Goodbye to Berlin: December 2014

Excuse the messy production but this was my final face chart for Emcee- Some parts of which were developed further during the application process (See final images)

These are my final images for my contemporary Emcee. Though I know that artistically I have a long way to go, I am so proud of the way this has come out. I found creating a good white base for the skin was challenging but in the process I learnt a lot about application of different products, as well as what I prefer to use; in this instance I opted for a mixture of the white Illamasqua foundation and the white SupraColor as I found that the SupraColor improved the texture of the foundation.

When I was designing for Emcee, I had a vision that my model would be female; a woman portraying a man pretending to be a woman (my head hurts!!) I feel that this choice worked in my favour with regards to originality as for what I wanted to create, using a male model would have looked too 'drag'; Emcee is not supposed to look like a drag queen, he is an androgynous character and I felt that using a male model was a little "been there, done that"... I was conscious of putting my own stamp on the role as it has already been through several incarnations, each iconic.

I have also found that experimenting with my ideas on a practical level has enabled me to develop an outcome that I am happy with whereas in previous units I have been less hands on and always found that my work wasn't even close to what I had envisaged. In choosing a practical approach to design, I feel I have produced an outcome which incorporates the themes of the 1920s cabaret with the 1980s club culture in a way which is both striking and successful; I feel you can clearly see that both elements were considered in the design process, making the design contemporary whilst still being appropriate the character. Ultimately, I have brought my ideas to fruition and produced an outcome I am satisfied with for the first time ever which I feel is the foundation stone for bigger and better things!

Artistic Inspiration: Paco Peregrin!

Brassfield, M. (2009). Ronald McDonald Hair. Available: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/alien-dolls-paco-peregrin-kattaca#!/photos/46536/2. Last accessed 5th Dec 2014.

Looking at expressionism has triggered an obsession with art that reflects a mood instead of just depicting the world as is. I found that one artist in particular who really appealed to me was Paco Peregrin. An article I read on his work had this to say on his 'Alien Dolls' series:

"This space-age photo shoot by Paco Peregrin and Kattaca is called 'Alien Dolls,' and it's easy to see why. Each model featured has a more avant-garde look than the last. With porcelain pale skin, super-bright makeup and dramatic accents, it's a pictorial for the ages."

Brassfield, M. (2009). Ronald McDonald Hair. Available: http://www.trendhunter.com/trends/alien-dolls-paco-peregrin-kattaca#!/photos/46536/2. Last accessed 5th Dec 2014.

I loved the use of crimped, textured hair and felt that the pale complexions of the models was reminiscent of Alan Cumming's version of Emcee. This combined with the bright feature makeup was a particularly striking visual and is appropriate to the character I have chosen.

Paco Peregrin is an international photographer from Spain who has worked with many high profile clients including Dior, Chanel and Saint Laurent. Peregrin's work has been published in Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Vanity Fair and many more. For the 'Alien Dolls' series Peregrin worked with Art Director Mario Ville (Kattaca) about whom I can find a frustrating lack of information, just many many examples of fantastic creative vision!

Abstract Painting with Kryolan AquaColor

You will need:

-Kryolan AquaColor Palette

-Water

-A variety of paint brushes

Directions:

-Select several AquaColor paints, any colours you like

-Apply paints with wet brushes using a variety of strokes and pressures; this work is not intended to be neat but should reflect artistic style

- Use a variety of brushes and sponges to create different textures; Experiment with application techniques considering the brush movements and pressure used to make interesting marks

Evaluation:My inspiration for this was a combination of the colours from the sky in Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' and the brush strokes in the work of Otto Dix. I love the combination of colour used and would like to incorporate this technique into future work as I feel it is simple and effective. I may incorporate elements of the technique into my contemporary design.

Making a Feather Headdress... All Out Cabaret!

Considering the scene I chose to inspire my Emcee design sees him hidden amongst the Kit Kat girls, I thought it would be best to style my model appropriately. Looking at the traditional feather headdresses worn by cabaret girls, I felt including an accessory like this would complete my look and link in to the original text as I didn't want Emcee to be unrecognisable as a Cabaret character.

When I looked into creating my own headdress I found that they are built on a frame that sits firmly on the head- this obviously allows for plenty of movement when dancing. I looked into purchasing the correct frame but found that having one delivered in time for the shoot would not have been possible and it would also have come at great expense. Considering this, but not wanting to give up on the idea, I decided to improvise!

I purchased an Alice band, shoulder pads, jewellery wire, feathers and spray paint and set about creating my vision... A few hours and, dare I say it, quite a lot of expletives later, I had this:

I have to say, I'm quite impressed given that it was totally muddled together... I was half expecting it not to work but I'm glad I persevered as I love it! Obviously considering that this design I am creating is intended for TV and Film, the headdress should be made from a more suitable frame which allows for movement but as this was not possible, I felt that create the piece on an Alice band would suffice for photographs.

Creating Anita Berber

Take One!

Take Two!

The above images show my Anita Berber design and continuity creations. I find the opportunity to practice continuity advantageous as it causes me to be more particular about the work I produce, progressing my artistic skills as well as teaching me to be accurate in what I create. I loved researching the Berber character and designing for her; I feel that the continuity of the make-up is fairly precise but recognise that the area which let me down (no surprises!) was the hair. I used a cheap scratch wig and found that I could not get it to sit the same in shoot two as it did in shoot one. The difference in the styling of the wig impacts upon the images as a whole because the fringe of the wig in the second run obscures the makeup moreso than it did in the initial practical. I feel that from this I have learnt a lot about how the most basic of styling choices can impact upon the whole image. In future, I will use this experience to consider more carefully the styling choices I make for my work.

Anita Berber

Born in Dresden is 1899, Anita Berber was a model, actress and dancer. A controversial figure in the 1920s, Berber epitomises the excess and decadence of the era. Addicted to numerous hard drugs and a heavy drinker, Berber died penniless at the age of just 29 but in her short life she became an icon. Anita Berber was the subject of an Otto Dix painting, she married three times and she appeared in a number of silent films. Berber's image will always be synonymous with the era she helped to define.

Emcee Experiments

In order to explore my idea for Emcee, I experimented with a variety of different materials to see what would work best. In this image, I have used eyeshadows to create colour on the skin. Whilst I liked the blended effect of using eyeshadow alone, I didn't like the brows I created and felt there was no link to the 1920s.

Here, I have used eyeshadows with a MAC mixing medium and Illamasqua sealing gel. I feel I took the colouring of the face too far in this instance and preferred the disconnected elements of red and blue as I felt this was more reflective of the internal conflict Emcee experiences as a character. The brows in this experiment are an indication of the 1920s/30s roots of the character.

This next experiment was created using a mixture of pencils, shadows and eyeliner pens. I felt this experiment was the most effective as the combination of products created depth and texture to the character and the colour I used was just enough, not dominating the face as it had above making the work look purposeful. Again, I like the altered position of the brows as I felt this was a nod to the 1920s roots of the character. I also like the technique I used to draw the new brows on; I create them with a slim felt-tip eyeliner pen and the visible brush strokes give a hair-lie appearance whilst retaining the abstract feel I was aiming for.

Though I was satisfied with the image above, I felt I should experiment with SupraColor to see if I could further improve my design. I created the image below with this in mind but found that I was losing the essence of my idea by changing my approach to materials. SupraColor is advantageous as a product as it blends so easily because it is grease-based, however, in this instance, I felt that the heavy blending was inappropriate to my design idea as it didn't allow me to show the link to the original text, so this experiment did not reflect the character.

Goodbye to Berlin

Friday, 5 December 2014

Bibliography

Emcee final face chart

Creating Emcee: Final Images!