The photographs I took that I had found interesting, at the end I decided to go with the mattresses photo since it had the most uniqueness to it and story that could have went with it. Between how the crude the writing and drawings are and the typically associated material of the mattress it produces a unique contrast, and with the use of a material such as a mattress also makes it more unique.
Observational drawing and turning it into something new, something bizarre and inhuman with a partner as a duo.
As a group we made a short storyboard from one of the photographs we chose from the group. We decided to go with the buildings and how there could be something ominous going on inside, the possibility of what and how anyone might see something different.
Notes I took in class, which is a list of artists and creators I could look into for this project.
Working with Light in photographs workshop, I in a group did multiple takes playing with lights we brought in and those that were provided. I myself brought in multiple fairy lights, and two small lamp lanterns. All of the colours came together beautifully and gave me many inspirations to work from.
I completed some character sketches inspired by the photographs we have taken. Unfortunately I did not have a tablet to draw on to properly be able to work with the colours and shapes right on top of the photographs, however instead I used my sketchbook to make multiple drawings inspired by multiple of the photographs and in process making a magical world all connected together in style and dynamic.
I have completed some more valuable research and now plan to get a book, Master and Margarita since I got recommended it by a teacher and believe it might prove to be fruitful in my research.
We completed some group tasks which were create a horror story including a string, create a soundtrack using found sound, and create 5 tarot cards inspired by insects. All to be done in under 20 minutes it was definitely stressful however also nice to let go and not think too hard about it all. Additionally we also made a parasite design inspired by an item, in the end we came up with a tic/wasp hybrid that attached itself to a person’s back and drains them. Another task we did was to create a character using objects in front of us, to which we used keychains to create a hybrid monster almost like a chimera.
My story for the puppet so far, is a story of a woman set in mid to late 1900s Russia, and a mysterious male from millennia ago. He is not a human but is merely posing to hide his true identity as an immortal powerful wizard. Once he meets the woman he tries to get her to love him, but ultimately she does not. He is greatly insulted and uses magic to turn into a mystical animal and kidnap the girl to fall under his bidding. This is not a finalised story and has a lot to develop however it is substantial as a base idea.
I visited the British museum with my class to take some inspiration for our puppets and overall story. I explored different regions such as ancient Egypt, romans and medieval England. Egypt and the romans especially had a lot of hybrids between humans and animals to take inspiration from for both my character and puppet I will be making such as what exactly it will be. I especially liked the little figurines and masks that could work well as concepts for me to start designing.
Photographs from the past of when I visited an old remnants of a medieval style Latvian traditional village. It is helpful as it will help me cement the world in which my story will be taking place and give me inspiration. As well as the slightly comedic picture can also contribute since master and margarita is a big inspiration for me, and it is also slightly comedic with how grim and weird it is.
I have completed some basic rough designs for the character I will be making the puppet from, and the designs for the puppet itself, both a standard puppet option and a wearable body puppet option to tinker around with ideas for next class in which we will actually be making the puppets. I believe I have acquired some great ideas and hope I can experiment and work around making one of them a reality, possibly even combining them.
I have decided on the final design to work from, now drawing a full body to scale of both the front and back, as well as the side.
I got feedback to draw them more simply, so that the skeleton is clear and it is more easier for me to cut the wire to size for the puppet making. I had to make the main bodice for the front and behind torsos and then put them together.
After the main bodice was built and assembled together through zip ties, I took foil to cover the parts that connect together and afterwards used clay to secure the structure around the torso and feet. I now plan to start collecting all the materials and build the body of the puppet up more from here. It is not perfect as I accidentally made one side of the body shorter and lower down than intended, however I plan to work around it and see if it can be fixed further on when I build upon the base.
I have made a list of the preferred materials so far and will start steadily collecting them all and building upon the puppet with what I get.
I have completed a lot of valuable research when it comes to this project which ranges from books and old folktales down to artists, with each of them inspiring me in some way. Even if not all that was mention is used in the end, it was still a massive helping hand in my journey to reach the end product in the first place. While researching never truly stops, I now wish to focus on finishing up the final product like the puppet and all of the written work.
I have developed my puppet further and begun working on the padlet on which all of my processes thus far will be put. I did struggle when it came to working on the puppet, primarily the head and hands, however ended up improvising it, and will begin to look at working on the clothes and base of the firebird now. I am not used to making, especially puppets so this entire project is a struggle, however also a learning experience.
I have developed the puppet further, by building up on the fire bird and installing the led I brought so that it lights up. I struggled with figuring out how to stick the fabric strips onto the bodice, with initially the superglue not working, so instead I have used double sided tape which made the process way easier to complete. I painted the feathers as well so that they do not stand out too much. I also worked on the body of the evil sorcerer by sewing together the clothes to work with. There is a long way to go until the puppet is able to be called finished, with me needing to add patterns onto the clothes, to do the tail of the fire bird, build up on the body of the fire bird and fix up body parts of the sorcerer half of the puppet.
I have come to a place of where I can call my puppet significantly complete and ready for the showcase happening tomorrow. After the showcase I hope to receive a significant amount of feedback to better my puppet even further, or at least receive advice on how I could make the digital scan, since when I attempted to do it previously it didn’t work.
I used KIRI engine to make a 3d scan of my puppet, since scaniverse did not work for me so I experimented with many different apps until this one decided to cooperate. In the end this project had been a success and I believe it shows the theme of transformation and Magic well. I did struggle with creating the puppet, however the process itself taught me a lot especially when dealing with little LEDS and how they would work in a dual sided puppet. I earned a lot from this project and hope to be able to use what I learned in the future.
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