Project 1: Self Portrait

19/5/2020 - 2/6/2020 / Week 6 - Week 8
Lim He Yu (0340423)
Bachelor of Mass Communication (Advertising) / Design Principles

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Project 1: Self-Portrait
Any medium

 Task 

In this project, we were instructed to create a self portrait in any medium. The self-portrait has to reflect our life experiences, culture and so on, basically the things that define us. Apart from that, we have to apply the design principles we have learnt throughout the first five weeks of the semester. 

 Idea Exploration 

The first idea was to illustrate myself in Illustrator, using dry brushes. This idea didn't have much depth to it, it's just something that I've always wanted to do. So, I thought now is a good time to put my words into action. Take a look at the references below.

Figure 1.0: First Idea References

The second idea I had in mind was to incorporate what I've learnt in Digital Photography and Imaging, which is photo manipulation. I find it to be very surreal, and I really like surrealism, I have a thing for whimsical, nonsensical stuff. So, the idea was to split my face, showing the cross sections and to add beautiful elements to it that tells a story. Shown below are the references to the first idea. 

Figure 1.1: First Idea References

 Progress: 

FIRST DRAFT (IDEA #1)

For the first idea, I digitized it on Ai, but I wasn't really happy with the outcome because I didn't really look like myself. To be frank, the illustrated version of me looked older, which was hilarious to me. After consulting Ms. Jinchi, I was told that the illustrated artwork was too literal, with no story to tell, in which I agree a hundred percent. Nonetheless, you can still take a look at my reference photo and the illustrated version of it below.

Figure 1.2: Reference Portrait

Figure 1.3: Illustrated Self-Portrait

FIRST DRAFT (IDEA #2)

Moving on to the second idea, I had a lot of fun making this design because I've been using Illustrator for most of the exercises in this module so it's nice to spice things up a bit in Photoshop. I edited flowers on my head and cracks with blooming flowers on my face, then duplicated and reflected the image to apply the symmetrical balance design principle. Ultimately, the meaning behind this is to tell a story of the saying "more than meets the eye". I wanted to convey the message of something beautiful is more than what it seems, there's more to tell behind every surface, thus the cracks. In other words, I may look fine, but I'm actually cracking (pun intended) under pressure. 

After consulting Ms. Jinchi on this design, I was advised to explore more elements to apply to the top head, and I was told to proceed with this idea instead of the first one. Shown below are pictures used in my first draft and the artwork itself. 

Figure 1.4: Images Used

Figure 1.5: First Draft (Idea #2)

FINAL DRAFT (IDEA #2)

Proceeding with Idea #2, I've decided to put in butterflies for my top head, because it resembles it's fragile yet beautiful nature, which is sort of what I feel about myself. Not saying I'm beautiful, but fragile and sensitive, I need to be handled with care so to speak.

Speaking in terms of the design principles used in the artwork, the prominent principle shown is balance, specifically symmetrical balance. It is shown with the two same faces, placed up and down. Apart from that, I tried to incorporate harmony as well, by adjusting the colour tones of the two faces in shades of beige and pink.

The pictures I've used in the final artwork were taken online, as a gesture of common courtesy, I would like to credit them. Shown below are the pictures used with their respective sources. 

Figure 1.6: Images Used and Sources

Moving on, I took the liberty of making a gif of my process of producing the artwork, so you don't have to read every single part of the process, you can just watch it instead. Gif of the artwork-making process is shown below. 

Figure 1.7: Documentation Process Gif

FINAL ARTWORK AND RATIONALE

Figure 1.8: Project One Final.jpg

Rationale
This artwork mainly shows how I feel in these tough times, with the restrictions of going out and the stress of never-ending assignments this semester. The two faces actually symbolize the inner and outer parts of me. The face with the flowers and cracks on the face represents me on a daily basis, I may look fine on the outside, but in truth I'm cracking under pressure. As for the butterflies, they represent how fragile and sensitive I can be at times, which I rarely reveal that side of me. In other words, I hardly ever tell people how I actually feel on the inside. Apart from that, I chose the cracks on the butterfly face because they sort of look like the lines on a butterfly wing, which I think it could be represented as a double entendre for my inner fragility and the butterfly itself. 

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 Feedback: 

- Idea #1 is too literal

- Explore more in terms of elements for the top face

 Reflection: 

I really enjoyed making the artwork for this project, as it means so much to be able to express how I feel on the inside through a medium I'm passionate about. To make something that has meaning pushes you to put more love, effort and detail to your artwork, which I hope I have done for this project.