Emotive Color
I will be documenting my process for an upcoming abstract piece from my Creative Process class at Langara.
We are to choose an emotional state. The emotional states I have chosen are the following: growth, shock and explode. This is my first real attempt at really trying think on an abstract level and its not been easy.
My word association:
Shock
Progression Shots
Shocked V1
Explode V1
Explode V2
Growth V1
Growth V2
So far I am leaning more towards growth than the others.
**UPDATE friday 23rd **
With the critiques and direction provided by Heidi - my next attempt at "shock"
I think I will try to give the impression that this shock value is coming from a single point, and errupts from that point (the eye)
I want the eye as a primary focus, but also living naturally in the center, so the users eye doesn't stay focused on it but moves around and notices everything else.
Sonar waves have also been introduced as another medium that carries "shock"
Lightening and static strikes will be fused with the exploding cloud
Shock 2
Shock 2
Shock 3
We are to choose an emotional state. The emotional states I have chosen are the following: growth, shock and explode. This is my first real attempt at really trying think on an abstract level and its not been easy.
My word association:
Shock
- lightening bolts
- speechless
- wide eyed
- in horror
- confused
- striking contrast of primary color on black
- roots
- expand
- viral
- natural/unnatural
- mutation
- ordered chaos
- clouded
- painful
- unnatural
- aggressive
Progression Shots
Shocked V1
Explode V1
Explode V2
Growth V1
Growth V2
So far I am leaning more towards growth than the others.
**UPDATE friday 23rd **
With the critiques and direction provided by Heidi - my next attempt at "shock"
I think I will try to give the impression that this shock value is coming from a single point, and errupts from that point (the eye)
I want the eye as a primary focus, but also living naturally in the center, so the users eye doesn't stay focused on it but moves around and notices everything else.
Sonar waves have also been introduced as another medium that carries "shock"
Lightening and static strikes will be fused with the exploding cloud
Shock 2
Shock 2
Shock 3
posted by David BM Schmeikal at
9:12 AM
2 Comments:
Hey David,
I'm going to be a bit quick here since I still have to prepare for a class I'm teaching tonight. I wanted to give you just a few things to think of for now and you can email me back if you like and I can respond tomorrow.
First off, great drawings! My favourite visuals are for the word "growth" but it isn't really an emotional state. Emotions are intangible so they are often mixed with other abstract thoughts and feelings (ie. personalities, etc.) Although I like what you've done for growth, and it sounds like you do too, I'd prefer if you challenged yourself and focused on "shock" for this project (I think you could actually apply some of your visuals for "growth" into Project 2, the abstract animation). The word "explosion" also isn't an emotional state, however, I would say it is closer to one than growth. I really think you could combine some of your brainstorming for shock and explosion - both in terms of the words and the visuals. I actually think it might help you be less literal if you were to combine the elements you explored in each.
"Shock" works better as an emotional state too because it focuses on a short amount of time, yet you can still decide whether to visualize a little bit of a build-up or that initial moment when the shock first hits. "Growth" implies a longer sense of time and I think the emotions occur after the fact, once one realized they have grown. Think of this project in a very physical and visceral sense and don't worry about making any kind of statement or contemplation, just express the "moment". One thing to keep in your journal/notebook/archive for future works is that you could potentially work with "growth" for a sequence from abstract to more literal.
Points about your brainstorming for "shock" and "explosion":
SHOCK > extend upon "lightening bolts" and come up with visual characteristics to use that aren't too literal (ie. bright white light, sharp angles) and you can always try disecting forms you think are too literal (ie. actually cutting them up and rearranging)
- people have expressed intense pain as white light in the past
- colour will be important and the idea of contrasting with black is excellent
- composition focusing on lines radiating out from a central point is good (you have some of this happening in your drawing)
- use less curves lines as they soften the feeling, or intersect them with angular lines
- don't rely on the eyeball; it's already a focal point by being placed in the center, and my eyes went to it first ahead of the higher contrast of the lightening bolts
EXPLOSION > good compositional structure; place less emphasis on clouds; you could bring the clouded element in as a transparent layer of texture rather than having it be a visual focus that becomes somewhat representational
- I'd like to see you combine some of this with your process on shock
If you go with my suggestion of further exploring shock, you could experiment with communicating with the medium of light.
Here's an interesting contemporary artist who plays a lot with light and media (I forgot to add him to the list of artists for the presentations):
http://media.moma.org/subsites/2008/olafureliasson/
If you intend for the viewer's eye to move around the primary focus of the eye, you might try for a balance of contrast throughout the piece, using similar values or colour within the eye for some of the lines/textures that are a distance away from the eye. Also, apply minimal details on the eye itself - few lines radiating out from the pupil and maybe you don't need the light reflection (make sure not to get too realistic with it since this will help the viewer's eye move throughout the composition).
I really like the the smaller, jagged/shaky likes that are within the 'cloud' form in "Shock 2" - the first image of "Shock 2" shows it better, they are coming out from the 'eye' towards the bottom right corner of the composition. I would keep some of those because they feel less perfect and creating vibrating feeling in a less controlled manner.
I like how the 'cloud' looks less like a cloud in "Shock 3" and that it is more simplified. The composition of "Shock 3" immediately bring to mind an explosion. I think overall "Shock 3" feels more intense as a composition, but I think there are some strengths in "Shock 2" that you could consider bringing into the "Shock 3" composition.
In regards to the email you sent this morning about redrawing your concept digital and the presentation, here is what I suggest:
- you do have to have a non-digital element evident in your piece even if it is projected in digital form, so I would maintain some of the hand drawn quality of the lines (not just because you have to have a non-digital element but also because I think this will increase the emotion by adding a more personal element to contrast the digital medium - you could have the majority be hand drawn or just some of the lines)
- I encourage you to take the digital pics of these drawings into Photoshop (or higher res pics or scanned versions), adjust the levels, use the magic wand to create a selection out of your drawing (or just portions of it if you want, ie. certain lines), copy the drawing (the selection) to a new layer so it is separate from the background (empty page), apply your colour and/or contrast, then save the layer as a separate image that you can take into your final composition (Make sense? -- it's what I did with some of these pieces I made in the past: http://www.eciad.ca/~mayh/mentalnote_pic8.html)
- Another idea, if that is too tedious for you, would be to scan in textures you've made by hand and apply those somewhere in your composition
If you get other ideas of how to present the piece, feel free to let me know.
Good luck, and have fun!
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