Layering

♔What have I learned about Layering♔

I have learned that layering is overlapping multiple artforms and images over each other making it once before pieces into something new and meaningful. I also learned that layering can come in multiple different colors with many meanings behind it while having no meaning at all. The viewers do not have to understand the process at all just the idea behind the artwork.

Hybridity

What have I learned about Hybridity?

We learned about Postmodern Principles in class, it is when combining two or more principles of art together to make an artwork or film. Although there are multiple parts to hybridity such as juxtaposition (Putting two or more different things in the same context to show similarities or emphasize difference), and recontextualization (Recombining found imagery to create new meaning) the general idea is two art forms make something new. Even though now combining art forms might not be a huge deal back in the 1980s it was!

How do contemporary artists use the concept of hybridity in their artwork?

Ross Ashton was born in 1961 and is best known for his stain glass look on sides buildings making the already existing building have art pieces that were never seen before. He has spent years studying and working with multiple visual media and all of this experience has helped him understand the relationship of artwork and structure, light and surface, and object and subject. His looks made it trending world wide and has had the opportunities to allow to use his skills on to multiple well known places and events such as the World Cup. Ross uses his knowledge of preexisting structure and well known artwork to make new artwork that seems familiar, but not at the same time. He would also use the building structure itself to compliment the art to make the building much more than just a project to make it more of an art work and seem more life like for the building.

How might you be able to use hybridity in your own art?

It is hard to say what it might be able to use hybridity for my project. I might be able to use the concept of 3D and 2D art at the same time. Making 3D art a lot more cartoony and seem more like a digital drawing rather than something you can tell that is 3 Dimensional. This is still a currently a work in progress idea. But the idea is make something that looks very animated and something you would see as 2D in 3D.

What I found that might be useful/inspiring for me?

What inspired me from Ross Ashton's art was that his art was super captivating, even in this day and age where projecting screens seems to be an easy thing he still made it look super clean and eye catching. I felt as if I couldn't look away from the art he was making and found it how the light and surface compliments each other in a certain way. His art can also be used to tell stories and events of what he was commissioned for which is what the concept/theme I am exploring for this year.

Concept theme

After exploring the Themes in Art for a week I thought about what I wanted to do, I came to a conclusion of “Visual Delight and The Arts of Daily Life”, but I couldn't think of anything that I really wanted to do that would complete this theme while doing what I wanted. Then after going through everything once again I finally settled on “Stories and History”, because I was going to model a character and relate her to the theme of stories and history, but mostly the stories and folklore part.

I want to mostly focus on Eastern Folktale or stories I’ve been exposed to since I was younger. Although Western stories have their own charm to it. I feel like I can have a personal connection to stories I’ve grown up with and the holidays I celebrate with. For my first project I wanted to base her off of a story that is famous in Chinese folktale, “Chang E” (嫦娥”). This story is usually told around Autumn for the Chinese Autumn festival where families would tell stories and eat mooncakes with their children. I’ve always been interested in Asian stories such as White Snake, Hachishakusama, and Momotaro they’re all stories that I would love to hear talked about more here and made into movies and other content for people to consume.

I currently have a Dell laptop and it isn’t the best for running blender or any face-tracking program. So I would love to take the opportunity during class to make something relevant and I can use beyond just the course. I have wanted to 3D model a character since middle school. I love the idea of being a totally different character in front of an audience, but going on stage seems too scary for me. Once I found out about the entire community of 3D modeling and character creating I wanted to do one. Designing characters and incorporating little things such as clothes or accessories to their outfits are very necessary to their personality and appearance. I’ve been on Twitter, YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, and more watching people make their characters and requesting artists for thousands of dollars to draw or model their characters. I was thinking I do not have thousands of dollars lying around, but I do have the ability to learn skills and I already know how to 3D model meshes and everything that is related to making a character in Blender so why not test it out? For my character, she will be wearing clothes from the Ming Dynasty in China since that was when the story originated from, but the twist is that her clothes have designs of the sky and bunnies to symbolize the other parts of the stories and multiple stories that co-exist around hers. Her hair will be more modern, but her color scheme will be very earth green to contrast her more celestial side for being a goddess. Maybe, if I have time I might make her another outfit, but I’m expecting this project to go at least for half of the year. I have so many more ideas when it comes to her backstory, relations to the Jade rabbit (which is another Chinese folklore), small details such as accessories, and textures for her eyes and body! I’m looking forward to seeing my idea come to life with this project this year and I hope I can make her a good one.