DESIGN PRINCIPLES / PROJECT 1 - SELF-PORTRAIT
27/09/2022 - 11/10/2022 / Week 5 - Week 7
Chew Zhi Ern / 0358995
Chew Zhi Ern / 0358995
Design Principles / Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media / Taylor's University
Project 1 / Self Portrait
INSTRUCTION
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LECTURES
Lecture 6: SELF-POTRAIT
SELF
- How I see myself (physical traits and personality)
- How others see me (physical traits and personality)
- My experiences
- My thoughts
- My interests
- and other more...
With all that has been mentioned, how do you define yourself?
So, the objective of this project is to Produce A Self Portrait Of Ourselves.
Self-Portrait:
- A self-representation in the form of a drawing/painting/sculpture/design. It is a visual depiction of the self.
- A self-portrait artwork represents the designer/artist -- in other words, how he sees himself, what he's feeling, and how he wants to be seen by others. However, it's not necessarily that self-portraits only portray the face and are about creating a realistic image of a person; instead, it's often an exercise in self-exploration.
- How he sees himself & What he's feeling -- could also be influenced by how others view us
The best way to start is by creating a mind map. A mind-map would help us to bain storm and organize ideas, but in this stage, a mind-map is useful for us to discover more of ourselves, and which area we want to focus on when we design our own self-portrait.
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| Self-Portrait on Behance |
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| Self-Portrait example |
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| Self-Portrait example |
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| Self-Portrait example in Pinterest |
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| Self-Portrait example |
Aristotle once said, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.”
Week 4: Project 1 Briefing
Dr. Jinchi briefed us on the information in Project 1. What she expects from us in the next class is that she wants to see a mindmap outcome of our designs which is what we want to emerge in this project and some sketches that inspired our works.
Week 5: Explore ideas through our mind maps
This week, Dr. Jinchi has looked over our mind maps. She gave us some ideas and opinions on how to express it in the sketch. Of course, it just was some idea from her to let us have the snowball and after which we should explore it ourselves for better results.
Week 6: Explore ideas through our mind maps
In week 6, Dr. Kimchi reviewed our sketches draft and gave us some feedback as usual. As she need to attend the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) visit, therefore, we have optimised our class time. Week 7: Milestone Check & Project 2 Begins
Dr. Jinchi gave the last feedback on our work for this task. She also reminded us that the deadline for this project and we need to submit our JPEG Image and our Blog link in Teams. Besides, Dr. Jinchi also briefed us on Project 2 - Sense of Place. Students are to conduct some visual research and some brainstorming to determine the content for this project and produce 2-3 sketches.
RECAP
A self-portrait is a portrayal of an artist. A self-portrait does not need to be a direct portrait of you or your face. Self-portraits can be done in the abstract and can include imagery other than your face or body parts. Self-portraits are meant to capture the essence of the artist. Whether to show moods, emotions or interests. A creative self-portrait should clearly reflect the core of who the artist is.
VISUAL RESEARCH
Here are some of my visual references for the idea exploration:
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| Figure 1. Reference for self-portrait |
https://englishteaching101.com/self-portrait-ideas-esl/
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https://englishteaching101.com/self-portrait-ideas-esl/
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| Figure 3. Reference for self-portrait |
https://englishteaching101.com/self-portrait-ideas-esl/
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| Figure 4. Reference for self-portrait |
IDEA EXPLORATION AND DESCRIPTION
Following is the mind map on self-exploration:
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| Figure 5. Self mind map |
After some thought and research, I started to sketch using my iPad. Also, I would like to focus on my interest, appearance and hopes in my design. In the first draft, I divided the elements I wanted to include, which are 'myself' and my interests, into left and right. In the second sketch, in order to achieve balance, I scattered the small elements, and the main focus was on the faces of me and the lion.
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| Figure 6. The first sketch of my self-portrait |
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| Figure 7. Another layout of the first sketch |
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| Figure 8. Refined work for the second sketch |
After looking for more visual reference, here's what I've come out with it:
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| Figure 9. Second design for Self-Portrait |
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| Figure 10. Refined it |
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| Figure 11. Elements added |
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| Figure 12. Coloured the character |
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| Figure 13. Final Outcome |
FINAL OUTCOME & RATIONALE
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| Final Outcome for self-portrait |
This design's inspiration was a cute portrait of me along with the elements of my interests and favourite things. The character has a lion on its head, which typically appears during Chinese New Year. It is one of the topics that I would like to highlight in particular. It can be seen that it is a very meaningful and proud thing for me because I was one of the members of the Lions Dance Troupe for three years when I was in high school. Additionally, there are other minor components overlapping down at the bottom that as things I enjoy or my hobbies.
FEEDBACK
Week 5: Dr. Kimchi advised me to think wisely about what I would like to focus on in my self-portrait design and what elements I would like to include.
Week 6: Dr. Kim Chi reminded me that design should be balanced. She thinks that the initial sketch (Figure 5) looked cleaner since the second and third drafts (Figure 6 & Figure 7) which have the elements rotating around makes the surrounding very cramped. This is because the feature of the lion is definitely heavier as it is decorative and detailed. So, if I want to create balance, Dr. Jinchi would say that I need to give the surrounding background more space or make the main figure smaller if I still wanted to maintain the layout of the second and third (Figure 6 & Figure 7). However, when I create the artwork, my face portrait has to be more and don't make it equally half. She also suggested adding something that might be from nature (eg: daylight) in the upper left corner to create an opposite balance. Also, maybe I should reduce the small expressive elements. Of course, the other way to look at it is to centralize the portrait of me and the lion's head may be the background in terms it was just half the average. Then, perhaps some of the small details in the lion can be made up with the elements instead of what originally the lion looked like. It could also be a portrait of me wearing the lion hat.
Week 7: The new sketch (Figure 11) idea is much better than the previous one. Wise composition, but the use of space needs to be further improved. Must make sure that have empty space around down there, because it will too crowded and heavy. The colour of the person also must not colourful, because the colourfulness will be the lion head and the element below there. A good change from last week.
WEEKLY CHANGES & REFLECTION
Weekly Changes
Week 4: I drafted a mind map for self-exploration.
Week 5: After some research, I started to sketch my idea out. There are two different layouts for my sketch (Figure 6 & Figure 8).
Week 6: As suggested by Dr. Jin Chi, I changed the lion into a hat and put it on my head (Figure 9). There is also sunlight from the top left (Figure 11) as an auxiliary element also makes it more interesting and harmonious.
Week 7: Rearranged and refined the elements. Then, I started to coloured it to finish the outcome.
Reflection
Creating self-portraits allows me to rediscover and understand myself. What's more, I further learned how to express myself. Through this exercise, I also found myself with a lower sensitivity to composing. Composition gives layout and structure to each art piece and also affects the way the subject is perceived and understood. A good composition is one in which the artist controls the movement of the viewer's eyes for beneficial results and also observes through the image and emphasizes the focal point. All in all, it was an interesting experience this time.
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