Heaven & Hell
What is your project or specialism?
For this piece, I would produce my project conceptually using 2D as my specialism. My work would be a representation of the differences between the order of heaven, and the chaos that commences in hell.
What could you create?
For this piece, I would create two environments, focusing around the peaceful and tranquil nature of heaven in the clouds, and the chaotic and fiery pits of hell. The environments would be heavily based upon the idealization shown in concept art, games and media. The environments would move across two boards showing the slow fall from heaven into hell, and the adaptation of the environment as it changes. In addition to this, I would create two heavenly character sheets, and two demon character sheets with the colours and attributes that symbolize these themes.
What could you include?
Within this project, I would include elements associated with heaven, such as white clouds, a stair-case to heaven, and references to the ‘pearly white gates’ heavily shown in religious artwork such as William Blake. Other examples as seen in my mood-images is mystical skies and beams of light, as everything is shown as being bright, happy and uplifting. Contrasting this to hell, this environment uses colours such as oranges, reds, and shades of black, symbolizing the evil that occurs here. The environment is dark and dingy, and shows examples of torture and suffering; which is evident in the bible as being a realm of punishment for the sinners.
In terms of the character designs, the first character would be an adaptation of a god, examples of these could be Luna, the moon god, Juno, goddess of the sky, or Jupiter, who is the king of heaven. Additionally, I would also create an angel, as people who ascend to heaven are said to became this, so I would include feathered angel wings, white clothing, and light coloured hair, all representing the idea of purity.
What style?
The style that I would use would be based upon the visualization of heaven and hell in the bible, which is clarified as a cosmological and transcendent place (suggesting above the clouds). Beings’ such as angels, gods, and spirits are said to originate here; and where god is said to be ‘the ruler of heaven and earth’ in both the Old and New Testament. Hell on the other-hand, is shown to be referred to as the ‘ nether world of the dead’ influenced by Jewish and Greek ideas of the afterlife. When looking at the Hebrew bible, the afterlife as Sheol is described as a shadowy, silent pit where the souls of the dead lingered, and then the wicked would suffer in the fiery torment’. From this research, I would use these ideals and descriptions in the creation of my environments and character adaptions.
What colours?
As mentioned, my colours for the representation of order being heaven, will include a variety of whites, yellows, pinks, grey, and light blues. The reasons for this, as these set of warm and neutral light tones create a much more lustrous and radiant world. Heaven and symbols surrounding this such as angels, gods and spirits are known to use these colours to represent pure, angelic, and classical themes. Contrasting to this, hell is known for its dark reds, oranges, black, and dark grey; warm colours such as reds and yellows are known to signify heat. Black and dark grey’s would be used to show gloomy and dull atmospheres. These are the colours that I would include within my work, as they show the purity and hellish nature of the environments, and these clear differences between good and evil and the consequences of this within the bible.
What do I like about this idea?
I chose this idea because the themes of heaven and hell would work really nicely with order and chaos. The realms quite literally represent a pure and peaceful civilization, whereas hell embodies evil and disorder. Additionally, I was able to collect research surrounding this subject easily, because there was a large array of concepts and ideas around religion and the environments of the afterlife. Because of this, I was able to gain a variety of clear concepts I could create for my project, including the style, colours, and presentation of my work.
What do I not like about this idea?
Although this idea would allow me to create a piece based upon a strong concept, I didn’t think it was imaginative enough for my final project. For this theme, I wanted a body of work that would represent my skills, but also my creativity when exploring the theme. Heaven and hell has been interpreted in many different ways by a variety of artists, so I wasn’t sure this direction would allow me to think outside the box as much as anticipated.
LGBT Protests
What is your project or specialism?
My specialism for this piece would be primarily 2D art, but would also be mixed with 3D for some of my project pieces. The purpose of this piece would be to advocate for LGBT rights, and to show the differences the protests has made in the creation of the UK’s modern society progression.
What could you create?
The concept pieces I would produce for this, is a political representation of an LGBT protest throughout the years, and the negative and positive repercussions of this. The reasons behind this, is this protest would showcase the chaotic nature of a rebellion and peaceful protests against the previous laws, but also the law and order that has become of this throughout large areas of the world now accepting LGBT people. For this conceptual art piece, each board would follow on from each-other, starting from the 1960’s-70’s that focused on gay liberation, moving to the 2000’s that advocate for equal rights of marriage. The final board would depict the current day society in the UK, and the positive outcomes of the chaos that may have commenced for this era.
Primary Research: Graffiti Photographs
I went out and took some photographs of powerful graffiti’s around towns and cities such as Brighton, as I thought the messages linked well with the idea of protests. Displaying and presenting thoughts and feelings not only through words but through art is something I would like to do for this project and future projects, which is why looking at other examples of expression is important. This type of artwork is expressive is the form is it created as well as whats being shown, which I believe is interesting, as it shows that its equally as important to focus on presentation and style of work, as well as the product itself.
What could you include?
For this piece of work, I would create a revolution style product that would focus on the empowerment of people and their efforts for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. I wanted this idea to focus on the political achievements and energy of the people and what they fought for, and the chaos and order that subsequently followed this. I would feature marches, posters, banners, and boards that use powerful messages similarly to my visual research conducted in the above mood-board. These marches will be set in a city or town area, where marches would most likely take place in, focusing on the empowerment of the people. The older the era of this (shown in each board), the more chaotic, leading up to a much more civilized and orderly world as the time progresses.
What style?
For this idea, the style would be much more realistic, as the purpose of this would be to advocate an important message, meaning its important that the public is impacted and can relate to what is being shown. This style may vary, using less realistic styles to create poster themed boards. Additionally, I may consider producing my riots and marches to look as if they have been painted, as the artwork that would be produced during the beginning of these protests would most likely be much more likely to be traditional, due to the time and lack of resources.
What colours?
Due to the themes of this project, there would be a variety of colours because of the tones used in the LGBT flags (specifically the gay rainbow flag). For this reason, the only bright colours that would be seen in on the information itself, the environment would include colours such as dark red, which is heavily used to show bloodshed, war and wrath, which in turn could represent the anger of the people. Colours such as grey, black and white are heavily contrasting shades, as well as easy to see which would show the overall dark nature of the people during the beginning of the protests. Near the end of my final boards, larger variations of colours would be shown, as this would show the positive changes of acceptance that has been made in the modern era, as well as the updated imagery that we would now be able to use.
What do I like about this idea?
I liked this idea as it explored a topic that’s important and still controversial in many cultures and placed. I wanted a concept piece that would show the political empowerment of the protests that were conducted advocating for LGBT rights. For this piece, I thought it would be imaginative to create a set of boards that followed on from each-other, and with each showing a change in society through the colours, and order of of the world. The first boards would represent chaos, as not much change would have occured during the beginning of the movement, whereas in the modern era, it is now largely accepted in the UK, and in a variety of different countries.
What do I not like about this idea?
I wasn’t sure that this piece fit well as a visually for a game piece, as unless my game was specifically targeted towards a political theme, the work I produce would not be suitable. Additionally, I may not be able to include as much detail as I would like, as my artwork piece would be a depiction of a revolution protest, which is a much more graphical style then conceptual. This may be a problem, as I want my work to be as detailed as possible so I can receive a good grade.
7 Deadly Sins
What is your project or specialism?
This project would be created again using 2D concept art as my specialism. This would work well specifically with this theme, as I plan on creating a set of characters that embody the seven deadly sins outlined as ‘evil thoughts that one needed to overcome’. Using 2D, I would also be able to mix and use a variety of different colours, which is important in representing the different sins within my chosen piece.
What could you create?
For my designs in this theme, I wanted to create a set of boards based upon the seven deadly sins, represented in the bible as ‘giving birth to other immoralities’. Highlighting this in my work, I would present these emotions as animals known to portray the specific sin. For example, wrath could be depicted as a dragon or saber-tooth, as these are creatures known to be vengeful, angry and aggressive. envy could be characterized with a snake, in relation to the bible where the snake tricks Adam and Eve into eating the apple; or in the culture of astrology where the snake is seen as a creature of possession. The boards would be a mixture of mythology and religion, which is why I focused on the deadly sins, which would allow me to represent this theme using animals as my concepts.
Primary Research: Lion Photographs
I took photographs of a variety of styles of a Lion, both real and found in different cultures such as the Chinese Festivals held in Brighton. Lions are seen as a superior predator, which is why it was a strong idea for me to collect sources around them, as well as animals like this. I took this photograph from one of my zoo trips, which is an enclosure of two lions, one sitting in an almost proud position. Additionally, Chinese dragons, as well in the other photographs, are different interpretations of a lion designed by people. Using these sources allows me to not only be able to use realism, but also use other cultures and religions to make my project more developed and linked to different locations.
What could you include?
When creating this project, I would include variations of all of the seven deadly sins shown through the creation of associated animals. For this, I would create a dragon, snake, fox, grizzly bear, goat, boar and lion, representing the sins of wrath, envy, greed, sloth, lust, gluttony and pride. The board would be a conceptual piece using colours and perspectives to exaggerate the given sin.
What style?
The style would be digitally painted, as I want to pay attention to the details and shading of the characters. I plan on making these creatures quite realistic depending on their given aesthetic, focusing around the theme of Norse and Greek mythology as the main body of the designs. The theme being deadly sins will also relate to the religious aspects shown in the Old and New Testament.
What colours?
As the characters are much darker in nature, colours such as dark green, dark red, black, grey, orange etc would be used as a representation of the deadly sin. An example of this would be if one of my creatures was a lion to represent wrath, I would use a range of oranges, red and black to create the main aesthetic of my animal, and then highlight its darkness through shades of black and grey.
What do I like about this idea?
I liked this concept, as it stuck with a traditional subject, which I used to construct a unique idea. Originally, I was going to create a set of character faces that symbolized the 7 deadly sins, although for my final project, I wanted something I could produce confidently, which is why I decided to present this using animals. This idea was inspired by my research, where I looked at the religious ties to the sins, and what animals are closely linked to possessing these emotions.
What do I not like about this idea?
I liked this ideas concept and creativity, but my only problem is it lacks representation of order as well as chaos. Although my work doesn’t necessarily have to reflect both of these sides, I would like some comparison between a good and evil balance. For this, I may need to change my idea concept slightly, so this includes both elements within my work. I also like that the animals reflect the deadly sin, as this is an interesting and subtle way to showcase religion within my work.
What idea do I like the best?
I think I like my last idea the best, as its the least cliche, and is an interesting way to present order and chaos. Additionally, I am given the opportunity to experiment with my ideas, and create creatures and environments that highlight the evil nature similarly to chaos. This idea may need to be improved so that I can reflect order within my work, and the differences between this.
Final Idea: 7 Deadly Sins/7 Heavenly Virtues (The Last Light)
Subject Matter?
For my final idea, I have decided that I want to choose ‘seven deadly sins’ as my final project theme and concept; I plan on also incorporating the heavenly virtues, which I will look at during my developed research. For this reason, I have decided to create 5 boards, rather focusing on only two of the deadly sins, and two of the heavenly virtues. For my project, there will be a centered board of a unicorn which is half pure and angelic, and half satanic facing forward. For my representation of the sins, I plan on creating a wolf to symbolize wrath, as this is shown in Norse Mythology, which would be the subcategory of all of my creatures. Additionally, I wanted to show envy in the form of a snake, although adapted to a basilisk as this is found in Greek Mythology and would be a much better exaggeration for how envy could be evil. Contradicting this, I used the heavenly virtues, and took the stoat as a creature that expresses purity since the ancient times. Finally, my last piece would be a creation of an owl symbolizing ‘patience’, as again owls are creatures known to represent and have this virtue (accompanying the goddess of wisdom Athena).
Look, Style, and Colour Scheme?
The colours used in my project will massively depend on each of the creatures and animals individually. For my unicorn design, this will include a variety of colours as its suppose to represent the clash between order and chaos, or heavenly and deadly values. For this, the angelic side of the unicorn will include light shades of white and grey, and also tones of light pink and yellow. Whereas the dark and eerie side showing the sins will use dark shades of black, red, grey and orange, as these are colours followed closely to dark themes and environments.
In terms of the heavenly boards, this will again follow similar themes to the positive side of my unicorn, featuring mostly whites, grays, light blues, pinks, yellows and green; as these are a set of natural colours that depict a much brighter and vibrant environment (as well as the colours of the animals I plan on producing). The darker creatures (being the wolf and basilisk) will use tones of dark green, black, red, orange, and dark browns as these are much more sinister, and the darkness of the colours are almost a foreshadow of the darkness of the creatures. Further to this, the style of my work will be semi-realistic, as I plan on using shadows and highlights to emphasis the reality of the creatures, although I want this to look as if it was almost painted.
7 Deadly Sins: Wolves & Basilisks
I gathered some visual research looking specifically at the creatures I want to create for my project. Looking into the darker side of study, I collected concept art images of wolves and basilisks, as well as real photographs of wolves. I wanted to collect concepts that specifically show the wolf ‘Fenrir’, which is what I am planning to base my designs on. Additionally, a basilisk from Greek mythology is also quite a vicious animal, so I needed some images that create this impression with the colours, style, and look of the creature itself. The images in my mood-board use the dark tones described in my research, as this personified malevolent and destructive behavior.
7 Heavenly Virtues: Owls and Stoats
I then looked into the heavenly virtues, specifically owls and stoats, as mentioned in my heavenly virtues research; these creatures are known for being pure, patient and full of wisdom; additionally, the white owl has been said to be a spirit guide for the goddess Athena. Looking at the stoat, this creature has been known in folklore as a symbol of beauty of coveted young woman amongst the Komi people of the Urals, its white coat is also used to symbolize purity. For this reason, I thought these creatures would be a great way to represent two of the heavenly virtues, of ‘chastity and patience’. As this fits in nicely with the values of the creatures and what they are known to represent. I gathered photographs, sketches, and concepts, showing different angles and colours of the creatures, which can be used nicely as reference and inspiration during my project.
Secondary book Research: 7 Deadly sins
I used the college library to look for religious artwork and interpretation concepts specifically looking at the seven deadly sins. Here I came across an artist called ‘SCARFE’, who created a set of creatures and monsters all based upon certain sins. I thought this worked really well as research to inspire my idea, and this is similar to what I wanted to create in my own work. Each of these creatures were shown in a negative way, which I thought worked extremely well as they are meant to be considered a sin; such as envy, shown as a creature visibly being angered towards another. I really liked this art-style, as it exaggerated the ways in which the creatures was perceiving that emotion, although in my creations, my style will be much more realistic (as they are based upon mythological and real life animals and beasts).
Morgan Clark: Games Development L3 Year 2 