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2nd Character Design Lesson
We had to chose a character and assess what shapes are used to build up their body. Many antagonists are made up of triangles, with circles as softer and more comical, friendly characters and squares being stronger and more heroic. The character I chose is Karasu who is one of the antagonists from Kubo and the Two Strings. I decided to redesign her using circles and softer shapes. Then we where given different themes and we had to create 3 different characters from this theme. I was given the Wild West and I experimented with using square, then triangle and finally circular shapes.
My 3 Words - From Script to Screen
1) Opera Singer 2) Travelling Circus 3) Fireworks
OGR 05/10/2016
ReplyDeleteEvening Maddi,
Congrats on getting your OGR up and posted a day early. You've obviously been working hard and pushing through your cities, and I like the variety of approaches expressed by your various thumbnails - everything from very intricate line art to some more abstracted and expressive digital paintings deriving from your explorations with Jordan. Good stuff.
So, Octavia it is... but I have a question for you: in your mission statement, you're referring to a 'circus' and the circus is the focus of your proposed paintings. My question is 'What circus?' Calvino doesn't describe one - but he does describe a city that is 'circus-like' in so much as we get a sense of trapezes hanging down, that giant safety net, and the sense we get of the Octavians probably having to do high-wire rope tricks just to go shopping. There is a big difference between you being inspired by the practical details a circus as inspiration for designing your 'hanging city' and you now drawing a circus. I happen to think your association with the circus opens up lots of possibilities in terms of suspended architecture and related details:
https://busybeetraveler.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/circus-4-girls-aerial.jpg
https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e8cU0EAJAZo/maxresdefault.jpg
https://artblart.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/gm_05045201-web.jpg
I think you should take the essence of your circus idea - i.e. ropes, suspended walkways, ropes, tent-like structures - and explore that instead, so you can get back to some more general design principles for understanding Octavia; you might want to look at 'membrane architecture' for example as a means of looking at structures comprising ropes, tension and stretched fabrics: look at 'Fabric architecture'.
I really like the idea of setting your views at night, so we can see all the lanterns suspended across the view of the city - so maybe just look at 'paper lantern design' - not only in terms of the actual lights - but thinking more about the actual architectural structures too:
http://www.demilked.com/magazine/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/yi-peng-lantern-festival-chiang-mai-thumb640.jpg
https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1RL6GKXXXXXb_XpXXq6xXFXXXt/Japanese-Style-Industrial-Vintage-font-b-Paper-b-font-font-b-Pendant-b-font-font-b.jpg
http://chimecms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/designer-table-lamp-shades-incredible-curved-lamp-shade-design-with-cool-patterns-for-table-lamp-on-chair-and-table-luxury.jpg
http://www.dollsofindia.com/images/products/lamp-shades/leather-lampshade-IU30_l.jpg
I think you just need to tread carefully between 'I'm painting a circus' and 'Octavia is circus-like' - they're not quite the same thing.
In terms of your interior then - it might be that Octavia does indeed have its own circus, but if I was seeking to get under the skin of this city, I'd be asking questions about its transport systems (for example is there some 'grand central station' for hand-winched cable-cars!? Is there some kind of suspended farm or orchards or gardens or...?). I'd pick an interior that can tell us something about what it is like to live in a city suspended high above the ground - something that gives us more insight into the culture or activity of its people. I love the idea that everyone in this city would have to either a 'trapeze artist' or tight-rope walker - so again, the circus idea is a strong one, but I don't think it should be used literally, but rather as a jumping off point for a bit more design and a bit more conceptualisation.
And remember - Octavia is a CITY - not a building or collection of buildings - it is an entire city suspended high in the air. I'd like to see you dealing with the sense of cinematic scale - certainly in your master shot.