30/08/2023 - 13/09/2023
Week 1-Week 6
Tan Pei Yun / 0345386
Design
Exploration /Bachelor of Design in Creative Media
Instructions
Before starting this project, here are some little thoughts :
Honestly, first day attend the class and I saw the same competition on the MIB was shocked and felt empty, I was thinking to give it a "stopped" button to this competition while I was in Advanced Typography module. This is where one of my "starter pack" achievement during my whole university life. I knew I promise myself I would keep going and be better during my next competition , but I didn't know this came so fast until I saw the MIB and our first assignment in this module. This make me stress and slightly anxiety where I tend to think "can i be better?" "would I able to improve?" "will my idea be good?" "is been awhile since I draw" "omg" "helpp"
I started to scroll back my ipad pro create draft, where I looked at my first draft of my previous Honor competition, I drew and sketch about my very first idea "Whale" that represent about renewal of life. This is an unfinished piece actually due to that time Mr Vinod was rushing to end that assignment and I have to came up with plan B and that is why I decided to choose a "safe" theme about cultural and prosperity where I illustrate about Koi fish.
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| Very first draft for Honor competition for the "renewal of life" in 2022 |
Back to this design exploration module, this is where I have that idea maybe I could finally have some time to finish and explore the whale piece, but I feel like the idea is still lack of something, probably is the "feeling" ? or perhaps some story to it. I do not know... I felt a little bit lost, trying to scroll and watch some nice anime movie hoping it would help me to get some ideas.
Week 1 : 30/08/2023
Movie Review & Thoughts :
1. Big Fish & Begonia (ๅคง้ฑผๆตทๆฃ ，2016）
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| Transforming into a dolphin scene |
A 16-year-old girl embarks on a fantastical and dangerous adventure after transforming into a dolphin. When a boy sacrifices himself to save her, she uses magic to bring him back to life -- only to learn that this power comes at a serious price.
"I miss you a million times but I can't"
Big Fish & Begonia
Release date: July 8, 2016 (China)
Directors: Liang Xuan, Chun Zhang
Storyline : For me, the storyline is a bit slightly complicated but evocative, the film’s story is one of its most intriguing yet frustrating aspects, swinging from simplistic fairy tale to convoluted mishmash of mythology, and I know there are a lot of cultural references woven in that are utterly lost on me. At least the central theme of man’s relationship to nature is understandable and familiar, with the story showing us once again the mess humans tend to make when they tamper with nature.
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Flowering the plants scene
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The storytelling might not be of Disney or Pixar standard, but for me, the lovely animation more than made up for that; as ever, I’m not trying to bash computer animation, but it’s always a treat to see such expressive and detailed hand-drawn work like this make it to the big screen. Few of the scene reminds me the art style of Studio Ghibli especially from the film Spirited Away.
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| Similar Character from Big Fish & Begonia & Spirited Away |
While, underlining this environmental angle is a more cliched theme about the “power of love,” but I have to give the filmmakers a wowzers credit for handling this with enough skill to keep it feeling sincere rather than hokey.
Artstyle ： From visual perspective, one thing I find about is that this film is known for its stunning and unique art style, which combines lots of traditional Chinese aesthetics with modern animation techniques. Its film backgrounds and character designs are rich in classical Chinese motifs, showcasing ancient architecture, clothing, landscapes and even choice of colour palette.
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| Sample of showing the scenery scene #1 |
Ughhh another thing I like about is that the brilliant use of art style is characterized by its dreamy and surreal imagery. The visuals are so dreamlike that you don't just watch the movie; you become fully immersed in it. The underwater world, the trees, the sea of sky cloud in particular, is filled with vibrant and fantastical creatures, each designed with intricate details. How can you not watch this film ?!!
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| Sample of showing the scenery scene #2 |
Overall, I love and enjoyed how the blend of realism and fantasy creates a visually immersive experience that draws the audience into the film's world. This movie helps me ALOT and gave some good inspiration and ideas for my Honor competition. I would love to try to put more true inner feeling and real stories into my own artwork to give it extra meaningful to this competition.
2. Suzume (2022）
"How much meaning must we overcome before we reach our destination?"
Suzume (2022)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Anime
Directors: Makoto Shinkai
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| Screen Grab of some scene in Suzume |
Storyline: Comparison with past works, Suzume is completely different from "Your name" and "Weathering with you." This film does not have plot twists that "Your name" has. Additionally, this film may not contain the willpower portrayed in "Weathering with you." .However, this film may contain something necessary to live in this world. This film evokes memories of a serious incident in Japan for the present generation, and also allows future generations to inherit those memories and this film may teach us something necessary to overcome that incident.
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Scene from Suzume #1
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Artstyle: Before even watching Suzume, I knew that Makoto Shinkai, the director of “Your Name” and “Weathering with You,” is definitely one of the most successful current filmmakers in the world, He’s a master of light and shadows, shading his animated dramas with visual acumen that simply makes them more enchanting. He has an incredible ability to balance fantasy elements with real-world imagery, usually leaning on the beauty of the natural world as his gorgeous backdrop and producing shots that aren't over-considered as much as simply beautiful.
Week 2 : 30/08/2023
Propose Ideas
I would say that watch few anime and movies does get me lots of inspiration and good ideas that I want to create but sometimes things can be different like "expectation vs reality" and therefore decided to breakdown only to brainstorm for 2 ideas and stories. Ideas :
1. Astronaut's Journey
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Idea 1 in canva whiteboard |
This idea is more onto Aquatic Theme , maybe I could talk about conservation , where I can highlighting jelly fish , whale in the context of renewal can draw attention to the importance of conservation efforts to protect their habitats and ensure the continuity of their life cycles. This idea is actually focusing back onto my first artwork during last last sem where it is also about Honor Competition in Advanced typography module. But things feel different where I think that this idea are like "simple" and not so "special" . When I try to propose to Ms Anis, she felt the same is like okay is another aquatic theme again , therefore luckily I have another idea hehe
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Idea 2 in canva whiteboard
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Alright another idea that is really really meaningful to me. This idea is about Suki (my pass-away pet dog) where she is sitting above a sea of clouds and watching a firework show in a dreamy scene. Firework show can symbolize the celebration of Suki's life and the renewal of her spirit in the afterlife. Represents a joyful and colourful transition, marking the beginning of her new adventure in the dreamy realm above the clouds. Summary is that is about a dreamy landscape for Suki, to relate the theme of "renewal of life" It can be represented as “Suki's transition” from her earthly life to a new, dreamy afterlife to symbolize the idea of renewal and transformation, as she embarks on a new journey in a serene and beautiful realm.
Week 3 : 13/09/2023
Sketch Development
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| Sketch development & draft in week 3 |
During week 3, I have start my sketch and roughly add some colour to see how can be looks like, at first the idea is to do the day scene and night scene, but the idea stopped where Ms Anis suggest that just focused one scene will do, therefore I think I would go for a night scene instead where able to put the big moon there.
Week 4 : 13/09/2023
Tired , Helpless & Stucked :/
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| No progress in Week 4 :( |
Thoughts on this piece :
I'm feeling a bit stuck with this piece. I'm not sure how to expand and improve it to making it feel more 'dreamy' :( It seems like all the elements aren't coming together seamlessly. The clouds, fireworks, and moon all feel somewhat disconnected and separate
Everything is just not right for me at the moment, no matter how hard i try to use different colour different brushes different texture , therefore decided to give myself a break and stopped to work on this during week 4 , will be back stronger in week 5 :D
Week 5 : 13/09/2023
Snap out of it. Get it together !
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| Visual research : Cloud illustration |
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To avoid any more bad negativity emotions , need to get back as soon as possible. Just open Pinterest and there will be more good ideas waiting for me . I tried to look at more visual of how the cloud can be illustrate in terms of the colours , shape and texture and find that there’s “wavy” form is quite interesting and can be try to explore.
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| Draft 2 : Explore in different kinds of wavy clouds |
I don't want to limit myself to just drawing 'clouds' as they usually are. Why not make them look more creatively abstract? I began by using various shades of pink to create these wavy clouds with different forms and shapes, and I really ended up loving how it turned out.
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| Update on Suki :D |
Suki have turns out more milky colour and can be seen clearly with the background, this time I have implement into more furry looking for suki and also changed the bow colours also not forget to add some shades and texture. Personally I love hows the bow looks , one of my best bow drawings :D
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Progress in Draft 2 : Explore in holographic tone
Reference of Holographic Colour |
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Most of my friends will be saying "OH God this colour is SO Pei Gun" YEPP that's me , I can't resist using gradient colours! I actually enjoy this piece more than the last one. I used soft tones, yet the colours are pleasing to the eye. I'm not sure how I came up with this colour palette, but I've watched various Pinterest and other sources multiple times to get inspiration and ideas for colours, the way how they match, and blend together nicely.
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| Progress in Draft 2 : Add more texture , shades and lights |
One of my favourite steps is where adding more and more texture and grainy effect , in this time I able to get to explore more onto the brush tools in pro create, and the result turns better and better.
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| Suki Progress : More furry and details |
Things getting change and change where I decided to re-draw Suki again, this time with front view instead of the back view watching the scenery. I use the furry brush to makes Suki more "furry" looking and I really love the silly playful expression where its paw want to touch the butterfly that able to represent a new life. Decided to use version of Suki and adding to the scneary.
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| Final Outcome for Suki Afterlife |
That's it for the very final piece of the Suki Afterlife and this time we have to do the short animation just a 10 second will do, therefore I try to arrange the drawing layers in pro create and move on to After effect.
Week 6 : 13/10/2023
Animate in After Effect
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| Overall Progress in After Effect |
WOW I would say separating the layers in Pro Create then move on to Photoshop to separate the layers again take ALOT of works, but once is done , it does makes it better and easier to animate which part I wanted to.
Luckily in the previous semester I learnt a few tutorials of the basic in after effect, within 2 days I able to done the 10seconds animation (yayyy ) , anyways glad that the progress and everything went smooth , most of the effect that I have applied are the transform tools of "anchor point" , "position" , "scale" , "rotation" and last "opacity"
Submission to Honor
| Upload and Submit to Honor |
Feedbacks
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| Week 3 - 15/09/2022 |
Received the cutest feedback that I got from Ms Anis, this feedback makes me feel heart warming and have the positive power to keep going and expand and do well.
Reflection
While writing this reflection, I experienced various emotions and even shed tears of happiness. Initially, I was a bit scared to work on this piece as Suki, my first pet dog, holds a deep place in my heart. I still blame myself for not taking good care of her, and it's a childhood scar. I feel a lack of responsibility, and losing her was like losing a family member. Creating this artwork brought back many good and sweet memories. Despite the tears, I told myself to finish it with tears of joy. This piece means a lot, this will be my official goodbye to Suki, reassuring myself that she's okay now, free from pain and sickness. Before I conclude, I want to express gratitude to my friends, family, and especially to my lecturer, Ms. Anis, who supported my idea. She acknowledged it as a poignant yet healing concept. I'm ending this artwork with a tattoo in memory of Suki. Wishing everyone everlasting love for their pets and a commitment to treating them well till the day they left.
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| she's with me now :D forever |
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