Fire and Water Panels: Day 3

So heres what i added to my drawing from the last post:

I think that the rounded form of the water droplets makes for an interesting piece when juxtaposed against the sharp pointed edges of the flames.

After scanning that in I went on Photoshop and adjusted the Threshold, and (roughly) erased the flames that were under the new water drops i had drawn in. These water lines were drawn with a brush tip marker, and I am really enjoying the boldness of the lines, as they create a focal point of the fist.I am not sure whether or not I will want to add the same amount of pointillist gradation within these forms, because i believe it would make them too dark- thus getting lost within the dark and concentrated flame pattern i have already. I'm going to have to play around with it and see what happens :P

Next post: I hope to have my composition planned out on Photoshop, ready to be drawn on Bristol!

Fire and Water Panels: update 2

So here's that water i promised the other day:

 I am trying to create a form for my water that depicts movement, along with a weightless feeling. 

If you can see, here i was experimenting with differet types of marks i could use to give depth to my water droplets, i ended up choosing the pointillist gradation.  

So now that i had decided on the way in which i would portray the elements of Fire and Water, I began to take a closer look at my composition and think about what the concept of my piece would entail. My first thumbnails showed very literal interpretations of the prompt "Fire and Water". Id drawn a wall of flames meeting a wave, a collection of ripples framed by a waterfall. I was rather disappointed in myself, as I found them to be stale and unoriginal. Nothing in these drawings ignited excitement to complete the project, which can lead to a tedious and unhappy work period. 

So I unsheathed my mighty iPad and began to think about other things involving fire and water that interested me. And who would know fire better than Jonathan Storm, the Human torch.  

                                       

The Human Torch fighting Nazis on the cover of Marvel Mystery Comics # 36, Cover art done by Alex Schomburg, 1939

The Human Torch- drawn by John Byrne during the "second golden age" of Fantastic Four comics 1981-1986

The Human Torch is a very interesting character to look at, because he offers a multitude of artistic depiction of fire. Here in both of these classic looks, the lines on his body give tone and muscle to the form, as well as creating a "charred" appearance. Ive always loved this design because it gives the viewer something that is perceived- rather than observed.


So now I had an idea- fire people! From my observations of the Human Torch's physique, the arms in particular captured my interest. I believe that arms and hands always make for a strong image, because they are tools that can be used to destruct, to build etc. So Flaming arms.

Next I went to one of my favorite resources for drawing- www.istockphoto.com
Seriously people, they have a photograph for everything. It is a great place to find reference pictures for a project. So I searched "arm with fist" and this is what i setteled upon:

Pretty Nifty huh? Next i looked up "icicle" and chose this image to work with:

Then i set my markers to work!

Here's my primary outline drawn with a 005 point marker. I made shapes of all the different planes and shadow values i saw in the fist.

Next I added in that icicle and went over the fist with a 05 point marker. I created harsh, high contrast shadows to create a graphic form for the ice, and i also outlined light reflections with a 005 point.

Flame on! I wreathed the wrist in a concentrated circle of flame created from the shapes i constructed in my previous post. I added spaced out accents on the fist, so that the icicle would not be lost in my fire patterns. 

I didn't do it on purpose, but doesn't this drawing remind you of a certain iconic image from '78?

Artist unknown, Poster for the Theatrical Release of John Carpenter's Halloween, 1978

Anyway.. this week i hope to scan in the work i have so far and play around with it on photoshop, see what else my drawing could be. 

Next time- Fire Pannel Drawing: Bigger, Better and more progressed than before!

GREAT PANELS OF FIRE!!!

This is some practice I have been doing for the fire panel project. I'm not quite sure what my composition will be in the end but I'm just exploring flame texture for the time being. Next to come- H2O!

DESIGN STUDIO 2D: RETURN OF THE COMPOSITIONS

SO last week's class involved lots of gluing, as we took apart our taped constructions to add rubber cement. This was a helpful process because it gave me a chance to look over my compositions and tighten up my shoddy scissor work, some of my designs took a drastic change from my original concept (for the better i hope)

WOWEE HOMEWORK! (part 2)

http://www.timnobleandsuewebster.com/wasted_youth_2000.html

"Wasted Youth"- Tim Noble & Sue Webster, 2000

Trash, replica food, McDonalds packaging, wood, light projector

210 x 134 x 66 cm (822/3 x 523/4 x 26 in)

This piece by Tim Noble & Sue Webster is an excellent example

of Focal Point, Contour, Implied Line, Psychic Line and Progressive Rhythm. 

      One of the things i find alluring in this piece is that not one, but two focal points have been created in the composition. The first focal point is the trash, which catches the eye due to it's colorful contrast to the rest of the room, which is dark. The second point is brought to our attention because it is positioned parallel to the first focal point, and this time it is the contrast of dark against color that creates emphasis. In the task of explaining and exemplifying contour, shadow art provides us with a strong and clear definition. While the shadow creates the form its self, the light from the lamp that surrounds the shadow acts as a contrasting contour that allows our brain to perceive an outline to the subject in the composition. In shadow art we see the contours of many different shapes combine together to construct a collective contour of a new form.

      The alignment of the rubbish in the foreground creates implied lines, one running along the bottom of the pile, as well as the top. The second body in the shadow also leads our eyes upon an implied line. The two shadow figures create psychic lines pointing upward, following their field of vision. I can also see psychic lines in the garbage, the similarity of the two Mc Donald's cups on the bottom right seem to be connected, as well as the the two yellow cups in the holder on the left. Color companionship is a large psychic component in this piece. I believe that a progressive rhythm is taking pace within the second body in the shadow. The sinking from the neck rises again to the hand on the stomach which falls and rises again to the second hand, then sinking again to the knees. This change in levels has a great ebb and flow, and a continuous change. 

WOWEE HOMEWORK! (part1)

vocab:

Focal Point: 

point of emphasis in a design

How can a Focal Point be achieved?

1) Placement

2) Contrast  

3) Isolation

Rhythm: 

1)Alternating Rhythm- elements of a design alternate consistently with each other to create a unified pattern 

2) Progressive Rhythm- repetition of a pattern that changes in a regular manner, changes different forms into a converging sequence

3)Polyrhythmic Structure- overlay of several rhythmic elements that create a chaos and control in a design

Kinesthetic Rhythm:

Rhythm set in motion

Line:

A point with no dimension, set in motion

Contour:

Defines the visible boundary of forms and shapes

Gesture:

Defines the movement and action of subject and forms

Implied Line:

A series of points positioned so that the eye automatically connects them

Explicit Line:

Line presented obviously

Lost and Found Line:

Only part of the subject is represented by line until the line exits view of the design

Line as Direction:

Horizontal, Vertical, Diagonal

Psychic Line:

A mentally perceived line, created from the gestures of the subject

Line as Texture and Pattern:

Cross hatching, values used to create textures

Compositions with Abstract Lines

 so last week in 2D Design studio....

      class went about creating compositions from the abstract expressive lines that we had created the week before. the prompts for our compositions included 

• portraying emotion
• creating textured patterns
• and a personification of abstract form

Here was my first shot at showing the emotion "angst"

Another variation on the design, not quite what i wanted

BINGO WE HAVE A WINNER, (pay no attention to those polky dots)

Here I am, hunchbacked and hard at work