December 17, 2008
This Story
So here's the final compilation of this particular story. Closing notes: I originally meant love as parental love more than romantic or filial or any other type...there are so many types...but the love of this story represented deep caring and devotion to another to the point where perhaps it's suffocating and stopping them from becoming all they could (as naivete becomes innocence): the overprotection of parental love/concern. Although I suppose this can happen in more than just the family bond. I don't think I'd ever discussed that point here, though I've been thinking it over for most of the class. So there it was. The next story of this world that I'm interested in portraying at the moment would concern a sort of war between the "good" and "bad" word-idea-characters, keeping in mind and playing on the fact that words themselves are not always good or bad regardless of their connotations, but rather, the context they are in makes them so. I'd like this new story to address whether perhaps there exists a "good" violence, deception, etc. So perhaps this will be coming in the future.
Posted by ayan at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2008
in medius solum
So the final presentation in class went well, and this portion of the project in nearly complete. As I noted in class, I do intend to add a bit in the way of backgrounds. Not actually landscapes, but a few gradients or solid colors to keep the same feel but add a touch of depth and perhaps darkness. That is my primary concern for the final posting on Thursday.
Secondarily but certainly not less important: where to go in the future. I enjoy my concept and characters (some more than others; Naivete annoyed me slightly whereas Deception is beautifully fun to work with and draw, and Violence was a pain to illustrate but I am intrigued by the possibilities of his future character development). I want to push them further. I want to bring in more characters/words, and populate a world of interconnections. I think it would be quite beautiful.
And fun. It must always be fun.
So here's the land in the center of a million paths in which this project/world/system can go...
Posted by ayan at 06:56 PM | Comments (1)
December 03, 2008
Sketch pages 8-15
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Posted by ayan at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2008
Sketch - pages 1-7
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Posted by ayan at 06:42 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2008
Stories Never Existing
My mind runs through to the end of several paths my story can take. Unfortunately, I can only set one to reality. You may never see what would have happened if Deception had taken Naivete's role, and you will certainly not see the reality in which Naivete survives and Innocence never lives. Not because it is not possible (is it?). But it's only because I don't wish to draw it. And that's a little sad. But you have your own mind to make your own vision of the possibilities. In the reality that I create, Naivete will die violently. Perhaps because that is how I think the world works, or should ideally work, or maybe I just want to draw it. The whim of the creator influencing perceptions of the world: it sounds a little irresponsible and a little fun. But I will attempt to keep to the role of my story and not draw what I want on whim, because it would be beautiful, or because it would be easier, or because it poses a fun challenge, or for any other wonderful distracting reason (although I'm confident it will happen in some way, maybe unknown to me. Deception is in the story in the first place because she's a fun character to work with and draw, not because she (specifically her) is necessary. But you can perhaps say that about anything; the story itself isn't really necessary, nothing is, so we select to create that which might have the greatest effect, and "fun" is part of the effect)...
The challenge is to increase the effect on the viewer, possibly at the expense of the effect on the creator. Is this what I want? Ideally, the point can be found to maximize both variables (as I bring math class into art/illustration once again, forgive me). However, I cannot count in units the impact of a story on a person, and this makes the task of measuring challenging/fun/volatile. There is one instance in which I want to go off and draw beautiful images full of characters and symbolism that mean nothing to anyone but me (but which I love dearly), and the opposite in which the creator thinks only of the viewer and suppresses concerns and ideas which are for him/her but perhaps not the audience. In the first, meaning is lost to the world, and in the second, the creator is perhaps missing a vital emotional connection to their work that injects life. So, somewhere in the middle is where I will arrive.
Posted by ayan at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)
October 22, 2008
Sketches
The four images are linked here, until I figure out how to post them as images: http://www.umich.edu/~ayan/idea
Posted by ayan at 11:03 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2008
Storyline Details
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10.13.08
Storyline Details
Which I figure should appear here
I'll shortly be adding my storyline sketches. They will be messy, but they will be there.
My first story deals with several ideas, the two primary being: the attempted protection of a person's innocence resulting in the naivete of the "protected" individual, and the differences between the two and how one is generally preferable to the other. Deeper, I want to address the structure of the project: translation between single words and images, as well as artistic/drawing style, and see how this affects the interpretation of the ideas presented.
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Posted by ayan at 07:00 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2008
Story vs. World
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10.6.08
"N" which represents the universe:
My project takes the generalization of ideas and plays with them. A word such as "love" has so many connotations bleeding into eachother; asking a crowd of people individually to define the word/idea/feeling, you will not hear the exact same description twice. So, complex words to complex characters. Words acting as people will resonate with the mind of the viewer, interact with knowledge and past experience, and perhaps instigate thought beyond the story. Because the subject is applicable beyond the story. Ideas and emotions which we all experience are bound to this variable x, which interacts with the other variables in ways we see blindly and interact with out of habit but often don't stop to think about. It is my hope that the viewer will let these stories bleed into their life, that they might wonder if it it innocence or naivete that they protect or discard, that they see the subtle differences which turn something bright into something hindering. It is in this way that the work can expand beyond what I can create and post. The variables I employ can be applied across a universe of situations.
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Posted by ayan at 06:59 PM | Comments (1)
September 29, 2008
Folding
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9.29.08
The idea of folding in context of my project:
Folding an image/character/story around a specific word and containing all that it represents.
I am creating single characters to represent a word. A word seems limitless in its connotations and associations, so creating a character that embodies all of these...will not be my goal. Likewise, the parts of the image I create may be things that individuals associate with other words; it is impossible to create everyone's image/character here. I will create mine. The project will be folded to contain an image that can represent the idea and then allow the veiwer to add their own thoughts and use their own thoughts as context, but I will not attempt to use all associations with the word in the character. I think such a thing would make the character unidentifiable. Instead, I will hope to match enough traits to make the character seem a possible embodiment of the word.
I don't work towards realism in the world of my project, but I do hope to provoke thought about reality and the relations between ideas and words.
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I am considering creating a series of small stories with the words-as-characters. The first story will concern the difference between innocence and naivete.
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Posted by ayan at 06:58 PM | Comments (1)
September 13, 2008
Response to Discussion
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9.(12-15).08
What are the boundaries of words?
Words (and images) are representations of an idea or system of ideas. When a word ceases to involve its respective idea, it is perhaps no longer a word because it does not perform the function of a word. Words have have endless meanings and connotations according to the variations in individuals' experience, so in such a sense, words have no boundaries.
How well do boundaries of one word system transfer to another word system?
Boundaries transfer well, primarily because there are so few of them.I believe the boundaries I mentioned will remain true for all cases.
What are the limits of what a word system can include and still be a word system?
I have defined a word system as the representation of an idea. Thus, a word system can include any and all things which further represent the presented ideas. This can include images, objects, and more.
What are the limits of what a word system can exclude and still be a word system?
Word systems can exclude anything as long as there is something left to create the representation. Word systems can be wordless (in the traditional sense of a word).
What is a word(word system)?
An idea, in a form that is closer to communicatable.
Does translation result in a form/version of the source word/system or a new word/system?
They are the same thing? A different version, a new system...it is a translation and will thus be related, so yes, it is a new system, but yes, also a different version.
What are the forms/architectures of word systems?
Word, spoken, written, in languages. Pictures, photos. Communication of any form.
Must word systems be made of alphabets?
Absolutely not. Pictures can represent words. Tone of voice can suggest words. Little marks on paper are not the only forms of words.
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Posted by ayan at 06:56 PM | Comments (0)
