15/10/19 - 01/12/19 (Week 8 - Week 15)
Chan Jing Wen (0340480)
Digital Photography and Imaging
Final Project
Final Project
At the end of our class (Week 8), Mr Martin briefed us on our Final Project. We should create a utopia or a dystopia for our final project. The final submission will be in Still Image and a Animated Still.
Figure 1.1 Inspiration 01
Figure 1.2 Inspiration 02
Figure 1.3 Inspiration 03
Figure 1.4 Inspiration 04
Based on my inspiration, I decided to do something that would look like a utopia but is actually on the way becoming a dystopian city.
I drafted my sketch in my sketchbook and added a description to it.
Figure 1.5 Rough sketch + explanation
The following week, I showed my draft to Mr Martin and also my fellow classmates, this is the summary of the feedback I received :
I should dramatize the tilting. I can show it by having things/people falling off, having the buildings crack, people that are already in the water or even dead, etc.
I should try showing the lifestyles of the people. Instead of focusing on the architecture, I should try including people and how people there live.
I can try changing the architecture a bit. Maybe a bit more circular?
Upon receiving feedback, I went through a lot of photos and it was really hard for me to find anything useful on the internet! However, I did manage to find some images and hopefully it'll all come together in the end.
(PS : These photos might be found throughout the weeks for the project but I'll include everything together for easier reference)
Figure 1.6 Screenshot of all the photos used
Figure 1.7 Screenshot of progress 01
Figure 1.8 Screenshot of progress 02
I showed Mr Martin my progress. He suggested that I work on a landscape canvas instead of portrait. Also, it looks more like a building instead of a city. I suggested to create another "city" at the background to suggest that there are other continents than this and he agreed with the idea.
During this week, I had a lot of problems with my laptop. I couldn't really use it, and in the end I lost all of my progress beyond the feedback point. This was because my files were all in my laptop (without any back up) and my laptop broke down on 10/11/19 so it had to be sent back to the warehouse for repair. It will only be back after at least a week.
So, I restarted everything on 11/11/19.
Figure 2.1 Screenshot of progress 03
I did everything exactly the same as the last time, but this time I chose to change up the forest a bit because it was a bit too crowded. I also created it on a landscape canvas.
Figure 2.2 Screenshot of progress 04
I tried adding more "islands" to it since Mr Martin mentioned that it's more of a building now than a city.
At this point, I was quite lost as to how to continue it because there's a lot about it that I don't like. I went on to look for more inspiration to see what I can improve on and change. I specifically look for floating cities.
Figure 2.3 Inspiration 05
Figure 2.4 Inspiration 06
Figure 2.5 Inspiration 07
Figure 2.6 Inspiration 08
After looking through more photos, I understood what I wanted to change. First of all, I focused too much on wanting to build the building instead of wanting to build the city (which Mr Martin had already mentioned but I only truly understand now). The city should consist of more sections instead of just one (in my case, 3) building. Also, because my background is really flat, the building I build stands out too much because it's really tall. The smaller ones look less awkward compared to the tall one.
Therefore, I made a lot of changes compared to my original draft.
Figure 3.1 Change the sea
First of all, I changed the picture I used for the sea because the original one did not suit the angles of the buildings and the waves were a bit too big.
Figure 3.2 Adding a volcano
As I mentioned, my background was too blank so I added a volcano to it since my original draft was to burn down the city so I felt like it made more sense if there was something that caused the fire.
Figure 3.3 Matching Colour
Unlike the first attempt, I decided to match every photo's colour once it's set in place since it would be clearer as to how the composition would turn out like.
Figure 3.4 Adding more mountains
Since it was a bit blank at the left background, I added more mountains to it so it looks more full.
Figure 3.5 Clone stamp tool
I use the clone stamp tool for the background to extend the background of the volcano as the original background wasn't covered fully by it.
Figure 3.6 Removing the base and construction
I really didn't like how my buildings were too tall so I decided to only keep the "middle" part of the whole building.
Figure 3.7 Matching colours
I then match the colours to the volcano, which I feel the entire thing looks better than the original plan.
Figure 3.8 Adding more platforms and buildings
I added more buildings and platforms to it to look more like a city. I also added a blue moon since there was an awkward gradient at the background so I decided that it should have a light source for the gradient to make sense. I initially added something like an explosion at the back of the mountains.
Figure 3.9 Removing the explosion
I felt like the explosion was a bit extra so I removed them.
Figure 3.10 Shifting the positioning of the sea
As there was a ray of light in the middle of the sea, I thought it would make more sense if I shifted the positioning of the sea so that the ray of light aligned to the volcanic eruption.
Figure 3.11 Clone Stamp Tool
I also used a clone stamp tool to extend the sea.
Figure 3.12 Sea after clone stamp tool
This is the outcome after I "recoloured" the sea.
Figure 3.13 Adding boats
I then added boats to the sea to suggest that people used them as transport since they started living on water.
Figure 3.14 Matching Colour
I matched the colours of the boats to the volcano also.
Figure 3.15 Adding lightings
I added the reflection of light from the volcanic explosion onto the other objects.
Figure 3.16 Adding water reflection
Lastly, I added the reflection of objects onto the sea.
Figure 3.17 Final Still Image
This is my final still image.
Figure 4.1 Wiggle Effect
For the animation, I decided to focus on 3 parts. The first part was adding a wiggle effect to all the buildings. For this, I pre-composed all the layers of the buildings into "city" so I could have all of the layers move together.
Figure 4.2 Wave Effect
I then added a wave effect to the sea.
Figure 4.3 Puppet Tool
Using the puppet tool, I created the volcanic eruption. I basically made it erupt more but then sink back down.
Below is the animated still :
Figure 4.4 Animated Still
Description :
This is how I view our future world. There was no turning back at pollution and lands have sunk. Humanity was forced to live on the sea and rebuild their home. It was tough at the beginning as there were nonstop natural disaster and climate change because the Earth was deeply impacted by the ignorance of humans. However, humans manage to survive and adapt to the changes. This is an image of how humans are coexisting with mother nature. It can be a dystopia because this was created after the downfall of humanity, but I see it as a utopia as it's the second chance given to humanity to live peacefully without really interrupting the nature around us.
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