Sunday, February 21, 2010

Class Exercise E (Talking Forms).

Pick two words from the list.
List of words for W5:
Anxiety // Clutter // Disorder // Lively // Weak // Silence // Tough // Heroic // Pleasant // Maneuver

Use basic elements (dot, line, shape) to create 2 abstract/semi-abstract images conveying the meaning of the word.
1 image per word.
Traditional OR CG-ed.

I'm choosing Traditional, since I'm more of a Traditional worker :)

I'm choosing the themes: Silence and Tough.
But the thumbnail sketches I have are little too complex and not abstract enough. I'm wondering how to go about abstracting them...

Here's my first few concept sketches:

"Silence."


I took away the leaves of the tree because rustling of leaves generates sound. I wanted to convey a sense of total silence, not even rustling of leaves. Hence the bare tree in the second sketch.

After talking to Witono, he said that to him, this piece reflects more loneliness than silence. He suggested using a wide space, with a subject that is small relative to its surroundings. After internalising his comment, this is what I came up with:

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Well, I wanted to practice working with photos! So I played around with some of my (dance) crewmate's photos. :) Not all of them were originally black & white, and none of them were square shaped. :P Some were more heavily photoshopped than others, I admit. It was fun!





I personally like the black one better. :)

Was thinking of including their names in, but I decided to leave it at this for the moment.

Happy Chinese New Year/Valentine's Day/Total Defence Day, everyone!


Assignment 2: Less Is More.

Our task:
Create ONE pictogram for a local site of your choice – i.e. shopping complex, school, community centre, sport hall, housing estate or national park.

A pictogram is an image created by people for the purpose of quick and clear communication without language or words, in order to draw attention to something or somewhere.

Photo reference:

Here are some pictures of the Esplanade basement!







Intention of the sign:
The Esplanade basement/underpass is free for people to use for dance. Skateboarding, skating and soccer is not allowed there, but dancing definitely is. The dancers that usually head there are B-boys, Hip Hop dancers, Latin dancers, and many other genres that simply need an open space to practice their moves, stunts, kicks, flips etc.

However, at "peak periods", the underpass can get pretty crowded, and competition for space amongst the dancers there tends to occur. Hence I wanted to implement a sign to promote collaborative dancing, such that different dance groups could dance side by side, without competition having to turn ugly. The sign is supposed to request collaborative and harmonious behaviour from dancers. An easy enough concept, I hoped.


Here's the photo reference I used for the creation of the pictogram:

It's taken by a senior from my JC who's a freelance photographer. The two boys featured in it are friends of mine, TWINS in fact. :)

Here's my drafted abstraction process:

Here's the original picture with full details.
Step #1:


Step #2 and #3:

I began removing details on the sole of the shoe, clothing creases, hat&shoe details, hem marks, stiches and so on.

Step #4 and #5:

Here, I tried to make the 2 figures as generic as possible. I didn't want to go for the solid black figures that are present in most pictograms, as I felt that wouldn't showcase the dancers' body shapes very well. Hence I went with an outline. On hindsight, I think these 2 steps are a little similar and it might do me good to introduce a step after #5 to further simplify the pictogram.

This is in NO WAY my final abstraction process that I intend to submit, as I feel the 5 steps can be further simplified and refined. But since this is what I have now, I shall upload it on my blog, so that I can look back and reflect upon it if need be.

The critique session for this went well--everyone had good suggestions for everyone.

My peers' feedback and suggestions.
The general consensus was that the "collaborative" component of the dancing was not clear. Some even said they thought the dancers were competing with each other, which is the opposite of what I intended to portray.

Another poignant critique was that the pictogram was still not simplified enough. It seems as if more can be done to further simplify my abstraction process. Witono even mentioned that my pictogram looked more like a drawing than a pictogram. Guess I'll have to simplify it more. Jing suggested adding less details to things like the shirt, sleeves and pants, and focus more on the stereotypical components of the dancers that make even non-dancers recognise them as dancers, such as the caps and the shoes. (the baggy shirt and pants were obvious enough without me having to add details to them, I could simply present them as one body)

Some remarks from Nic.
I did my entire work for this week on paper, with traditional pencils and ink. I'm definitely going to consider using Illustrator for help next time! It'll be so much less tedious.

EDIT! NEW Abstraction Process!
After some thought about the critique given to me, I made some changes to my abstraction process. Here's the new one:
#1:

#2 and #3:

#4:

#5:

#6:


For #4, I heeded Jing's advice and cut down on the details on the shirt and pants.
I also realised that giving the 2 figures a black fill made them look more abstract. They looked more like generic silhouettes this way and thus looked more simplified.
In #6, I took away most details, leaving only 2 bare, generic, abstract figures. Although this is clearly the most simplified abstraction step out of my whole abstraction process, it isn't the stage I've selected for my final prototype.

Final Prototype.


I've chosen step #5 as my final prototype, because it is more clear at this step than at step #6 that the 2 figures are dancers, thanks to the detail in their caps and shoes. Although #6 is more simplified and abstract, it lacks the detail that I prefer in #5, which is clearer in its message that the 2 figures are dancers.

@ the Location!



Here're the photos taken at the Esplanade with my sign in them! :)
Personally I find the "NO SLEEPING" sign beside mine really funny. xD

That's all I have for A2! Thanks for looking! :)

Sunday, February 7, 2010

The Lecture Today.
Really interesting and informative. :) Jing showed us a lot of pictures that had either the Fibonacci rectangle, Golden Ratio, Numbers or Shell Spiral. A lot of well-taken photographs upon analysis after the shot was taken was found to have that Shell Spiral somehow incorporated into its composition. The reason for such an aesthetically pleasing photo can thus be explained, though the photographer probably did not calculate and draw out the spiral whilst he/she was taking the photo.
(Jing explained that the Fibonacci rectangle and shell spiral are much more easily incorporated in drawings/paintings/drawn-art than in Photography due to the nature of the mediums. That makes sense.)

This led me to think that perhaps people with an "in-built" artistic sense when it comes to composing good photographs actually have this Shell Spiral subconsciously etched into their brain! So that what's aesthetically pleasing to them is only what fits in with the Shell Spiral. (Hence their superb artistic and aesthetic sense!) Such talent. *is envious*

Then again, others believe artistic and aesthetic sense is acquired through training and practice over time.

I guess this is something we can think about for forever, but will probably never find a convincing answer to.

Class Exercise D.

Making photo compositions:
i) We're supposed to use our handphones, choose a subject and compose it in various shot sizes and camera angles.

ii) State the purposes of using these techniques and how does it affect your audience who perceive your subject.

My groupmates chose to use me as the "subject". So here I am!
Shot #1

i) Long shot; High angle
ii) This shot gives the subject less focus and priority, since majority of the photograph is composed on the empty lecture seats, and the subject seems smaller, more insignificant and further away.

Shot #2

i) Mid shot; eye level.
ii) An eye level shot allows the viewer to relate better to the subject. A good perspective of the subject's interaction with the environment is obtained. Here, it is evident that the subject is "chilling"/reclining in an emptying Lecture Theatre. This allows the viewer to draw logical conclusions from the photograph--perhaps lessons have ended and the subject is enjoying a well-deserved break. The background context is clear without having to compromise focus on the subject.

Shot #3

i) Mid shot; Eye Level
ii) An eye level shot allows the viewer to cast a direct look at the subject and subject seems a little surprised to see him. It is as if the viewer's eyes are the camera lens.

Shot #4

Friday, February 5, 2010

Assignment 1: Me Myself and I
Task:
Create ONE design based on the letters of my name, initial or nick name. Use these letters to interpret myself through manipulation of letters, use of symbols, shapes and colors (i.e. visual form).

Myself can be described as one or more of my personality, character, outlook, strength, weakness, inner self, like or dislike, hobbies, ambitions and so on.

Basically, there were several steps to this assignment. The first of which was brainstorming key words that described us: our personalities, our dislikes, likes, weaknesses, strengths, ambitions, etc.

Then, we had to come up with 4 preliminary concepts to present our names/nicknames in a way that represented ourselves best. People know me more as "Nic" than Nicole, hence I chose to use the name Nic in my designs.

I think this was the most fun part of the assignment, cuz I could simply let my creative juices flow. :) Here are my 4 preliminary concepts:

#1:


I think this design is pretty self-explanatory. I love dance, especially Hip Hop dance, so these figures represent that aspect of me. I'm very into dance, street culture and I hoped that the dynamic and energetic poses of the people could help carry across the idea that I'm a person that's like that. :) I love action, tend to be animated and energetic when I interact with people, and I think I come across as a rather loud person. Hence I'm going to use bright, vibrant colours to bring out that aspect of me. (Aside from that, I really love bright colours as well.)


#2:

After coming up with this concept, I decided that it looks a little childish. :P I love rainbows, hence I chose to fit my name into one. Rainbows are really colourful, so I thought having my name in bright vibrant colours would be fitting as well. At both ends of the rainbows, there're pots of gold, a common belief/myth that I used to believe in when I was younger. I love fantasy fairy-tale stories such as this. The sun looks a little off-its-rocker, which is kind of what I tend to be sometimes. ;) I can be a little zany, when occasions call for it. (and sometimes even when occasions DON'T call for it.)


#3:


Well, this design's rather self-explanatory as well. The first impression one would get when they see this is that I'm a rather loud person. And that's what I intended to convey.
(the clothes also are the kind of clothes i always wear. but that's secondary)


#4:



This design requires a teeny bit of explanation. People who look at this may wonder things like, "In what way are clothes representative of me?" For me, the "me-ness" in this design wasn't so much in the clothes themselves, but more so in the way they are arranged--haphazardly and spontaneously. I sometimes tend to be a person like that. I love spontaneity, and tend to be a little less systematic than how I'd like to be in my thinking.


Decision Process.
I went with #1 eventually.

#3 was out, because the letters are supposed to be integrated into the design itself, and in this design, the "NIC!" is not integrated enough.

#2 was out because it didn't reflect as much of my personality as I wanted it to. And the letters weren't as cleverly incorporated into the design as I hoped it would. Not to mention it looks slightly kiddish. xD

My peers commented that they thought #4 was the design that worked best for them, because it was new and unique. The weakness of my first design was the fact that the concept is not a new one. The idea of using dancers' bodies to spell out words has been around since...forever. My peers felt that #4 was refreshing in the sense that when they looked closely at the individual pieces of the clothes, the clothes made sense. A pair of jeans was a pair of jeans, and not deliberately reshaped/warped in order to form a certain letter.

However, I feel more inclined towards #1, because I can see how it relates to me as a person better (which my peers agreed with as well). #4 is interesting, but not as reflective of my personalities, likes, and ambitions as #1.

I also wouldn't know how to use bright colours on #4. Haha.

Criticisms on & suggestions for #1:
More interaction between the dancers would be more aesthetically pleasing, reflective of my personality and my passion for dance. The figure in the middle could be shown to be more "squeezed" between the 2 figures beside him so as to portray the close, intimate, interactive and dynamic relationship dancers dancing together share.

Next, after choosing my concept, I decided to go straight into CG-ing and colouring it. Here's the semi-finished product:

I agree with my peer's comments on this. After adding colour, the original image seems to have lost that energy and vibrancy that the black and white inked sketch had. I hope that cel-shading it and adding shadows and highlights will help bring out the life that it lost.

I'm also considering completely revamping it using Illustrator. Perhaps even doing it without outlines. Not sure how well that's gonna turn out, though. I'm going to have to try it out first.

Yup that's the end of my long, naggy post on Assignment 1! Will attempt to upload more "in-progress" pictures of it as I continue working on it.

About Me.

Nicole Tay.
Freshie // NUS.
NM 2208 Student.

About This Blog.

This is my official NM 2208 Learning Journal. :)

Links.

♥ My deviantArt account
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Archives.

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Credits.

Designer: BRAN ♥ DER
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