Introducing my 4 main characters and user persona for my couch potato support group kit!

From left to right, we have Bludger Bob, Shortcut Sarah, Deadbeat Danny and Loafer Laura! 🙂

Photoshop mock ups and items

Box design of the kit!

A welcome card upon opening the kit!

Deadbeat Danny energy drink and convenient pee bottle!

Loafer Laura’s personalised sleeping eye mask!

Bludger Bob’s high cut socks he can wear to and fro from work and to work without ever changing!

Ankle socks are available too if Bludger Bob has a preference

Cup noodles for Shortcut Sarah in the kit so she would never ever have to cook again!


Reflection Post:

Through this semester in Illustration for Designers, I am glad to know that I have progressed as an artist as well as an individual in this module.

I started off with an art direction that I am very familiar with and branched out slowly to other methodologies and art styles I wanted to experiment with. Though my progress is slow, I am very proud to have tried something new to me instead of sticking with something I am very familiar with. For instance, task 2’s editorial illustration which I explored a clean layering kind of art style; and for task 3, illustrating using minimal colour pallete and a quirky hand drawn art style. Both of which I used a Wacom tablet to illustrate which is something I don’t do often. Having Ms Lisa’s guidance and our lovely classmate’s comments and feedback, it made the learning and exploring process less daunting.

The lessons I felt were the most valuable and new to me are the idea brainstorming ones. Through the activities in class, I have learnt new ways to generate creative ideas and that ideas are not a one off thing, but something that can be built on and generated with inspirations all around us. I really liked the use of creating a user persona as my potential target audience and how to create an effective mood board.

Thank you everyone for the lovely time in this elective! I had a great time and I hope you guys too! ;D


Click the link below to see the process work that goes behind the making of these items!

DV2002: Assessment #3 – Applied Illustration (Process)


 

After editing and cleaning up some of my designs, I have finally decided on which designs I want to submit. The following are the designs I have decided to submit for the final.

On the day of printing, I chose 310 gsm glossy paper for Assignment 3A because I wanted my newly designed type to look clean. The reflective surface gives it a professional sheen.

I chose 300 gsm matt paper for Assignment 3B because my designs were inspired by bohemian carpets and I thought a matt paper type will give it a more raw and tactile touch.  I chose 300 gsm matt paper for Assignment 3C because I wanted lesser distraction from the already many elements I have considered. Hence, a matt paper would be less distracting due to the lack of shine.

 

All of which are in high gsm as I wanted a more sturdy approach.


Critique Day

We had some exercises during class critique and it was really fun to match our Type as Image to some scents Miss Angeline brought to class! 🙂

Matching scent with our letter type!

Everyone’s type as pattern SO BEAUTIFUL

What my classmate thought of my type as image while matching to the scent!

‘Friendly’ HELLOs mostly have arcs!

Thank you for sticking through assignment 3 with me! 🙂

Next up, Assignment 4! And it is gonna be really interesting, I cant wait!

Cheers,
Seng Yi Ling

 

After several rounds of experimentation, edits and tryouts; these are my final submissions!

VERNACULAR

(A)

(B)

I had a hard time choosing between these 2 as I really liked the composition for (A) as it resembles the top view of the location I chose : Johor Bahru Jalan Wong Ah Fook , but there is readability issue with ‘World’ when inversed.

There is visual tension. And I really liked (B) as well cause the visual hierarchy made it easier for viewers to read.

18 x 18 cm Black and White Letter that has an interesting type.

ORGANIC

I further scattered the letters and changed up the scale of the letters and play around with the arrangement, while taking into consideration of visual hierarchy.
18 x 18 cm organic letter. I like the different broken glass shards within the letter. It is raw and edgy. The reflective surface creates depth.

I changed up the curve levels and got this lovely colour! It has a combusted metallic look and it is a fresh new perspective to the glass shards~

Taking a look at the Molten Metallic letter A closer!

Application

My favorite application tryouts!

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PRINTS

I went to multiple printing shops to get a glimpse of how my printed work will look like, and a pity to say that the printed results really vary very differently from the computer screen…   

The black A3 Organic ones are such a pity as I really wanted the glass shards to shine through the black background through its contrast, but sad to say the printing came out TERRIBLY: The ink was inconsistent and even after editing the master file so many times, there was always this grey box behind each letter…

So I decided to change up the Curves and submit the Molten Metallic Shattered Dreams against a white background, instead of the Glass on black background.

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PAPER TYPE

VERNACULAR

I chose textured paper for the A3 pieces (250 gsm) for the Vernacular Type because I like the grid-like texture, which resembles the top view of the map. Comparing the texture of the paper and its location, its rough grid lines and yet smooth texture as a whole is like the area of choice: Jalan Wong Ah Fook. The town is pretty urban and a mixture of old and new.

I chose glossy white A4 (260 gsm) for the Vernacular Type 18 x18cm B/W letter is because the type itself has a smooth glossy texture, and I thought using the same texture for the printed version will emulate the same feeling.

ORGANIC

I chose silk white textured paper (different from the Vernacular paper) for the A3 pieces (250 gsm) for the Organic Type because I really liked how the type looked raw and edgy, and the irregularly gridded textured paper reflected what I felt of the broken glass type: Irregular, angular and broken.

I chose glossy white A4 (260 gsm) for the Organic Type 18 x18cm letter is because the type itself has a smooth glossy texture, and I thought using the a glossy smooth texture for the printed version will enhance the shine and smoothness of the glass pieces.


AND I AM DONE WITH ASSIGNMENT 2~ Thank you for sticking through TYPO 1 Assignment 2 posts, hope you like the final product, and see you next time on Assignment 3 posts! 🙂

Our Group Proposal

Main Idea:

Our idea for this narrative site specific location is a set up in a post apocalyptic abandoned Singaporean bunker. The premise is that the room once belonged to a family of 3, and was abandoned after an unseen environmental calamity. The audience’s role will be to explore the space and slowly see what happened to the previous occupant, contemplate their place in the world, and possibly how to get out of the confined space.

The focus of the set will be on lights, sounds, and interaction.

Themes:

    • Existentialism (Feeling like a small person in a big world)
      • We want the audience to question who they are in the world and make them feel ‘small’, by showing them how people can just get up and disappear, leaving behind everything they value, and thus making them question if anything they do really matters if they can be wiped off the earth so easily.
    • Memories
    • Change (Isolation, loss)
      • In our hectic world, we are only able to slow down and think only when everything we know is gone. No distractions and no one around. This is when we are truly ourselves.
      • Forces the audience to slow down and think about themselves once all people/distractions are not in their immediate surroundings

Planned location:

  • ADM print room on second floor
  • One of the crit rooms
  • A small room

Lights:

  • Use of projection with video documentations of previous occupants, different portraits in black and white grain (Surveillance type)
  • Galaxy projection
    • Painting on transparency like in the project “Stellar”
    • To create another dimension within the same space. It also makes the room look futuristic which fits our post apocalyptic bunker set
    • It also gives the feel of floating away from your current reality into one of contemplation and reflection
  • Putting coloured transparency or cellophane paper against flashlights to create a coloured lightbox effect.

Sounds:

  • Futuristic sounds (Soft siren whine, radio noise, fan whirring)
  • An omnipresent narrator narrating in an ASMR style
    • ASMR as it can be comforting when tranquil, but as well as discomforting when you’re in a crisis
    • Undecided whether it will all be the same voice or different person to each object

Interaction:

  • Mirrors/reflective surfaces, seeing your reflected self everywhere
    • You are only with yourself.
    • Emphasizing the feel of isolation and the audiences’ place as a human being in a world larger than they thought before. In the room, there are no people, only the items they left behind and ghost images of the audience themselves.
  • Tangible items strewn around them that can be picked up
    • Triggers a unanimous, nostalgic emotional memory in audiences
    • E.g. A worn-out doll, old music box, plane ticket etc.
    • At the same time, the narrator will be narrating a memory associated with each of the items around the audience

References:

  • Stan Brakhage “Stellar” – Inspired to steer our light logistics according to his methods as well as to obtain the galaxy feeling which is crucial for our theme, so as to evoke a sense of loneliness and isolation in a vast space.
  • Black Mirror (Mirror/ reflective surfaces), our theme is similar in exploring memories and loneliness.Methodology:
  • Audience is brought into a dark room and made to lie down on some mats (childcare type)
  • They open their eyes, facing the ceiling projection of the slowly shifting galaxies
    • Story is that since civilisation (people around you) is gone, it’s easier to pay attention to the environment around you with no rush.
  • Around them are objects belonging to others, but most likely will trigger some sense of nostalgia and own memories to come forth. It makes you think of your own life. Your existence.
  • The narrator will be giving some history behind each of the object under the guise of the previous owner, prompting the audience to consider what the object means to them
  • The whole experience in own space is subjective. It is for you to explore your own existentialism and existence.

Really hope that our installation will be really awesome!! SO EXCITED!! 😀
Stay tuned to our documentation post soon!!! ;D

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling

Final Product!

Since the final product is rather hands on interactive, I made a short video to show how the paper engineering mechanism can be played with in my work. If you hadn’t seen the ‘Process Stage’ post, Click HERE!

Thank you Jia Qi for being my camera man 🙂


 

Feedback given on presentation day!

Classmates’ Feedback and comments:

slide3Joy’s Constructive Feedback 😀:

  • Choice of paper for this project is very important. It is rather flimsy and may break or tear when flipped multiple times. Paper shouldn’t fray at the edges.
  • Works can stand alone without instructions as it is rather distracting. Since the message of my project is ‘Self Discovery’, it may be better for the kids to explore the mechanism and how to play with this book instead of telling them how to.
  • Florist composition need not have ‘Left hand here’ and ‘Right Thumb here’, but instead a thumb and a hand outline is good enough, or even using a ‘flipping the page’ symbol is okay too.
  • Thickness of lines not constant (pots in florist is rather thin as compared to the rest). Suggested to change the setting, so when scaling up or down , can choose to scale proportionally.
  • Egyptianologist Colors were a little more jarring as it has the luminosity of highlighters, whereas everything else has richness.

Thank you lovely classmates and Joy for the comments and constructive feedback! 😀 I really appreciate it!! 😀

YAY~ Assignment 1 is DONE!! 😀

 See you next time for Assignment 2! 🙂

Cheers,

Seng Yi Ling.

Our group or as known as Ling Teh Kam-pany (Derived from our names), consists of Kam Yit Ling, Clara Teh Ke Wei and myself, Seng Yi Ling. And here, we present to you our very own movie trailer for our final 4D assignment of Year 1 Semester 1…

Movie Title: Yi(t) Ling
Genre: Fantasy + Psychological Horror

3 Act Structure

Beginning (Act 1)

Yi Ling is a shy and quiet person. Once focused on a task, she is far from being distracted. Sadly, she is ostracized by her classmates as she seemed rude and had a stuck up attitude. Her classmates disliked and gave her a hard time. Until one day, her new classmate Queenie decided to befriend her.

Rising action

To her dismay, Queenie sold Yi Ling out to fit in as she got ostracized by their classmates when she was seen hanging out with Yi Ling. She ganged up with her classmates and forced Yi ling into room rumored to be haunted for fun’s sake. When Yi Ling managed to open the door after much struggling, she was transported to another dimension where there were doors which led her to places as a ghost tailed her.

Middle (Act 2)

Encounters with the ghost tells Yi Ling that the ghost wants her to stay in this dimension and never go back. The spirit was motivated by loneliness which both characters shared and was enraged when Yi Ling refused to stay.

Ending (Act 3)

The ghost is in actual fact a manifestation as her alter ego. The other dimension filled with doors was a symbolism of change Yi Ling faced in her life. And the only way Yi Ling can get back to her world is by killing a part of her: Her Alter Ego.


References

We watched many horror movie trailers as a form of research and shared our experiences and views on past movies we’ve watched that could be of assistance to our movie trailer! 🙂

Crimson Peak (The Ghost was constantly present, but not shown blatantly.)

Black Swan (Killing of her Alter Ego)

The Babadook (Ghost was a manifestation of main character’s fears.)

The Boy ( Placement of background music.)

Placement of background music was very on point here – it had us 3 covering our ears and half shutting our eyes in fear to watch the trailer. The initial beginning of the trailer has a soft mellow piano tune when the female lead approaches the mansion, and the drastic change of music when they revealed The Boy to her sent shivers down our spine. The sudden change of music instantly let the viewers know what atmosphere the trailer aims to set: Simple life of the girl -> Horror of her lifetime.

Blair Witch Project (Handheld camera shots to show desperation and fear.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D51QgOHrCj0

Coraline (Travelling into another dimension, and use of different colour for different world)

In Coraline, the saturation of her world is low and colours are dull like the reality she lives in. In the other dimension, she enters a door where saturation is high and colours are vibrant and lively like the life she yearns to live in.


Editorial

Blackout shots – Blackout transition shots are a recurring motif. It is used as a representation of time lapse. When used in our trailer, the following scene will be of another place and another time. In addition, length of transition creates suspense and indicate a tonal shift in the scene.

Color  – Adjusting of color to establish different dimensions were used. In the real world, colors are more saturated and was brighter; whereas in the other dimension, saturation was kept to a minimum and brightness was decreased to emphasize on the stark differences in both worlds, so as to make it more spooky.

Background music and audio – Music were used to build up the anticipation and gives the audience the emotion they ought to be feeling a specific sections of the trailer. For instance, mellow piano music at the start to give a soothing feeling, and high pitched fast paced music at the climax when main character was being chased down.

Parallel Universe – At the scene (0:45) where the main character exit onto the parking lot, the composition has a mirror image reflection on the extreme left of the shot, to enhance the parallel universe feeling.
Staircase scene shows main character running up the stairs away from the Ghost, but she remains on the same level as the stairway in the other dimension is an infinite loop (0:58 – 1:09) .

Shots Established

Still Shot was used at the start of the trailer, where a serene feeling is given of the school environment. (0:09)

Fast Pan + POV at the scene where main character looks around perplexed at the new dimension she entered (0:49) .

Dolly In and Out scenes are present at the scene to show the ominous door (0:30) and the scene where zooming in on her expression to show that  she is perplexed after opening the door to another location (0:48).

Mid-shot was used at the scene where main character is pleading the classmates to let her out. (0:40)

Handheld shot when the main character is running up the stairs. (1:01)

Low Angle Shot at the scene where 3 Classmates (Dawin, Jon, JiaQi – Thanks guys!) were gossiping about the main character. (0:22)

Trucking Shot was used when classmates (Thanks Queenie and Debbie!)were pushing the main character inside the haunted room. (0:35)

Close-up Shot was used when main character was wrenching at the door handle when she is locked in (0:41). And the part where the main character’s phone is ringing (1:25).

Canted angle shot are present when phone is dropped amidst the struggle when pushing the main character inside the haunted room (0:37), and the scene where the ghost is wrenching the door to be opened (1:14). This is to create drama and suspense.

Slow Pan is used at the transition scene where the main character looks into the mirror and the reflection looks back at her (1:39-1:42).

Challenges Faced

  • We tend to forget that the trailer is 2 mins and thus, eventually worry that our trailer does not convey our plot properly; but at the same time we don’t want our trailer to be a 2 min summary of the movie (given that it is a MOVIE trailer).
  • Finding an appropriate location which conveyed the intended feeling was not easy. Our main character’s setting is in a school environment and hence the school was used. But for the horror aspect we had to find narrow and dark areas within campus and that was difficult. Given that we even trespassed ongoing construction sites in school.
  • Suitable. background. music. was. really. hard. to. find.
  • Miss Ruyi mentioned that our logo and lobby music was not very appropriate for our Horror trailer, but our group felt that the logo was a good representation of our efforts as a group and the elevator music gave it a merry feeling. This will create the drop of emotions when the horror aspects of our trailer is revealed. 🙂

Feedbacks and Critiques
  • Bar chart results obtained from Ms Ruyi’s Google survey for our group were more towards the positive end of the spectrum.  (thank you!)
  • Sound effect can be toned down to hear narration of the alter ego better in the end.
  • The starting music doesn’t match with the rest of the trailer , perhaps a non jazzy music that foreshadows the story?
  • Show that the alter ego and the main character are two compelling personalities/ people by including more interactive scenes between the 2. Perhaps by voice over of dialogue between 2 person or a struggle between the 2.
  • Yi Ling can act! (Yi Ling says thank you >~< )
  • There were different shots to show the mood of the character.
If u guys have any constructive criticism or comments that we’ve missed out, do leave a feedback down below! WE APPRECIATE IT ?

Initially I was pretty apprehensive to do group work for assignments as I am a rather ‘lone ranger’ kind of person, and having to do group work would mean that there is potential conflicts etc. But I was proven extremely wrong as I felt that our group worked really well together and even bonded closer as friends! 😀 I am very blessed to have worked with Clara and Yit Ling for this project, and I couldn’t have asked for better group mates~
Our first and hopefully not the last group photo as Ling Teh Kam-pany :D

Our first and hopefully not the last group photo as Ling Teh Kam-pany 😀

Thanks lovelies 😉

“Emotion. It starts out small, but it grows.”

I suddenly came up with this quote while I was brainstorming for this project on my 2D sketchbook, and I find this very relatable to my direction into mark making. Little or undeveloped emotions are categorized into primary emotions when we are young, and it has become more evolved and complicated as we grow.

Concept

To document the myriad of emotions categorized into Positive and Negative emotions experienced while growing up.

Approach (towards the whole project, materials used, things tried)

My Approach towards the whole project is just freely experiment with everything and anything! I didn’t want to hold myself back by constraints, so I totally let myself go and immerse myself in the world of mark making while channeling my inner Jackson Pollock to assist my spontaneity! 🙂

20160821_153537

Materials used are nail polish, nail polish remover, water color, eyeliner, salt, acrylic paint, Chinese ink, mono-printing ink etc.

Mark making tools that I have tried are a wide variety. For instance…Tools used in Kitchen like Clingwrap, rubberbands, foil, toothpick, chopsticks, spoons etc. Things in First Aid Kits like crushed pills, cotton buds, cotton pads etc.

(More information of tools and materials I’ve experimented with are heavily documented in my previous posts! :))

Highlights of the works

Sequence of lines arranged on board are in the sequence of my emotions as I grow up.

First Board

First Board

Second Board

Second Board

 

~~~The flowing emotions below are categorized into ‘Primary emotions’ and do not represent the order of the 18 strips in the above images~~~

(JOY)

Bliss – Inspired by rain droplets on the window shield during a heavy downpour, the white noise is soothing to me. The flow of the lines created by gravity is soft and flowing.

Relief – This piece is actually a flip side of the paper I used for the creation of the ‘Fear strip’. There is lesser black and coagulation of black bubble marks on the other side of the paper. Just like sometimes when fear is just all in our head, we just need to look on the ‘flip side’ to see that fear is actually all in our head.

Contentment- Inspired by the calm and tranquil reflection on the lake, I am at the state of satisfaction and happiness. Strokes are soft and fluid which exhibits comfort.

(LOVE)

Infatuation – Like an intense but short-lived passion for someone, there are short frequent ups and downs. Lines are curved to evoke fluidity. Whiteness fades off towards the end to show infatuation fading off.

Affection – Tools used to create marks are soft and as the purpose of healing. Tissue used to wipe tears, and cotton mesh pads used to stop bleeding injuries.

Longing- A yearning desire to be cherished. Tone of black, the representation of yearning desire, varies at different stages and spreads in different directions that is not within my control. Spreading and tonal value of lines fade off towards the end to represent the wearing off of the desire.

(FEAR)

Fear – Coagulation of different sized black spots that takes up a lot of space. Just like fear itself that takes up unnecessary space.

Anxiety – Layering of black on white on black again, anxiety is to me is full of ‘what ifs’. The cracking of black and swirling mixture of black and white reveals the under layer of white shows that it is breaking one apart, and how swirling thoughts consume me slowly.

Panic – A dark and heavy base with sharp pointy lines pointing upwards, like panic which grows because of a strong heavy reason that weighs one down.

(ANGER)

Frustration – I wanted to created a perfect systematic pattern of angular lines. But an accidental mistake such as over estimation, messed up my pattern, which further emphasizes my frustration that my attempt to achieve perfection is ruined.

Influenza Virus

Influenza Virus

Envy – Splotches resemble influenza viruses which spreads routinely amongst people. You would not identify Flu easily until you’ve experienced the symptoms. Similarly, one wouldn’t realize they are envious of someone until they’ve experienced doing things out of the ordinary.

Annoyance – Different tonal values of black was a result of different ratio mixture of mediums. Aggressive marks are created by whacking a damp paintbrush in mid-air to achieve splatter patterns. Different tonal values of black ink symbolizes the extent of the issues I was annoyed about. The darker it is, the more serious, and the size of splatter represents the amount of issues I was annoyed about.

(SURPRISE)

Neurons

Transmission of nerve impulses along neurons.

Shock – Vigorous expressive lines with narrow spreading lines , like transmission of nerve impulses travel along neurons when one goes in shock.

Stupefied – To be put overwhelmed to the state of being incapable of any responsiveness. Black lines across the strip represent the state of constant astonishment. Similar to the TV static, and very fine details surround the line like noise.

Bewilderment  Vigorous movement of the flowing lines create a sense of confusion. Like a maze or tangle of lines. Lines get thinner towards the end to show the increase in fragility as more darkness overwhelms the lines.

(SADNESS)

Remorse – Correction tape on written words shows a mark on the surface if you look closely enough. Attempting to remove errors but marks are permanent, as much as we try to conceal of fix it. Damage has already been done.

Neglect – Tried to create 3 Dimensionality on a 2D platform by introducing space. Placed a small circle on the extreme left and a close up view of a very large circle on the right to create depth. Intended to create a line of perspective to show the physical distance between 2 circles by adding a horizontal line at the back to act as the background.

Disappointment – Wanted to create happy marks with a tool that brings me happiness, but ended up getting something distressful. Hence, disappointed when my expectations are not met.

Challenges faced & how I’ve addressed them.

  1. Certain emotions I want to convey using a specific item did not turn out the way I want them to. Hence, solution to that was to reuse the strips that convey a another feeling I felt upon looking at the final mark.
  2. I find it frustrating that I couldn’t focus on conveying my emotions into my mark making techniques as I was very restrained by how aesthetically pleasing it should be. And my solution was to do mark making in a way that I would not be able to see the final product as soon as I begin, as I would worry how it looks before I even end. So I would suggest closing my eyes as I proceed, only revealing the final product to myself when I am done (Like blind contouring in Foundation Drawing class!).

Comments given by my classmates! 🙂 Thanks for the comments! I really like receiving them! 😀

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This concludes my last and final post for ‘(2D) Project 1: My line is Emo’!

Thanks for sticking with me on my journey into mark making! embarassed

Any suggestions for my own improvement or comments, do feel free to comment below!! 😀

Cheers,

Yi Ling.