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Exercise: Reading an image

30/7/2020

For this exercise I was asked to look at the image bellow and describe it, as well as answering the following questions:

What the image is about. What is it saying?
The image is about two children getting into a cave where there’s a treasure guarded by a big sleeping dragon. One can also see armour lying on the floor and the whole cave is illuminated by an antorhc carried by one of the characters.

Work out the narrative and identify the story.
The image is narrating an adventure, it talks about risks, danger, bravery and rewards. It’s definitely an illustration that describes a story for an audience of children or young teenagers.

From the two main characters one could think there’s one adventurous who leads the way into the cave, and the second who might think it isn’t the best idea to be there and therefore is pulling in the direction of the exit. The dragon is sleeping and holding golden coins and a throne, probably has been doing it for years since the pieces of old armour on the floor indicates that other brave warriors have tried to get the treasure in the past, probably with no success.

Describe the palette and tonal range which has been used. Note if the colours are hot or cold, whether the elements are detailed or textural, and where these approaches are used.
The main palette is a triadic including blue-violet, red-orange and yellow-green; even though the dragon has a lot of pure red, probably with the intention that it stands out from the rest of the illustration.

If I look carefully at the image I see it as a low-key painting or illustration. Even though it seems to be a high contrast between the warm colors (red-orange) and the cold ones (blue-violet) it’s more about the hue than about the tone. In my opinion if the artists would have used high tonal contrast he’d have achieved a more compelling result, using darker tones for the corners of the cave and lighter ones around the flame and in the direction of the exit.

Is there any connection between hot colour and the importance of the element in telling the story?
There is. The dragon is the main character in the story, specifically the main villain and the golden treasure (yellow) that he holds its what drives the other main characters to be there. These main characters are definitely highlighted with the warm tones from the cold background.

Begin to identify the hierarchy within the image. Which are the most important elements in terms of carrying the narrative or conveying the ideas and how have these been treated?
I’d say that the main element is the dragon with the golden treasure and the second most important is the flame which does the job of catching the viewers attention and pointing it to the other two characters of the story (the two children). I'd argue that the dragon and the flame have almost the same weight and it would have been better to reduce the impact or importance of the flame to make sure it is not competing with the dragon.

The green chair would be number four in the hierarchy and only at last one realizes that there are pieces of armour and swords on the floor, to finally “zoom-out” and see the whole cave.

Image Credit: Mark Oliver

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Exercise: Illustrating visual space

30/7/2020

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For this exercise we were asked to search for three images: a tree, a child walking or running and a building. Then, with the aid of a digital process (photocopy or scan) the goal was to create different compositions where the elements would have different sizes and would be arrange in various positions around the page. Finally we were asked to analyse all of these compositions and answer the following questions:

How does your sense of the image and its meaning change when the figure is smaller than the other elements?
Since the figure is a kid and the other two elements are a tree and a building, this type of composition seems like the most obvious of all. The result is more literal and it seems to be less creative and/or artistic.

If the elements are at differing angles to each other and at an angle to the frame, what dynamic is suggested?
It suggests movement and adds extra interest to the image. I think it catches the eye longer and even invites to think about the piece because it isn't’ a perfect reflection of the reality

If all the elements are completely horizontal and vertical in relation to the frame what dynamic is suggested? What is your opinion about this image and what sensation does it communicate?
It suggests a more stable and organized dynamic and it communicates a realistic representation of a possible scenery or situation in real life

Which is your favourite composition? Explain why you feel it is most successful.
My favorite composition is number four since I think the result is much more artistic, more interesting. When making it I had in mind a “collage”, so the need to express a reality wasn’t important and I also didn’t need to think about the logic scale between the elements, rather I focused on arranging them in a way that they would look good overall, trying to create balance without considering the real life sizes of the elements.

For this exercise I started with the most obvious compositions, number one and two and tried to push my thinking towards number four.

Process: image selection, black & white effect and cutting out the shapes in Photoshop

Final compositions

Version nr. 1

Version nr. 2

Version nr. 3

Version nr. 4

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Assignment two: Point of Sale Display

10/7/2020

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This second assignment was pleasant to make since I enjoy drawing food. I had previously taken some online classes on this topic that really helped me to create a more detailed piece. I also enjoyed very much the combination of working analog and digital. That was kind of a constant battler throughout this whole part of the course, whether I should do de exercises digitally or manually, so it was a good wrap-up to come up with a piece that allowed me to enjoy the best of the two worlds.

To make the two pieces for this assignment, I read carefully the brief, highlighting the key ideas and tasks. I came to the conclusion that if this was a real client, I’d have a couple more questions to refine the information on the brief.

Then I created a Pinterest board to collect some references and ideas: www.pinterest.com/astrid_badell/ocas-projects/assignment-point-of-sale-display/

Since the beginning, I wanted to include a text or word to the illustration, not as the main character of the pieces, but something simple that would add a modern touch to the final illustration. I tried with different layouts until I found the ones that I thought would be better to use the given space properly. After trying out some materials, I went to my paper and with watercolors, pencil colors and oil pastels created a range of fruits and veggies that were my favorites from a list I made.

After that, I scanned the pieces and worked in Photoshop to clean them and to create the final compositions. I also created a mock-up of a very simple point of sale display to kind of show how the illustration would look serving its final purpose.

First lists of ideas and sketches

Hand-made illustrations

Final Illustrations for the assignment

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Exercise: Visual Metaphors

1/7/2020

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In this exercise we were asked to do a research on visual metaphors, then from a list of concepts, we were asked to choose one and create sketches that could represent that idea. In my case, I choose the phrase “broken relationships”.

I started with looking up examples of visual metaphors which I collected in the following Pinterest board: www.pinterest.es/astrid_badell/ocas-projects/exercise-visual-metaphors/

Then I made a spider diagram and finally started sketching on my Ipad.

This first set of sketches were more literal.

Whereas with this one I tried to push myself some more to think about not very obvious representations of my phrase "broken relationships". From this set, my favorite illustration is the broken flower. The flower represents a relationship (something that's growing) but that can suddenly break.

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Learning log for my journey in the Visual Communication's BA at the Open College of the Arts

Exercise: Reading an image

Exercise: Illustrating visual space

Process: image selection, black & white effect and cutting out the shapes in Photoshop

Final compositions

Assignment two: Point of Sale Display

First lists of ideas and sketches

Hand-made illustrations

Final Illustrations for the assignment

Exercise: Visual Metaphors

Author

Archives

Categories

I would love to hear from you soon!

Learning log for my journey in the Visual Communication's BA at the Open College of the Arts

Exercise: Reading an image

Exercise: Illustrating visual space

Process: image selection, black & white effect and cutting out the shapes in Photoshop​

Final compositions ​

Assignment two: Point of Sale Display

First lists of ideas and sketches

Hand-made illustrations

Final Illustrations for the assignment

Exercise: Visual Metaphors

Author

Archives

Categories

I would love to hear from you soon!

Process: image selection, black & white effect and cutting out the shapes in Photoshop

Final compositions