Design Principles - Project 1

21/05/20 - 05/06/20 / Week 6 - Week 8

Ibrahim Fazal Ahmad / 0337423

Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Hons) in Creative Media / Taylors University / Project 1 / Self - Portrait

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Self Portrait, I've done this multiple times in the past and I really wanted to try something new this time. I've done something relating to me in a very basic way each time. I like flowers so I had flowers growing around me. I'm from the Maldives so I was literally the ocean (I really liked that one though). So I wanted to try something new and cool, I really love digital art so I decided I'll use that since it allows me a lot of different options in terms of the piece.

Figure 1: Self Exploration and Ideas.

One word I use to describe myself can be controlling, it's a weird word of choice for a self portrait yes. But I want to go for something a bit darker, I always go for such bright concepts, I'm so happy and bubbly and that's how people see me. It is true, but I wanted to go for a dark concept, show there's more to me than just that. I was thinking about the concept of possession as it's a very dark and mysterious form of control that we don't understand or even know if it's true. So I did two sketches for my ideas.

Figure 1.01: Design 1

In this design I wanted it to look like I was casting a sort of spell protecting myself in a way. The hands are all reaching towards me which represent my own need for control and how it usually involves controlling my own habits. The ring in the back is a solar eclipse, for this I just thought it would be a interesting element in the composition.

Figure 1.02: Design 2

For the second design I wanted a more unnerving feel to it. For the first one I am protecting myself from the sense of control while in this design, it looks like it has taken over. The hands reaching towards me except it was successful in getting to me. I put a pentagram in the back because even though it can be associated with demons it also serves as a symbol of protection to others. I thought the double meaning would be interesting in this piece. 

I sent both of the designs and was told that Design 1 was better and had more potential. I did another version of the sketch for this:

Figure 1.03: Sketch 3

I really liked the idea of these "demons" standing behind me and it would look like I'm trying to protect myself using the spell I was casting. However one aspect from Design 2 I really liked was the smoky fog that was wrapping around me, I felt like it added a very interesting aspect to the piece. So I did another version including both, which ended up being the final sketch.

Figure 1.04: Final Sketch

In this I also added some lighting, and made my eyes completely white to add a higher contrast on my face. I added the smoke below the hands and from behind me all of which leads your eyes towards me in the centre. The design principles I was using in this were definitely most of the ones we learned. However a few in particular were highlighted, especially symmetry. There is a level of vertical and horizontal symmetry in this piece. Balance was also a key aspect, including emphasis. 

After finalising my sketch, I decided to do colour schemes. I wanted to do as many as I can and choose one that I like and also had harmony when put together. I most definitely have a bias towards purple as it is my favourite colour. I also feel like purple adds a lot of mystery especially when it's dark.

Figure 1.05: Colour scheme

Figure 1.06: Colour scheme 2

Figure 1.06: Colour scheme 3

Figure 1.06: Colour scheme 4

Figure 1.07: Colour scheme 5

Figure 1.08: Colour scheme 6

Figure 1.09: Colour scheme 7

After all of these colour schemes, I ended up choosing the final colour scheme of the bunch being number 7. It looks very dark but I thought it was more appropriate as the orange orb was going be the light source of the whole picture. Purple is a very mysterious colour to me and I absolutely love it so I felt it would be appropriate for a self portrait as it is supposed to be represent myself. Also the yellowish orange would work really nicely with the purple since they're complementary colours. I also actually have different line qualities across the work. I made everything other than "myself" very sketchy lines, while I have a very clean line quality. I thought this added some nice contrast but very very subtly. So, after choosing the colour scheme I did the shading and colouring. I used many many clipping masks and filters and blending modes in photoshop. After a week or so of work, I finished the first final version of my self-portrait. 

Figure 1.1: First version of final

Feedback: Very good, best work I have done so far. Just make the demons in the back have a little more orange highlights around the shoulder and chin.

Figure 1.11: Final piece "Let me go."

REFLECTION:

I was really really excited to work on this piece, it's literally like nothing I have ever done. I always focus on very tame subject matters such as my nationality, my home or my likes. But I have never focused on internal struggles I have been facing, especially recently. I wanted the feeling of anxiety and a unnerving vibe to the artwork. This is based on my personal experience on a problem I have and it really involves me feeling like I'm sabotaging myself. I wanted myself but demented and more menacing looking behind creeping up on me like temptations and all the hands reaching towards me. It's supposed to represent the major personal problem I have which heavily involves this need of control and wanting to be in charge and make sure everything goes my way. I felt like it was portrayed really well and I'm extremely proud of this artwork. The overall experience was extremely fun, I'd spend hours working on this and doing research because I was so interested in making something I haven't done before. One observation I made was that a lot of darker subject matter looking artworks I saw had religious aspects to it, and a curse or witchery kind of aspect to them. One finding I made was that the pentagram (used as a symbol for satanism) is also a symbol of protection and to protect oneself so I thought that was really cool. Overall this was my favourite project so far and I hope anyone who sees this enjoys!