2D Design Project: Motion
August 2, 2016
2D Design is probably one of my most favorite course I’ve taken so far. I love the process of being given an assignment and I’m free to do anything creatively within the set rules of the project.
The
second to the last project of the semester, my class was given the
assignment “Motion” where we were asked to make a 2D Design that evokes
movement. This was quite challenging for me because I haven’t taken a
Drawing course yet and I have no drawing skills what-so-ever. Seeing the
works of previous students helps and makes it hard at the same time.
Sometimes seeing beautiful works is kinda frustrating.I thought to
myself the only thing I can do to overcome my lack of drawing skill is to keep everything simple and get idea from the things I love.
At
first, I was thinking I to do a storyboard ala-Wes Anderson, but I
don’t have drawing skill and I guessed half of the class will do a
storyboard for this project. I kept sketching. While sketching, I saw
the pictures from my Photography 1 class in my notebook, with the
pictures, there are my contact sheets. That’s it! I will make a sequence
of photos in contact sheets ala-Muybridge! But, wait! I cannot draw! If
I will make and draw each movement in each frame, it better be simple
and easy to reproduce. So I searched my Pinterest account, I came across
Elliot Erwitt’s umbrella jump photo which is a photo of three figures
silhouetted in front of Eiffel tower. That’s it! I will draw a
silhouette so I don’t have to draw the details. I also thought jumping
is a perfect movement I can use to produce motion frames like Muybridge.
I remember back in 2013, I watched Bill Cunningham New York and in the
movie it showed the photo Bill took of Carmen Dell’orefice jumping over a
puddle. So I searched the photo and saw a comparison of that photo with
a photo of Carmen taken by Richard Avedon in the same motion. The
title was “Homage to Munkacsi”, as it turns out Munkacsi was the first
to ever do it (on record). With all these ideas, the problem is how can I
transfer them to the board and make a sequence?
My solution: cut
and and trace. I decided to keep the Parisian background just to add
some “Eiffel prettiness” in the photo (Maybe it also speaks of my dream
to visit Paris someday). As for the main figure, I decided I will go
with Avedon’s version, and just trace it on top on a perspective
corrected Paris photo of Elliot Erwitt. I started in the 4th of the 6
frames where the figure is already leaping. For the other frames, I
traced the same figure changing the position of feet and clothes for each frame.
I
was quite satisfied with the outcome—it was something simple, and
conceptually, something I love. I wish I move the first frame a little
forward though.