Final Project
Proposal -
Iterations
Culture
M. Seyedi portrays a consistent aesthetic throughout their works. Their use of mixing saturated and muted colors, as well as their focus on light are indicative of their style. Seyedi also seems to stick to softer brushes mixed with some crisp linework. As for the content of their works, they seem to depict parts of nature in each of their pieces. The color scheme that they are particularly attracted to is complementary, which can be seen in the purple and yellow of the lantern and the pink and green of the window.
My aesthetic is depicted in my four illustrations through the content and color scheme. I largely include cozy items such as coffee mugs, plants, and books in my pieces. Cats became my main focus of these illustrations because I became very interested in their anatomy. I also just love cats. The color scheme uses pastels that venture a little outside of my normal range. They do however continue the vibrant tones that are found throughout my other works.
Theory
Imaging, the use of technology to create a visual representation of a subject, can be seen in both Seyedi and my work. Seyedi portrays the use of imaging by depicting physical, visual information that is discernable to the human eye. Imaging is closely related to the word image, which is the visual representation of a subject. By using digital programs, Seyedi and I have portrayed simplified versions of the objects found in real life such as windowsill or a cat. The cats in my illustrations represent and are recognized as their real-life counterpart.
Visualization, the visual representation of information, simplified to ease communication, is also portrayed within both Seyedi and my illustrations. Ideation is an inherently abstract concept. When one has an idea for an illustration, that remains abstract until it is fully realized on page. In that sense, the visual information that is depicted on page is a visualization of the abstract ideation. For the most part, Seyedi depicts the subjects of their works fairly accurately, leaving little abstraction. However, there are a few areas where the content is left to interpretation. This can be found in the background behind the windowsill and other background information as well as the implied narrative. As for my illustrations, the objects remain simplified, represent subjects from real life accurately. Though, the setting and background remain up for interpretation.
Practice
Seyedi uses Photoshop for their illustrations or a similar program. They largely utilize the brush tool but may incorporate the smudge, blur, and lasso tools as well. They also seem to use adjustment layers and/or color modes to modify the tones of the image. Clipping masks or selections may have also been used to isolate sections of the piece for colorization.
For my illustrations I primarily used the shape tool and the shape builder tool. I supplemented these combined shapes with the pen and line width tools. I grouped the assets as I went to keep them together and easily adjust their placement in the composition. Then for the background elements, I embedded images with texture into illustrator and created a clipping mask to the shape behind. I then lowered the opacity to show the color through the opaque image. Because Seyedi uses Photoshop (or a program similar to it) the process to get that amount of blending and detail in Illustrator would be quite different. Multiple clipping masks would be needed to included texture of brush strokes. The two windowsill illustrations would be easiest to mimic in Illustrator as they have more stark transitions. This workflow would include a mixture of use of the pen tool, shape tool, and clipping masks. I combination of Photoshop and Illustrator may be necessary for the detailed blending textures.
Remediation
Inspiration - Jocelin Carmes
Iterations
Culture
Jocelin Carmes uses a painterly style with textured brushes and vibrant, saturated colors, all of which are indicative of his aesthetic. Carmes also has a tendency to use analogous and complementary color schemes. One aspect of his art that I was immediately attracted to was the depiction of mundane objects interacting with or in mysterious ways. Each piece invites the thought of what story is being told.
Although my piece doesn't largely include visual storytelling that is indicative of my aesthetic, it integrates my style through the saturated colors and lighting found in the source image. One of my favorite things to play with in my art are color palettes and lighting. I chose this source image intentionally to exaggerate the vibrant colors of the lighting and make the shapes stand out.
Theory
Jocelin Carmes depicts the critical concept of Index, a sign that suggests, references, or indicates the signified, through signs that play on myths in culture. Signs that appear in Carmes work include some magical gestures or visuals that have appeared in other sources of media. In the first piece in the image board, there is a person raising their arms with a stick in their hand. Because of popular culture, the viewer identifies it as a wand. The sign of the floating vehicles also indicates the presence of otherworldly or magical events. In another piece, two people stand in a field. The swords and clothing they adorn signify that they are samurai. In turn the height of each figure may indicate the age or status of the pair, perhaps as a master and student. In my work, index is also represented, however more subtly. Firstly, the saturated color scheme indicates a possible dystopic setting beyond the field of view. The gestural information the subject presents also indicates the emotions being experienced. Because the subjects chin is raised, it conveys a sense of confidence and strength.
Both Carmes and my piece illustrate the critical concept of Mimesis, representations that mimic the real world, in similar ways. My piece includes exaggerated color schemes that rarely appear in real interactions (only with controlled lighting). Likewise, Carmes also uses exaggerated color schemes however paired with otherworldly content. In reality one would not see a floating bus or a telephone booth in the middle of an ice-covered lake. Despite these hyperrealistic inclusions, individual elements of these pieces are accurate representations of reality. The perspective used is believable and the objects included are read very easily. As for my pieces, the reference image is a photographed image which is a very accurate representation of the subject. My piece does not include as many details as the photograph, but it includes enough information for the viewer to understand that it is an illustration of a man's face.
Practice
When it comes to Carmes workflow, he seems to use photoshop or another similar program. To create textured organic shapes, he uses textured brushes that emulate paint. It also seems that he may use the shape tool, lasso, or polygonal lasso to create more structured shapes such as windows and the telephone booth. I also suspect that he uses color blend modes to alter the colors to make them appear more cohesive. Adjustment layers could also be useful in this process.
For my piece, I outlined the subject with the pen tool, first creating the larger shapes and then moving on to the finer details. I used a cyan line color to make it stand out against the background. I also added minimal line variation to increase weight to certain parts of the piece. For Iteration 2 I added more paths that would aid to the live painting process and filled the paths with the live paint tool and eyedropper. Lastly, I used the pattern and trace tools to add additional effects to the piece. Because Illustrator and Photoshop have very different uses of art it would be difficult to emulate the texture of Carmes style using Illustrator alone. If I were to import my vector works into Photoshop, I would be able to add texture to the pieces (I'm more familiar with Photoshop). I believe there must be a way to add layers of texture to vectors in Illustrator using tools similar to the clipping mask and opacity tools in Photoshop, but I'm unaware of it at the moment.
Remix
Inspiration: Celia Lowenthal
Iterations
Culture
I immediately was attracted to Celia Lowenthal's art because of its close relation to my own personal aesthetic. The use of vibrant colors and the predominantly human subjects overlap greatly with my interests. Lowenthal's use of limited color palettes and vibrant colors are a staple of their craft. They also tend to use black as a blocky shading color, further expressing the juxtaposition of colors.
My personal aesthetic is depicted in my iterations through the subjects and color. Subjects that I almost always have in my pieces are of people because of the amount of empathy and expression the viewer can feel by seeing my art. I also included some of my favorite things like books, monarchs, and mushrooms. My goal with this piece was to make a cozy dive into this moment. Most often I also use color to extend this effect by using colors that play on connotations learned and the psychological reasons why.
Theory
Empathy, the capacity to recognize emotions experienced by another being, is depicted very strongly in Lowenthal's works through expression, color, and scale. In nearly every piece, Lowenthal includes facial and gestural expression. The viewer immediately empathizes with the character(s) included whether they appear sad, fearful, or content. Colors can also lend themselves to the process of empathy. Red is often connotated with anger and green with peace. Lowenthal uses these colors to signify the emotion of those in each piece. Comparing the piece set on a battlefield to the one in a field of grass, the battlefield includes red blood and lighting on the villain with a cool light on the "protagonist" while the other shows green grass with a woman peacefully embroidering. Lastly, scale and composition aid to the emotionality as well. If the subject is small in the frame, they may feel isolated. If someone appears taller then they may be the one with power of the situation. However, in my iterations, empathy is depicted somewhat differently. The woman I used in my piece has very little expression, but this still conveys something to the audience. Maybe she is determined to get where she is going or she is unhappy you saw her as she is clearly standing in the shadows. She clearly is not distressed about the other worldly things around her and that she is so small.
Lowenthal uses consistently uses Connotation, a cultural meaning associated with a word, object, image, or sound, to their advantage in their pieces particularly in the choice of color. For centuries colors have often held associated meanings attached to them. For example, the color purple and blue were considered colors of royalty due to the limited availability of those vivid dyes. In a similar fashion, red usually signifies fear or anger, blue as cold, and green as full of life. In my iterations I used warm, earthy tones and a dash of purple for a touch of whimsy. The warm tones bring a sense of comfort to the viewer that sets them at ease. This would not be the same in I used harsh red lighting to make her look like she was emerging from a horror movie. With the familiar colors we see every day, the viewer knows this is not something to be afraid of. She is just passing by.
Practice
Celia Lowenthal seems to have used photoshop or another similar program. Tools that it appears they have used are an assortment of brush tools, clipping masks for colored line art, and color blending modes like overlay or multiply layers for shadows and others for highlights. Another tool that may have been used is the lasso tool to select chunks cleanly. In my iterations, I used some different methods because of the different style of digital media. Some similar tools that I used were color blending modes, the lasso tool, and brush tools, but I also used layer masks, opacity slider, clone stamp, and gradients. Most of my selections for masking were made with the quick selection tool. Some techniques I could use to emulate Lowenthal's work is use more saturated colors in my blend modes. This would let them reach a saturation that is similar to their pieces. Another change I could make when choosing colors is pick colors that would not exist in the real world. In these iterations I was attempting to make them appear as they existed in reality, but this would be an interesting thing to try next.
Myth
Inspiration: Devin Elle Kurtz
Iterations:
Culture:
Devin Elle Kurtz pieces depict colorful scenes that share human and animal interactions and show the beauty of nature. A trademark of their art is their usage of vibrant colors and mythical creatures. Kurtz use of lighting directs the eye to the focal point as well as adds interest and contrast to the scene. Usage of opacity, color modes, and blur tools affect the depth and texture of the pieces.
My iterations depict my aesthetic through the type of image chosen, colors used, and usage of the tools assigned. The original image has a fairly monochromatic color scheme, so I decided to add a touch of magenta as a color mode layer. The way I used the healing brush tool to make ghosts of the car create an ethereal tone that aligns with my aesthetic. I originally chose this image because of its vintage look that worked with my aesthetic well. I decided to add vibrant colors with color modes to minorly emulate Devin Elle Kurtz and make the image align more with my aesthetic.
Theory:
Devin Elle Kurtz depicts Hyperreality, the combination and distortion fictional reality plays on reality, by merging fictional creatures and characters into familiar environments. The vibrant colors that are a staple of Kurtz's aesthetic, glorify these hyperreal illustrations into being more bright and joyful than reality. The harmonious interactions between the human and animal worlds could also be considered as a type of hyperrealism. This type of peace does not exist in reality as it does in Kurtz's pieces. Hyperrealism is also seen in my image as the original photo was manipulated to look ghostly and ethereal. Because of the use of unrealistic color and form, the image blurs the line between reality and fiction.
Mythology, a collective of narratives that support cultural beliefs, can also be found in Kurtz's and my own work. Much like in the example, Devin Elle Kurtz includes many animals in their pieces. Because the animal/natural world and human world are often viewed as separate, Kurtz blends the two by showing animals and humans coexisting in harmony. The animals in their pieces also tend to take on humanistic emotion and facial gestures that do not exist in reality but that humans often put onto them. Another specific example is from the piece with a dragon outside of a bakery. In mainstream culture, dragons are often seen as fearsome, dangerous, beasts, but Kurtz defies this myth by depicting a little baby dragon just hungry for some bread. Similarly, my iterations also include mythology. The 1900s are oftentimes viewed as either "the good old days" or strictly traditional. I used bright colors to offset this myth and bring a modern look to the photograph.
Practice:
Despite being an illustrator instead of working with photos, Devin Elle Kurtz uses photoshop and many of the same tools we have learned in this first segment. They use color mode layers for cohesion and blending, opacity brushes for translucent objects, marquee tools and selections for buildings and flat colors, along with the downloadable photoshop brushes. Healing brushes would not be as effective in illustrated pieces like Kurtz's, but they may still be able to fix minor mistakes without damaging the original piece.
In my workflow I started with a soft brush with a soft light color mode to add the magenta hue to the background. To adjust the colors of the whole piece, I used levels and hue/saturation layers to make a more cohesive look. I then added a gaussian blur to the image where I then deselected the car to make the focal point pop. I then adjusted the colors more in my second iteration and added shapes with the marquee tools that complimented the warm pink color. Lastly, I used the healing brush to duplicate the car an make it's form somewhat ghostly.
Personal Aesthetic Statement
My personal aesthetic can be described as cozy, whimsical, detailed, story-oriented, emotional, and mysterious. I am very interested in settings such as the early 1900s and dystopias. Incorporating vintage with modern visuals is usually where I am directed. Earthy tones are used in my works, but I love adding very saturated color palettes to my portfolio. Textures and patterns that I am drawn to are floral, and round shapes as well as architecture. These stem from the places I feel most comfortable in such as libraries, with family, and in nature. Japanese and English cultures are also large influences in my work. Some sounds that describe my personality is rain pattering, Phoenix (the band), leaves rustling, trains, and cello. All in all, my personal aesthetic is influenced by a rustic, cozy lifestyle that merges with a heavily story-centric and cryptic nature.