April: Inspirations & Observations

Welcome to the April issue of Inspirations & Observations. This is my monthly reflection on the 5 things this month that inspired me, and 5 things that were cheesy, ineffective or just plain boring.

Inspirations

1. The illustration and collage work of Eric Carle
   
   
   
2. Veerle's Blog: http://veerle.duoh.com/. She has some amazing and beautiful tutorials.
   
   
   
3. Mystwood self-contained accommodations. It's called Mystwood for a reason, look at this magical morning fog...We spent 4 days there with the quiet stillness of Nature. It was one of the most inspiring experiences.
   
   
   
4. Alice movie by Jan Svankmajer. I've blogged it earlier this month in the collection of animation techniques, but it's just really really amazing work.
   
   
   
   
5. The gloss!!! I am talking here about the Web 2.0 craze that makes graphics on screen look shiny. I know it's overused, but it's fun and sometimes it does have place. There are many tutorials and way to do it. Here is the tutorial I used referred to by Good Tutorials site:
   
   
   

Observations

It seems that this month few visual bothers jumped at my sight. My eyes must have been wide-open with awe and inspiration, and it's been more of the soul-searching work. Hence, I'll list personal internal challenges that came this month:

1. Confidence, or lack of it, sometimes cripples my creative flow...although an event recently occurred that made me decide that I will always believe in myself from now on. I got High Distinction on my recent assignment, and I remember having many doubts about it before.
   
2. City noise has been especially prominent this month. Perhaps my time at Mystwood has created a standard to compare with, and I am craving the peace and quiet.
   
3. Feeling that I don't have enough technical skills with CS4 suite, while everyone else is a whiz. I know it's an illusion, and I just need to keep working at it until proficiency is reached.
   
4. Time. How do I get all the assignments done, and still have time to relax and enjoy!?
   
5. And finally, I found one visual disturbance on a Pizza box from my beloved Reggio Pizzeria. Look at that kerning between P and i!
   
   
   

Previous months

• March: Observations & Inspirations
  
• February: Observations & Inspirations
• January: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

I met the Walrus - animated dialogue

This video is a brilliant example of mixed-media animation of a dialogue. Watching it, the mind struggles to keep up with the speed of the imagery, and each new frame unfolds a new experience.

Russian folk tale illustration

Tale of Swan Geese
also known as "Gusi Lebedi", Гуси Лебеди

Getting is touch with my roots... this is what this assignment was about. As designers, we have to tap into our unique backgrounds and characters to produce something new, personal and satisfying for clients and ourselves.

To create this tale illustration, we had to look into the history of our ancestors and select a folk tale to be re-told using 6 illustrations. Each illustration used a different medium, which I list under the each illustration. The first is a symbol from Russian Art style called "Hohloma" and I rendered it using gouache paints. This symbol (or its parts) will subsequently appear in all illustrations, see if you can spot it ;)

Gouache on watercolor paper

The Story
"Zhili bili..." that's the classic beginning of a Russian tale, which literally translates to "There lived, there existed". So let's stay true to the traditions and start with that.

There lived, there existed a grandma and grandpa with two small grandchildren. The young boy was named Ivanushka, and his older sister was called Alenushka. One day they were playing outside of the house, when mean birds called "swangeese" came and stole the little Ivanushka!

Watercolor on watercolor paper

Desperately Alenushka tried to catch the birds, but they were long gone. Worried, she set out on a journey to find her brother. As she walked, she met a River of Milk.
"Alenushka, have some of my delicious milk," said the River.
"No way, my Daddy has yummier milk." And she went on.

Later she came across an Apple Tree and a Baking Oven. Each offered her their gifts, but Alenushka just turned her nose away and said that her Daddy has better.

Acrylic on watercolor paper

And so she went on... Towards the end of the day, Alenushka came across a House on Chicken Legs, where Baba Yaga lives. She was terribly scared, but she loved her brother very much, and she she went in. Ivanushka was sitting in a pot ready to be cooked (!!!), while Baba Yaga was organizing her spices.

Alenushka felt a small tickle on her leg, and she saw a little mouse speaking to her.
"Alenushka, give me some of your bread, and I'll distract Baba Yaga so you can escape!"
This sounded like a fine deal, and Alenushka shared her bread with the little mouse. In this moment, Alenush learned a very important lesson of sharing and gratitude. Without waisting a moment, she grabbed Ivanushka by the hand, and ran out of the house.

Collage and acrylic on watercolor paper

Again the brother and sister came across the River, the Apple Tree and the Baking Oven. However, this time they accepted their gifts and said "Thank You." In appreciation of their kindness, the River, the Apple Tree and the Baking Over hid the kids from the chasing birds.

Collage and typography on watercolor paper

When the kids arrived home safely, their parents were very happy to see them. They huged and kissed the children, who learned a very important lesson that day.

Typography print on scanned watercolor texture

Semester 1: Design Culture and Theory taught by Annette Lodge