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SI #11
When we find ourselves, we find the capacity to finally appreciate the different people we used to be. The aquarium makes a comeback, but not to induce grim feelings of being trapped, but instead to induce nostalgia. The different selves swim around, shaded softly to create a dreamy atmosphere with the colors blending together. It is also to steer focus towards the figure in the middle of the piece - me. I’m rendered much more sharply and meticulously than the other selves swimming around in order to demonstrate that I finally know who I am. I slightly smile at the different selves swimming around, being able to indulge in the nostalgia of being each of these selves at one point in my life.
Experimentation
Notes 9/14/23
How this piece works in my SI:
This is actually really bittersweet to write as I remember myself beginning of this year struggling to find a theme I could create 12 projects for, but here I am at the end of this journey. This SI actually really spoke to me this year because I created projects based on how I felt at the time, and I constantly felt that I was struggling to be someone. In order to commemorate this journey, I've decided to create this last SI to reflect on my 2nd SI - which used to be my least favorite project and the one I struggled and cried on the most. In order to complete that person looking lost at all the different versions of myself, I've decided to make this one actually me with my new hair (much different from beginning of this year) looking at all the different versions of myself with a smile. This is to acknowledge how far I've come, but I'll make myself the focal point to emphasize the change and progress. This works in my SI as a conclusion as what happens as you lose your identity - you'll find yourself from your experiences and losses. You find something in loss.
How I am pushing my technical skills:
I wanted to go back to alcohol markers, and something I want to push is the creation of soft dreamy images with alcohol markers. I want to somehow make the different versions of me swimming blurry and dreamy in a sense. This dreamy aspect is to represent the nostalgia we feel when looking at past memories. I often feel this way instead of contempt or regret at who I used to be once I'm stable in who I am. I think I would use a lot of transition shades to emphasize this soft look as well as colorless blenders. I want to be more skillful with colorless blenders
Essential AP Skills:
I want to try POV and lighting again in this piece, like I did for SI#2 in order to show the progress I've made throughout this entire year. I will be using POV to emphasize my final self, one that's confident in my identity in order to make it stand out amongst the different versions of me swimming. This will adjust viewer attention to the actual person that's in front of them instead of the versions of me in the last piece. For lighting, it was one of my biggest challenges in SI #2, so I want to work on that again by employing the same blue purplish lighting as well as struggling with the overhead lighting. Alcohol markers would help push that lighting through transition shades and a very clear line mark making.