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(The hero of this movie is not actually the protagonist, it's the elderly servant. He's the one who defeats the evil guys. I thought I'd start with him for that reason.)
(The hero of this movie is not actually the protagonist, it's the elderly servant. He's the one who defeats the evil guys. I thought I'd start with him for that reason.)
Frankenstein Cover
Dec. 6th, 2011 01:27 am
(This is not quite as polished as I would have liked, but there were time constraints. I believe my main thought when making this was 'make it look...German.' ;D)
PS: Happy Sankt Nikolaus Tag!
This looks so cliché
Dec. 5th, 2011 10:40 am
(This is basically a photomontage of the big panning shot in the first scene of Frankenstein; essentially what the set would have looked like if there had been an establishing shot. Probs it was a good call not to have one.)More things
Dec. 4th, 2011 10:34 am
(The village of Frankenstein)
(Goldstadt University)I really, really could use a vacation right about now; I'm so tuckered out that even my body is staging a general strike is protest. I did somehow manage to do some nice things on friday though, like see the Southbank christmas market. Through an incredible twist of fate (or rather friends of ours being sent twice as many tickets as they ordered) I got to go see Hamlet at the Young Vic with Michael Sheen! It was very, very good. They set it in an insane asylum and had really good staging to that effect. When you thought you were entering the theater, you actually first had to walk down a series of twisting, institutional corridors with inmates occasionally passing you by. Next you had to pass through the sort of screening/security room and through the metal gates before you finally entered from behind the stage. I'm kind of a geek about this stuff, so that was already more than enough to make me happy for the evening, but the rest was also really excellent. They managed to keep it all very fresh-sounding and light (where appropriate).
Today is my last day of filming, tomorrow I am officially taking the day off!
There was a two-for-one Lebkuchen sale yesterday. Oh lordy. So much Lebkuchen. I planned on saving it until, like, closer to Christmas or at least December, but that is so not happening.
(Pencil, ink and pastel.)
(Ink sketch of the same. I feel like ink sort of tends to read better once it's scanned.)
Chapter Two: James Whale's Frankenstein
Nov. 28th, 2011 09:48 pm
(Starting with some more places: various views of the famous tower laboratory.)
Caligari Title Page
Nov. 28th, 2011 01:30 am
(Title page inspired by the film's visual imagery--irl it's printed on grey sugar paper which gives it a very nicely softened feel.)
I've started a kind of internship thingy for one of the moving image tutors who's working on a music video; I'm on the animating team. I am tired, but satisfied because despite being quite busy I still somehow managed to have two thanksgiving dinners ;D
Some of the last Caligari illustrations
Nov. 28th, 2011 12:41 am
(Crossroads figure heavily in the film--they denote possibility, but also also have occult connections. For instance, certain monsters must be buried at crossroads so that, should they rise again, they will be unable to find their way.)
(Cesare as a shadow.)
(The asylum)
(The town)
(Caligari: Light and shadow is painted on the walls. All possible angles of light exist simultaneously.)
Starting us off with some Das Kabinett Des Dr. Caligari (1920).
It's almost that special time...
Nov. 19th, 2011 09:58 pmVis-à-vis my BA dissertation, an end is in finally in sight! I was at the printers today which must always be a terrifying experience, but it went ok and now most of my worries are over.
I have decided to take the evening off in celebration. I've accumulated quite a few film still illustrations that I'll be posting by and by.
I'm sort of devastated that this will be the first year in my life that I'm gonna be missing thanksgiving with my family (due to work). I will be having a mini celebration with my lovely flatmates though and I feel that I need to be the best ambassador to my country that I can be and cook up a storm! ;D
(The inversion of the holy mountain to God, the labyrinth in malo, the descending spiral into the unconsciousness and the idea of a demonic parody of the world.)
I have decided to take the evening off in celebration. I've accumulated quite a few film still illustrations that I'll be posting by and by.
I'm sort of devastated that this will be the first year in my life that I'm gonna be missing thanksgiving with my family (due to work). I will be having a mini celebration with my lovely flatmates though and I feel that I need to be the best ambassador to my country that I can be and cook up a storm! ;D
(The inversion of the holy mountain to God, the labyrinth in malo, the descending spiral into the unconsciousness and the idea of a demonic parody of the world.)
Don Giovanni a cenar teco
Jul. 11th, 2011 12:44 pm
( Ecce! )
Don Giovanni (the Mozart opera) Reinterpretation
It has taken me a lot longer than it should have to finally post these. I actually have quite a few issues with them, mostly that they seem kind of derivative and I don't feel like I did anything terribly original or exciting with the brief. I got heavily sidetracked from my original idea and the oil painting was just too time-consuming for me to finish them well. I'm posting only 5 out of 7: the final two panels are not really in any state to be shown, and I don't know when or if I will finish them.
The last bits of the story are about the Don Giovanni character getting vanquished by the spirit of revenge and facing a lifetime of exile.
Woah, that was pretty negative. I'm just bummed out about this project and couldn't reel it in I guess. Bad form!
...
Ok, it turns out I wasn't quite done whining, because I also built this wooden fold-out paneling for the paintings that I had to painstakingly cut, stain, varnish and attach hinges to that completely fell apart when I had to take it in to be assessed. Fml.
Monster Movies
Jun. 5th, 2011 01:19 pm
For my degree I need to write a "dissertation" (or rather a glorified term paper with a visual element) on, well, basically the subject of my choosing. Naturally, the subject of my choosing is supernatural horror movies from the teens to the thirties! I am filled with geeky glee. I've always found this kind of writing extremely satisfying in a way and it's something that's hardly ever required on my course. Were I studying in America... but let's not open that can of worms.
I'm still kind of in the research phase, but I stumbled across a really marvelous essay by Marie-Helene Huet called "Monstrous Imagination" that talks about the origin or birth of the monster. Apparently, for a long time the female imagination was seen as the cause: instead of producing offspring in the image of the father, the children would reflect the secret desires and thoughts of the mother during her pregnancy. The physical form of the child could also be influenced by works of art that the mother looked at or desired during pregnancy. During the Romantic period the view kind of switched around to the male artist being the sole parent of the monster (i.e. Frankenstein).
Night Swim
Jun. 1st, 2011 01:08 am
Not gonna lie, this one is actually from a year or two ago. But I thought to myself, hey, it's summer, this seems kinda appropriate. It's a poem illustration actually.
This has been like the month that wouldn't end in terms of work. Maybe now I can have a life again?
Proper post later. Now sleep.
Practice Practice
May. 7th, 2011 01:16 amFor this one I tried out drawing from a photo reference to see if I could get a more realistic style on photoshop (and just to generally improve really). I'm actually quite happy with the result, I feel like ps and I finally have reached an understanding!
( Based on a photograph I took in Rome of these two lovely ladies... )
( Based on a photograph I took in Rome of these two lovely ladies... )
My snobbish side
May. 4th, 2011 11:08 am
A few years ago I decided to give the old coat of arms a little sprucing up as a present for my dad (the things surrounding the coat of arms are new additions. Not being an expert in heraldry, I expect there are a lot of mistakes I don't know about.). As far as these things go, it's a pretty straight forward one: beehive for Utah, triskelion for the Isle of Man, cannon for-- well, Cannon. I wish we had one of those cool Latin family motto things, it would just about make my life!
