Project 2 Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump 05

I decided to redo the silkscreen process all over again because I was not satisfied with the size of my print, which I felt was too small for an A4 tote bag. It was a bit of a tedious process, having to redo everything, but I guess it was quite worth it for the outcome!

Step 01: Printing on transparency.
After a quick consultation with Shirley (because I couldn’t decide which design I wanted on my tote bag), we decided to go with this one from Beauty and the Beast. I also felt that this print was neater and more cohesive, as the previous design had tiny details that might not have been transferred properly during the photo emulsion process.

Unfortunately, I noticed that some parts of the printed ink came off. Minh suggested that I use something to cover it so that it would not appear when I expose the screen. We used ink to patch up the gaps.

Step 2: Photo emulsion.
In the dark room, we had to apply a blue ink substance onto our silkscreens to prepare for the exposure process. It was honestly quite difficult for me to apply the ink consistently, but I managed to do so with the help of Minh (life-saver). After covering both the front and back of the screen, we placed our screens in the huge dryer to wait for the ink to set.

Step 3: Dark room exposure.
One of the most fascinating parts of the dark room exposure (besides the colour of the room), was actually exposing the screens. We had to stick our transparencies on the screen before placing them in the machine.

I’m honestly not exactly sure how the process works but basically the machine compresses out all the air and the fabric-like material wraps itself snugly onto the screens.

The machine lights up, exposing the dark parts of the transparency onto the screen.

Step 4: Washing.
Using a pressurised water jet, we had to remove the blue ink at the parts where our prints were. The difficulty faced in this was not knowing if we had thoroughly removed all the parts that were meant to come off, but after many kiasu rounds of washing, the print became completely transparent. (looking at it does make me feel really proud :’) )

Step 5: Silkscreen.
First, we had to tape up the edges of our screens. According to Minh, this is a prevention measure, to ensure that the ink does not seep through any possible “gaps” that may have appeared during the dark room exposure process. I also taped coins at the edges of my screen because it wasn’t balanced, and might affect my final outcome.

Next, we applied ink at the top of our screens, because it is easier to pull the ink towards us consistently. One of the scariest parts is not knowing if I applied enough ink on the screen because:
too much = ink leaks,
too little = print fails.
O M G

The final step was to use the silkscreening squeegee to pull the ink over the print consistently, and the ink would be inked onto the surface.

Step 6: Test print.
THIS IS THE MOST EXCITING PART OF THE ENTIRE PROCESS – BEING ABLE TO LOOK AT THE FINAL PRINT. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. The following images show the different types of failure I experienced in my test printing process. Some prints were not fully printed because I didn’t pull the squeegee with consistent effort; some prints looked like a full black circle because the details were covered by the use of too much ink. Many many test prints later, I finally had one decent print :’)

Step 7: Tote bag printing.
This is one of the scariest parts of the entire project, simply because there’s only ONE TRY and there’s no turning back. I was actually really afraid to print on the tote bag because I wasn’t confident enough that my print would appear as nicely as I would like it to, and kept doing test prints instead. After a burst of courage…

TADAAAAAAA!

And this is me showing off my tote bag, hipster enough?

Overall, the entire silkscreening process was very enriching. I had done silkscreen printing before back in my polytechnic days, but the processes are so vastly different (it is definitely more advanced here with all the machine and technology). I really enjoyed using the dark room exposure technique (and taking aesthetic selfies with the lighting) and watching how a print I created digitally could “come to life”. I’m glad to have had a hand in trying out a different method of silkscreen printing. It was definitely a fruitful learning experience, 10/10 would try printing again on other mediums!

Forrest Gump 04

big-brother-is-watching-you-template “Big brother is watching you.” – 1984
I decided to edit this composition from the previous one. During the email consultation, Shirley suggested the idea of having the triangle like a “play” button unless I had a reason for it being in a vertical position. I thought about the idea for a bit before deciding to rotate it, with the triangle as a representation of the idea of “big brother” playing with people’s minds, like a game. Apart from that, I also felt that the original composition lacked a background that could make the entire composition visually stronger. To add on to the idea of being watched, and the idea of “big brother” having a lot of power, I decided to use the pattern of an iris.

Principles of Design:

Emphasis – The details of the iris in the background appears to be emerging from the central subject, and brings focus to it. The triangle specifically draws ones’ attention to the camera eye, tying it back to the quote.

Contrast – The difference in the tone and clarity of the foreground and background adds on to the visual hierarchy.

Movement – The details of the iris attempt to show some form of surging energy that is emerging, indicating the movement of energy coming from the central subject.

“Beauty is found within.” – Beauty and the Beast
I was inspired by how beauty should be seen from one’s interior character and not from one’s exterior appearance. My initial idea was to have the image look like a mandala, it is perfectly symmetrical and contained within a circle which is considered a perfect shape (and hence beautiful). Starting from the exterior of the image, the cracks represent a broken appearance that is not visually appealing (ugly), the roses signify beauty because flowers are considered beautiful objects and also because the rose is a main element in the actual movie. The heart is almost the same size as the rose to show that beauty blossoms from within. When one looks at the overall image, it also represents an eye, to express that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Principles of Design:

Balance – The entire composition is designed to be symmetrical because the inspiration stems from a mandala, which often exhibits radial balance. The cracks are the only elements in the composition that are not entirely symmetrical, but because they are evenly distributed across the outer circle, they still help to balance the composition.

Movement – The eye is led from the inner to the outer circles, due to the sudden empty space in the middle of a complex design.

Pattern – The repetition of the heart and rose forms the details of an iris and also shows harmony between the two as a representation of beauty.

“I’m in a glass case of emotion.” – Anchorman
I decided to get my inspiration from project 1, where we used lines to express emotions. Using images that I previously researched on for project 1, I did a collage of various emotions. The lines progressively get more energetic, it starts from the bottom of what is seemingly a rectangular shape, before the emotions burst out at the top to express the fragility of the “glass case” to contain the emotions.

Principles of Design:

Movement – The visual hierarchy from the bottom to the top of the composition represents an increasing flow of emotion within the “glass case”. Closer to the top, the emotions start to flow outside of the case, indicating an emotional outburst due to the fragile containment.

Contrast – The energy of the lines show contrast in emotions, starting from the calm, to the violent (bottom to top). The emotions get more concentrated as it “rises” to the top and overflows out of the “glass case”.

“We’ve all got light and dark inside us.” – Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
The skulls are meant to represent two faces and hence two sides of a person. The lines in the background are meant to show the emotions/characteristics of the light and dark side of a person.

Principles of Design:

Balance – The entire composition is designed to be symmetrical, like a reflection of the other, since light and dark have directly opposite meanings.One skull is lighter than the other to represent the “light” and the “dark” side. There are similarities and differences in both sides, it is not entirely symmetrical but still looks visually balanced.

Contrast – The difference in the tone of the skulls show the “light” and “dark” side. There is also a contrast in the characteristics of the lines in the background of both halves. The lines on the left side are thin, light and random, representing the idea of positivity (excitement?) and freedom. The lines on the right side, however, are thicker, heavier and appear to be more energetic and controlled; it looks like an emotion that is bursting after being contained for too long. The dark background also adds on to the element of something “bad”.

Unity – The skulls are joined together in the centre to show the idea of it being from a “whole”, uniting both sides of the composition.

Forrest Gump 03

This was the first print that I chose to expose, because I really like how this composition was linked to the first project and how the lines are used to express the emotions in the quote. Unfortunately, the print was too small for the screen and there are too many details. Hence, it might be hard to make out what the composition is trying to express. The overall composition still feels okay, though it might not be the best design to be printed on a tote bag as I may risk losing some details and affecting my composition in the process.

Forrest Gump 02

Disclaimer: Incomplete
I only have 3 compositions done so far because I take a really long time just trying to decide on a quote to work on!! But anyways –

“Big brother is watching you.” – 1984

“Beauty is found within.” – Beauty and the Beast

I personally prefer 02 or 03 to be printed on a tote bag only because I am more likely to carry them 🙂 All are equally meaningful to me, shall take some time to reconsider!

Forrest Gump 01

These are some movie quotes that I’m planning to use for this project. I’m not an avid movie-goer, so these are quotes I know & relate to from movies I’ve seen before, or they’re just random quotes I googled. Hope all works out well!

1984