Thumbnails 55-62

 Since I am still experimenting with my concept I did more thumbnails to help me visualize my street scene.   Taking the inspiration from a 3d Animation and Nicholas Spindler's painting I decided to try with either a swing or an opening door in the street. They both create long shadows and an eerie atmosphere. Oh...and one more thing! I thought  of depicting a swing in motion and a shadow of a little girl running away from it. Will the elevating swing look too odd?

Swing concept

Swing and door concept

"Indecisive Landscape" by Nicholas Spindler

Thumbnails 51-54

I used photoshop this time for clearer lines. All of them are inspired by De Chirico's work. I tried playing around with the shadows to see what's interesting to work on and came up with a few ideas.

When Boredom strikes-Character Designs

I really missed drawing my own random characters during this very busy first term. This is a collection of characters I drew in a few hours. The are all completely mine mostly inspired by the cartoons I used to watch when I was young. This is irrelevant to our current project but I thought I should post them in case they come in handy later.

Perspective exercises ( The De Chirico touch around me! )

Liston( Corfu)

 I've been trying to look at my own world using De Chirico's perspective. And there it was right in front of me! De Chrico's painting ' Mystery and Melancholy of a Street' was coming into life in my home town. The long buildings of Liston Street with the archways and windows is very similar his work and helped me work out his perspectives.

Liston (Corfu)

Me! :P

"Mystery and Melancholy of a Street"

Photoshop: Tiles

Here are a few tiles I've been working on using my own photographs. Hopefully I am doing this right..

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Giorgio De Chirico 3D Animation

This is an animation I came across on Youtube today. It's a journey into De Chirico's paintings and it emphasizes his particular style. A lot of sunset scenes that create long shadows are frequently used and his time awareness is obvious in the animation by the use of ticking clocks.

ERASERHEAD-review

FIG.1

Director: David Lynch
Producer: David Lynch
Cast: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Jeanne Bates
Year: 1977

David Lynch's Eraserhead is an American surrealist film set in the 1950’s in a depressed industrial town. The main character is a young man called Henry who has been trapped into marriage through an ‘unwanted pregnancy’. However this is not a run of the mill love story or tragedy. David Lynch brings all Henry's nightmares and fears to life in the most disgusting and disturbing way without bounds. As Cruz points out: 'Eraserhead is a film of disturbing beauty and harsh reality. These two things may seem to cancel out, but in the talented hands of director/writer David Lynch, the film takes us on a twisted carousel trip through the human psyche and the troubled conditions of the soul.' (Cruz.2005)

Courtship, marriage and fatherhood are depicted as mans’ worst fears, which is what the film emphasizes by using a variety of symbolisms. The film starts with a scene of an industrial wasteland, a grey city which looks very dusty and gloomy (FIG.2). The city is instantly regarded as a concrete jungle, a grim and depressing place which gives no hope of joy or light. It's barren and lifeless.

FIG.2

Although black and white the film brings out great detail. Henry is walking quickly along the street with extreme anxiety as if he's being chased by someone. He looks very insignificant against the overbearing buildings.  The audience quickly reads him as freak for a lot  of reasons including the Frankenstein style haircut , his emotionless  gaze into space and his slow, monologue speech. However, his body language can’t hide his anxiety and nervousness. The film quickly introduces the viewer to his recent affair through the ripped photograph of Mary. He is now forced to live up to his responsibilities and symbolically ‘put the pieces back together’.(FIG.3)

FIG.3

FIG.4

The moment when Henry first confronts the impending changes in his life is when he's invited to eat with his future in-laws.The whole situation was awkward. Mary’s parents’ conversation was hard to follow, with long pauses and spurts of weird, out of context stories. Henry remained silent and could not participate in any conversation. The father mentioned something about cutting off his numb hand and immediately asked Henry to ‘cut the chicken’- a sick connection  which was followed by the mother’s moaning. The leg movements of the chicken and the fluid flowing of the chicken could be an innuendo of the mother’s sexual appetite which was later revealed when she tried to seduce Henry. Mary was silent through the whole meal, only coming to life when her mother told Henry about their premature baby. Henry is now forced to get married and completely change his life. Even thought the situation left the viewer with loads of questions it obvious how Lynch was trying to depict the scene through Henry’s worried eyes.

The couple move into a cramped apartment with their whining baby(FIG.5).  The baby is more of an animal, with shiny, hairless skin with a long neck and a small body wrapped in bandages. Henry feels disgusted by the result of his love and perhaps a symbol of his failed marriage. Mary feels trapped by her alien-like off spring which refuses to eat and keeps her awake all night long.  Frustrated, she leaves Henry to cope with his child. Henry, being under pressure by the child’s presence, starts having hallucinations which uncover his desires and fears. The images are revaulting like worms, intestines and internal bodyparts. In most of these women were seen as a trap if he gave in to his temptation.

FIG.5

In conclusion, Eraserhead is a very interesting yet too offbeat, slow film to watch.'Lynch rarely discusses this film; indeed, he prefers to let it remain mysterious, wisely seeing that the primary enjoyment is in struggling to understand it.' (Snider.2008).It needs to be very intensively observed and requires a strong stomach. The lack of dialogue keeps the viewer waiting but leaves him to draw his own conclusion about the message David Lynch is trying to convey.'For Eraserhead is not simply a movie to view, but a true cinematic experience, like jumping into someone's nightmare and seeing it from their perspective.'  ( Farrow.2007).

Bibliography
Jose Cruz (2005) Film Review http://classic-horror.com/reviews/eraserhead_1977 (accessed on 29/12/2010)
JEFarrow(2007) Film Review http://www.gnostics.com/eraserhead.html (accessed on 29/12/2010)
John C.Snider (2008) Film Review http://www.scifidimensions.com/May08/eraserhead.htm(accessed on 29/12/2010)


List of Illustrations
FIG.1: Film Poster http://home.comcast.net/~othastar/DavidLynch.html (accessed on 19/12/2010)
FIG.2: Film Still http://vamseekamana.blogspot.com/2009/10/david-lynch.html(accessed on 19/12/2010)
FIG.3: Film Still captured on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZGeTG1qQd0&feature=related (accessed on 28/12/2010)
FIG.4: Film Still http://gametz.com/Review/1007.html (accessed on 27/12/2010)
FIG.5: Film Still http://cruelanimal.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_archive.html (accessed on 29/12/2010)

@Phil (Thumbnails 45-50)

I've been thinking about the De Chirico concept which my first 2 thumbnails represent. The first one shows the view through an archway with a mannequin on the left reading a newspaper and a shadow of someone approaching from the road. The second one is more of an open road again with a shadow and looks more like the artist's work. I also had a completely different idea of the inside and the outside of a house my placing internal features on the outside, like wallpaper, furniture and indoor rugs. I changed perspectives and gave a more wonky look to the last 2 ones. What do you think? :)

Texturing in Maya-Treasure chest (Parts E-I)

Research: Giorgio De Chirico

Phil suggested me Giorgio De Chirico as an inspiration source for my scene. As a surrealist artist, De Chirico's paintings are memorable for the haunted, brooding moods evoked by their images. His subjects were still cityscapes inspired by the bright daylight of Mediterranean cities, but gradually he turned his attention to studies of cluttered storerooms, sometimes inhabited by mannequin-like hybrid figures. I can now see how he uses shadows in his artworks to bring an uncanny mood to the whole scene.

@Phil (Thumbnails 38-44)

These thumbnails represent my final ideas on my concept. It's basically an old street (inspired by my hometown) with fish hanging from the washing line. Is this idea feasible?  I would like some feedback and advice so I can move on, please. Thank you.
P.S: Sorry for interrupting your holidays and... Merry Xmas! :D

Texturing in Maya-Treasure chest (Parts A-D)

Research: A trip to Corfu town

I made my way to Corfu Town today and found some very interesting pieces of architecture I could work on. Time has certainly left its mark on these buildings, yet most of them are still inhabited and people prefer to leave them looking this way like in their past. Hardly any of them were renovated which makes them look so deteriorating. The windows, the doors, the walls and all the details have a lot to offer and have been a great inspiration to me for my work.

Details in the Architecture

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 Textures