THEME
The 19th Century is a period where many inventions took place, and where many of the well-known fantasy books such as Alice in the Wonderland and Frankenstein are created. I decided to choose this era as a setting, as I want to create a fantasy-like world using digital imaging. Further, I decided to use cats as characters in the images, as isn’t it interesting to know what kind of dreams they make when they are asleep?
MODELS
My Kitties
Truffles
Cuddles
IDEAS- THUMBNAIL SKETCHES
I ended up not doing ‘Anger’ and ‘Fear’ as I am not sure on how to portray ‘Anger’ effectively, and I don’t want to take pictures of my cats being frightened.
SOME PROBLEMS FACED
THEME
I realised that the compositions I did at first are not related to each other at all:
Plus, I dislike my initial interpretation so I decided to change it.
NO USE OF TEXT
I really like my initial idea of disgust, hence I wish to use it. However, the problem is that I have to show some text so that viewers can see that the image is a page of a magazine. Fortunately, with the help of a friend, I was able to solve the issue by mosaic-ing the text.
COMPOSITION
For Sadness, I initially covered the cat’s eyes:
However, I realised that the cat ended up looking mysterious rather than sad. Hence I ended up adding the eyes.
FINAL
Note: None of the images are in 1920 x 1080 pixels as I feel that the size doesn’t really suit my images.
DISGUST
On the surface, it seems like the cat is looking disgusted at a picture of a starving boy asking for food and an angry looking dog cook.
The image is actually based on an illustration in Oliver Twist, a well-known novel by Charles Dickens. In this scene, Oliver was asking the cook for more food as he was still feeling very hungry, but his request was rejected very fiercely by the master of the workhouse.
Considering that the cat reading the magazine is having her low tea( only the privileged partake in this activity), with her table filled with desserts, it is quite appalling to see her looking disgusted at the image while drinking her tea.
By showing this image in a 19th century style English magazine/newspaper layout and size ( 32 X 22 inches, source from: https://sizes.com/materials/paper19eng.htm), I hope to convey a feeling of disgust towards the viewers themselves as well, for they may well be just like the dainty cat in the image.
Yes I usually feel disgusted by myself as well.
SOME BLOOPERS
Environment shot used:
Some screenshots of the process:
Edited background
Creating the magazine
I started with a white background.
Then drew the image based on the Oliver Twist illustration ( see “Research”)
And added shadows.
Creating texture for the table
I added a layer of a picture of my wooden desk and changed the layer option from normal to multiply.
Rejected pieces
SURPRISE
This image is actually based on the Revolutions of 1848, which was a series of political upheavals across Europe.
The rich and those of nobility is represented by the cat, who is riding a new invention at that time: the bicycle ( more specifically, a penny farthing is shown here). The workers, and middle class people who participated in the uprisings during that time are represented by the giant rat.
It is normally the rat who gets eaten by the cat. Now, I wonder how surprised are those nobles and monarchs when the people worked together to overthrow their political rule.
The use of bright vibrant colours and childish brush strokes are used to convey the feeling of surprise. The use of exaggeration also further emphasises this emotion.
Size: 1080 x 1480 pixels – this sizing makes the rat looks big- sized, both vertically and horizontally, which is what I want.
BLOOPERS
Environmental shots used
Final background
I use the pen tool to crop out the hill and reduce the size so to emphasis on the huge size of the rat.
The different cat faces:
Rejected pieces:
HAPPINESS
I know this one may feel disturbing at first. Why is the atmosphere so peaceful when the cat is undergoing a surgery of some sorts?
It is actually because the cat here is under anaesthesia ( see the mask). In the 19th century, anaesthesia was just founded, as well as antiseptics. It is definitely so much better for the patients now that they are able to undergo surgery without feeling the pain of being cut open.
The peaceful image of the sea ( which personally, is a place I love as it reminds me of family outings, and the music of the sea my mum used to play for me to sleep), as well as the pastel colours are both used to convey the feeling of happiness and contentment.
Size: 1080 x 1280 pixels- I want to focus on the face, and make it shape like a window so that the image will look even more dream-like.
Extra fact: the reason why the cat is undergoing a surgery by attaching a mask of a peaceful and happy scenery is so that he can see the world from a different perspective.
BLOOPERS
Environmental shot used
Edited shot
Using colour balance, curves and masking.
I also used the the blur tool to blur out a white coloured rectangle later on to create the misty effect.
Background edits
I initially painted a layer underneath, but it doesn’t look realistic enough.
So I added the image of the cloth instead and added more shadows to it.
And then I added colour
Clothing
I painted a layer of the clothing.
Then added in a layer of the cloth picture and change the layer from normal to linear burn.
Then I added in a layer of colour.
SADNESS
This image is based on the Great Famine in Ireland during the 19th century. A starving cat can be seen holding a dying child, and darkness is used here to convey her overwhelming feelings of grief. Cool tones are used here to convey a sense of loneliness and sadness, as well as a mysterious tone, for it is unknown to when will the famine end and what will happen to the cat.
The background used is actually one of the images I took of a place I used to spend with my loved one whom I can never see again. By using it as the background of the image, I hope to be able to convey the feelings felt by the cat: the happy memories shared with the child becomes intolerable to remember, as those times can never be created again.
Size: 1580 x 1080 pixels- long to show the distance between the cat and the world as she is engulf in sadness. But not too long as I still want the focus to be on the cat.
Something extra:
Initially my idea was to convey a classical piece created during the 19th century visually. However, I realised that it will be quite hard to do so effectively. And so, here is just a little something to listen to.
BLOOPERS
Original environmental shot
Edited background
Steps on how I did the piece:
1.
I arranged the cat heads first
2.
then I painted the clothes based on the images I found on the Great Famine.
3.
Then I edited the eyes to make it look sadder using the clone stamp tool.
Rejected piece:
MORE BLOOPERS
For ‘Sadness’, I took quite a number of images:
Most of them (except one) are taken at night, and they are taken from different angles.
For the other emotions, I used some of the images I took from my trip to Taiwan last year:
I am so glad I got a camera in time to take photos during my trip to Taiwan.
Kitties:
And the 2 images I use for texturing:
For ‘ Happiness’
For ‘ Disgust’
Reflections
I really learn a lot on how to use photoshop. I just started using photoshop and doing digital painting (just during the hols actually), so I think I am improving? I still have a lot to improve on though, so maybe I should watch more tutorials and practice more. I hope I can find my own style soon.