I feel that my best project was the portrait. It combined a great many influences on my life. The most immediate features are inspired by classic works of cyberpunk. Descriptions and art taken from Neuromancer and Burning Chrome inspired the mechanical features of the face. SHODAN, a deity-like AI was the inspiration for the general representation. The floating head meant more as an interface for human interaction than for use in its own sake. The lines in the background and on the face are reminiscent of circuits and inner workings of computer circuits.
Looking deeper one might see the more underlying issues that wrack my brain with cognitive dissonance: those of the AI singularity and transhuman augmentation. The SHODAN influence leads to the former and the cyberpunk mechanisms influencing the latter. Each give me pause for thought because as each come into their own nothing can stay the same. The singularity comes when AI is capable of augmenting itself to make itself smarter. Our gauges are prepared only for human intelligence. Once it surpasses us there is no mind in the world to predict what it may think. Transhuman augmentation similarly divides humanity. Those who chose not to or simply cannot afford to augment themselves are quickly made objectively inferior to their augmented counterparts in the eyes of industry and create the possibility of a future where businesses may have signs reading ‘Humans Need Not Apply’.
Looking deeper one might see the more underlying issues that wrack my brain with cognitive dissonance: those of the AI singularity and transhuman augmentation. The SHODAN influence leads to the former and the cyberpunk mechanisms influencing the latter. Each give me pause for thought because as each come into their own nothing can stay the same. The singularity comes when AI is capable of augmenting itself to make itself smarter. Our gauges are prepared only for human intelligence. Once it surpasses us there is no mind in the world to predict what it may think. Transhuman augmentation similarly divides humanity. Those who chose not to or simply cannot afford to augment themselves are quickly made objectively inferior to their augmented counterparts in the eyes of industry and create the possibility of a future where businesses may have signs reading ‘Humans Need Not Apply’.
The color scheme was largely selected by my peers and my teacher. My neighbors assisted the selection of the blue of the face and the background blue in the above picture. That snippet of the pattern used in the background was two of several I toyed with, however I could not locate the other black scraps that I tested them on. The brass color of the helmet was chosen under your request.
All things considered, all errors included, I still believe that this is my best piece of the semester.
All things considered, all errors included, I still believe that this is my best piece of the semester.
(Question Scheme 2)This piece was one of my best, and taught me a great deal about perspective and etiquette of shading. The positioning from the back of the books forced me to size the books equally and allow the back door and bookshelf to display the distance. Shading was also a major concern. I mostly shaded vertically, following the streaked pages of each book. The main exceptions are the glossy covers and the rushed transition on the center book. I learned to place white gaps to show separation of similarly shaded objects, general wisdom, and how to display some basic texture through shading. I entirely used pencil though. Charcoal may have been useful for some of the lighter shading but it ended up being worth it as it gave me an arsenal of broader graphite shades.
(Question Scheme 2)While not being my most revolutionary piece, this showed a reaching of a benchmark. Until this class, until the second quarter really, I was heavily reserved about making risks and taking broad strokes. This took me out of my comfort zone in requiring that if I start something, I continue it to completion due to a lack of erasing or ability to restart. It also gave me a degree of freedom. While I copied the first bolt from the reference, the rest was made freely. It felt really satisfying to draw without reserve. Every movement wasn't calculated for once. It all flowed in a way I never allowed it to before.
I have no photos so please bear with me.
(Question Scheme 3) One mini lesson that helped much more than I thought it would was the shading of the paper strips. The shading of other shapes I found enormously difficult and ultimately futile as my peers breezed through them with virtually no difficulty. However the strips were the perfect mix of difficult and approachable that helped the way I think about shading. Some of the standards you taught me may not be new for all students but a great majority of them were new. The bends and changing of shading did not provide the most visually stimulating artwork but as a practice it was matched only by the second most useful mini lesson. For me, that being the facial features. I enjoy drawing people but the design of facial features were nightmarish for me. Matching eyes was akin to untangle the christmas lights in a pitch dark room. I'm uncertain if it's the way you taught it or if it was the practice exercises you provided, but the human face went from requiring hours of work to a casual doodle I put on my notes.
(Question Scheme 3) One mini lesson that helped much more than I thought it would was the shading of the paper strips. The shading of other shapes I found enormously difficult and ultimately futile as my peers breezed through them with virtually no difficulty. However the strips were the perfect mix of difficult and approachable that helped the way I think about shading. Some of the standards you taught me may not be new for all students but a great majority of them were new. The bends and changing of shading did not provide the most visually stimulating artwork but as a practice it was matched only by the second most useful mini lesson. For me, that being the facial features. I enjoy drawing people but the design of facial features were nightmarish for me. Matching eyes was akin to untangle the christmas lights in a pitch dark room. I'm uncertain if it's the way you taught it or if it was the practice exercises you provided, but the human face went from requiring hours of work to a casual doodle I put on my notes.