INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this assignment is to compose a visual narrative via sequential frames while utilizing abstraction (by way of geometric shapes) to create form, a story and meaning
MATERIALS
Pencil Crayon
Heavyweight Vellum Paper
Hot Press Illustration Board
CREATIVE PROCESS
To help create a story/narrative I had to conceptualize 5 preliminary ideas. Out of these, I picked one final idea from which to get my story going.
I thought that a good narrative would come out of my experience living in Andalucía. I lived in a city called Córdoba, and I saw a temple, a Catholic Cathedral, that was originally a mosque built in the year 784. The fusion of Catholic and Islamic traditions is very evident in this mosque/cathedral, in the city, and in the whole of Andalucía. I thought that this merging of two polarized cultures/religions that resulted in beautiful architecture and culture would be a good inspiration for the visual narrative composition.
Instead of drawing 3 sequential frames in a series (side by side), I decided I would do 2 smaller frames inside the main frame. Each smaller frame contains one of the polarizing religion/culture (an iconic symbol of the religion), and the main frame being the end result of the fusion of the 2 smaller frames (the city of Córdoba). This gives me the freedom to execute the image on the main frame on a larger scale.
PRODUCTION METHODS
A series of thumbnails showcasing the 5 different conceptual preliminary ideas were created
After picking the concept with the city of Córdoba, I developed a rough sketch of the design as how it would appear on the final work.
As I was preparing to do the final piece, I made sure to render the images less natural or representational by using more geometric shapes (and less of organic shapes) in a process called abstraction. By using natural or organic objects as a base and inspiration, I drew the final work by skewing away from representational processes and keeping close to abstract images by focusing on similar geometric shapes.
FINAL WORK
CONCLUSION
This was a very interesting and challenging exercise for me, mostly because I have yet to develop storytelling and narrative skills. In addition, abstraction is not my strongest skill and therefore this project has really taught me how to push myself to create meaning and form outside of representational and natural art. This is perhaps my biggest challenge in creating art: to think abstractly instead of representationally. I know that with practice I would be able to stretch my mind to do it, but it will take time, and I hope I get to acquire it. On the other hand, I believe that the strength of my final work lies in the careful application of colour theory as well as my idea to create 2 sequential frames inside the main end-frame.
