Weekly IP Blog#17

What I did

Sun.  2/12/12: About 6 hours editing my hurricane’s composition and digital quality based on my small group critique. Researched for new inspirations to jump-start my volcano. 

Mon. 2/13/12: 3 hours editing the lighting and eye of my hurricane. Sketched and painted a new composition of my volcano.    

Tues. 2/14/12: Meet with Hannah to review my postcard ideas, compositions, and my hurricane edits. Reworked and came up with text options for my postcard for about 2 hours.      

Weds. 2/15/12: 4.5 hours digitally painting and sketching out two new compositions of my volcano.   

Thurs. 2/16/12: about 2 hours and 45min sketching out new aspects for my volcano and writing my weekly blog. Talked with Juliet and James for input on my postcard. 

What I accomplished/discovered/encountered

For this week, finalizing my hurricane more a success. I feel the lighting and undefined eye works a lot better than it has in any of my other versions. The textures of the water were possible with new skills and styles that I improved over the last couple of weeks by reworking my drafts over and over again. I learned a lot in reworking and creating so many rough drafts. I still need to edit the colors of the water a bit; they might hint to rocks because of the earth tones so some blues will be added. I also need to fix the background lighting behind the big wave coming in from the right as well as fix the top part it.  Overall, I’ve gotten the best feedback on this version and composition being much more immersive in setting the viewer on the water instead of an aerial view.

Taking a break from doing some final touch ups and editing on my hurricane is well needed. So retackling my volcanic eruption early this week was a good change. I’ve two compositions in mind to rework digitally. The first one, seen below, focus on the volcano opening up or exploding from the side to release all the pressure and majestic heat that it holds. My sketch is still rough, but that was an attempt in having a better vantage point that sees the volcano from afar.

The second composition sets the viewer looking into or falling in on the top most peak of the volcano. I think cropping and showing less of the top peak will help this a lot, but I’m still working on creating a proper foreground and background right now because its very flat. Creating the sort of rough roundness and mass of a volcano and the rocks is what has been tricky in creating this natural disaster. The rock textures are not that big of a problem for be me to paint, but making them look 3D and some closer to viewer than others is. I’m still working on getting the realistic effects of the rocks in place over the messy computer look it can have.

A big reference for the colors and new lava style for my volcanic eruption that I am currently using and inspired by come from last week’s research on Edward Burtynsky’s photographs. The two photos below are my favorite in color and textures, new aspects that are not fiery or ablaze. I want to incorporate the rustiness and sort of stillness his photographs have in my volcano. I think using less fire effects and more textures such as these will give my volcano more awe and make it less cheesy. Creating this new sort of style is an exciting but difficult task I will be working on for the next couple of weeks. The overwhelming composition is also something I need to explore more.

Edward Burtynsky

Lake Project, Edward Burtynsky

I also worked a lot on my postcard this week. I cropped a lot of different aspects of my tornado that I will be using to represent my work for the Senior Show. I met with Hannah and she helped me choose and make a better close up of my tornado. We also talked about the text I could incorporate and how using one of my quotes from my research could really be successful. Right now I’m still torn between these two quotes I can use:

“awe-inspiring, as a means with which to give narrative resonance to the power of natural forces and thereby placing in perspective the human place in the great scheme of things” (Pérez 150)

or

-“It developed like a thousand whirlwinds…at first like an exploratory filtration, followed by inundation, and finally a destructive force… headlong like a roaring animal…Its furious rage bellowed, hurling all the solid underwater mass, now in the form of an eruption, in an uncontrollable apocalyptical gallop…A gigantic avalanche, hurling…fumed with rage, it flared as if it were electrified as if its mysterious convulsive floor were a huge cauldron” (Pérez 150)

Doing this got me really excited for the show and motivated me more to make the last efforts to get my hurricane and volcanic eruption to an amazing level. I’m also thinking of naming my project Forces of Delightful Horror, Nature in the paradox of being beautiful yet terrifying, or Nature as an autonomous force, sublime tornado, hurricane, and volcanic eruption.

What I think I should do next

I will be continuing to on my volcano and digital style next week. The composition is the first thing I need to figure out, then the new textures and rust like lava Im inspired to create based on Edward Burtynsky’s work is next. I will also do more research on concept art and fantasy digital painting styles to help me create the foreground and background contrast Im currently having trouble depicting. I hope to research more printing options for my project as well. The cost and realality of printing my work is really sinking in and Im very aware of my time.