Category: AAD010


Dec
2020

Game Design

categories: AAD010

Instead of making a video explaining my new version of the beloved game Battleships I decided to make a PowerPoint explaining the new rules and features of the game as I thought through writing id be able to explain the concept in a better way and make the new way of playing clearer and easier to understand. I wanted to make the game more interesting my introducing cards and dice and eliminate the blind guessing as much as possible. I thought that this addition to the game would not only make it more enjoyable to play and change the game through each play but also make sure that the key elements that made the game popular still remain so it still feels like the game we all know and grew up playing. After creating the new version of the game I can see the benefits my changes would make to the game and how it would be considered more enjoyable to play.

Battleships PowerPoint-


Dec
2020

Animation- Stop Motion and Krita

categories: AAD010

Stop Motion-

I worked with the stop motion app to create these two animations. I played around with timing and adding more than one element to the animations. I decided to work with lollipops as they were colourful and easy to align between each shot. I was able to have the lollipops moving at different speeds depending on how close my destination markers were to each other. This was a tedious process as you have to move each item very slightly between each shot and that small movement is what creates the animation. However I do think the final outcomes look cool due to the difference in speed and how one of the lollipops is moving in a more uneven manner.

 

Krita Animation- Bouncing Ball

Working with Krita had its challenges as it was an application that I have never used before however after creating the first couple of movements along the timeline it became something that I thought was a lot easier than I originally thought. I didn’t want to have the ball moving in a straight line so I decided to experiment with having it bouncing up and down at different speeds. I had the ball bounce more as it got closer to the end as it would if it were real. I think that this animation turned out quite well.


Dec
2020

Animation Character Design

categories: AAD010

Sketching Exercises-

Before drawing my character I drew out some different shapes and allowed myself to get used to drawing digitally. I drew out some basic lines and shapes to get used to both anatomy and drawing different types of lines accurately. I just used a basic pen tool to get the shapes and lines drawn out as I knew this is what id use when creating my character.

 

Flour Sack-

I wanted to make the flour sack have as much personality and possible, I wanted to do as many different attitudes and poses as I could think of in order to show the sack in as many lights as I could. I really love how he turned out I think he’s really cute. My favorite poses I did for the flour sack are defiantly the “sexy pose” and the “buns pose” I think they look very flirtatious and show off his personality well. I even included the death of the flour sacks cousin when he got made into a piece of bread.

Design Task-

I made some digital drawings of the three pictures that we were given. I fully intended in drawing all three as silhouette style portraits as you see with the first two, however I couldn’t get the image of a bear out of my head when looking at the third image. Therefore I decided to make him into a cute bear with a beard and scarf. I really love how the first two came out I think that by breaking up the stark black and white with some grey tones I was able to capture the likeness of both people much better. I think that I captured the likeness of all three, the first two obviously being a much more realistic approach and the third being a cute illustrative version of the man. I used a photoshop style application to draw out all three and I think I made the right decision with my software as it turned out how I would have liked it to.

 

Character Design Sheet-

Before deciding if my character’s face was done I tried out a few different options and that allowed me to come up with the final design. I played around with some different emotions too as I didn’t know which expression would suit her the best, although after playing around a little I decided on pretty neutral expressions as I thought that they worked the best.

 

My Character (Final designs)-

When I was designing my character I knew that I wanted to have a Japanese animated style, however I still wanted to create a character that would be individual and stand out from the conventional animation. I began to think what kind of character she would be and I came up with a back story equally as original as the character design. She is a space alien who took an interest with Earth, however she realised she has a strong hatred for men and wants to make Earth a woman only planet. In order to bled in with the humans she took on her human like form, although she did get confused with the male and female anatomy and she ended up with a male torso and female legs. I gave her a huge (but adorable) blade in order to take down all her foe.

The colour palette was super easy to decide on, I chose blue and pink as she is half man half woman in appearance and I thought that these gender stereotyped colours would help to convey that. They also give her another worldly feel as they are massively contrasting. I went for a space armor type shirt for her not only to relate back to the fact that she is an alien but also to show off her manly toned chest. I also gave her spacy type boots but made them feel super feminine with the heel. The bikini bottoms and thigh highs not only show off her feminine beauty but also act as a mean to allure men so they are distracted by her for long enough to strike them down. The headphones were an afterthought as I thought her head looked a little empty but I tried to make them look as intergalactic as possible.

The character design was an easy process after deciding on the backstory and I was able to outline her in one go without many decision changes. The only thing I changed were the tone of pink for the space suit top as I thought that the bright pink needed to be more spaced out so the baby pink helped a lot with that. I used a photoshop style application to draw her in as it for me was the easiest software to use and also the one I was most comfortable with.

After making the character I thought that it would be cool if she had some sort of power or finishing move to relate to her being from another world. I decided that she should eat her prey but I thought that in order to eat a human quickly a larger mouth would be needed. So I gave her the ability to open her stomach to reveal a huge monstrous mouth that can quickly eat up her prey. I wanted the mouth to combat her sweet appearance so I used a wolves mouth for reference when I was drawing it out. I love this addition to the drawing as I think it makes her character even more unique and special. With the addition of the mouth her name came easily to me “Monstrous Venus”. Venus is the planet associated with femininity therefore I think it relates well to the character and monstrous due to her huge mouth concealed under her manly toned abs.


Dec
2020

Animation research

categories: AAD010

Masayoshi Tanaka

Tanaka has designed many characters for Japanese animation projects yet his style is most commonly mecha or mechanical styles of animation. He enjoy mixing the ideas of human and machinery and incorporating futuristic space type costume and appearance. He has claimed that his favorite works are that of “Darling in the Franxx” where he was able to have a mixture of all three elements mentioned. His work is very fascinating to me as I enjoy the unique combination of ideas and his ability to make metal and machinery look wearable and somewhat normal. I knew what kind of character I wanted to create when deciding which artists would inspire me further and he felt like the perfect pick. I really loved his colour palette and character designs and he gave me a lot of insight as to how I could mix the human anatomy with that of futuristic space suits and make it look natural in some way.

Butch Hartman

Harmen had a long and successful career on nickelodeon creating shows such as Danny Phantom and Fairly Odd Parents. I have always been drawn to his designs for both their diversity and insight into the early 2000s fashion trends. All of his characters have a unique appearance and a nostalgic feel for me. I would love to use elements of his designs such as the simplistic hair for my character design. I also love his dark colour palettes seen in a lot of his characters, another thing that I would love to recreate. I think my combining the styles of American and Japanese animation I would be able to achieve something that looks unique in its own right and has its own character and design that isn’t a replica of another style. I think that this combination would be able to help me a lot when designing my own character.


Nov
2020

Graphic Design and Illustration

categories: AAD010

When considering the designs for my illustrations I wanted to keep both a consistent colour palette and a theme, of course the theme had to lapse in some places as it would have been difficult to incorporate anatomy in every sketch but I did where I could. The palette I landed on was a simple blue, red and grey selection, however after doing a few illustrations I found myself wanting to reach for black in place of the grey therefore I knew that replacing the grey with black when coming to my digital versions would have been a good choice. I spent longer on some of my sketches than others as I liked the word prompt better an example of this would be with the word rhythm where I did a surrealistic 70’s style illustration.

I created 12 digital variations of my initial sketches, I chose the sketches that I enjoyed the most as I felt that the more complex designs created would not only translate better but would be more enjoyable. I used a photoshop style application to create these digital renditions of my initial sketches. I changed the grey in my colour palette to black and refined all of the images so they would translate a lot more. Compared to other styles of illustration I am more interested by more detailed styles rather than that of bold typography and shapes, i much prefer a hand drawn approach to get a message across. Some of the most effective designs in my opinion would be Balance and Shape where I chose a less literal interpretation and focused on the idea of Ying and Yang and anatomy.

I made a simple video with inshot to display my digital images in a slideshow style. This was very simple to make and very effective for showing the images in a larger format.

Paper Versions of Illustrations-

I created paper versions of my illustrations with coloured sugar paper cut into the shapes that mimicked the digital designs. I had to simplify the designs and colour palette so I could make the designs readable and easy to recreate. I enjoy the colour palette simplified to just blue and red. I used a white card background to contrast the bright colours of the shapes. I think that the simplified shapes turned out well and look similar to the digital renditions. I really enjoy how the “shape” and “proportion” designs translated into the paper shapes.

Artist research (Pauline’s Class)-

Erin Aniker

Erin Aniker is an Illustrator and Designer based in London, UK who draws inspiration from her dual Turkish and British heritage, her love of Islamic art and patterns and the inclusive community she has grown up with in London. Her main focus in illustration is to portray community based art and art that showcases all types of women from different ethnic backgrounds. She draws much inspiration from 60s and 70s style posters and advertisements. Her work explores ideas around identity and community informed by her experiences of different communities, bolstered by her mixed parentage. Her work proudly speaks to a new generation who seek positive change for all. she states that “Though I had a creative upbringing, I had no direct links or connections to the art world or creative industries, at all. So, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could find a job and create a career as an illustrator.” I really like her work for both its feminist message but also for its colour palette reminiscent of the 60s.

Marylou Faure

Specialising in character design, bold colours and graphic compositions, French Illustrator and Artist Marylou Faure aspires to create artwork that invokes joy with her cheeky and playful style. Her playful work is often recognised by a vibrant colour palette and quirky style. Since her move to London, she has since collaborated with global brands and agencies, providing illustration for a broad range of digital and print projects. Her character design, bold colours and hand-written typography are what give her the edge that allows her to have worked with brands such as Nike. Marylou aspires to create artwork that invokes joy with her cheeky and playful style. She expresses herself best when representing the female form and advocates equal rights for all. Above all, Marylou believes in using her skills for good and enjoys working on projects for a strong social or ethical cause. I really love the message of her art and the incorporation of the female form, her work is very pretty and feminine to me due to the use of colour and lack of harsh lines.

Video Research-

Izzy Wheels

Izzy wheels created by Ailbhe Keane is a range of interchangeable wheelchair wheel coverings designed by artists to help give people confined to a wheel chair a confidence boost and a sense of style and personalization over their wheelchair. Ailbhe thinks that it is important for wheel chair users to be able to change the way people perceive their wheel chair and how it should make it look more like a life changing and helpful lifeline rather than something associated with illness and old age. They target their designs too children, accident victims and sports players primarily and have even worked with the Paralympics. She wants to change how people see these in wheel chairs and thinks that having a more fashionable accessory and customizable wheel chair it will show it in a more fashionable light and help those with disabilities have more representation in mainstream media. she was inspired by her sister who used to struggle with the appearance of her wheelchair and wanted to have something that stood out just as much as what an outfit would. This is where the company began and it has grown to include thousands of designers and a wide clientele. I really love the work that she has done for the large community of wheelchair users, I think that showing less able bodied people in the mainstream media is of paramount importance so people can begin to associate wheelchairs with everyone and not see it as a negative or taboo subject, I think that having beautifully designed wheels for a chair would not only make the transition between being able bodied and wheelchair bound easier for some people I think that it would be something that would make the lifetime users feel like they can stand out as much as anyone else.

Punk Album Research-

I knew that I wanted to draw inspiration from arguably the post famous punk band in the world. They were some of the front liners in the anarchist movement. A lot of their style is based on a pop art and colourful approach to design. Their simple colour schemes and bold ransom note style lettering is something that I find visually striking. The sex pistols often adorned band members face with political statements and lyrics from their songs. Their unique style of albums is something that I wanted to recreate but with a non-punk song. It was Jamie Reid that created the iconic image for the sex pistols, he added ransom note lettering to Queen Elizabeth II also adding a safety pin through her nose and swastikas to her eyes. This was later deemed to be the most iconic image of the punk era yet the most controversial due to its anti-monarchist stance.

Album Cover (Initial ideas)-

when considering what kind of punk style album cover I wanted to create I decided upon making a non-punk song into something that had a punk aesthetic. I chose to do a single of one of my favorite songs from Bon Jovi “Runaway”. This song is heavily associated with the Netflix series Stranger Things which is why I chose the face of Eleven from the show to be on the front cover of this LP. I was looking at bands such as the sex pistols and The Clash fir inspiration for the album covers. The sex pistols used a lot of ransom style lettering especially over the faces of band members and political figures. I have always enjoyed the Punk style especially surrounding the music culture and I thought that it was something I wanted to convey well in my album. I noticed that the posters for the sex pistols had a very heavy pop art feel which is why I decided to go digital with my designs first so I could achieve something that resembled that pop feel. As you can see I spent a long time changing my designs in photoshop and playing around with the different colours and effects until I settled on the green, purple and blue colour scheme. I really love how it looks and couldn’t wait to draw it out including different techniques.

Paper Version-

These are my final versions of my album cover. I included the front, back and center image to show what it would look like on all sides. I drew out my final design and used a mixture of techniques and medias. I used markers and watercolour as a base layer and added coloured pencils over the top to try and capture the likeness of the character and the image that I had created. I also cut and tore pieces of paper and placed them along the eyes and negative space of the album cover. For me this was the element that would make it look the most like a punk album cover. For the back I applied similar techniques as the front to make it look consistent. I wanted to keep the album cover pretty plain as that is what a lot of punk album covers seemed to go for. For the center image I used the same design as the front cover but cropped it to just the face and the letters “Runaway” to keep the colour and design theme. I really enjoy how this turned out and I think I was able to achieve a punk style image out of a classic rock song.

 

Classical Painting research-

Frederick Sandys, was an English painter, illustrator and draughtsman, associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. He was known for his paintings of half-length figures of malicious sexually predatory women. In real life, as will be seen above although he did not seem to be in any awe of women. Sandys was a painstaking perfectionist in the execution of his oil paintings although he painted much less in oil as time progressed and tended to produce portraits in coloured chalks. This move was less of a loss than it seems, as many of the coloured chalk portraits are beautifully done. Whatever Sandys did, artistically he did well. I really admire his work for his unique representation of women and how he steers away from images of fragility when painting women. I can only assume that his art work would have caused controversy due to the female subjects looking so angered and powerful.

Photography Task-

I was looking at different classical paintings However I was drawn to the birth of Venus. I thought that she stood out among other paintings of her era and I wanted to recreate the pose representing feminine beauty and fragility. I wanted to focus primarily on her face as I had limited resources and people to work with. I wanted to recreate the goddess of love’s position and facial expression but with a modern appearance. Obviously my makeup and piercings bring this image to a modern era but I really enjoy that about it. The fact that creating a similar position, mood and setting as this painting allowed me to bring it into a modern viewing by just looking like myself. Of course beauty is ever changing this is why I wanted to reimagine this painting in a modern setting showing how far the beauty standards and trends have taken us both artistically and visually. I tried to recreate the curls in the picture and I think that my golden blonde hair makes for a good match for hers.

The second image that I wanted to recreate was Love’s shadow by Frederick Sandys which was modelled for him by him wife. The artists main feature of his paintings were both female sexuality and hair. He admired the beauty of long female hair particularly that of red and golden hues, this being a reason I wanted to use this painting as I feel that I have big enough hair to mimic that of the women in the painting. This one was fun to recreate as I took the images in a video biting the roses and trying to look aggressive yet keep my face as pretty as possible while doing so, I ca imagine that this is how it was modelled for him and therefore I felt that taking a video would have been easier than taking individual images. I took this still from the image as I felt that this was the best replica for the painting. I think that I was able to bring a modern adaptation to the image, once again my appearance will look more modern than that of the painting due to my piercings but I think that I like it even more this way.

With the third image I wanted to recreate The Lovers II painting which shows two lovers kissing through veils. The image is really pretty to me and I asked my parents to recreate it. I put a black and white filter over the image to try and replicate the colours. I used pillow cases to black out the faces and replicate the material look of the original. This painting translates quite well as its hard to put a time to it like the others so getting a similar look was pretty effortless.


Nov
2020

Photography and Video

categories: AAD010

when I began the process of taking pictures I had very little idea of what I actually wanted to express, I began to take pictures around the house focusing primarily on texture more than meaning or thought. it wasn’t until I sat and pondered what I was feeling that I realised that I had overlooked the things that I was struggling with a lot recently. Its no surprise that mental health struggles in young people has increased by 50% in recent months (this is something that I myself have been feeling burdened with). I knew that I wanted to create something that showcased that struggle with a feeling of encapsulation and complete unhappiness in a place that was once a safe haven. I decided to stick with imagery from around my home as this is where my initial thoughts were, and of course the place where my mind felt stuck. when looking at these images the saturation will slowly drain away and I wanted to achieve a feeling of actual sorrow and emotion rather a feeling of mere melancholy.

The first images I grouped to me are a clear presentation of fragility or a crackling mindset, both the bubbles and the fractured wood are going to fall apart or pop in a matter of time, this is the inevitability of both the wood and bubbles despite the vast difference between these two pictures. I connected this to the idea that at one point I can feel myself coming to the end of putting up a front and allowing the fragility of my mind escape. I played around with the presentation of the bubbles but settled on a lightbox with a violet lens on the camera to give it a happy and colourful appearance. For me this would of course link back to the façade of masking one’s true thoughts and mindset through false happiness.

The second pairing for me are both somewhat numb, I don’t feel much when I look at them which is surprising as they both hold a powerful symbolism with depressive thoughts and a feeling of self isolation. perhaps this is the exact reason that I don’t feel much when looking at them due to the feelings of nothingness that being stuck within the same meaningless routines have made us fall into. I wanted to try and make the viewer feel uncomfortable with the fading colour and the powerful symbolism within both of the pictures.

The mind has many similarities with the fragile rose, when fresh and engaged it is bright and pleasant to look at or look through whereas once negativity or time goes by it begins to decay and fall apart, becoming a shadow of what it once was. The skull vase that the rose is in I thought represented the human side of this much better and tied in a hollow feeling of self. I felt that when I took the first picture that it was very overdone and basic yet when accompanied by the other image it became something that I felt emotion behind and a sense of representation or symbolism.

I was looking for inspiration around my home for images that I could have used and it wasn’t until I was taking pictures of the wood that I noticed how ashy the fireplace was, it had became cracked and loose and very close to falling apart. the stark black of the ash against the white stone of the fireplace was very interesting to me. The textures reminded me of wallpaper that I have so I wanted to bridge a connection between these two images by incorporating the lighter barely illuminating the wallpaper to show the similar textures. It gave me a feeling of a dangerous aftermath, a large outcome to pent up sorrow and destructive tendencies. I felt that this image or pairing was somewhat overdone or expected but when I look at my own representation of this I feel differently, it feels unique to me and almost fearful.

The next pictures for me hold the most symbolism, perhaps they look confusing or meaningless at first glace but both of these images were taken at Auschwitz concentration camp in Krakow Poland. This was one of the most surreal experiences of my life and these images for me hold the most interest and feel the most emotive. Surprisingly when I went we were told that it was okay to cry as most do and it was supposed to feel scarring in a way. However I felt broken as I walked around staring at belongings ripped away from people and their freedom and identity replaced with nothingness. I found it hard to relate to what I was seeing and I felt bad for feeling very little. However its not until now almost 2 years later that I feel more connected to these pictures than I ever did before, My identity and mind feel left somewhere much like these limbs or empty beds. Of course it feels insensitive to compare yet somehow I relate to these images more than ever.

The last two images are both conveying a feeling of decaying. The artichoke was left in the rain for almost a year and became brittle like splintering wood and the fox was left decaying at the side of the road until found and repurposed. These are things that interest me deeply I am fascinated by bones and decay, but more so it is the relatability that I feel more connected do than anything else. The flowers around the skull are all flowers that I pressed myself, a preservation of death if you will, I was able to paradox the death of both the animal and the flowers by repurposing them much like how the weather preserved the artichoke into a wooden state.

Photographer Research-

Volker Heinze

Born in Duisburg in 1959, Volker Heinze is a photographer for whom the book is the primary medium; he explores his visual ideas in book form before installing his work in the gallery or museum. Heinze has published numerous monographs and his work is held in collections including Museum Folkwang in Essen. His work focuses on differing issues yet he seems to be drawn to the idea of the berlin wall and how it can change a city and its atmosphere. He leaves much to the imagination with his desaturated colours and soft focus. I really like how his work feels lonely and isolated, most of which being close up photography which is something that I find myself drawn in by. His work is very interesting to me and in my mind reflects similar issues that I wish to show through my photos.

Angelica Elliot

“I needed to move, start again. It was seven years ago, after a traumatic loss. My new home became Rågsved, south of Stockholm. I started taking photographs of my everyday life, my
friends and people who live here. I wanted to get to know the place – and myself again. I have grown very attached to and formed a deep love for this neighborhood. I have found a kind of community and an honesty that makes me feel safe. It is my home.” I was instantly drawn to her images as they have a melancholy effect on me, i feel somewhat alone and a sense of freshness and discovery when I look at them yet I feel a coldness and self isolation due to fear and unfamiliarly. I suppose these are some of the themes that she wants to convey. I really love the black and white theme throughout her work and its something that I would love to continue implementing into my work.


Nov
2020

IXD- (Artist Research and app design)

categories: AAD010

Brendan Dawes-

Dawes is a UK bases artist and designer who uses digital processes such as machine learning and algorithms to create interactive insulations. He focuses on digital experiences, data visualization and motion graphics for screen printing. He has tested the limits between digital processes, technology and art in order to create something new, a visually dynamic insulation of  people, code, design and art.

Fillings for rectangles’ is how he often describes his work, however these shapes have dramatically evolved into unique and visual art works taking on unrecognizable forms of self expression. Over the years those “rectangles” have  become various shapes and sizes including websites, iPhone apps, posters, books, electronic circuits and pieces of plastic. However the main theme throughout his work follows a sense of playfulness and exploration of newness. His main belief is to introduce something new and innovative to the world of art, which will remain in his permanent collections in museums and galleries in New York.

Sarah Parmenter-

Parmenter has been able to build a respected name in the industry with her IOS and web design practices. However she has also gained a large clientele with companies such as Blackberry, News International, STV, and the National Breast Cancer Foundation of America.  In 2011 she was named .NET magazine’s “Designer of the Year” due to the wide respect that she has been given with her designs and inspirational seminars to inspiring designers.

she specializes in user interface design, namely with iPhone and iPad. She is mostly inspired by vintage advertising and brings it back into modern works with apps and web design. She has a large focus on design and colour, these are things that I am also inspired by and focus on with design in mind. She states that her work was never meant to stand out but her being a female is enough for her to make a stance in a heavily male dominated industry, which she gives a lot of credit for her success. However in an interview she states that as much as her job is heavily reliant on design the most important parts of her job relies on the usability of her projects… “It’s not all about making a pretty picture. Forget bevels, highlights and gradients, it’s all about a usable interface – you have to think beyond making something look nice and actually get into some mathematics and work out hit sizes, and areas that need to be clear to avoid mis-taps.”

Veerle Pieters

Pieters is widely known for her tutorials on elegant and striking web design along with modern home design. Her career began in print with a main focus on stationary and broachers, however she branched out into web design, evidently what she is mostly known for today. Veerle is also Design Lead of Fab where she’s responsible for the design of website and the GUI design of Fab’s iPhone and iPad app. She has worked on many projects both large and small, however she is also well-known for her tutorials covering CSS, and enjoys keeping a blog to share inspiration and tips for other designers. Veerle also enjoys exploring the details of modern home design. She loves biking, house music, and traveling, these things are a huge influence on her work along with her culture. I really admire her work, especially things such as her blog which are so visually striking and highly unique.

 

Drawing Exercise-

Planning with Spider Diagram-

Logo Design-

App Design-


Nov
2020

Fine Art Environment Paintings and Drawings

categories: AAD010

Fine Art Environment-

When thinking about what I wanted to include in my manmade environment I knew that it needed to be things that both interest me and that are things I have a connection with . For me this was some decorations from my room, my fox skull and some patterned fabrics and things that I found interesting in both texture and colour. I used a feather wreath as a center piece as I enjoyed the contrast between the dark oil like feathers and the bright and garish colours of the wall hangings. I also wanted something with a highly textured surface to combat the smoothness of the glass and the skull. I wanted to challenge the difference between naturality and man-made fabrics and materials. The skull and flowers are the examples of natural features within the environment and the embroidered fabric and card packaging are directly contrasting with that natural element. I like the contrasting colour palette that a chose also, I think that the crowded scene is something that I was more interested in rather than having a more simplistic grouping.

The first image is my initial idea but after doing a few drawings I knew that I wanted to replace the floral material and furry rug with more simple fabrics to dilute the amount of visible texture and pattern. I think that this worked really well and the second scenery is a lot easier to look at and the colour palette is a little more balanced.

Charcoal/ Mixed Media Drawings-

These are my initial drawings to see if I needed to change the environment or adjust any of the items within it. I used charcoal in all of the drawings however the three drawings at the end are mixed media. I used a water soluble marker to add a bluish purple tone to the paper and establish a base tone all over. I then added some Indian ink for harsh shadows and some mid tones and finished it with biro pen and compressed charcoal. I really love how these mixed media pieces turned out as the cool tone adds emotion to the image and makes the environment almost abandoned and have a lost in time feel.

I enjoy the turnout of these studies a lot, even though it is the same environment that I was drawing from I think that each has their own look and standout as different pieces. I cut the environment down in some and only focused on a small portion of it to try and capture more detail in that one small part rather than suggesting details in a larger piece.

Acrylic Paintings-

I made two paintings with two different approaches. The first one I did I focused on detail and trying to recreate the textures and tones of the environment whereas the second one i wanted to be a lot more free with it and take much more of a creative liberty and focused more on shape and shadow. I used a range of brushes and some palette knives to make a more textured look to the pieces and to create two different pieces. I think both turned out very effective and look quite different, There are elements in both that I really enjoy such as the sheer scarf and the glass. For the second piece I cut the image in half and focuses on my favorite side rathe than doing another full scale piece.


Nov
2020

Doll and House Task

categories: AAD010

Doll and House-

I wanted to create a doll that evoked my own personal interests and matched the time of year, with this in mind I created a witch doll out of tinfoil and clay. I made a mold of another doll that I had with tinfoil and then got to work with layering up clay to try and achieve a smooth doll like skin for the doll. The process was pretty easy and turned out well so I had some fun with painting the doll and dressing her in a doll wig and a dress form the doll I took the mold from. I think that these finishing touches on the doll is what makes it look quite impressive.

After making the doll I made her a witchy haunted house which I made from carboard and some acrylic paint. I used a sharp scalpel blade to cut out the window and door and also to make the house openable so the doll could fit into the house. I really like how this small project turned out and I had a lot of fun creating a small doll and her own house. I didn’t go in with much of a plan when painting the house but I really enjoy the black and white funhouse look to it and the green drips make the house look haunted and spooky which is what I was going for.


Nov
2020

Ralph’s sculpture Project

categories: AAD010

Sculpture Project-

My initial thoughts towards a public sculpture was something that most people could relate to. It would have to be something both captivating and relatable to a wide age range. I also had ideas for it to be interactive in a way. I wanted to create a highly reflective or mirrored hashtag, this being something that we perceive the world though now and even ourselves though, hence the mirrored surface allowing for a literal perspective though the lens of social media. Belfast is an extremely popular tourist destination so having a large hashtag could be something that would attract some social media attention and or remind people to share their visit to Belfast. My second idea or developed idea though the sculpture is to have white paneling on both sides as shown. This would allow for local business, schools and organisations to pay for their hashtag to be put onto the sculpture, not only would this be publicity for the smaller businesses in Belfast but it would also pay a lot of money towards the sculpture.

I drew up the sculpture in a drawing program and added it into the location I think it would look best in. Not only would this give you a reflected view into central library it would also be an interactive sculpt in a busy part of town (therefore it would get a lot of traffic and notice). I think that this idea would captivate people due to its relatable and simple message but it would also pay for its own commission while helping the businesses and local organisations. I thought that the sculpture would be best made from a reflective metal that would be weather proof to prevent rusting or damage. The hashtag would stand at 10 feet tall and 10 feet wide making it a standout sculpture without it taking up an overwhelming amount of space. These dimensions would also allow for it to be safely interactive.

My Own Paper Model-

I made a series of identical paper nets and connected them with hot glue to create a replica of my design. it stands at 10 inches by 10 inches and is very simplistic but it definitely gives a good idea of what this drawing could look like in a 3d form.

Artist research

Sir Anish Kapoor-

Kapoor is one of the most influential sculptors of his generation, due to the diverse range of approaches he used to develop interactive and engineered public art. His works differ vastly in terms of scale, Cloud gate being an example of one of his larger pieces, this contrasts with some of the other mirrored art he places which is merely a fraction of the size. His approach often differs from piece to piece, warping the metal to a free engineered shape or keeping the piece very plain with shapes such as circles. He is known widely for his art that blends in with its environment despite it being in such different areas such as forests and in the middle of cities. The use of concave and convex mirrors allows for the illusion of his work to shine even if the areas for such work vastly differ. His work provokes a sense of confinement and isolation within ones self while also opening up a space to a lot more than would have been seen originally. His work is something that we have all seen and I really admire the use of mirrors and making art that seems to vanish in such a large space. For a sculpture project I think the idea of using mirrored surfaces is a great idea as it challenges an interaction with the viewer.

Michelangelo Pistoletto-

Pistoletto’s stainless steel pieces are particularly captivating to me. He tries to convey both his own opinion about life and perceptions along with ideas of theories. His works combined both installations and an interactive art form.  His work mainly deals with the subject matter of reflection and the unification of art and everyday life. I find that the combination of paint and illusion along with the perceivable truth of a mirror to be a fascinating subject matter and therefore I find his art to be particularly captivating. He describes the viewer and mirror together as nothing more than a person in a preexisting space yet when images and paintings are added to the reflective surfaces a different environment is created all together and the person becomes a part of that art space and even part of the piece itself. I think that this interactive quality between the viewer and art is something that I think many of my favorite sculptures possess.

Candy Chang-

Chang envisions the future of ritual in public spaces when creating her work, some of her most notable being the before I die piece which shows an interactive chalk board, a sculpt that involves the public directly. Her projects examine the dynamics between society and the psyche, the threshold between isolation and community, and the role of public space in an alienating age. Her works have been replicated and recreated in many different countries, due to the impact that they have with grappling mortality and a sense of forever together into a collective piece. Her work has been noted as some of the best interactive public art in the world. I really love her ideas of a sense of foreverness or a standing that lasts longer than that of mortality. I think that having a sculpture this interactive is almost creating a safe and sacred space within public art which in of itself is largely challenging public art as a whole.

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