I’ve been to nearly 14 countries and a lot of cities that I would rather not count at the moment. Since I was young I have been travelling, I mean my first time on an airplane was when I was two years old. So when I think of a cityscape or a landscape, I am immediately taken into the memories I have made on my visits to such cool and interesting places around the world.
For my cityscape piece, I created a photo montage, but only using one picture. This was primarily inspired by the photo collages created by David Hockney. This piece really incorporates the element of design, more so than anything I’ve created earlier this year. The concept for this piece, not only includes my love for visiting different cities, such as Dubai as captured in the picture, but also the emotions behind it. Whenever I visit a new city, that first glimpse is unforgettable. It’s that moment I stood on the pier and turned around and around, attempting to take in what was around me. It’s hard to believe that you are actually witnessing something so great. And that’s what it feels like when you look at this collage. There is so much going on in the first glance, that it is quite overwhelming. The arrangement of the pictures still creates an image, but it’s hard to see clearly. Because of this, movement and space are prominent throughout the piece, especially with the inclusion of the colored paper lines. The color scheme is also similar, so that makes it all united. With the cityscape in the background, the major building, and the greenery, the composition is strong. And since it is a collage, the multiplicity of certain objects make the composition more complex, than it already is. Although I have chosen to do the 2D design portfolio, I believe this is the first piece to truly capture what 2D design is.
As for the landscape piece, I immediately jumped to Japan. Though as much as I love Japan, I love video games. I was brought up playing a GameBoy Color and the Nintendo GameCube. Having an older brother made me play video games a lot throughout childhood. And seeing as I’ve always been interested in video game design, I wanted to create the picture of the Golden Palace I took in Kyoto, in that style. I was able to use different programs, such as those on an iPad for the first time, which was a very new experience to create art. I then used Adobe Illustrator for the outlines. My main focus was to use very bright colors, leaning towards neon. I thought by simplifying the landscape, as it would be in the early stages of a game, and adding bright colors the abstractness would develop more. And since this is a variation of digital art I have never tried before, I thought to give a dabble. The use of the outlines creates a lot of movement and color to the piece. The also creates a focal point at the building, but since there is so much greenery, your eye still moves around the piece, especially because of the foreground. The layers of the scenery add to the composition as well. Again, this piece fits quite well into 2D design, because this in its essence is inspired by video game design. 