Design Principles // Project 1: Self-portrait

06.05.2022 - 29.05.22 (Week 6 - Week 9 )

Emelyne How Sok Hing (0352938)
Bachelor of Design (Hons) Creative Media

Design Principles // Project 1: Self-portrait 

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LECTURE

Week 6: 

For our first project which is about a self-portrait, we learned about the definition of a self project and how there are many different ways in which we could express it. 

Who am I?

We can define ourselves and get defined by others in a myriad of ways. As for instance, we might show different facets of ourselves depending on our surrounding like our family, our friends or even strangers. Moreover, we can also be influenced by the medias like celebrities, social media influencers, singers, actors, fictional characters and so on. 

Questions to ask ourselves. 

• How do I see myself (physically and personality wise)
• How others see me (physically and personality wise)
• What are my interests?
• What kind of experiences have I gone through up till now ?
• What kind of thoughts do I have alone in the middle of the night?

Roughly, these are questions to help us define ourselves.

A self-portrait can be represented in many forms from a simple drawing to a complex sculpture. It is a visual depiction of ourself. 

Why do artists create their own self-portrait?

It's a way for artists to express themselves that is how they might see them everyday when they look at themselves in the mirror or it can be about how they feel or how they would want to look like in front of others. It's a form of self-exploration.

Self-portrait done using a realistic image 

Figure 1.0 Self-portrait, 1885, by Berthe Morisot, 10th May 2022
Source: https://www.wikiart.org/en/berthe-morisot/self-portrait-1885

Self-portrait done in a more abstract way

Figure 1.1 Self-portrait by Brian Vu,@brianvu on Instagram, 10th May 2022
Source: https://www.dazeddigital.com/beauty/community/article/51089/1/brian-vu-beauty-photography-multimedia-artist-new-york-creative

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INSTRUCTIONS

Week 7:

We are to create a self-portrait of ourselves by making use of the Principle of Designs which we learned through those past few weeks. 

To get an idea of what I wanted to do for my self-portrait, I made a mind map which I believed would help me in filtering my ideas and know more about myself. I mostly wrote a summary of the opinion I had of myself, what I liked and I also asked some of my friends to do a short review of what they thought about me. 

Figure 1.2 Mind Map, 12th May 2022

My mood board consists of some artworks that I found on Pinterest and thought would be interesting to help me develop the idea that I had in mind for my self-portrait. I also took into consideration the colour palette used in these artworks and was thinking of inspiring myself from that. 

Figure 1.3 Mood board/Visual Research, 12th May 2022

Week 8: 

Sketches

Figure 1.4 Photo reference for self-portrait, 21st May 2022

Figure 1.5 Sketch 1, 21st May 2022

The idea for my sketch 1 was inspired from my astrological sign 'Scorpio'. Since, I really like astrology and also like to read a lot of theory about this topic, I thought that it could be a representation of what I like but at the same time of who I am. Additionally, for my self-portrait I wanted to represent who I am on the inside mostly rather than my physical appearance. I always heard this stereotype about me where since I look small and tiny and is very shy at first, that I looked weak and fragile. But I always thought that this stereotype did not define who I really am. I believe that I'm someone who is strong and can achieve a lot of things due to my determination. I try to give my best in whatever I do in order to accomplish my goals. This trait also forms part of a Scorpio's personality. Furthermore, I tried to inspire myself from the tarot cards as I thought that it would match with my theme. 

These are my references for my sketch 2 & 3.

Figure 1.6 Image reference, 24th May 2022
Source: https://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/09/175619/report-zookeeper-screamed-help-tiger-attack

Figure 1.7 Image reference, 24th May 2022
Source: https://stacker.com/stories/444/pets-banned-every-state

Figure 1.8 Sketch 2, 21st May 2022

For my sketch 2, I based myself on the same concept from my sketch 1. Instead of using my astrological sign, I used the tiger to represent the inner me. A tiger is traditionally known to symbolise strength, independence, confidence and bravery. In all honesty, even though I try to apply all these traits into my daily life, I do struggle a lot about self-confidence. So, I would say that this tiger represents the me that I am now but also the me that I would like to become in the future, that is someone who is confident and brave enough to live freely from others' judgements. 

Figure 1.9 Sketch 3, 21st May 2022

Sketch 3 has the same concept as sketch 2 except from the fact that the composition is different. In this one, I wanted to do something like a reflection where the tiger would be my reflection of who I would like to be on the inside. 

Week 9:

Process

Figure 2.0  Sketch, 24th May 2022

I chose my sketch 2 to do my self-portrait as I preferred this composition and the message behind it was more meaningful to me. 

Figure 2.1 Painting process, 24th May 2022

I started by painting the tiger in my work as I thought it would help me to see the bigger picture for the outcome of my artwork. I wanted to personalise my tiger instead of painting one realistically. I used the colour blue for its stripes as I thought that using the complementary colour of orange that is blue would add a more interesting touch to my work. Additionally, I tried to add more texture by applying some orange and white strokes on its fur and also did the outlines using a pen. 

Pre-final choices

The only difference between both of my artworks is the background colour. I was a bit indecisive at first for the background colour but decided to make two so that I could get a wider range to choose from. 

I choose a beige colour which is a bit similar to my tiger's fur as I did not want to create a lot of contrast between the tiger and the background in fear that it would look overwhelming or it would look bad. Honestly, I think that even though the background somehow merges with the tiger it still looks good but I also thought maybe it lacks of something.

Figure 2.2 Pre-final 1, 27th May 2022

Since I did not feel satisfied of my first outcome, I decided to go for it and try another background colour. I think that with this shade of blue there is enough contrast between the background, foreground and middle ground. I also like the fact that the background does not take power but remains subtle and I also like the overall 'chill' vibes that I get from this artwork.

Figure 2.3 Pre-final 2, 27th May 2022

Final self-portrait 

Figure 2.4 Final self-portrait called 'Unleash the tiger in you', 27th May 2022

I decided to put a name for my artwork which I do not normally do. I choose the phrase 'Unleash the tiger in you' as I thought that it matched with the meaning of my artwork. Firstly, the concept of my self-portrait came from the fact that I wanted to show and 'unleash' my inner self. Like I said previously, I always heard this stereotype about me where I looked small, fragile or weak which I think is 70% untrue. So, I wanted to represent the inner me as who apart from myself knows me better. I chose a tiger as it is known for its strength, wisdom, ability to remain grounded and its steadiness. I believe that those qualities represents me more in a way compared to the typical tiger which can be seen as aggressive, fearless or powerful. During our feedback session, Mrs. Jinchi asked me why I chose to do the tiger in a tamed position and why not go for the ones where a tiger would be seen with his mouth wide open or in a position where it is getting ready to attack. Well, I did not choose the tiger to represent me in a way where it would portray its leadership or its aggressivity. I wanted to show the personality of the tiger which is not normally shown in movies or cartoons, that is the calm tiger which would be sitting still in the shade but is still aware of the environment around itself and being observant rather than one which would stand out. Hence, I would say that this part of the tiger describes me more. Additionally, I put stripes on my self as I am in a stage of my life where I am still learning and becoming something new which is part of the growing up process so that's why I wanted to portray the fact that I'm not totally like the tiger yet but is slowly becoming like one. For the background, I picked the colour blue as I think this colour calls to mind feelings of calmness or serenity. I also added some white thick lines in the background so as to create some movement and also I think that it also shows that the tiger is on its guard and ready to unleash himself whenever he needs to. Therefore, the message of my artwork was to say that even though I might look small and tiny, people should not judge a book by its cover!

[Also, it is to be noted that blue can also represents the water elements and Scorpio is one of them so this is a lowkey message that I wanted to include.] 

                                           Figure 2.5 Final Self-portrait PDF, 27th May 2022

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FEEDBACKS

Week 9: After showing my process to Mrs. Jinchi, she told me that I could refer to the artwork 'Starry Night' from Vincent Van Gogh and that I could use it as a reference to the movement and lines in his artwork. She also told me that I had two options for when I'm doing my own portrait that is I could either take my own photo and print it or if I were to use paint that I should do it in a subtle way. I also need to be careful on my choice of colours for the background as it could dim the colours of my tiger. 

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REFLECTIONS

Week 8:

Finding ideas for my self-portrait was quite easy for me as I already had an idea of what I wanted to do since the beginning. I was quite inspired and feeling excited to start the painting process. 

Week 9: 

This project was dear to me as normally I don't really express openly how I am in reality or show this sensitive side of me to everyone. So, I guess that it was an opportunity for me to learn more about myself and also do a self-awareness check on me. Apart from that, I liked doing this exercise as compared to the previous ones I felt more free as I was not restricted to a certain principle of design. I had a lot of fun illustrating my tiger and I like how its fur turned out. However, I cannot deny that I was a bit indecisive and scared when I had to paint my own portrait and choose a background colour. I found it hard to find a way that my portrait and the tiger would at the same time match but also that my portrait would not overpower the tiger.  I am quite content that I somehow found a solution for it and on the overall I do think that I was able to show what I wanted to without it being too complicated to understand.