over the vases to give a glossy effect, secured by tiny little pieces of double sided tape as it would be visible if attached using glue or bigger pieces of tape. This makes the vase closer to reality, also bringing out the contrast between the white vases and black background, the glossy vases and matte background.

Transparency sheet to add gloss to the vases.
Transparency sheet to add gloss to the vases.

 

My second piece would be the log. I chose a log as for several reasons. First, I sleep like a log, I can easily sleep more than 12 hours a day without getting woken up by anything. Second, I’m a “block of wood” like a piece of log, I don’t get hints easily and am kind of oblivious to things sometimes.

My name is WILSON, and I am a Log.
My name is WILSON, and I am a Log.

This was made mainly by using blu-tac. First, I pressed blu-tac onto a piece of paper outlined with my name. The blu-tac is pressed hard to make it thin so that it will not be too heavy, and then after that pushed along the sides using a ruler to make sure the edges are clean.

Pressing blu-tac onto paper.
Pressing blu-tac onto paper.

The bark of a tree have texture of long and short lines, deep and shallow. I decided to simplify these lines into straighter lines, which is carved onto the blu-tac by pressing the width of a metal ruler on it, and also scratching with the corner of the ruler. My research on recreating tree bark only showed how to do so using wall paint and clay, as well as epoxy, which were either difficult or heavy, thus my choice of blu-tac.

Tree bark texture
Tree bark texture
Recreating the texture
Recreating the texture
Texture on close-up, at an angle
Texture on close-up, at an angle
The colored texture under light
The colored texture under light

After the bulk of it was done, I painted acrylic over them, using a mixture of burnt sienna and black to make it a darker brown which is less red. I also brushed in patches of sap green over some areas to simulate algae, but is not obvious unless viewed very closely. I then cut them out, stick on a piece of transparency which is rolled into a semi-circular cylinder to allow it to stand out like half of a log. The background is painted randomly with watercolor to allow the transparent layers of leaves to overlap. The entire composition revolved around the use of yellow to brown colors to have a more harmonious color scheme.

 

Next up is a rock. I chose to portray myself as a rock because at times I tend to be very stubborn, unwilling to budge just like a rock. Once I set my mind on a decision, it is unlikely for me to change my mind.

My name is Wil, and I am a Rock.
My name is Wil, and I am a Rock.

This too, is done mainly using blu-tac. This only required pressing the blu-tac only a piece of paper, but varying amounts of blu-tac were used across the words to give differing thickness and uneven surface, just like rocks. Some parts were pressed harder onto the paper, while some parts were pinched to give a sharper ridge.

Initial layout of blu-tac
Initial layout of blu-tac

After which, white and black acrylic were jabbed onto the product while the paint was wet, creating varying shades of grey and black. The border of the rocks were initially left out because the brush could not reach them, but turns out to be a good way of bringing out the words to make them clearer, thus left white. The jabbing of the brush with stiff bristles also created more texture on the rocks as the bristles made the blu-tac rough and also caused the paint to be in spots instead of strokes.

Texture of rocks
Texture of rocks
Close-up on my rocks
Close-up on my rocks

 

Last but not least, a sponge. I chose to be a sponge as I tend to learn things quite quickly and enjoy learning, like how a sponge can suck up water very quickly and efficiently. I also wanted the idea of adding blotches of colors to bring in the notion of being an artist and also learning more things, adding colors to my life, or also the notion of getting tainted by bad influences as I grow up.

My name is WH, and I am a Sponge.
My name is WH, and I am a Sponge.

I used my initials, W and H, to show 2 faces of a cube of sponge. I used white sponge on white paper to make it very plain and continuous, so that colors added on it will stand out. The sponge is made by attaching 2 layers of sponges together, then cut into a cube, then cut diagonally to half. Then, the W was carved in, before carving in the H, thus both sides could be seen.

The W
The W
The H
The H

I wanted to drip watercolor onto the sponge and allow it to smudge and blossom by itself to have a soft texture. Unfortunately, the magic sponge was not very porous and did not allow the water to flow freely. The drop of color stayed where it landed and did not move. Thus, I had to manually paint on every part, and added water to blend some of the colors. I used primary colors of Red, Yellow and Blue, as they were the basics of colors. I wanted to show learning from basics and also felt that this 3 colors were very harmonious together, with the ability to form many other colors. I then painted parts of the background like colors splashes to allow the sponge to stand out, adding more dynamic movement to the composition as though the sponge is diving into the paper or emerging from it. The downward flowing “drips” were also painted in to make it look more natural and sort of give a more carefree and unintended feel to something which looks neat and well-planned.

Watercolor onto sponge and paper
Watercolor onto sponge and paper

 

With this, my 4 pieces of typographic portraits are complete!