Wednesday 1 October 2014

Second influence map and thumnail sets 11-13

Another influence map Although I'm not sure if I should be including the kinds of materials I am referencing as part of th einfluence map. Considering the request for the grenlight though the pictures will need sorting anyway into interiro and exterior inspirations. Meandering through again we have:
  • Equilibrium
  • An American suburb
  • Capitol City from Warcraft III (video game)
The centrepiece of this map is Ancient Rome, a city who's scale, complexity and reputation I as aazed by for years. Surrounding it I have put (down then up:
  • A chandelier within Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, Turkey
  • agate stone
  • chalcedony stone
  • The Simpsons Episode Trash of the Titans
  • White alabaster 
  • Coral stone
On the bottom I have going clockwise: the Great Exhibition, the city from Metropolis,
Dolmabahçe Palace itself, and Brighton Pavillion.
  
 I thought today I'd try a bit of experimentation with overlays and with enhancing pencil lines with the paint brush in Photoshop using the various layer types.. It was interesting how I could enhance certain images not jsut with a splash of colour but also add definition to existing pencil lines. To get an idea I decided to post both the original pencil sketch and the modification I did to it. For Leonia I was reminded of the American Dream and the Simpsons season nine episode "Trash of the Titans" due to the idyllic consumerist lifestyle that was being portrayed and the inevitable mountains of refuse that it would produce as a byproduct, I'd wondered about giving the city a contemporary look because this image of a healthy consumerist lifestyle was what characterised most of the 20th century when there wasn't an economic depression or a world war (the latter in the case of Europe).
 One building that really came to mind for Moreiana was the London Crystal Palace. Which before burning own was one of the largest glass and steel buildings at the time, walls completely transparent, it was like an enormous greenhouse that looked like an opulent railway station one could look though the walls of. Again I experimented with colour and I guess I could have done more to  look at the uglier side of the city but I wasn't sure what. It sounded really hostile and ghastly though.
Slide 13 has thumbnails from three cities because for Tamara (202-204) I was stumped on what to do, although the description of signs and messages everywhere did remind me of the 1988 science fiction film They Live, where messages that forced humans to be contant with the secret alien overlords were hidden in plai nsight but imeprceptable without special sunglasses.
    The description of Sophronia's serious half two cities came to mind that in hindsight are probably strongly connected: The city from Equilibrium and the metropolis from Fritz Lang's eponymous film. Places of business, finance education but lacking a cheerful flair to which the carnival half supports. The interior I had considered was inspired by the bank from Mary Poppins which I will include either in a later influence map but will certainly include in a map for inspirations for internal scenes. I rather like how 196, 206 and 208 turned out, perhaps those are two I could further explore.

2 comments:

  1. Hey Mark!

    There is no 'right or wrong' material to include in your influence maps... whatever inspires you :)

    I too am drawn towards 196, and I also like the contrast between the dark buildings and the 'party atmosphere' in number 193. I can't seem to be able to open the 2nd set of thumbnails though - the one with the domes?

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  2. I felt I did namage to go fairly abstract with 196.

    Set 2 I'll look into a reupload of it when I have access to my PC. When I try to open that one it asks if I want to download it rather than opening up automatically in the image viewer.

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