Final Piece - The Force of Life's Energy(Magical Energy)

This is where I will have my Final Piece, and all the Planning I made towards it.

First off I knew I needed to figure out just what I was going to do with the idea of Force.

I started by making a Mind-Map with all the artists I've researched on one side, and the ideas of force that I have developed.

From here I decided on making 'Magic' the main focus of my final piece, as it is the most developed. I then decided on using the art style of "The CousCous Kid" as he the most preferable style, which best linked to magic.

I choose magic based on the idea of 'Magic' or 'Mystical' forces.
I choose 'CousCous Kid' because out of the artists researched, he is my favourite. His abstract style also links to the idea of magic, making this an even better choice.


My next step was to take photos of a 'model'. I first went with the model dressed casually. I also made sure she was wearing bright colours, to match Cous Cous Kids style of his models.

These where the first results.

From here I decided that I would try another set of photos, but this time rather than wearing casual, I got my model to wear a bright dress. I did this so that I would have a greater range of scenarios to work with.

I feel that the dress was more along the idea of Cous Cous kid, and it was much more dramatic than plain clothing.

My next step was to make a background for the work to appear on. I decided on taking the abstract stylings of the Cous Cous Kid, and added to it, a style of modern pop-art.

There where three pieces in all however the first piece didn't really capture either of the two styles, so although it was abstract I decided not to continue with it.

The first of the good backgrounds turned out like this.

Piece 1

I made this using various brushes that I had on photoshop. I feel that the abstract side of it is good and that It meets the idea, I also feel that the pop-art element of it is good. Currently there isn't much of a link to force with it, but that can be added with the model. What my favourite part of this is how its crossing the lines to make it almost seem 3D. It's almost like there is a floor and walls yet at the same time there is no real solid structure to it.

From this I added one of the images from my photo shoots. I decided on using one of the dress photos as it was the most dynamic.

I took one of the dress photos and placed it onto the background. I removed the background of the photo, then followed by changing the levels. After that I decided to add a black outline to the model, I did this as I felt that it would make it incorporate the idea of Pop-Art more.
 This however still lacked the element of force. Since I decided on magic, I decided to add a pop-art styled magic spell to the model.

For the magical force aspect I used brushes to make the magic, I used a combination of black and white to see how it would look. I then added a blue stream of 'Magic' going into the ball of magic. This makes it look like the model is using her own power to make this happen. I decided on doing this as it not only  incorporates the idea of 'Magical Force' but it also incorporates the idea that the model herself is a force in her own right.

The next thing I was make a different version of this piece, however this time I made the stream go around the entire body.

In this version, not only did I make the stream go around the entire body, but I also added a drop shadow to the stream. I think that the stream does look better now however I feel that maybe there are still adjustments I could make.

I decided to make another version.

I decided to make the stream a dark red rather than blue. This suits the magic ball better than the blue did, as well as looking better with the background. I decided to make one last version of this piece.

In this version I decided to desaturate the model, and remove the stroke effect. I feel that this makes it look much more powerful as a piece, even though it goes against Cous Cous Kid's usual style, it still looks good. I feel that perhaps the previous version may have been better, but this version is more powerful in it's own right.

In this version, I played with the filter options and used one called 'Halftone Pattern'. This made the model seem more like the art itself. It made it look more powerful and adds to the idea of corruption through force and magic, however I feel as if the piece as missed the original idea and style as it seems as though its loosing the 'Cous Cous Kids' style.

In this version I used another filter. I used the 'CutOut' filter option. It works pretty well as it makes the model look like more like a 'Pop-Art' character, however it also seems to partially lose the 'cous cous' element from the work. Although it does look interesting.


Piece 2


The second background I made used more of the 'Pop-Art' Theme. Like the previous background design I made my background using only brushes.

I favour this background over the previous one as there is much more colour to work with and overall it seems much nicer and has a certain complexity to it which just makes it more appealing. This version uses a greater amount of 'pop-art' stylings. I made this version inspired by an illustrator known as Joseph Gonzalez. At the moment there is a small sense of magical force from how abstract it is. It has a lot of flowing colours and patterns which all seem to work well together.

What I did next was add the model.

 Once again I started by levelling and removing the background from the model. I also decided to use a stroke effect on the model again to make it look more like "pop-art". I decided on the photo I used as I could use it to make a more interesting styled of spell. However there is something about the image that I don't like. The model seemed out of place and I really didn't like how the stroke effect looked.

I then decided to make a newer version.

I decided to make the model a silhouette rather than being a photo. I also changed the stroke to a white rather than a black. I feel that this change has the made art much more powerful as it fits in better as well as following the "pop-art theme" of Joseph Gonzalez. I have decided to not use much more of Cous Cous kids stylings on this piece as I find that it will just ruin the work if I start using that more in this individual piece.

My next task was to add the more to the idea of 'Magical Force' as this piece was lacking it.

I made two versions of the next step as I had difficulties on decided which version looked best.

  


One version used a light blue colour for the magic, while the other used black. The blue add a greater range of colour and doesn't interfere with the silhouette style. Black looks somewhat more powerful however theres parts that interfere with the silhouette style. I decided continue with both for now to see which looked better with the next idea.

     


I decided to add a stream to each of the versions to see how they would look. Unlike the last piece, this time the stream is taking in energy from the surroundings rather than user, making it seem like the world itself is a force of power and that the magic is drawing from said force. I decided that I would use the blue version as I feel it worked best as it didn't block off other colours allows me to use even more if I wished.

I then decided to once again, add to the idea of magical force.

I decided that to add to the idea of Magical Force, I would have to also add the idea that the one who can wield the force, has a force off their own. I did this by adding what could be their soul. The idea is that they can channel their own inner force and use that together with the external force, therefore unifying the two forces allowing for an even greater power.

I decided to see what this would look like in a more malevolent red colour.

I found that the Red worked well in some areas, however due to the positioning, the red intereferes with the middle area of the piece. I becomes harder to see. However it still seems rather powerful as it creates an evil effect, making it seem as if the corruption is being given out, rather than taking in the positive energy. This makes for an interesting message. Overall I personally prefer the blue version as it looks nicer overall and has a more 'magical' appearence.

'Final' Final Piece

After making the first and second pieces I decided that I would make an animation, based upon using the second piece, combined with some of my previous pieces of magic. I will make a Stop-frame animation based upon the images I used and magical force.

The first thing I had to do was choose the pictures, then edit the appearance of them to match the silhouette style of the second piece.

Now that I had my silhouettes I had to put them into flash and begin animating.


I decided to continue using the second abstract piece that I made for the background of the animation.

The layout adjustment I made to the background works pretty well. The animation runs smoothly at this point. What I need to do next is add the various magic effects. The effect I will add first is the magical stream.

For the stream I decided on using an external magic source, meaning it was the force within. The stream travels across from the spinning energy (Spikey ball in the hand) and into the body. In a sense it's like its absorbing force from the surroundings.

Now that I had the basic spin and stream made, I decided on having the stream go back with a red version of itself. I choose to do this as I feel that it would add a sense of inner force added to the outer, however, I also feel that It could be resembling the corruption of force and almost make the art a metaphor for what can happen with power.


Red Stage 1

I decided on adding an orb in the body to somewhat symbolise the soul. At this stage the red is swallowing the blue and overpowering it.

Red Stage 2

At this point the stream is turning red and is flowing in reverse.

Red Stage 3

Finally the magic ball is becoming red.

I felt that the video turned out rather well and that I did a good job at converting my original Image into an animation. It does a good job at presenting my ideas about force and using magic in an almost metaphoric way.

I wanted to make the animation a bit more complex as I found that it was a little bit simple. To make it more interesting I added a vacuum effect to the spin ball to make it seem like it was absorbing energy from its surroundings.

I decided that the next thing I would do, was to add sound effects to the animation. To do this I exported the Flash Animation as a .Mov so I could take it into 'Adobe Premier'. I decided to use premier as it makes it easier to place and edit sounds as in flash you do not have much control over any sounds you import.

I choose to give the animation a vacuum sounding effect as it sounds like its taking in all the energy from the atmosphere.

Final Versions 

First Piece

Second Piece

Animation

Evaluation

My view on the subject of force is using the idea of The natural energy of the world, and converting it into a magical force. This also links to an idea of the world having its own magical or spiritual force. This also can appeal to the idea of being able visualise the corruption of people when they are able the access the force.

My Images and Animation are Combinations off the Abstract styles of 'The Cous Cous Kid' combined with the Pop-Art styling of 'Joseph Gonzalez'. I wanted to create a piece that really would be a true piece of abstract art. I thought that the contrast of the more traditional abstract art and the less traditional Pop-Art made a really interesting combination and from it I wanted to create a force of its own and having a real effect on viewers. My first piece was a Pop-Art styling which focuses more on 'The Cous Cous Kids' style of art. I made it involve some features of the Pop-Art style, Mainly in the background. I wanted to make this keep it's style and still keep my idea of force visible and easy to understand.

To make the first two images, I started with a photo shoot to get a large variety of images all in different poses. This meant I had a large range of ideas and possibilities to work with. The next stage was made using 'Photo Shop'. For background I used brushes and custom shapes. I used these as they worked well with the abstract style. In my first background I used overlaying patterns to create an almost 3D effect on it. It looked like there was a floor made from the crosses which worked well. For the animation I used 'Flash'. I made the various effects on 'Photoshop' and imported them into flash so I had betting looking effect then what I could make on flash.

I've always had an interest in abstract art styles so being able to use them in this project made it easier to find good artists which I like. I like 'The Cous Cous Kids' art style as he combines photography and abstract styles into amazing pieces and also has another good point of making the models themselves part of the art, using various face paints etc. The more recent research I did was on Joseph Gonzalez. I really enjoyed looking at his art styles and adding them to my own. He made his work very personal to himself as he would often convert his own surroundings and the people he new into really interesting pieces of art. My art made use of each style along with my own personal touches, such as making the model a silhouette in the second piece, while 'Cous Cous' wouldn't and Joseph would make them a cartoon style.

The best part of my art is the combination of not only different techniques and stylings but also different messages and ideals about art. I am pleased by the use of the colours and patterns that I have used throughout the making of the final pieces as they all work well together and I have to say that these are some of the best pieces I have ever made. The backgrounds present the foregrounds really well and all the styles work well together. The only part I'm somewhat disappointed with is the Animation and hows parts of it are a little rough.

If I was able to do my work again, I would remake the animation with a greater number of poses and a more detailed version of the used magical effects. I would also likely make a third Image which has a greater balance between the two styles as the two images I made each favour one artist over the other. I would also likely do a bigger photo shoot and try to get better lighting for it as the ones I took all had rather bad lighting.