Research
In this project, I was challenged to utilize both essential forms and organic drawings to invent/draw abstract portraiture of myself. Portraits should not represent a face per se, but rather a combination of non-objective geometric and organic forms with an emphasis on dimensionality that expresses the underlying nature of portraiture. My goals were to contemplate, reveal, and reflect upon self-identity and mental states. Draw with explorative and/or deliberate placement of forms. Create rapid prototypes using basic shapes to inform geometry in later portraiture. Manipulate simple geometric forms and shapes and inspire them with dimensionality using linear perspective techniques. Use line weight, color/shading/texture, over/under-exaggeration of forms as a means of expression, and emotional intentionality. This project has been split into two deadlines where the first is focused on my process, iterations, and conceptual building. While the second half is focused on putting it all together and constructing a final deliverable.
So, to help myself eventually achieve these goals in the first half I started off by doing some rapid prototyping. I created a mood chart to find two to three moods that I wanted to use within my portrait. The moods I ended up choosing are unorganized, whizzing, and calculated. After finding these moods/emotions I began the rapid prototyping process. I quickly created iterations that I felt described the emotions and I just kept drawing until I ran out of ideas. I ended up creating a total of 50+ iterations combined between the three emotions. Along with these iterations, I also started to create my frame that these forms were going to rest upon to create an abstract portrait. I felt confident going into the second deadline with everything that I have created within the first couple of weeks and was excited to begin the transformation to the final deliverable.
Iterations
The iterations were the entirety of the first half of this project, so I put extra time and thought into this process and it really paid off. I came up with my three sensations and from there I just let my brain run. Ended with 50 iterations varying between the three sensations and ultimately what looks like a bunch of simple 2D shaped turned into complex 3D shapes in the end.
Production
I started production with the abstraction of my 2D figures to 3D. I narrowed my iterations down to 5 drawings pulling from all three emotions. I then began figuring out how I would turn these two-dimensional drawings into three-dimensional forms. I used my previous knowledge from visual principles as well as foundations to help this process. I created these five forms that can be seen below each two-dimensional drawing corresponds to the three-dimensional sketch below it.
After designing my forms, I began rapid prototyping again while placing the forms in different positions on my shoulders to see what I felt the most confidence in. However, I didn’t feel confident in my previous body abstraction. I felt it was too simple and found inspiration from one of my classmates on the final shoulder design. So, I went back and created a new body for these forms to be configured around. I didn’t think the three-dimensional forms looked right sitting upon a two-dimensional frame. So, I took a new reference image of myself, one with a little depth to it, and that became my new frame for all of the forms. After experimenting with different forms in different places, along with multiple color schemes I had finally found one I was confident in. The final color scheme was a triad containing shades of blue, red, and yellow.
After rapid prototyping, I found that some forms just didn’t feel quite right within the dynamic. So, I got rid of one of the forms and split one of the forms into two parts, and scratched the two other parts within this one form. So now at this point, after experimentation, I had figured out where I wanted each form to go. It was time to finalize the frame of the shoulders as well as add onto all of these forms. Just like previous drawing projects in the past I had found the project becomes much more complete when you add small details and shading. In addition to those things, I learned how to play with different hues and saturations. However, with the triad color scheme, I used I felt like some colors just didn’t pop so I tested it against a 50% grey background as well as a black background and the colors stood out great against the grey, much better than the black or white. The combination of hues and saturation plus the grey background helped my shading and made the yellow aspects of my composition nonrelevant. It quickly became replaced by pink and maroon and the slight change in hue and saturation to all of those colors created a great look of shading and gave the figure some life to it. I felt confident with my new placement and added simplistic forms to help add detail to the final product. After that, I finally had my forms placed and color scheme down, so I started to shade, add texture, and depth to the forms to help really emphasize their three-dimensional figure. I used a combination of saturation, hues, and light to balance all the colors and make them all pop while still accomplishing their intended emotions. Contrary to the two-dimensional shapes, I felt their three-dimensional forms fit some different emotions better. The dark red forms fit under unorganized, the light blue forms fit under calculated, while the pink forms fit along the lines of whizzing.
Portfolio Project
View final project at Inventive Portrait Project