Ego – Final

Overall

The background colour is determined by other’s impression/emotion about me. And the clothes that the ninjas wear reflect their personality.

‘Silent Killer’ Reason no. 1: In Secondary School I met my best friend. There was once we went on a school trip to New Zealand, there was this really long bus ride from the countryside to the airport and we talked all the way. We talked about everything – food, dreams, myths, travel etc. Plus we both love drinking tea, thus the tea set.

Silent me is represented by the lightest and coolest colour of the monochromatic spectrum because there is not much energy in being silent. People around you do not really bother thus the background is of the same colour.  This shows how being quiet blends you into the background literally even though you are there.

Meeting my BFF is a joyful thing thus the pink background to show the warmth and happiness. Clothes turn half ninja for transition. Colour scheme for the BFF is the darker side of the spectrum to show her energy and confidence. Much more powerful as compared to me in the cooler spectrum.

Talkative me is represented by me in red which shows that I have changed from quiet to loud. I made the background the same as the first panel to display clear contrast between the two. Viewers automatically force to compare due to simultaneous contrast.

 

‘Silent Killer’ Reason no. 2: In School I am a rather gentle person and all my friends see as this meek fragile creature of which I represented with a graceful ballerina pose. But when I brought my friends home (represented by two parents forming a shelter with their bodies), their impression of me changed. They thought me violent after seeing my dominance over my siblings as I am the oldest child.

Gentle me is welcome by most people that I have met. They treat me well because of my good nature which was Pink. Again Gentle me is represented by the lightest and coolest colour of the monochromatic spectrum because there is not much energy. Its all very soft and pastel.

My parents are very loving and protective which is why they are represented in red representing their strength and power. I am crouching in between them  in pink and cream. A weakling protected by the powerful. Background is pink because home is full of comfort and warmth.

Strong me is represented by me in red, it is the same interpretation as in the first equation. The tiny ninja in the colour of the parents because they are suppose to be my siblings; also part of the family. The background is dark because this part is where it tainted the impression my friends had of me.

 

‘Silent Killer’ Reason no. 3: I have very specific interest and one of which is Salmon; my favorite food. Only with subject of interest will trigger my genuine expression. Everything else looks force and emotionless.

Here, the background and the colour of the ninja is the same because there is not much emotions in myself and in others. I wanted to show the emptiness of being emotionless that is why the background and the ninja is both in cream.

Perhaps for the Salmon dish panel I should replace myself in pink because I am excited to eat it. The background is still cream because the feeling is only exclusive to myself. The third panel uses the same idea.

 

‘Silent Killer’ Reason no. 4: This one is more of a personal interpretation. Ninja’s have small presences like me. Ninjas are strong but in my case I am weak. When I am out in society, I get stepped on by people because of that.

Small presence me is represented in red. The shell of my person is in pink so that it blends into the background. This is to show that despite my gentle and soft nature on the surface. I do have some fight in my. Also this is to show how my ‘real’ self is hidden and people fail to notice me most of the time.

In society is represented by a cream background because nobody really cares about strangers in public, less for someone you do not ‘see’. Other people are in pink because the people around me are usually caring and kind, even though some might just be strangers. I am in red for easy visual interpretation.

The getting stepped on panel is in dark red background because red is like a warning sign there is also meanings of anger, danger and malice. Some people take advantage of my good nature and even though I am in red. The red here reflects more of anger than power. Together with the background it is meant to show how I have been discarded and forgotten.

Reflection:

I got some pretty good suggestions during the crit such as putting a footprint over the ‘getting step on’ panel, cutting out the clothes and hair for ‘in society’ and more contrast for the last two equations. Even though the last 2 equations were meant to look subtracted into the background, I think some contrast would be good too. All that cutting really took a lot of time, I should have planned my time better and be more determine about working through the night. (Stop slacking off Hui!)

Comments were pretty good! They really liked the colour scheme, the cute art style, the mix medium and the portrayal of the equation. SUCCESS! All has paid off.

When I look back, I really like the results. But the process was guelling.

Prev: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/ego-process/

Ego – Process

This project really tested my patience…

Silent me + Meeting Best friends = Word Vomit
Gentle me + At home = Strong me

I tried to keep to the oriental Japanese theme of ninjas with a traditional Japanese building environment.

Emotionless me + Salmon = Happy Me

But here I couldn’t seem to find an appropriate background.

Small presence + In society = Getting stepped on

I realised I didn’t need to do a box collage as I originally planned because a 2D collage is good enough. There is no need to challenge the 2.5D aspect.

 

Spot Illustration (inspirations):

My draft was really cluttered and messy; there was too many elements and the design wasn’t consistent. So Mimi showed me some spot illustrations to help solve me problem and they were exactly what I had in mind. I just needed references!

I really like the use of solid colours as seen here.

 

Back to my own art:

Sketches for cut out. But then I realise the style was inconsistent and I didn’t like that.
Chosen style. I find it more adorable than the rest.
Ninja references
Talkative template
Strong Template
Salmon Template
Small Presence Template
Colour paper cut outs
More cut outs for layering

Testing out different coloured background
This looks better!
I tried different hair colour to see which had better contrast and aesthetic.
Left out the tutu because the one I printed was too big and lost the gentleness of the figure.
Also left out the cloud because I thought it could be plagiarizing. I wanted to cut out my own cloud. 🙁 You can still tell the happiness from the posture though. I just couldn’t carry out the visual metaphor of happiness; referencing the idiom “on cloud nine”.
Multiple print outs to find the right size

Prev: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/ego-process-rejected/

Next: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/ego-final/

Ego – Research

Joseph Cornell

American artist & film maker

https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/joseph-cornell

After Ms Mimi shared those paper-cut examples from senior’s work, I thought it looked pretty similar to Joseph Cornell’s box collages.

Object (Soap Bubble Set), 1941 Box construction 18 3/10 × 12 2/5 × 3 7/10 in 46.4 × 31.4 × 9.5 cm
Untitled (Tilly Losch), 1935-1938 Box construction 10 × 9 3/10 × 2 1/10 in 25.4 × 23.5 × 5.4 cm
A Parrot for Juan Gris, 1953-54, Box construction. 45.1 x 31 x 11.7 cm.
Naples, 1942 Box construction 11 3/10 × 6 7/10 × 4 4/5 in 28.6 × 17.1 × 12.1 cm
Untitled (Swan box), 1945. Box construction.

Josef Alber

German-born American artist

https://www.moma.org/artists/97

http://www.g-e-s-t-a-l-t.org/MEDIA/PDF/Interaction-of-Color.pdf

https://books.google.com.sg/books?id=wN9o0OULXjIC&printsec=frontcover&dq=josef+albers+interaction+of+color+pdf&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi52MO–YvXAhVFQ48KHfNVAAUQ6AEIJjAA#v=onepage&q&f=false


Colour Theory


Pop-up Books


Bożka Rydlewska

Poland Artist/Illustrator

http://bozka.com/

The garden, pop-up for the book New Botany, 2013, prototype, 26 x 43 x 30 cm
Koi, pop-up for the book New Botany, 2013, prototype, 42 x 58 x 30 cm
Lotus, pop-up for the book New Botany, 2013, prototype, 42 x 58 x 23 cm

Extra:

Sigmund Freud

Austrian neurologist; founder of psychoanalysis

https://www.sigmundfreud.net/the-ego-and-the-id-pdf-ebook.jsp

Hedgespeth, J. (2016). Ego, superego, and id. Salem Press Encyclopedia Of Health

All the talk about Ego made me think of Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory of personality. I thought it would of some help in this project. So here it is…

Forrest Gump – The Beautiful Mind

The Beautiful Mind

In the movie, John Nash enrolled into Princeton University and did not attend any of his classes. Instead he went around looking to prove different situations with mathematics. This was what he said to reason his absence in class.

 

Idea 1
Idea 1 (diff background)

Key words:

  1. The spiderweb representing the dull mind because in places that are abandoned and untouched for a long time there tend to have many spiderwebs.
  2. A broken light-bulb with an explosion in the background to represent the destroyed creativity.
  3. The class is represented by the worm; refering to the bookworm. And the hammer to break the light bulb – destroyed creativity
  4. the sheep’s eye because sheeps are followers representing the lack of originality.

This design is also too hard to read so it was rejected.

Idea 2

Okay. So let’s restart the thought process…

Creativity is often represented by a light-bulb or colors of the rainbow. (because when I googled ‘creativity’ that is all that pops up) The idea of a light-bulb does not really work because you cannot tell whether it is switched on or off. Also from Idea 1, the use of a broken light bulb did not work out too well.

So I settled for another source of light – a flame.

Classes… When I think of classes i think of teachers, books, whiteboard, blackboard, projectors, students, school uniforms, stacks of notes etc. I could have a classroom setting which would be much easier to distinguish. In idea 2, I used a student sitting at his desk to refer to being in class.

And for the ‘dulling of the mind’, I place a hand in a pinching action about to extinguish the flame.

Idea 2.1

Idea 2 has all the elements needed however, I feel that the “Classes will dull your mind” part is still not quite right. I tried an already extinguished candle to show the dulled mind. Also removing the hand and adding a whiteboard with maths equations all over in reference to the film.

(At this point I realise I have been replacing the heads all throughout my first few other quotes. But this is the only way I know how to translate the quote.)

Idea 2.2

I also thought the “destroy the potential for authentic creativity” part was lacking. So I changed it up a little bit. There is another student in the back with his candle lit, meaning his creativity is still alive in contrast to the student seated at the table whose light is blown out.

The trees in the back ground is to contrast the outside and inside of the classroom. Then I thought the background is a little too much as there is not much ‘breathing space’. I am not sure…

Idea 2.3
Idea 2.4

I switched the direction of the student behind because they are suppose to be from different spaces. And maybe their clothes should be different because wearing a uniform is associated to being in class.

Idea 2.5

I don’t need to plant the candle on the person. just someone extinguishing the candle flame.

Idea 3

I had been replacing a lot of heads and thought I should move away from that idea. Simplifying my idea 2 to just the significant elements – candle, hand, math. Does this say “Classes will dull your mind, destroy the potential for authentic creativity. “?

More like math kills creativity.

Idea 4

I re-interpreted the quote- John Nash was trying to think out of the box/ classroom and be original which led to idea 4.

Idea 4.1

Then I tried making a juxtaposed between inside and outside the classroom. The design became too cluttered with too many objects. It is too messy.

Idea 5

So then I did only the inside. I wanted to show a woodcutter cutting down a light bulb to reflect the destruction of idea. The use of the woodcutter is to tie into the human figure element that I wanted to carry on throughout the series. Idea 5 is still too complicated and due to time constraint I was force to submit this.

Comment:

Basically the idea is there, the design is just not resolved. Therefore it does not tie in with the other 3 designs. Joel did a good job interpreting the quote. He used books to represent classes. But personally I feel that books represented education more than classes. As the class that John Nash mentioned referred to being enclosed in the classroom listening to the lecturer. He wanted to go out and look for his own original idea therefore a single educational element could not display the meaning of class for me. Thus the usage of a box because thinking out of the box. If I have more time, I would give it more thought and hopefully create something better.

Prev: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/forrest-gump-paranorman/

 

Forrest Gump – Paranorman

Paranorman

The quote was suppose to be :

“If you were bigger and more stupid, you’d probably be a bully too. Its called survival of the biggest.”

I am not sure why the subtitles are a little different – thickest instead of biggest. But the idea is about the same.

Norman has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. And because of his ability he is being discriminated in his neighborhood. He is also being bullied in school, where the bully named Alvin (a boy much bigger in size than Norman) wrote ‘FREAK’ on his locker; there was also a scene before this where he was pushed down to the ground. Alvin being the tallest and biggest in size as compared to his other bullying companions is the leader of the group. Therefore “survival of the biggest.”

A 1984 Stock photo

So basically, the quote is saying that bigger and stupid people pick on those that are much smaller and smarter. People with brains vs people without brains. (head made out of straws) The idea of the bigger bullying the smalland ‘keeping them in line’ reminds me of the novel 1984 by George Orwell, where the authorities would put up huge posters everywhere to intimidate and remind the party that they were being watch at all times. In conclusion, proportion will be significant in this design.

While looking through artist John Heartfield’s artworks, I found one that displayed proportion which I could use for reference. The image is taken from http://www.johnheartfield.com/John-Heartfield-Exhibition/about-john-heartfield-photomontages/dada-political-art-history/heartfield-context-7

Idea 1

The first idea I had was to have a big, fat man and a skinny small man. The smaller man is holding a skull with its mouth open as if it is talking in reference to the movie where Norman communicates with ghosts. The big fat man is also kicking the smaller man to represent the ‘bullying’.

This idea lacks a part of the quote about being bullies being bigger and stupid. Being big is portrayed but not the stupidity. Also I think the communication with spirits is not obvious with just the skull floating out of no where. It would probably be better in the whole skeleton is there to also react to the smaller man. Another thing is that the smaller man might need to have a more dramatic reaction to being kick…

Idea 1.1

I changed the skull to a skeleton and switch the kneeling figure for a standing one. They are both looking at each other which shows more interaction. I had the leg of the bigger man about to kick the smaller man but it is not so obvious. He looks like he is peacefully walking pass in the back ground.

Idea 1.2

So I tried one that looks like he is about to trample on the small man.

Idea 1.3

Bringing up the idea of the human evolution from Idea 2;  earlier homo-sapiens = less intelligent.

Idea 1.4

Big man is wearing a straw hat. A metaphor for someone without brains; stupid. This too was too cryptic. No one could understand.

Idea 1.5

I shrunk the size of his face in an attempt to stupefy him. I asked around and it was not approved.

Idea 1.6

I tried making the eyes bigger… nope.

Selected Idea

Finally I decided on making his eyes cartoon which shows that he has low IQ.

 

Human Evolution
Idea 2

The second idea is to make a parody out of the human evolution because “survival of the biggest”. I continued using the principle of proportion to show that the more evolve they become the larger they get; both width and height.  It is still incomplete as there is no sign of the “If you were bigger and more stupid”. Also the tote bag is vertical, a horizontal composition cannot work.

Idea 2.1

To apply the idea of bigger=dumber, I changed the heads of the bigger people to the heads of the earliest homonin. (since it is under the theme of human evolution.  The supernatural part where Norman communicates with spirits must also be added to relate back to the movie.

Selected Idea

So I added some skeletons sky driving down to the human which represents Norman.  I like this design better than the first. But the skeletons might be have too little white spaces, everything might come out black when printed.

Un-cropped design

 

In the end…

Selected Idea Final

Idea 1 was more simple and easy to understand as compared to idea 2. To solidify the entire design, I added a setting to it just like the Beauty and the Beast design. The background brings in the scene from the movie where Norman was bullied in the school locker hallway.

 

Comments:

The only problem here is that many could not understand the purpose of the skeleton and that is because they need to watch the movie to know. I guess the design can do without the skeleton but I need it to tie back to the context of the movie. Overall, this is design is extremely successful as this got the most comments, and positive ones too.

Prev: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/forrest-gump-beauty-and-the-beast-2017/

Next: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/forrest-gump-the-beautiful-mind/

Forrest Gump – Beauty and the Beast (2017)

“No! He means forever. Apparently, that’s what happens around here when you pick a flower.”

In the scene that the quote was used, Maurice (Belle’s father) was imprisoned by the beast after being caught red handed, stealing a single Rose from the Castle garden. Everything in the Castle’s boundary is cursed upon by the sorceress that the Prince insulted. The people, the weather even the rose that he picked ‘froze’ in time until the day the beast finds the true love.

I chose this quote because I found it humorous. it is actually the entire movie in one sentence. “Forever” because the castle is cursed until the Prince falls in love or they’ll be curse forever.  “Apparently, that’s what happens around here when you pick a flower.” It is referring to the moment the Prince turned the sorceress away because he thought her ugly. He was picky.

Idea 1

The first idea is Maurice’s skeleton holding the rose behind bars. This is very direct. The imprisoned skeleton means he has been in there for a long time that might as well be forever; it was forever for the man anyway because he is already dead. The flower is there but I don’t think it tells you that he is in there because he picked the flower. So maybe I should make it so that he triggers a trap and got imprisoned?  Also you cannot see the skeleton holding the flower.

 

Idea 2
Idea 2.1

In the context of the scene, Belle was offering to take Maurice place behind bars for the rest of her life. Maurice being a loving father refused and tried scare her away from giving up her freedom. He is trying to say that she will be trap forever if she admits to picking the flower because that is what happens in that castle. It is meant to be a threat or a warning.

It depicts a literal action of picking a flower. The flower being caught on the bear trap will catch the thief between its teeth, trapping him.

Idea 3
MRT Warning Signs

Idea 3 is of the same concept as Idea 2 but in the form of a sign. I used our local MRT warning signs as a reference, so this is a parody of the official signs. The fine being $Forever because the beasts wants to keep belle forever, the cost of picking the flower is forever. As we are trying to achieve full visual without text, this idea was disqualified.

 

Idea 4
Idea 4.1
Idea 4.2
Idea 4.3
Lobster Telephone 1936 Salvador Dal? 1904-1989 Purchased 1981 http://www.tate.org.uk/art/work/T03257

I was very interested in the idea of a surrealistic object and wanted to try it out; resulting in Idea 4 – a Venus rose trap. If you were to pick such a flower, the claw would catch you between its teeth just like the bear trap would. But then i realized that because the flower is in a pot it can be handled and moved anywhere which then leads to idea 5.

Idea 5
Idea 5.1

The idea is there but something is off. Design is still not resolved as the object is just floating in space. There is no contrast and the rose seems to blend into the Venus fly trap. Venus flytrap is ugly.

Idea 6

Going back idea 2, I changed the hand to hands to reflect the quotes intention that is to prevent the daughter from taking his punishment. So in idea 6, the father stops the daughter from taking the flower on the bear trap that will harm her.

Selected Idea Final

I wanted to unify all my designs by including an element constant throughout all 4 of them – human figure. Therefore the idea of surrealistic object is rejected. On the night before submission, I was hit with a woosh of inspiration and created Idea 7. (Selected idea final)

I brought the hand from Idea 2 with the rest of the body. A table and the floor to set a scene so that the girl is rooted down to the ground and not just floating in space. The idea goes the same for the table – to root down the bear trap. I added an extra element that is the sparkles, to represent the enchantment in the castle.

Comments:

Design is resolved! A success!

(Same comment as Clockwork Orange design)

Prev: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/clockwork-orange/

Next: http://: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/forrest-gump-paranorman/ ‎

Forrest Gump – Clockwork Orange

Clockwork Orange

The quote i picked out was actually “When a man cannot choose, he ceases to be a man.” But the screenshot I took from the movie came with the previous sentence so… please just ignore that part 🙂

 

Idea 1

When a man is not recognized and respected as one, his existent is similar of that of a chicken. We commonly know chicken as a ‘brainless’ animal and uses it as an insult to call others stupid. A waiter’s job is so serve the customer. In this case the waiter is serving chicken meat, meat of his own kind, What i am trying to communicate is that he might as well be a chicken, a livestock. Doing whatever he is told and not a thought of his own.

 

Idea 2

Here, I broke down the quote in to its key words.

1. Choose

The first definition that appears when I google the word ‘Choose’ is – to pick out (someone or something) as being the best or most appropriate of two or more alternatives. I immediately thought of chess and games where you make appropriate choices for your survival and victory.

2. Ceases

It means to come or bring to an end. So I used ropes to bind the player to prevent him from playing.

3. Man

The man in this quote refers to mankind and not the male gender specifically. When one ceases to be a man, then what is he? An animal? Livestock? Monster? I made used of the chicken from the previous idea.

This idea end up being too complicated and cryptic. Also it would be better if the imagery is related to the movie.

 

Idea 3

Idea no. 3 is base on the context of the movie. The protagonist went through a torturous experiment to fix his notorious behavior and after that, whenever he had a thought or will to harm anyone ever so slightly he would get a terrible nauseous headache.

The elements in the background – the cage and the iron maiden are signifies the torture and restriction. There are hands applauding the “puppet show” because the experiment in the movie was approved by the society as a cure to bad behavior. The person controlling the “puppet”‘s movement is Beethoven because his 9th symphony the second movement was used to control his emotions. So it is like Beethoven is conducting his movements.

The cage and iron maiden in the background were a little excessive because the puppeteer concept already implies control and restriction.

Here is a titbit – Beethoven’s Symphony no. 9. Perhaps listen to it while looking at my design. Hahaha. 🙂

Continuing…

Selected idea

This is the selected idea but I have to finish the story; it only tells the part where the man cannot choose. The part where he ceases to be a man is still missing. So I thought to combine the anthropomorphism idea to degrade the status of a man.

Selected idea iteration 1

The half-chicken half-man is not very obvious. The chicken’s head is too small.

Selected idea iteration 2

Since I cannot replace the head of the man with the head of the chicken as it would be too small to be identified, I placed a chicken in the background and link it to the “puppet” with the rooster’s tail attached to him. In this way, viewers can tell that he is becoming a chicken.

Selected idea iteratioin 3

I thought maybe it is quite hard to relate to the rooster because in the previous iteration; the tail cannot be seen. So I added one more rooster in the background, this time showing parts of the tail.

Selected idea iteration 4

Then I thought I should show the entirety of the chicken. But it looks out of place and odd.

Selected Idea Final

I went back to iteration 2 because I thought seeing the head and tail of the rooster at the same time on 2 separate bodies would tie them together more distinctly than the others. To emphasize the degrading status of being a man, I added the rooster’s crown onto the “puppet”.

Final in 190 x 250mm

(I had another Idea to “demote” the man into a woman because there was the topic of rape in the field. But thought it might be too offensive.)

 

Comments:

See the thing is if you can tell that he is a puppet, there is no need for strings! 😀Design is resolved! A success!Good use of negative space?

Next: https://oss.adm.ntu.edu.sg/ytan149/forrest-gump-beauty-and-the-beast-2017/

My Line is Emo: Final

My story for this project is my admission into NTU ADM.

Surprise

It started when I got the acceptance letter from NTU through email. I was expecting a rejection letter like most of my applications and could not believe what I was reading. “Congratulations” it wrote. I was in disbelief. Not sure whether it was real or I was just seeing things; I had to get confirmation from a friend that it was real. She said it was and there was this burst of emotion after she too congratulated me.

Tenseness

There was still a few weeks before the official opening of school. I got really stress and tense over the thought of going back to school. Firstly because I graduated from a design school, I knew vaguely what lies ahead – the late sleepless nights and the spending on overpriced materials. Secondly it was because it is University School of Art, Media and design, everyone here is definitely elite to be admitted into the school. Why out of all those people did they chose me? I am not talented at all. To stand on the same level as everyone there really pressurized me.

Translating this feeling onto the strip, it was like many needles poking at certain points to keep me in place and match myself to others.

Jolly

I participated in the orientation camp with much doubt. I did not think it was going to help me with making friends. It would be awkward was what I thought. However, turns out, it exceeded my expectations. ADM orientation camp was the most amazing camp I ever been in my entire life. The results that the seniors produced was outstanding. It blew my mind.

I used bubbles because it reminds people of the times they had fun. Bubbles are always fun. I have never met anyone that hate bubbles. Also it is such an adorable word that is impossible to say it in an angry tone. I also tried to create a rhythm to the arrangement of bubbles to look as if they are dancing – like what we did at the end of the orientation camp.

Bitterness

Sadly, I was late for my first presentation of my university life. I worked really hard to make sure I did everything on time and ended up being too sleep deprived I overslept. I felt bitter about the situation. It was unfair – the same feeling of being discipline as an innocent child. So to directly translate that feeling I dipped a cane in ink and whacked the crap out of crepe paper.

Regret

“I should’ve not slept.” “I should’ve slept more.” “I should’ve slept beside the alarm.” I thought of many things that I could have done that would have saved my 20% presentation grades. But time cannot rewind and no matter how much I want to fix my situation, it cannot become what it was before. Thus, the strip is patched all over with a torn print.

Care

I went home and cried to my family about what had happened. The black parts represent my troubled soul. If you look closer you can see the hairy texture as if it is reaching out for help. And the white paint smooths the texture down; representing the comfort and care my family provided me. 

My Line is Emo: Development

Love

Concept: I want to show the feeling of being loved by another. The love you feel in a hug; being embraced when you feel down. There is this ‘warmth’ that feels up inside you as if transferring from the hugger to the hugged. The phrase ‘Love brings light into your life’.

Idea: I am thinking of using the contrast in texture to represent the troubled soul and the ‘love flame’. Textured or crushed paper to represent the troubled soul. Smoothness of paint to represent the ‘love’ flame. In this case, I could try to make my own paper as suggested during consultation! The problem is that with the gloomy weather going on, I am not sure it is going to dry in time for submission… (i could also pressed the paper onto some coins or something to create creases?)

Results: 

Crepe and tissue

I pressed twisted black crepe paper into the damp paper before it dried. But the colour ran and turned blue.

Eggshells

I tried dyeing the eggshells black with Chinese ink but because it was water base the ink was washed away; barely even stained it.

Peanut Shells (black)
Peanut Shells (white)

I chose the peanut shells because out of the three, the peanut shells came out the most bumpy and rough. Also the texture is reflected on the back. So even though the peanut shells are not black/white, I can use the back of the paper.

Testing 1

At first I wanted to use a single colour ( white on white)  and focus on the texture difference. Since I only have one white handmade paper, I did a black only test.

Testing 2

Then I tried colour mixing.

Testing 3

Then i realised that when I rolled the acrylic paint over the paper I could lift the pulp – texturizing it even more.

Surprise

Concept: I rarely get surprised but when I do, I feel it in an instant and then its gone. It is an explosive feeling and you scream. After the moment of shock everything is back to normal. One BAM! and then nothing.

Idea: In translation it would be 1 big splatter on a smooth surface. Is this where I can use transparency??? I could use different objects to create the splatter. Water balloon? Plastic bag?

Results:

Black Splatter on white paper

Single colour spat looks quite boring.

Black and white splatter on white paper

Mixed of black and white because I felt perhaps surprise is not always ‘bad’ (black). It is more like a mixture of both positive and negative feelings.

Black and white splatter on transparency

To emphasize the “One BAM! and then nothing.” feeling. I decided to use transparency.

Joy

Concept: If surprise is one big explosion, Joy/ecstatic would be many tiny explosions. Or explosions of various degrees. Feeling ecstatic is when you feel so much joy and excitement you want to do a little victory dance.

Idea: This emotion is not violent – gentle explosions. I could make tiny burst of paint with the use of bubbles. It explains the emotion but is not special or anything because I have seen others done it already.

I could directly translate the victory dance though. That sounds interesting. With something that looks like feet??? Toy feet. Fingers. Toes. An object related to victory? A trophy or medal. Something I am ecstatic about? My figurine! But I rather not ink it though… Or you know I could do both! 🙂

Results:

In the end I did not try to create a ‘Victory Dance’ piece but I did try to incorporate rhythm to the arrangement of bubbles to make it look as if  its ‘dancing’.

Iteration 1
Iteration 2
Iteration 3

Regret

Concept: When I feel regret I desperately want to travel back in time and fix my mistake. But since time travel is impossible, I try to fix it the best I can but it does not work and it’ll never be the same. It is like taping torn paper together. The paper is still torn; the tear cannot be mended back to the way it was before.

Idea: Naturally the idea is to tear up a print and put it back together. Creating empty spaces on purpose to patch up later. So the question is -what kind of print? I could use fabric, it also cannot be mended even after you sew it back together. (too simple to just sew fabric back together? not interesting.) Maybe something structured, something regular. After it is destroyed and patched up it becomes irregular… Perhaps a grid will work? It would make it looks distinctly wrong than just a random paint smear. Possibly combine the two?

Results:

I thought maybe patching up a grid would make the message more apparent – mending a ‘perfect’ structure.

Grid patching with solid lines
Grid patching with lines of varying gradient

However, I did not feel the regret in the results. It looked more like confusion. The previous strip I did had much more impact than these two.

Fear

Concept: Fear when watching a horror movie. The moment the music indicate a jump-scare is coming up I get scared, my heart beat increases and I cover my eyes.  At the same time I want to know what the ghost or demon looks like. So in the end I cover my eyes and watch the movie at the same time; peeking through the holes between my fingers.

The other kind of fear that I want to portray is phobia, such as trypophobia – a proposed phobia (intense, irrational fear, or anxiety) of irregular patterns or clusters of small holes or bumps. When I see a trypophobia triggering image or object, shivers run down my spine, I get goosebumps and my hair stands.

(I am going to try both and see which is looks more interesting)

Idea:  irregular horizontal lines? But horizontal lines means peaceful, even. Jaggered horizontal lines? Fan out lines to represent peeking out through fingers? For the second interpretation I could include the basic shapes – cluster of circles, trembling lines and vertical lines.

Results:

I was trying to depict my fear of worms. Using strings dipped in ink to create the curve squiggles and satay stick to make the ‘handprints’. Iteration 1 looks quite interesting but it does not go along with my story.

Iteration 1
Iteration 2
Iteration 3
Iteration 4
Iteration 5

Anger

Concept: Natural reaction of anger is to lash out. The image of parents disciplining their child is what comes to mind. It is a form of ‘love’ but many would agree it is mostly out of anger and disappointment than love. It is a destructive and controlling emotion. When you are angry you are not in the right set of mind. You urge to shout, scream, punch etc to vent your rage.

Idea: My first thought to translate this feeling is to just directly do the same on paper. To cane the paper. Use hanger or belt? Feather duster. Ruler. Then the medium would have a hazy background representing the absence of common sense. The point would also result in a textured surface? Instead of using paper I could use tender fabric? Is there even such a thing? Tissue paper perhaps? Butter paper? No butter paper is not white/black. Tracing paper. I could use some crepe paper; they are easily torn.

Result:

Caning on crepe paper on the floor
Caning on crepe paper suspended
Caning on tracing paper suspended

 

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