Human Comm/Self Initiated: Crazy Hat Day

I decided to take part in 'Crazy Hat Day' for Human Communication, even though I am not taking the elective. I wanted to join in the fun, and saw it as a great opportunity to improve my photography and hat making skills.

My hat was far from 'crazy' but it definitely has a quirky side. I didn't want to create anything attention grabbing, because I wanted to keep it low, but still join in the fun. You get me?

Image credit to Maegan. Stealth photographer of the day :D

Here's the schematics for the hat design:

Here's Maegan modeling the hat!

Check out the other creative hats my course mates came up with! Photos taken by me.

CTS/Self Initiated: Felt + Fleece Book Covers

For Creative Thinking Skills, we were instructed to decorate our Idea Journals and I decided to put my sewing skills to the test and sew a book cover. It's reusable, so I can use it on other A4 sized sketchbooks. The book cover is a great way to protect my sketchbooks and serves as a storage compartment (ironically, the cover's all dog eared due to people constantly removing it just to have a closer look.)

Above: A detail shot. Played with puns, hence the name 'Eyedeas' given to my journal! Below is another cover I designed together with a friend for her A6 notebook, featuring a cat.

This cute little fellow was a product of the sewing lesson I conducted so that my friend could get the hang of sewing. It's just ridiculously adorable!

— Hidayah

Lesson 3: Composition (Rule Of Thirds)

This assignment was completed over a span of two weeks, with an assignment review at the end of the first week, followed by the video presentation and critique. Not much presentation was required for week 2, all we had to do was introduce ourself and mention our subject matter. Our composition, photography and video editing skills were put to the test for this assignment. The subject matter I chose to photograph were 'Animals'. Due to bandwith limits, I cannot upload the images on this post, but the embed video above should suffice! Do watch it in HD, because a lot of details were lost as during the video rendering. (Maybe a Dropbox folder will be uploaded soon, just in case.)

We were told to make use of a cardboard frame (see above) to help with the composition. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my wide angle lens to the zoo, so the frame could not be photographed, and used the built in 3x3 grid to make sure that the composition of the photographs were balanced. I was subtly reprimanded for not meeting the assignment requirement in that sense, but it served as a good learning experience for me as a student. Luckily, the built-in grids and my amateur compositional instincts worked to my advantage and most of my photographs were approved. I made use of the remaining week to reshoot the other pictures with a more suitable lens.

Some outtakes (to practise using the frame while shooting with my heavy DSLR with one hand. It was no easy feat!) featuring my gorgeous coursemates:

— Hidayah

Lesson 2: Self Portrait Based On An Art Movement.

For our second assignment, we were told to create a self portrait based on any art movement that we like, and write a short essay about it (to help with the presentation.)

This time, I used coffee and tea to paint my self portrait.

Here is the short essay/artist statement I wrote about it:

As soon as the assignment was given out, I had one art movement in mind—Art Nouveau. Few people came to mind as well, Gustav Klimt, Edward Burne-Jones, Aubrey Beardsley, but of course, I had my idea set based on the father of the Art Nouveau movement, Alfons Mucha. Even before I knew what Art Nouveau was, I was already in love with everything about it, and as I matured and researched, I appreciated it even more, not just visually, but psychologically and technically. 

Art Nouveau means New Art, or under some contexts, Youth Art. The birth of Art Nouveau in the late 19th century was quite accidental—and was founded by Alfons Mucha, a poster artist who rose to fame because of his posters he made for Sarah Bernhart, one of the most famous stage performers and actresses during the time. When he was first commissioned, it was actually a last minute request, and who knew that hiring him to design the poster changed the art world forever? Art Nouveau was particularly prominent in the Anglo-Saxon regions, with several other local terms for it, like Jugendstil in Germany, and Secession in Austria. 

Works from the Art Nouveau movement are known for mostly a sepiaesque palette, strong lines, drapery and long flowing fabric and hair, and the beautiful curves of women with a lot of meticulous components relevant to graphic design put into detail. I love how timeless the paintings from that era are, and how women were portrayed in a sense that they were beautiful, regardless of body size, whether they were clothed or not (usually not in a sexual sense, but there was a subdued amount of eroticism, usually subliminally, in some artworks) and the graphic elements such as elegant drapery, flowing hair, flowers and other aspects of nature complimented the women in the photos and it was very empowering. I was also drawn to the fact that despite being heavy in detail, a lot of Art Nouveau paintings were well balanced geometrically and how much thought was put into composition. 

Despite not being fond of drawing self portraits, I drew myself in the style of Art Nouveau artists, because I feel that the message portrayed by many of these paintings is to celebrate and embrace the beauty of every woman. I also integrated elements of what inspires me into my piece so people will grasp an idea of who I am as an artist.

The critique went quite well, and I felt relieved. I learnt that it is important to listen to the lecturer's instruction so as to produce an artwork relevant to the assignment, and to always conduct thorough research when the old masters are involved. However, I was told to step out of the comfort zone and draw something more complex as my drawing was considered 'safe'. I will definitely try harder for the next drawing assignment!

Below are some inspirations from my two favourite Art Nouveau masters of all time.

Slavia 1896 by Alfons Mucha

Lady With Fan by Gustav Klimt

— Hidayah

Lesson 1: Self Portrait + Quick Presentation

For the very first lesson of Principles Of Design (POD), we were given about 3 hours to prepare a self portrait of ourselves, and then present it in front of the whole class.

As the assignment was very vague, I decided to come up with something unconventional, a makeshift portfolio of what inspires me and what I've done in the form of a zine, in which each page was designed in a collage format. The zine consisted of 11 pages.

I wanted the zine to reflect me as a designer, with the content being an embodiment of my artistic vision. I felt that a drawing of my face wouldn't really tell others about myself, so I decided to take the risk to do something different. I did put a picture of my face in it, to make it less abstract.

The artistic process was a bit scary for me because I was afraid that my lecturer wouldn't like it, or that I wouldn't be able to design and print 11 pages in time, but thankfully, all went well, (or at least I think it did!)

Above: The cover alongside some sketches.

Below: Detail shots of the other pages

More below: The inspirations.

And last but not least, my interpretation of what inspires me, in the form of some old, mostly self initiated projects which I did during high school (when I should have been studying. However, I have no regrets!)

Sorry for the 'artsy' shots with all the weird angles and blurriness, I just want to photograph it with a 'personal touch' feel to it (excuses, ha!)

I hope from this class, I will improve as an artist and a designer, and sharpen my fundamental skills along the way, pushing myself to reach my maximum potential while stepping out of the comfort zone and coming up with out-of-the-box ideas.

(Heehee, hopefully some of Miss Lisa's genius will rub off on me! She's really a figure I look up to. Totally not sucking up here)

— Hidayah