Little White Lies Illustration Brief - Black Swan
SECOND YEAR PROJECT
SECOND YEAR PROJECT
BRIEF:
Create a cover illustration for Little White Lies Magazine, depicting the protagonist of your chosen film [from the list of those reviewed in the specified 2012 issue] in a way that creatively summarizes its tone/content in an interesting way.
CONCEPT & SOLUTION:
I created a portrait of the protagonist (Natalie Portman) using black cotton.
Each strand was glued at one side and meticulously bent into a contrived shape in order to form the profile, symbolising Nina's desire to be perfect whilst suggesting strain and pressure/regulations.
Each opposing end of the strand was left free and unglued to emphasize freedom and a release from such pressures. This also formed a metaphor for Nina's breakdown as she "unravels" and descends into madness.
By mirroring the image, this communicates Nina's battle and desire to escape herself (her traits prevent her from success and, therefore, happiness), and an illusion of tension and speed/desperation is creating by the meeting ends of string which appear to be pulling away from one another.
The reflected imagery and parallelism also relates to ballet - its routeines and structures etc.
This captures both Nina's ambition and determination to achieve, whilst contrastingly suggesting weakness and a plea for help.
Where the tangled ends meet in the middle resembles a head scan, referring to Nina's mental state and breakdown.
The off-white and black colour scheme continues to play on the contrasting themes and reflects the haunting nature of the film, yet the medium used retains a sense of delicate fragility. String ends curve to encapsulate the type, for which I chose a serif to give a sense of tradition and formality. This echoes the stuffy, entrapment Nina faces in the film whilst also nodding to the femininity and intimacy issues it addresses.
FINAL DESIGN:
ALTERNATIVE DESIGNS:
1) Created using feathers which I hand-dyed in order to build the shadows of the face - the character's desperation to play the lead in Swan Lake ultimately leads to her demise. Feathers also signify Nina's fragility and innocence.
2) Similar to the Final Design, however here the heads face one another to represent Nina's battle with herself. The negative space created by the imagery resembles a swan - the ballet role that Nina strives for.
3) I illustrated Nina's face within the bounderies of a dancer's silhouette to symbolise how the character is trapped within her desire to play the part of the Swan Princess. Typography is imperfectly hand-rendered in ink to give a feel of distress and desperation.
