I'm guessing by now you've got your Unit 1 result - which I hope will be the first and last time you sabotage your own success by not delivering all that you've been asked to do. You've got lots of skill (and some of the thumbnails for Unit 2 show this clearly), but you still need to think much more about your own quality control and professionalism. The little things matter, Magda - so from this point onwards, I only want complete submissions from you and I want everything you publish on this blog to be 'ready for consumption' - no more horrible, pinky-yellow poor quality photographs of your own work! It's like wiping dirt on your own clothes - and then going to work in them! Not good.
Okay - so, you're a talented and confident digital painter - so what are your challenges for this unit above and beyond refining your style? Well, it's all about design, Magda. You've got a futuristic version of the world to imagine - which means an entire architecture (the way civilisations express themselves), but what kind of architecture should it be - yes, you're going for a kind of American city or Hong Kong-inspired look, but this is also rather generic and 'off-the-peg' and I'd like to see you using your thumbnails to think more speculatively about this future of yours - the very fact that there is a construction technology based on porcelain (the palace), might be something worth investigating - and extending in terms of logic. It's not clear from your OGR what your other choices of scene might be, but, if memory serves, there is a mention of the Morlocks' cave with reference to their machinery - and the nice thing about The Time Machine is that it gives the concept artist two different design languages to contrast with each other, so this might be a further opportunity for you to properly test and challenge yourself. Remember, Magda, you're not simply creating illustrations - your building worlds, so I'm expecting to see you develop a framing logic to help explain why your world looks the way it does.
Re. your written assignment; remember the emphasis of the unit, don't go off message. Caligari is the most extreme example of when 'production design' contributes to the audience's understanding of the film's themes and plotting. Your job within the assignment is to first, demonstrate your understanding of 'production design', it's role, and the idea of the 'visual concept' (these are the specialised terms of Unit 2, and you need to introduce them and define them for your reader BEFORE you start your specific analysis). Keep your focus tight, and always ensure that your talking about the way in which 'production design' adds layers of meaning/subtext to the story itself. Remember too, that assignments are 'evidence-based', so you need the views and opinions of others to support and challenge your own.
I have high expectations of you, Magda - be amazing! (and submit everything!).
OGR 08/11/2011
ReplyDeleteHey Magda,
I'm guessing by now you've got your Unit 1 result - which I hope will be the first and last time you sabotage your own success by not delivering all that you've been asked to do. You've got lots of skill (and some of the thumbnails for Unit 2 show this clearly), but you still need to think much more about your own quality control and professionalism. The little things matter, Magda - so from this point onwards, I only want complete submissions from you and I want everything you publish on this blog to be 'ready for consumption' - no more horrible, pinky-yellow poor quality photographs of your own work! It's like wiping dirt on your own clothes - and then going to work in them! Not good.
Okay - so, you're a talented and confident digital painter - so what are your challenges for this unit above and beyond refining your style? Well, it's all about design, Magda. You've got a futuristic version of the world to imagine - which means an entire architecture (the way civilisations express themselves), but what kind of architecture should it be - yes, you're going for a kind of American city or Hong Kong-inspired look, but this is also rather generic and 'off-the-peg' and I'd like to see you using your thumbnails to think more speculatively about this future of yours - the very fact that there is a construction technology based on porcelain (the palace), might be something worth investigating - and extending in terms of logic. It's not clear from your OGR what your other choices of scene might be, but, if memory serves, there is a mention of the Morlocks' cave with reference to their machinery - and the nice thing about The Time Machine is that it gives the concept artist two different design languages to contrast with each other, so this might be a further opportunity for you to properly test and challenge yourself. Remember, Magda, you're not simply creating illustrations - your building worlds, so I'm expecting to see you develop a framing logic to help explain why your world looks the way it does.
Re. your written assignment; remember the emphasis of the unit, don't go off message. Caligari is the most extreme example of when 'production design' contributes to the audience's understanding of the film's themes and plotting. Your job within the assignment is to first, demonstrate your understanding of 'production design', it's role, and the idea of the 'visual concept' (these are the specialised terms of Unit 2, and you need to introduce them and define them for your reader BEFORE you start your specific analysis). Keep your focus tight, and always ensure that your talking about the way in which 'production design' adds layers of meaning/subtext to the story itself. Remember too, that assignments are 'evidence-based', so you need the views and opinions of others to support and challenge your own.
I have high expectations of you, Magda - be amazing! (and submit everything!).