I set out to create a self-portrait of sorts- a piece reflecting my desire for visual aesthetic, in response to a stream of consciousness on the topic of “things I like”. I wanted to implement elements of hand draw animation inspired by some of the work I created at the start of my semester in Digital Tools for Artists. Illustrations I made for the GIF assignment would be utilized both as elements for the sequence and as a source of stylistic inspiration for my piece, “Some things I like”.
“Some things I like” was inspired by Wes Anderson’s aesthetic mixed with a minimalist approach to pleasing pastels and clean design. I think I was effective in evoking a minimalist, aesthetically pleasing piece. I’m particularly happy with my use of color, font and minimalist design. Though there is a lot of work to be done in order to achieve the kind of sophistication I hope to express in the finished product, I’m happy with the place I’m at now, a kind of halfway point, as I’ve created a nice backbone for the piece and started working on some of the more intricate details. There is still plenty of work to be done in order to expand on some of the themes articulated in the piece. Specifically, I hope to implement smoother transitions, including fade ins and outs for all of the hand drawn elements. I also hope to enhance the playfullsness of the piece, to really take it all the way in terms of utilizing any and all opportunities to express my abilities as an editor, abilities I’ve acquired through out my time in Angela’s class.
The challenges I faced throughout this conference project include the issue of having big ideas that I was unable to express given the amount of time I allotted myself to complete the project. I really wanted to have my pencil and lipstick elements write out text, but I quickly realized that would require a time commitment I wasn’t able to commit to. I also would have liked to accomplish more specific animations for each element, specifically related to the movements I experimented with at the start of the piece.
My conference project remained pretty consistent from the beginning. I’d say the biggest change happened during the middle of the piece. During the creation of the middle content, the pieces that came after the intro and before the conclusion, I struggled with implementing further technique and detail. I had a similar experience to some of the challenges I’ve faced throughout this course, hitting a wall at the one-minute mark and struggling to keep up the momentum.
I’m definitely happy with the look of the piece at this point in time. I feel there is a lot to be done in order to achieve a piece I hope to include in my professional reel, but I am very happy with what I have to work with at this point. I’m specifically happy with how the piece works in relation to the body of work I have developed this semester. The Davi character I created during the GIF assignment resurfaced in my “Davi Has Problems” kinetic text piece, a piece I improved upon as a part of my conference work. Davi appears again in “Some things I like” as a sort of passive tour guide. I’m happy with the way he casually exists in the world I have created for this piece.
My goal for this semester was to create a cohesive body of work, and I feel like I have achieved that when considering the work I’ve done for conference as well as the individual assignments and studio prompts. I think “Some things I like” articulates the aesthetic I was hoping to achieve. I look forward to continuing my work on this piece, as well as “Davi Has Problems”. I think they will be great additions to my professional portfolio. I look forward to sending future drafts of both pieces to Angela for feedback in the future.
