2d – Pumpkins Cats and Doodles

POV: Final City!

A City from the Point of View of a Weed is a Struggle.

This is actually inspired by something I wrote a long time ago, comparing a person in a city and a weed growing out of concrete, thus the positioning of the paper cut out such that a small person is visible as part of the weed.

A City from the Point of View of Animals is Poison.

Needless to elaborate, about pollution.

A City from the Point of View of a Migrant child is the Unknown.

Here, I wanted to go for the effect of the buildings towering over the child. The gloomy atmosphere is such that I focused more on the negative aspect for a child to migrate… I considered other words like “Loneliness/Not Home” as well, but in the end settled on the more neutral “Unknown” because it will be an exaggeration and almost a lie to say that there are no positive aspects of migrating either. Such as Hope and Opportunities..

The constructions in the background mirrors how a child’s changing and growing state, especially after a drastic change in surrounding. I feel it is most suited to express the dual meaning of “Destruction”, noise, overwhelming changes, but perhaps also the new “Possibilities” thereafter…

A City from the Point of View of a Wanderluster is a Cage.

The perspective is that the “Wanderluster” has yet to become a “Traveler”. Although the towering buildings are again used to indicate being overwhelmed by the city, I think when the concept of “Cage” came up, I refer more to the duty and responsibilities someone has to endure to live in a modern and developed city..

A City from the Point of View of A Traveler is a Map.

Pretty straight forward. The art style however changed a little because I wanted the buildings themselves to resemble a map~

A City from the Point of view of the Universe is Nothing.

A bit of contrast from the first one (Weed) going from the micro to the really macro perspective. And maybe also just a tiny bit of mockery towards human accomplishments (and failures~).

But really the execution of this last one also came from something I wrote long ago, comparing the light of a city to stealing the star light off the sky…

Together.. and..

Bonus back-lit version~ The photos doesn’t do it justice, but I think if given the time and ability I would like to have set up my final presentation with the artworks in a loop, and lights in the middle. It works especially well for the “Universe POV” but even for the rest, I always like to use lights when I do paper cuts because it shows the layering very well..

Honestly the “looped” version here is closer to my original idealized final mode of presentation, and I am very happy with how it turned out ^^

POV: City Construction

Mostly pictures of the process~

The paper cuts was the easy part, and the first things I completed. Also because I need the silhouette to know which part of the city I want for it to show through~

Then, starting on the illustrations.. It looked intimidating but… well, it was. @@

But I’d like to think it was worth it QwQ

It’s cool cause it loops!!

Additional illustration for the “universe”..

Watercolors for the background.. (I did a bit more tryout, and that is the featured image)

(would upload the color ring but its still over size limit after compression >A<?)

And finally!! the “titles” or the actual point of views!

I was particularly happy to get to this stage because for the previous few assignments I almost always forget about it until the last second >< But this time I planned for where to insert them and wrote them in pretty colors that match my work! *w*

Next Post for final~

POV: Extra (?) Process

Extra because about none of this shows up in my final work X”D

Some sort of very simple animation sequence key-frames because I did briefly consider animating my project for a bit.. Probably over ambitious as later confirmed >A<

Because I was using pen and watercolor, and also because I am always influenced by music videos due to interest and past experiences… I would say if I had the chance to do it it will be a bit of this style

POV: City Planning

From the beginning:

The initial brainstorming for this project worked out quite well for me.

Although I was a bit apprehensive that the “city” might be an overdone concept, I was inevitably drawn to the idea due to I think it’s significance to me, personally… Having migrated when I was younger and thereafter always wanting to travel, be it to other cities or to nature to escape the sometimes overwhelming noise, light, pollution, and endless work in the cities…

So yes, the concept was the easy part. And then came the compositions…

The paper cut compositions where pretty straight forward. Theres one or two I was a little uncertain about and also a few I was concerned if it was too simple. But I did not dwell on it because I know that the “hard” part will be the background illustrations…

And so, onto the medium of said illustrations.
I did the initial research in my last post, and also some exploration on my own:

Mainly with watercolors and pen since doing traditional instead this time~

And also looked back at some past personal works for inspiration.

Mainly pen works because I prefer the vibrancy as compared to the more dull and muted colors of the watercolors I have, so that’s what I wanted to go for. However, after consulting Prof Ina she actually prefer the less “finished” look of the last drawing (of the 3 above). It was surprising, but that set me thinking I can combine the 2 mediums, and possibly add the digital aspects for Zine.

As the illustration was not the only part of my artwork, I have to make sure it fits with paper cut outs I have already done before (Mainly the contrast stands out as much as I would want it to). So I set them against different backgrounds/ mediums before I started drawing, just to be sure.

Watercolors and pen looked tedious, but doable, so.. the technicalities are settled. Onto the actually doing part (Subsequent Post)!!

Typographic Portrait: Iconophilia

Above is how my Journal looks like after my previous research. Although I researched a lot on the methods, I was quite stumped as to the theme. I love doing artworks about myself, but sometimes it’s hard to keep it interesting.

As I went along my thought process, I eventually drew the conclusion that I should use symbols in my typography portraits. They will fit more neatly into the size of the artworks without compromising the meaning.

Moreover, symbols in Alchemy and Pagan religions has always been of interest to me, so I proceed to the second part of my Research.

http://symboldictionary.net/ is a very helpful website, and all pictures and info are from them.

Below is the list of symbols that struck my fancy, as well as some keywords regarding their meaning:

Web of Wyrd (Skuld’s net)

Norse Legend fates (Nornir) woven Matrix of fate (wyrd). Contains all the shapes of the runes, therefore all possibilities. Consequences and links between past, present and future.
Interconnected timelines.
Tree of life.

Mercury (Alchemical Quicksilver)
Glyph derived from Ancient Greek God Mercury.
Previously emblem of the Punic Goddess Tanit.
Alchemical quicksilver
Magical element mercurius.
Human spirit.

Sulfur (“Leviathan Cross”)

Human soul.
Masculine, hot and dry.
Combined with Mercury (feminine, cool and moist), the pair were considered the parents of all metals.
Historical association with the devil.
Fire triangle surmounting a cross of the earth.

Salt
With Mercury and Sulphur, that make up base matter.
Physical matter of the body; its earthly elements.

Hermetic Seal of Light (Quintessence)

Synthesis of alchemy or the Hermetic Seal.
Ancient Pythagorean philosophy
The square, circle, the and the triangle are the emblems of the material body, the soul, and the spirit, three elements believed to be necessary for alchemical transformation.

Fire (Elemental Fire, “Blade”)

Heat and dryness
“Fiery” emotions
Apiritual aspiration,
Rising force, rising energy.
Derived from the medieval magical Seal of Solomon.

Air (Elemental Air, Alchemical Air)

Warmth and moistness
Breath, life, communication, and the holy spirit.

Earth (Alchemical Earth)

Cold and dry
Physical sensation.
Medieval temperament: melancholic.
Esoteric tradition :manifestation of matter.
Pentacle

Water (Elemental Water, “Chalice”)

Downward flow.
Ancient symbol of femininity
Cold and moist
Intuition, the unconscious mind, the enclosing, generating forces of the womb.

Taurus

My sun and moon sign
Head and horns of a bull.
Fixed, feminine, Earth sign
Ruled by the planet Venus.
Governs the throat/neck.

Gemini

My Venus Sign
The twins.
Mutable air sign.
Ruled by the planet Mercury.

Cancer

My ascendant/rising sign
The crab
Cardinal water sign.

Pisces

My mid-heaven sign.
The fishes.
Water sign.
Ruler of the current equinoctial age
Emblem of early Christianity.
Womb of the fish

Venus

Alchemical metal, copper.
Copper mirror of Venus/Aphrodite
May be related to the Egyptian emblem of the goddess Hathor.
May be a variation of the ankh.

Saturn

Alchemical metal, lead.
Scythe of Saturn, the god of the harvest and time.
Limitation, protection, and restraint
Alchemically, lead was the prima matera, or primal matter
Putrefaction and decay necessary for new life.
Similar to the Hebrew letter Tau, associated with time and death.

Moon

Alchemical symbols for silver.
Hermetic sciences, feminine, liquid, passive principle- alchemical Mercury.
Hieros gamos (divine marriage) combining solar and lunar principals to form the divine androgyne- the highest form of spiritual attainment.
Silver repel or even kill demons.
Purity (Silver = pure metal
Wiccan moon symbol of blessing.

Sun (Alchemical Gold)

Alchemical symbol for Gold.
Ancient Egypt symbol for the sun God Re.
Pinnacle of spiritual development and human achievement.

Ouroboros (Infinitysnake)

“Tail swallower.”
Egypt as a symbol of the sun, travels of the sun disk.
Gnosticism, solar God Abraxas,
Eternity and the soul of the world
Spirit of Mercury
Continuous renewal (resurrection)
Cycle of life and death
Harmony of opposites.
A double ouroboros signifies volatility.
Spiritually, balance of the upper and lower natures.

Infinity symbol (Lemniscate)

Mathematical symbol
Patterned after mobius strip.
Balance of forces
Associated with Magician tarot card.

Enso (Zen Circle)

Zen Buddhism.
Symbol of infinity
Infinite void
Perfect meditative state
Satori (enlightenment.)

Tomoe (Mitsu tomoe, Futatsu tomoe, Tomoe-mon, Fire-wheel)

Turning or circular, referring to the motion of the earth.
Play of forces in the cosmos.
Akin to Yin/Yang
Threefold division of Shinto cosmology, earth, the heavens, and humankind. Associated with the Shinto war deity Hachiman.

Eye of Horus/Eye of Ra (Udjat, Wedjat)

Resemble the eye of a falcon
Right eye of the Egyptian Falcon God Horus.
Udjat (or utchat) = sun, associated with the Sun God Ra (Re).
Left eye, represented the moon, and the God Tehuti (Thoth).

Flower of Life (Fisherman’s Net)

Associated with New Age permutations of Sacred Geometry.
Contains a number of other shapes within its deceptively simple pattern
“Blueprint of creation.”
By connecting points in the pattern, a multitude of patterns and shapes can be traced, including a tree of Life, pentagram, and various representations of three dimensional objects.
The six-fold “seed” pattern used as a basis = seed of life.

Other Wiccan Symbols:

Integration of body and spirit, and the spiritual mastery of the four elements.

The Wiccan emblematic pentagram faces point upward to symbolize the triumph of spirit over matter
Point downwards, to symbolize earthly gratification, or the triumph of the individual over dissolution.

Medieval Christians = five wounds of Christ
Proportions of the human body.

Horned God
Masculine polarity of the universe.
Related to the ancient Gods of vegetation and the hunt: Greek Pan, the Celtic Cernunnos, and the Egyptian Ammon.
Hhorn moon,” symbol of the Goddess Diana, especially in Dianic Wicca.

Lunar Triple Goddess symbol
Three aspects of the moon (waxing, waning, and full)
Three ages of womankind (mother, maiden, crone)
Fminine polarity of the universe

Typographic Portrait: Research I

I wasn’t sure what to do at first, so I just went down the list of suggested research for the assignment.

..I have to admit, the Dada and Russian constructivist are not really my style. >< But interesting research none the less.

I quite like David Carson’s style. But the 3D typography and such appeals to me even more. Briefly considered using embroidery and paper sculptures as my medium…

Photography… and I can’t help coming back to books, fairytales and illuminated manuscripts we learnt about last semester. The elaborate lettering at the start of fairytale storybooks might be my first memory of any form of typography, and their magic are hard to forget >w<.

Illuminated manuscripts of course are beautiful and seems to be a even more elaborate and amazing versions of the “illustrative typography” (if i should call it that ^^”)

However, most of them contains a lot more illustration than words (usually one letter), so I had to put more thought into how much of it to include in my work, and bend the style to my will~

Final Rhyme: The end of Mary’s Lamb

These are the four images I chose for the final. “He followed her to school one day”“It made the children laugh and play”“Why does the lamb love Mary so?”“Why, Mary loves the lamb, you know.”

(Mary is the butcher’s daughter. )

I like the flow of these images as well as the symbolism in the juxtaposition between the lamb and other school children. Although I shan’t go too much into that since it’s up to interpretations.

After the consultation, I did try to play with monoprint texture (As in the featured image). As much as I like the stand alone images, I think the predominantly black and white images are better for the horror and impact with it’s harsh contrast. Especially when the backgrounds are black, the grey of the monoprints will lower the contrast and deviate significantly from intended effect.