Title - I Needed You Most
Size - 14.51 cm x 10.88 cm Medium - Digital Completion - August 2022 Exhibition TextI Needed You Most is about a woman who kills her uncle. The piece is inspired by Rene Magritte's The False Mirror, surrealism, and Q Hayashida's style, using only shades of gray, white, black, and red for the colors. The main intention of the work is to portray anger, yet a certain grief at severing a bond with a family member who was supposed to love you yet has left only hurt. The eye in the background shows shattered bits of memories, a window to the events that have occurred to this character.
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Inspiration
Rene Magritte
Magritte is a surrealist artist, known for his dreamlike art. Many of his works include men with bowler-hats and the juxtaposition of objects, throwing off the viewer. The False Mirror includes a close up of an eye, the iris replaced by a sky with white clouds. There's a contrast to the warm tones of the eye and skin compared to the cool blue of the sky. The sky in the iris isn't rounded to reflect the spherical shape of the eye, but rather, is flat. This creates an interesting juxtaposition as the iris feels more like an image or window. The title and the use of false mirror makes sense because the eye isn't really reflecting an image, but feels more like a window to someplace else. This image was something that inspired me for the idea of my piece, to have images replace the iris and give the viewer a window to another sort of world. |
The False Mirror
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Q Hayashida
As a manga author, Q Hayashida is most known for her work Dorohedoro. Her style is gritty, and many of her Dorohedoro artworks in the book Mud and Sludge are done in black and white. The first image was my main inspiration, with the use of a bright red background contrasting against the duller hues of the power lines, stairs, and figure standing in the middle. I wanted to have that contrast with black, white, and gray against red since it would be effective for anger and stand out more. I also want to emulate some of her hatching and art style, as seen in the second image. |
Planning
For the first sketchpage, I decided on a main color palette of black, white, red, and shades of gray to follow Hayashida's work. The story I was thinking of was a person who kills her uncle, and that the main emotions would be anger & a sort of grief at someone who you loved hurting you. I wanted to include some surreal imagery like shattered glass, and to sort of try and evoke that dreamlike feeling. The shattered eye could have included images to replicate my inspiration, and would be when the character killed his uncle, or just the past in general. When I drew it, the imagery reminded me of the phrase with the eyes being the window to the soul. On the bottom third of the page, I drew a shattered left side of the character's face, and a melty hand to try and see if that would work. The shattering of the face represents a fractured self or identity, and I liked the shorter hair I drew on her because it worked better and since in the present he has longer hair, I wanted to explore a past version. The melty hand I found helped with conveying more of that surreal feeling.
The second sketchpage was outlining and experimenting with poses. I sort of wanted to have the character's arm out, sort of shielding herself in a way. As I drew the first pose in the center of the page, it gave a dramatic look and was more dynamic then the second pose I did in the bottom left corner. But the second pose felt more right to me, and I realized that the first one wouldn't look right with the background and was too dramatic. I was thinking that tilting the pose would make it more interesting. I thought about instead putting the shattered eye into the background, instead of on the character, to allow for more detail. I drew some ideas in the eye to figure out what I wanted to show. I had an image of the uncle's body, a hand holding the knife, the uncle holding the girl's hand as a child, and the character tearing up. The third sketch was seeing if the tilted angle was better, and I wondered if having an angrier expression would be more effective at communicating my chosen emotion.
The second sketchpage was outlining and experimenting with poses. I sort of wanted to have the character's arm out, sort of shielding herself in a way. As I drew the first pose in the center of the page, it gave a dramatic look and was more dynamic then the second pose I did in the bottom left corner. But the second pose felt more right to me, and I realized that the first one wouldn't look right with the background and was too dramatic. I was thinking that tilting the pose would make it more interesting. I thought about instead putting the shattered eye into the background, instead of on the character, to allow for more detail. I drew some ideas in the eye to figure out what I wanted to show. I had an image of the uncle's body, a hand holding the knife, the uncle holding the girl's hand as a child, and the character tearing up. The third sketch was seeing if the tilted angle was better, and I wondered if having an angrier expression would be more effective at communicating my chosen emotion.
Process & Experimentation
I started off with sketching the base of the body, and then tilting it afterwards. After that, I started drawing in the face and outlining the shards of glass before adding in the hair. My initial sketch was messy, so I made a second sketch and cleaned up the lines, erasing parts of the head and fixing the hair. To check my proportions and everything, I flipped the canvas and used the free transform tool to fix the right shoulder. After checking that the body was fine, I started sketching in the clothes, I originally had her wear a shirt and jacket in my planning sketch, but I switched it to a hoodie. I drew in some of the clothing folds and then started on the eye in the background. As I was drawing the eye, I thought of also adding in a raven and other things because I realized the background felt empty. I referenced my planning sketches and drew in the iris the images I thought about. After that, I referenced a picture of ravens to see how to draw them. I started with a circle for the head, then the beak, and then the rest of the body came after.
I decided to make the background more interesting, and added cracks to it. Then the images in the background came next, adding a smile, an eye with the iris melting, and a wilting flower. Since everything in the final sketch was completed, I started a new layer, lowered the opacity for the sketch, and did the lineart. With the lineart, I started with the head and then the rest of the body, before outlining the background. Once finishing the lineart, I filled in the base colors, changing the gray of the background to a vibrant red hue to match my inspiration. The jacket and pants, along with the raven, were filled in with black, and I colored the lineart white for those parts, adding a few more details like hatching. The skin, skirt, eye, hair, iris, and flower were filled in with varying shades of gray. Adding the white sclera to the large eye helped with balancing the negative and positive space. I kept the hand red because I found that I liked the contrast against the gray tones of the body, and initially I thought I would keep the shattered part of the face red, but changed it to gray to balance things more. The last thing I did was add a black gradient to the bottom of the piece to see if it was better, and it looked nice, so I kept it.
Experimentation
When I first made my sketch, I first had drawn an angrier expression. From my planning sketches, I wanted to try and convey that anger more clearly, but I ended up altering it a bit in the end because it didn't feel right to me. I made his eye wider, and I thought it was better looking in the end. She still has an angry expression, but it feels more natural to me. For the second picture, the raven was largely a spontaneous decision because I was thinking of some of the character motifs that I associated with her when she was first made. A large part of his past does have to do with death in some form, so it made sense to me and I added it. The raven I drew helped me to ponder about what other symbols could be symbolic of something, and drawing them helped solve a problem of too much negative space. |
The raven here was another pose I was thinking of when drawing it. My idea for this was that it could be dead, with its head pointing upwards and its wings spread out for a dramatic effect. It was difficult to try and get the pose down right though, and I wasn't sure on how I would add it without it cutting into my character. Since his hoodie would also be black, it would look somewhat awkward, and there would be too much black on the top left part. So I ended up not doing that idea.
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Critique
Similarities
The similarities between the pieces and my work is that I use the same general palette for Hayashida's work - black, white, grays, and red. I also use a hatching style as she does. Our figure is centered in the middle, wearing black clothing that is outlined with white lines. The objects in the background are contrasted with the use of black and white. With Magritte's The False Mirror, we both include a close-up of an eye, with the iris replaced by an image. There's the juxtaposition of objects, leading the viewer to question the meaning of them. Both works have a surreal, dreamlike quality to them.
Differences
The differences between my piece and the two inspirations is the medium. I chose a digital medium, while Hayashida and Magritte used a more physical medium. Magritte's work is rendered, and my work is done with hatch shading. The eye in mine also doesn't include any real landscape, but rather pieces of the past to convey my character's story. Hayashida's background in her work is more detailed and is a physical place, while mine is more abstract and less detailed. Her piece is also rendered, rather than using just screentones.
The similarities between the pieces and my work is that I use the same general palette for Hayashida's work - black, white, grays, and red. I also use a hatching style as she does. Our figure is centered in the middle, wearing black clothing that is outlined with white lines. The objects in the background are contrasted with the use of black and white. With Magritte's The False Mirror, we both include a close-up of an eye, with the iris replaced by an image. There's the juxtaposition of objects, leading the viewer to question the meaning of them. Both works have a surreal, dreamlike quality to them.
Differences
The differences between my piece and the two inspirations is the medium. I chose a digital medium, while Hayashida and Magritte used a more physical medium. Magritte's work is rendered, and my work is done with hatch shading. The eye in mine also doesn't include any real landscape, but rather pieces of the past to convey my character's story. Hayashida's background in her work is more detailed and is a physical place, while mine is more abstract and less detailed. Her piece is also rendered, rather than using just screentones.
Reflection
I liked doing this project a lot, since it involved a character of mine, and it was fun to try and explore more of his past and be able to explore how to do so. I'm not used to doing hatching, so it was interesting to figure out and utilize in my work. My favorite part was being able to do the lineart, and to color in everything. My least favorite part was trying to make sure the lines were visible and making sure that there were no transparent pixels anywhere. I think my inspiration does tie in with my piece, with the surreal elements and the style emulating Hayashida's work. Though I wasn't exactly able to replicate that grittiness with her style, it was a good practice with a different artstyle and gain more experience with hatch shading. I hope that I was able to convey anger through the use of color, and with the fragments of memories in the iris.
ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
Q Hayashida's hatching and use of colors inspired the style and colors of my piece. Magritte's The False Mirror includes an eye with the iris replaced, which I included in the background. I also was inspired by surrealism's way of making the art dreamlike, so I placed symbols and images in the background to reflect that, along with the shattering of the left face and the melting of the hand.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Magritte wanted the viewer to be thrown off by the juxtaposition of objects, and to sort of question the meaning behind what they saw.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered how surrealist artists tried to make the viewer uncomfortable, or question the ideas in their pieces. The gritty style behind Q Hayashida's work makes it effective in the mood it wants to sell.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme is anger, but also looking into the past through a "window" of sorts.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The symbolism behind the juxtaposition of objects can give the viewer a sense of the meaning the artist wants to convey.
Q Hayashida's hatching and use of colors inspired the style and colors of my piece. Magritte's The False Mirror includes an eye with the iris replaced, which I included in the background. I also was inspired by surrealism's way of making the art dreamlike, so I placed symbols and images in the background to reflect that, along with the shattering of the left face and the melting of the hand.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Magritte wanted the viewer to be thrown off by the juxtaposition of objects, and to sort of question the meaning behind what they saw.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered how surrealist artists tried to make the viewer uncomfortable, or question the ideas in their pieces. The gritty style behind Q Hayashida's work makes it effective in the mood it wants to sell.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central theme is anger, but also looking into the past through a "window" of sorts.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
The symbolism behind the juxtaposition of objects can give the viewer a sense of the meaning the artist wants to convey.
Citations
Hayashida, Q. Dorohedoro Artworks Mud and Sludge. Shogakukan, 2020.
Powers, Sophia. “René Magritte Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, 1 Aug. 2012, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/magritte-rene/.
“Surrealism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, 21 Dec. 2011, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/surrealism/.
“The False Mirror, 1928 by Rene Magritte.” Rene Magritte, www.renemagritte.org/the-false-mirror.jsp. Accessed 16 Aug. 2022.
Powers, Sophia. “René Magritte Paintings, Bio, Ideas.” The Art Story, 1 Aug. 2012, https://www.theartstory.org/artist/magritte-rene/.
“Surrealism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, 21 Dec. 2011, https://www.theartstory.org/movement/surrealism/.
“The False Mirror, 1928 by Rene Magritte.” Rene Magritte, www.renemagritte.org/the-false-mirror.jsp. Accessed 16 Aug. 2022.