27.01.2022 - 11.02.2022 (Week 4-6)
Janaan Ahmed (0353333) / B'Des Creative Media
Design Principles
PROJECT 2: SENSE OF PLACE
Content Links
Lectures
Week 4
[ 27.01.22, Thu. ]
Dr. Charles took us on a virtual field trip to one of his favourite
spots - a park near his house. He told us about the significance of that
park (the lake there in particular) and his personal connection to
it.
The main goal is to identify a space that connects to you - that relates to yourself.
It could be a space that:
- evokes certain memories
- is an extension/part of your personality
- connects to you spiritually
It helps to note down/sketch the emotions you feel, as well as the
thoughts that run through your mind as you make your observations.
The sense of a place could:
- be a sense of a moment - how you interpret the moment
- be a recreation of an experience
- involve a sense of motion ( for eg. car ride, train ride)
- consist not only of natural elements but also emotion, spirit of the place, its function, sense of culture
The space could involve people and can be outdoors/indoors, Look at
the space from a different perspective or angle. Or focus on a specific aspect of the place: a memory for example. Try
including some sensory aspects (lighting, temperature, sounds, ambience).
The composition + use of design principles* can be utilised in way that
influences the audience's experience.
* 'how can they be arranged to best replicate those senses?'
Remember! Design principles have intention + purpose!
Week 5
It's the Chinese New Year, so we had no classes. I did watch Dr.
Jinchi's lecture though.
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Observation is a key tool for a designer.
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Attentiveness to your surroundings can help you build
a library of visual ideas for future 'problems' and their
potential solutions.
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Learned several examples of how design principles can be used
to convey a sense of place.
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For visual ideas - be observant and analytical to
details.
- Observation is a key tool for a designer.
- Attentiveness to your surroundings can help you build a library of visual ideas for future 'problems' and their potential solutions.
- Learned several examples of how design principles can be used to convey a sense of place.
- For visual ideas - be observant and analytical to details.
Instructions
We are required to apply the design principles that we have learned
so far to express a location of our choice (or our interpretation of
the place).
<iframe src="https://drive.google.com/file/d/10_0wZMzGfJQjsYdvb3_JMEgrqy6_1Cbd/preview" width="640" height="480" allow="autoplay"></iframe>
Task: Sense of Place
WHERE TO CHOOSE?
I knew from very early on that I wanted to portray something with
the sea; not only because of cultural ties, but also because of the close spiritual and personal connections I've
come to associate it with over the years.
The sea often makes me question my--no our existence. The significance of anything and everything at
all. It makes me feel small and lonely, and yet interconnected
with everything and everyone around me.
RASFANNU BEACH (Male', Maldives)
Male' City despite being an overpopulated urban jungle
and my 'home', is one of the loneliest places to me.
Maybe that's why I so often visited Rasfannu Beach; because sitting by the sea watching the sky come
alive with colours as the sun set, felt more like coming
home...
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In the busy and polluted streets of Male' city, the view can be a form of escape and a breath of fresh air. Maybe that's why so many people visit. I always try to find a spot that's not too crowded.
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It's not the best beach there is and it can get crowded, but
it's fascinating to watch people just... be. Maybe the sea calms
them down, or makes them poetic and reflective,
as it does to me. I quite enjoy watching people in their natural
element. Promise I'm not a creep! It comes from a place of
curiosity and wanting to understand.
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Some of these pictures were from before the pandemic actually! This
day in particular, I felt a sense of peace and, weirdly enough a sense
of connectedness to, well a bunch of strangers ahah! It must've been
the collective experience
of watching the sun seemingly dissolve into the ocean...
THE TAKEAWAY:
Phew, now that that wave of sentimentality has passed, I've narrowed
down some possible aspects to capture in my work:
- serenity
- breathing space
- collective experience - unity
- contrast of busyness + relaxation
- waves
I most frequently visited Rasfannu sometime before the pandemic. It
feels like such a long time ago though. I mostly feel a sense of
nostalgia thinking about it now.
Know what else is nostalgic? 8-bit games! Like most Gen-Z
kids, I played a whole bunch when I was younger, (some that I don't
remember the names of, unfortunately!).
Anyhow, my point is to convey that nostalgia using pixel art.
The leading lines in this GIF are quite subtle yet cleverly
constructed by the placement of the clouds. The bushes nicely
frame the characters (the focal point here). The cooler hues of
this palette creates a peaceful, serene atmosphere. You can
almost feel the salty breeze.
I wanted to create a GIF as well to further build the
atmosphere, and to engage/evoke the senses: the salty air, a
cool sea breeze, and the gentle sound of waves.
IDEA EXPLORATION:
There were so many angles and perspectives that could be used to capture
the scene. I made some thumbnails to figure out which best captured
a sense of peace and escape.
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| Fig. 1.6: Initial thumbnails |
Most of these felt too cluttered and overcrowded (except for the
bottom left) completely missing the mark of escapism from busyness
that I wanted to convey.
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| Fig. 1.7: Narrowing it down |
The composition still felt unbalanced, so I moved the elements around
and slightly changed the angle.
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| Fig. 1.8: detailed colour sketch |
I wanted to include two instances (sunset and twilight) to show the
passage of time, and based different personalities/dynamics in each
one. I chose composition A.
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My idea was that adding more negative space would provide more
'breathing' room. I also added some flying whales to show a
dream-like state of mind.
(As I'm writing this, I wish I proceeded with this composition
and colour palette).
In the end, I chose landscape orientation since all the elements I
want fit into it.
PROCESS:
1) Started off by choosing an appropriate canvas
size:
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| Fig. 2.1: canvas size |
2) Aligning horizon line and other non-moving elements for consistency:
3) Drawing with pixel brushes over the blurry sketch:
(Don't worry this time-lapse is only 15 secs unlike the vid
above!)
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| Fig. 2.2: Completed Stills |
4) Now that everything's in place, it was time to get animating! I merged the non-moving layers, and created animation folders for the moving elements.
Girl: changed to fit vibe better
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Fisherman
The 2 NPC's
Cell Tower
Meteors
Waves + reflection
And now, a moment of silence for the ones that didn't make the
cut...
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| cargo ferry |
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| speed launch |
Also, the flying whales. And the sunset scene. It was hard to loop
them in, and my software only allows 24 frames. It was hard to scrap
them, but it had to be done in the end.
FINAL OUTCOME:
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| TITLE: Our Place Beyond (Final GIF) |
best experienced with music + White noise:
I tried playing some soft wave sounds on low volume with
the music, and honestly the white noise really elevates the experience.
I don't know how to overlay sounds though :(
Play WAVE SOUNDS AT 15-20% vol for duration of ^music :
--> Gentle Waves White Noise <--
Rationale:
We come from different walks of life, yet what is it about the ocean,
the sky pouring its colours over it that brings us together? What is it
about the sea and its power over us?
Maybe we feel alone in this world. And yet ironically here we are
collectively pondering: Searching for a sign. A flicker of hope. A
better future. Our place in the grand scheme of things. Or whatever it
is.
Maybe we seek solace from the sea. Its seemingly endless borders almost
seem to embrace us in our collective loneliness, despair, and
worries.
We're all on different roads looking towards the same path. Looking beyond the horizon together, in a sense connects us tiny
helpless beings lost within this ruthless world.
It's comforting to think that we might share the same
sentiment, even for a fleeting moment in time...
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Unity:
Elements are pointing towards the same direction- implied leading lines
towards disappearing sun (e.g clouds, island, fishing pole, characters'
gaze).
Similarity:
Characters all dark silhouettes facing setting sun
Harmony: Analogous colour scheme to tie elements to each other
Contrast + Hierarchy: Focal point is foreground characters.
Balance:
balanced negative and positive space to minimise visual tension
TITLE: Our Place Beyond (PDF)
Feedbacks
Dr. Charles quite liked that I decided to do pixel art. I shared my
concern about my design being uninteresting, and my plan to add fantasy
elements to the sky. He said that I seemed to know what I was doing, and
even suggested making a 360 view.
I listened to others' feedbacks as well (that was very applicable to
myself as well). We should try creating a narrative experience of the
space. He advised to create a visual interpretation, and
not just a snapshot of the place as it is.
Reflections
This project was very hard for me as I struggled to create an
interesting interpretation of the place. I understood what had to
be done, and knew what I wanted to communicate.
I'm not sure it translates well in my work though. Sure the GIF
itself turned out alright I think, but I definitely fell short in
tactically applying the design principles properly to best convey
what I had in mind.
It got a bit too late for me to rethink my entire concept, so I
admittedly just went along with I had started.
There's a lot to be improved on, and I got carried away with the
animation details and lost sight of the actual point of
this project. I'm unsure how effectively my work conveys the
intended message. To be honest I'm not fully satisfied with it
since it feels a bit boring to me personally, and think some
changes can be made to improve it.
I'm proud of myself for creating a plan to organise myself this time around. Even though I
struggled a bit managing my time, the plan provided structure and
ALAS IT WASN'T AS STRESSFUL ! :'D
References
Fig 1.4:
Fig 1.5:
Pixel Art Animation Tutorial w/ Clip Studio Paint:
THIS IS SO PRETTY AND CUTE HOW ARE YOU ONLY GIVING YOURSELF 10pts ????!!!!
ReplyDeleteEEK THANK YOU!! I'm glad you like it :) Struggled to bring my full idea, like the fantasy whales are missing T___T
DeleteThis is amazing... your art is so mesmerizing!! i love it <3
ReplyDeleteAw that makes me so happy :') Thank you! <3
Delete