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angelchildr at 10:39am on 31/07/2009
angelchildr at 10:39am on 31/07/2009OKAY, kittens. Today you get an art-related ramble about my senior seminar project. :-D Because I was "interviewing" myself about it in my head last night as I was trying to get to sleep. Trying to prepare for when I have to answer questions from the faculty.
I'm finding it hard to articulate what is in my head in regards to this project. It makes sense to me, and I think to people that I've been talking about it with from the beginning. And people that I can talk to *in person*, because I can respond to when they seem confused. But it's admittedly a little complicated, and I haven't figured out how to quickly and succinctly describe it. I also don't know what angle to start from.
So.
It's a project that tells a story. The story is that of a young man named Lucas. Lucas lives a boring life until the day that he slips into an alternate world/alternate dimension - into a city called The Nameless City. It's comprised of people, creatures, and things that have been "forgotten" or tossed aside from the real world and slipped through to the other. From that point, the people and creatures that he meet begin to change who he is and how he lives his life**. The story begins around his attempt to find a way back home, but it becomes more about how he changes. Yes, I know how it ends... but I don't want to spoil if anyone doesn't want to know.
The project is told from his point of view, but in an unusual way. It's the journal of events that he keeps as he's in the alternate world. Only, in addition to words, he also keeps a collection of drawings. It's through the style of the drawings and how that style changes that the viewer/reader/audience is able to see his progression of personality. It begins very technical, geometric, precise black and white ink, and progresses through graphite and charcoal, and eventually to include color. His drawings will also contain bits of writing from him - his journaling. The "entries" may be several paragraphs, or just a few words. It's not an every-day diary, but a chronicling of things of particular interest to him.
As a final product presentation, the closest thing I've come up with to describe it is a "wall collage". The drawings and writing (and any bits of ephemera - like tickets, reciepts, stamps, etc. - that I have time/decide to add) will be unbound pieces of paper; things he could pick up to use along his travels. The "container" that he carries them in - in his case, a messenger bag - will also be part of the display.
Challenges I forsee:
-Doing the world and character justice. The universe is intensely detailed and deep, with multiple characters. Unlike some stories, where the supporting cast is relatively flat, each character has their own complicated story. I need to hint at this without overwhelming with too much information. In addition, Lucas is himself a complicated character, and since the project is *about* him, it needs to really bring out his personality.
-Keeping the collage from being too messy. This is the one I'm most concerned about, I think. There needs to be enough there to begin to bring the world to life, and to tell the story, but at the same time, it can't look like "crap on a wall". There also needs to be enough progression among the pieces. How can I get around this? Create a lot of finished pieces, and then pick and choose which are the most powerful and work the best.
-At the moment, coming up with the plot between him slipping into the other world and him finding the way back. I know where he starts and where he ends, but I'm not certain of how he gets there and who exactly he's going to meet. :-D
Other Notes:
-I hope to continue doing things in this universe in the future. Like I said, each of the "supporting" characters has their own detailed story that I'd like to tell - either in the same manner as this project, or through more story/writing, OR through different art. It's a place that I can "play" in for a very long time and not get bored with it.
-I also hope to use this same sort of technique in the future. A "container" and the art that pertains to the person that "owns" the container. It's not something that I've seen done before, and it interests me as a technique. It gives me the opportunity to still do some storytelling/character building even while I'm doing more art.
**Does it have sort of a Neil Gaiman feel to it? Yes, a bit - though only when I tell it like this... The final product doesn't seem like it'll feel that way...
I'm finding it hard to articulate what is in my head in regards to this project. It makes sense to me, and I think to people that I've been talking about it with from the beginning. And people that I can talk to *in person*, because I can respond to when they seem confused. But it's admittedly a little complicated, and I haven't figured out how to quickly and succinctly describe it. I also don't know what angle to start from.
So.
It's a project that tells a story. The story is that of a young man named Lucas. Lucas lives a boring life until the day that he slips into an alternate world/alternate dimension - into a city called The Nameless City. It's comprised of people, creatures, and things that have been "forgotten" or tossed aside from the real world and slipped through to the other. From that point, the people and creatures that he meet begin to change who he is and how he lives his life**. The story begins around his attempt to find a way back home, but it becomes more about how he changes. Yes, I know how it ends... but I don't want to spoil if anyone doesn't want to know.
The project is told from his point of view, but in an unusual way. It's the journal of events that he keeps as he's in the alternate world. Only, in addition to words, he also keeps a collection of drawings. It's through the style of the drawings and how that style changes that the viewer/reader/audience is able to see his progression of personality. It begins very technical, geometric, precise black and white ink, and progresses through graphite and charcoal, and eventually to include color. His drawings will also contain bits of writing from him - his journaling. The "entries" may be several paragraphs, or just a few words. It's not an every-day diary, but a chronicling of things of particular interest to him.
As a final product presentation, the closest thing I've come up with to describe it is a "wall collage". The drawings and writing (and any bits of ephemera - like tickets, reciepts, stamps, etc. - that I have time/decide to add) will be unbound pieces of paper; things he could pick up to use along his travels. The "container" that he carries them in - in his case, a messenger bag - will also be part of the display.
Challenges I forsee:
-Doing the world and character justice. The universe is intensely detailed and deep, with multiple characters. Unlike some stories, where the supporting cast is relatively flat, each character has their own complicated story. I need to hint at this without overwhelming with too much information. In addition, Lucas is himself a complicated character, and since the project is *about* him, it needs to really bring out his personality.
-Keeping the collage from being too messy. This is the one I'm most concerned about, I think. There needs to be enough there to begin to bring the world to life, and to tell the story, but at the same time, it can't look like "crap on a wall". There also needs to be enough progression among the pieces. How can I get around this? Create a lot of finished pieces, and then pick and choose which are the most powerful and work the best.
-At the moment, coming up with the plot between him slipping into the other world and him finding the way back. I know where he starts and where he ends, but I'm not certain of how he gets there and who exactly he's going to meet. :-D
Other Notes:
-I hope to continue doing things in this universe in the future. Like I said, each of the "supporting" characters has their own detailed story that I'd like to tell - either in the same manner as this project, or through more story/writing, OR through different art. It's a place that I can "play" in for a very long time and not get bored with it.
-I also hope to use this same sort of technique in the future. A "container" and the art that pertains to the person that "owns" the container. It's not something that I've seen done before, and it interests me as a technique. It gives me the opportunity to still do some storytelling/character building even while I'm doing more art.
**Does it have sort of a Neil Gaiman feel to it? Yes, a bit - though only when I tell it like this... The final product doesn't seem like it'll feel that way...
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