This assignment looked at time and how it can affect perspective.

I have found that different seasons and the weather they bring have a large impact on how we can view the same space. Colour and the amount of shadow are changed. Colours can be made lighter or darker and shadows can be made longer and shorter. The shade of colour can also seem to change depending on how much light there is and whether it is in direct sunlight. Texture can also look different. Stronger light can highlight details that we don’t notice in duller light. This can make things appear rougher than they are.

In the images above I have tried to showcase the differences that can be brought on through time. I have created a simple scene of an apple on a table inside a room. I thought that having the apple rot in front of the eyes would be an obvious and easy way to show that time is passing. Within the drawings the apple darkens in colour and shrivels up as it dries out. For this task I chose to use markers and ink. This was interesting as I don’t use these materials very often and mixing colour didn’t seem to work as well as with paint. Getting the smaller details in was also difficult as I was using a brush that wasn’t thin enough and controlling the long the bristle is a task within itself.

Outside the window is a cherry blossom tree. I chose this tree as it is my favourite, though it probably wasn’t the best choice as it is bare for most of the year. The tree does show time however as in the spring it is full of cherry blossoms and as the year moves along the bark darkens, although it is slightly lighter during the summer. During the winter there is snow resting on the branches.

The changing season can also be seen through the window. The weather changes are displayed through brighter colours, darker colours, rain and snow. The colour of the grass also changes.

I have used the pictures on the back wall to reflect the changing seasons. This isn’t realistic as the colours wouldn’t really change however I used this as a metaphorical way to show the progressing time. They also come in handy as they produce shadow. Here I can use the pictures to display the differing length of shadow produced from different weathers and light.

The furniture in the room also differs through the year. Sometimes the furniture seems lighter and other times it is darker, caused by duller weather and more shadow.

I have also considered the light of the room as a whole. The colours of the walls and the floor are darker in the winter and lighter in the summer. This is intentional as things seem duller during the winter due to over cast weather. Darkening the colours didn’t work as smoothly as I’d hoped. The wall in the winter looks rougher as a result of my attempt to mix the markers.

I have added a blanket to the winter scene as this is a common sight during this season due to the cold weather. The markers seemed to fit the texture of the material.

For this task I had to find examples of different visual conventions used to convey time
and/or place/space.

The first piece I thought of was Eadweard Muybridge’s The Horse in Motion, which shows film stills that show a horse running.

Whilst looking for the above image I came across an old invention, the Zoetrope, invented by William George Horner in 1831. This used by spinning it and the images inside tell a story by spinning the images inside.

Time can be seen represented as far back as the stone age through cave paintings. These works go back as far as 30,000 years.

Jean Morin’s Memento Mori is an interesting representation of time as it’s a still life, so there isn’t a visual timeline to follow.

Time is shown in the image by the falling petals and the skull. There is also an object that looks more like a compass to me but must be a pocket watch. The symbolism in the image is what tells the story and takes us through time.

Comic strips use a good method of showing the passing of time. Different panels show stages of time, so multiple panels are able to communicate a detailed story. The above comic strip is Gasoline Alley by Frank King. The use of many panels paired with the dialogue effectively communicate the story to the reader.

Whilst researching for this task I came to the conclusion that visual conventions of time/space/place are all just ways of telling a story. Whether the methods are simple or complex, in the end, after viewing the image, a story would have been revealed.

Stories have been documented in many ways and through multiple materials.

Above is a Chinese bronze mirror telling the story of a war between Wu and Yue, two states. I find that the material used also helps locate the time and place of a story as ancient story telling seems to have been done largely through tougher materials such as stone and metal. Through these works we can also see how the styles used today have been developed. An example of this would be scrolls painted in Japan. From these scrolls you can see the influences used in manga.

With the development of technology creating visual representations of space is getting easier. One way of doing this is through 3D art.

The above image is a 3D image that shows a room. It effectively represents the space of the through the perspective presented. By carefully picking which angle to show the room from the depth is made clear and the viewer can easily see the amount of space and the direction it goes in.

Doing this in the past has been a lot harder as the methods and technology we have available to us now wasn’t available. One way space has been shown before is through blue prints, which represents the space in a basic way. Photography is also a good way to show this.

The image above does this in an interesting way. The perspective is completely skewed so that the people inside look as though they are walking on the walls. The space is also enhanced by them being stood on, what seems to be glass. This elongates the corridor and adds depth to the image.

The visual representation of space in an image relies of the visual perspective seen by the eye. This has to be replicated in the image to make it recognisable to the brain, which creates the illusion of space on a 2D picture.

Depth can be added to an image by adding shade and highlights.

Leonardo da Vinci did this well as evidenced above in Last Supper. Here he created space by darkening the background and using the linear perspective method. By creating space in an image it helps identify the location. More details are able to be added, allowing the viewer to know where the image takes place.

I found the process of researching for this task difficult. Finding terms search was harder than expected as I would end up finding what I wasn’t looking for. I tried finding books that I could use for the task however because I didn’t know what to search under I didn’t have much luck. What I did find came from finding one result and then a string of images and search terms came to mind. Lots of them ended up without giving me what I was looking for but from there I was able to rephrase and narrow down what I needed.

For this exercise I took a photograph that I had taken and turned it into an A3 drawing. From here I had to photo copy the drawing and create a few different versions of it: one using black fine liner, one using a bottle of ink and one adding colour. I used coloured pencils.

The original photo:

I chose this image as I liked the 50s architecture and it has plenty details to meet the brief.

The original drawing:

Fine liner:

Here I used hatching, cross hatching and stippling. These are all methods I tend to forget about yet they work so well. I was impressed by just how much detail and depth can be given to image by just using these techniques. I felt that the hatching and cross hatching better fit the building but stippling felt more natural and a better fit for people. Stippling would have probably been better for the trees as well. I tried not to over do it. Adding finer details were harder, like the details in the sky as doing so would bring the sky into the foreground since it is harder to differentiate foreground and background when using pen. Over all I did enjoy shading this way.

Ink:

This was the hardest medium to use as controlling the amount of ink that went onto the page was harder than expected. The lack of control I had can be seen in the image above. I like the dramatic effect the contrast gives. Adding a gradual shade is harder with ink. You could try smudging the ink but this risks ruining the picture. Ink is very easy to smudge, as can been seen in the areas I did so by accident. I found that thicker strokes made the image look more shaded. I left the background blank again as it would have been hard to discern the background from the foreground, like with the pen. Using a dry brush may have helped add a gradient of shade as the flow of ink wouldn’t have been as smooth but I didn’t think of this at the time.

Colour:

I used pencil to add colour. This was the medium I preferred. I like how the colour can add life to the image. Colour also makes it easier to differentiate between the back and foregrounds. This medium is easier to work with and you can make it as sharp or blurred as you like as it is softer than the previous materials. I tried to keep the colours in line with the era in the image and used a palette that would fit a 50s/60s poster. I used coloured fine liner sparingly to add more depth to the pencil and define some areas. This worked well to separate one part of the image from another.

Pencil and fine liner were the easiest to control. The fine liner was the easiest material to use when needing neat, thin lines. Pencil was the best when trying to add life and gradual shading. I liked the strong colour and punchy effect given by ink. Ink is also the best for quick coverage. Creating thin lines with this was near impossible. This makes ink the best choice when needing to cover a large space with the same colour, e.g. a car. Pen and pencil are better for finer details.

For this exercise I chose to research the 50s as it’s a decade I feel connected to. I used the internet and things I saw personally as material.

People and clothes

Architecture and Interior

Design

Transport and Engineering

Pop Culture

After this I had to create an illustration using the reference photos of 2 people on a street corner. The image also had to show elements of my chosen time period, the 50s.

I think that the idea behind this image was better than the result. I like the chiaroscuro effect created in the image. I have used light to draw attention to some areas. This is used to highlight different aspects of the 50s hiding within the picture. I took inspiration from Britain and the USA as I believe that this creates a better representation of the influence America has had over culture. I think the the style of the image shows an influence from Mary Blair after a past exercise.

Here are a couple other layouts I thought of, before choosing the one above:

The idea behind this one was that a long Highstreet continued down a hill and that you could continue to see it off in the distance. I felt that this looked too long and didn’t create an attractive picture as there wouldn’t be a lot in most of the image.

I didn’t like this one either. I didn’t feel that I could fit enough in the image to meet the breif.

50s from a visual perspective:

The 50s was overtaken by bright pastel colours. The era tried to hide any signs of the war that had just ended. Chic, glamourous clothing and bright, joyful imagery was used to gloss over the tragedies caused by the past 6 years. This was also a time of new technology, which could be seen everywhere. Enviable celebrities were all over the place, whether on tv, on the street or on the big screen. Luminescent signs could be seen on the streets. Golden haired beauties were in abundance. There were buildings inspired by space and cars that were sleek and beautiful.

Although there were many bright and wonderful things about the 50s there was also the flip side where the war had created panic and anxiety. There was still suspicion of spies and communists roaming the streets as evidenced by the blacklisting of suspected communists, Like Harry Trumbo and Arthur Miller, who had to appear in court to defend themselves. The remains of bomb shelters could be seen and advertising was used as a way to frighten and influence. Drab colours were used to inspire negative emotions and garner anger amongst the masses. Misogynistic and racist imagery could also be seen around in magazines and on TV.