Retrospective introduction

My annotated bibliography is around my interest of illustration and more important-Its practicality. The selection of the six text is wide ranging, from observation of a successful mental horror film to game develop that contains methods and intentions behind using illustration techniques. There are some connections between these texts as most of them send out a message which convince me to believe that the meaning behind every pieces of art is important. There could be many different ways of presenting illustration, or like the relation of my six text, the success of a work depends on whether it can resonate with the audience and make them reflect. My annotated

bibliography demonstrates a connective relationship between theory and practice, the artists exploring their thoughts the process of coming up with an idea, then commit research, experiments and finally observ the outcome.

The overriding concerns are providing new ways for me to think about my practice as an illustrator, through exploration with the background and the use of images which gives me a deeper knowledge on the impacts of graphics. Using illustration as a visual language for communication purpose, the political, social context and its current stage of assimilating into the lives of ordinary people has inspired a concern of believes, the realization of beauty and medium for exhibition. It covers a clear message through the six text that diversity of illustration art covers a huge aspect. Through a range of examples of possible ways mastered by variety of artists, the future of illustration seems to have unlimited possibilities, it can be present as a single work or as an element to be integrated into other practices. There is also a reminder from these texts, always identity a core before you create any piece of work, the outcome is unpredictable, but you need to make sure to remember the identity and feeling you want to express,

Tiurina, M. (n.d.). Eden. Retrieved from https://marijatiurina.com/

These articles have allowed readers like me to interpret my interest in illustration, encouraging me to continue my exploration and developing further knowledge and practice in this field, also imagine what I can achieve in the future. These annotated bibliographies cover the role of visual communication, teaches you how to make your publications deep into the hearts of publics. They constitute to a guide, also let me think about how I want my illustrations to have an impact on this society.

Parental DescentEthan Alter (2014) focused on motion-picture director Jennifer Kent and her

horror film” The Babadook”, he analyzed how Kent the director depicted parenthood in her own grisly way, he also provided a specific discussion on how this film is to classify as a psychological horror film.

Alter pointed out the genuine thrill in Kent’s film is not the terrifying creature Babadook but it’s the miserable senses of failing parenthood that buried deep in each parent’s heart, in Alter’s word he described as” a deep dark fear”. He considers the director applying this sense base from reality is more frightening than using traditional jump scares. This unnerved feeling will enlarge as the film progress and tension will raise with atmosphere building up through the story, Alter includes Kent’s words “I always imagined the film would start like a gentle pair of hands around the viewer's neck that would get tighter and tighter until people felt they couldn't breathe."(Kent, 2014). He also wrote down some details of actions that the director took for approaching and ultimately take down audience’s mentality. A large amount of research and interview allowed Kent to thoroughly comprehend her character in the movie, which in this case is a mother who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The information from this article is reliable since it’s from an influential company and can be found on some formal reference databases center. The author Ethan Alter is credible

as a senior writer who have the background to write on filming topic. It is an objective article which Alter includes many quotations from Kent that matches

Kent, J. (2014). The Babadook. Retrieved from http://www.cccb.org/en/activities/file/the-babadook/224060

his understanding of the director’s concept as evidences. A negative side with this article was it contained very less of the author’s critical opinion for me to see if we share the same concerns. This article was useful to my illustrating practice because it is instructive and provided a thinking process and some techniques from Kent, who is an excellent story teller and produced a successful psychological horror film. I understand the importance of giving a significant background to a story and it can be applied to many practices. I was motivated by how a horror film can have such impact on adult viewers for pushing them to face their shadow side. It created a new insight for me, and I need to consider a similar way to approach my practice as an illustrator, I questioned myself if an image book will achieve the same result as “The Babadook” that leaves a deep impression in people’s heart. How will illustration books with some spookiness affect people deeply like how the movie did? In absorbing some key ideas Alter narrated, I thought about using the same method in my practice, other than creating a monster with frightening visual sense, I should focus more on enlarging the details of negative sides people worried from daily bases which makes them feel so insecure, readers will be able to resonate with a story more if it’s about something they can relate to.

Stranger in a Strange LandYang (2007) explains how “The

Arrival” can be classified as a graphic novel and need to be treated separately from picture books. He pointed out that “The Arrival” is not a story of an immigrant, but the story about the community of immigrants. Followed by some interpretation of the images in this novel, the author describes Tan’s drawing as a combination of abstract and photorealistic “His drawings depict architecture and clothing that are at once historic and futuristic” (Yang, 2007). He also emphasized how Tan only uses some desperate drawings images in this book to communicate an important

Tan, S. (2006). The suitcase. Retrieved from http://www.shauntan.net/books/the-arrival.html

experience of immigration, that there is no textual narration through the entire novel. The author expresses his concerns at the end of the article, he thought the pure beauty of Tan’s artwork will sometimes hampers his narrative.

This information is considering a reliable source, The New York Times is a responsible organization. The author Gene Luen Yang is credible as an Asian-American cartoonist and a frequent lecturer on graphic novels, he has the background to critic on this topic of illustration. It is a biased text with Yang endorsed Tan’s skill as a graphic storyteller but also gives some professional thoughts.

Yang’s critic on “The Arrival” is important to my practice of book illustrator in guiding me to understand the different between image book and graphic novel. Graphic novels tend to deal with more complicate materials and topics, so the target readers are from wider ranges which includes children to adults. To evoke personal intimacy of a specific topic, illustrations could be completed creatively just like what Tan did for his novel. This text changed the way I think about illustrations, it is far more meaningful and should be use as a powerful tool to convey important thoughts. It can make people reflect about certain serious events but in a relaxing way, there is no language barriers with pictures, these graphics represent the concept of writing, in replacement of specific phrase that hinder those who don’t understand it. Learning from Yang’s text, I discover how Tan compose his illustration, I found out his technique to show character and event movements, by drawing a realistic character in an abstract surreal environment, he was able to express the readers of a person’s feeling about unfamiliar surroundings. I need to think about using this method in my personal practice, in detail I need to consider the ways I create my characters or landscape to match what I wish to express to the readers, some aspects like how to apply different drawing styles to create correct atmosphere is what I should concern. I also need to choose some heavy materials as the topic which will give my illustration more profound meaning.

Seizing public spaceArtists have

found a way for everyone to see controversial issues in Latin

America, even in a restrictive political environment. As one kind of street art, murals have taken lots of public spaces in many areas of Latin America as they are considered a form of communication that allows artists and viewers to pass on information. In the pass century, several Mexican artists opened a new public communicate channel in the way of murals that reflect the element of Mexican culture. This way of approaching anti-authoritarian was increasingly adopted in the 1960s. As an inheritance of mural, graffiti art was first showed in the 1970s, the painted text derives it’s meaning from social context, occupying public space and advocate the power of individuals as implement a political behavior. Arts on street walls is becoming more and more common. As another way of expressing feelings, graffiti was choosing by young people, many of whom are teenagers, they condemned racism and violence at all levels in extreme forms while also seeking attention. As a controversial art form, murals have more affect in the social environment, Sofía Jatib’s series of cruel children’s images sparked public and media debates, as she criticized the hypocrisy of the Catholic Foundation and the Country. Vargas used these heavy events to prove his point that he recon street art has an indelible use in attracting attention,” The great strength of wall painting is that it triggers public debate. And that is precisely the intention.” (Vargas, 2015)

In terms of thinking about the political and society context of mural art, it started with the intention of standing up to rebel the oppress by the society, helping explain some complex social information. It is a brave way to express protest against social unequal treatment. In fact, this art form of opposition to political discrimination can still be use in today’s society, as matters like racism and sexism never really extinct. I have much more understanding with the influence graphics have on society and very much agree with its visual impact, my practice as an illustrator will also allow me to create pictures, even comic books to lead out people’s awareness of a problem that need to be consider. Simultaneously, I also believe illustration does not have to be rigidly tied to one form and always being classify as “picture books”, murals can be considered a large format illustration on wall. Second intention of making enlarged illustration could also be spreading goodwill and kindness, I live in this relatively harmonious era and people need positive energy exist in their lives.

I have realized from the text that the reasons for the emergence of street art are often negative, along with a strong sense of resistance, it is precisely because of this that street art is usually not accepted by the government. I am curious if the mural shows an optimistic side, will it be accepted by the public easier? But at the same time will it still have such a strong influence?

Samorost 3Samorost 3 is an

artistically presented game that let the player stay interested by creating a sensory experience different from general action games. In the past few years, people’s pursuit of novelty plots and artist expressions is no longer limited to action adventure video games. A point-and-click experience mode let the player wonder what’s going on the screen and explore through its presents of surrealistic artwork. Bryd praise the high quality of Samorost 3 by it’s bizarre but beautiful artistic elements. He believes this is an artwork for people in all moment of their ages, or for” any whimsical person.” (Byrd, 2016) He specifically described the game’s picture and supported with some magical screenshots and how it uses animation to make everyone understand the overall task line.

The whole game is full of nature materials, from a planet that looks like a rotten wood to giant mushroom and insects, the game producers take common subjects and give them new meanings, opposing the micro and macro worlds. Dobrovský (2015) present the complete game

development process, everything is created on paper, from a sketch to illustration, then as a screen in Photoshop, and finally as a distracting scene in the game. There are dozens of suggestion arrows, simplified animations and concise notes to draw on hundreds of pages. Samorost 3 is like a comic book of development. It is important to understand that these two articles were published in recent years that electronic devices and adventure games flooded. The public is looking for ways to be relieved from this impetuous state. I have a strong relate with how beautiful pictures are truly fascinating, but in order to achieve

Psycho-Bug. (Samorost 3, 2017). Retrieved from https://www.steamcardexchange.net/index.php?gamepage-appid-421120

Ať žije papír. (Samorost 3. 2015). Retrieved from https://games.tiscali.cz/tema/samorosti-z-prahy-pohled-pod-poklicku-petileteho-vyvoje-samorost-3-od-amanita-design-254752

this result, some professional and solid art skills must be indispensable, I need more practice on my drawing skills in order to produce wonderful illustration for the readers. I notice the text expresses that this game is full of plants, so the producers’ inspirations are likely coming from woods-forests and jungles. I share this feeling because I find myself often inspired by nature as well. I realized that combining illustration with modern technology can be a good strategy for adaption to nowadays lifestyle. Transferring drawing from paper to PCs and phones can give people a more detailed presentation, I should consider adding techniques like Photoshop, animation or even music to illustrations in case of chasing on the trend.

Monument ValleyThe text is around how Ken Wong,

who is the lead designer of Ustwo’s game Monument Valley (2014), breaking the boundaries between digital and art. It present Wong’s code of practice in illustration and also as a concept designer for game products. He believes video games are an container that allows art, design and engineer to blend together. “Unlike traditional games, Monument Valley is built around how users interact with touch-screen devices, and it centers on the experience of architectural beauty and complexity” (Zhuang, 2016, p.252). The editor includes a statement paragraph from Justin Zhuang evaluating this game which echoes the subject of this article. An interview by Suvi Salonimi is also collected in the chapter, Wong discuss his working methods. Through a lot of testing and observation, he found Monument Valley is attractive for its interactivity, people enjoy the process of unfolding an art under their interaction, player’s comfort experiences are more important than mechanics. He sees video games as a new form of art, the combination of geometry and lines and colours makes the outcome full of the beauty of mathematical simplicity.

There’s a fact for people to understand which is that there is no such thing as original idea and almost all ideas are considered seconded handed. Mixing element is not created by Wong, he’s idea of involving architecture with

illustration in Monument Valley was influenced by an artist call Maurits Cornelis Escher. Like Samorost 3, this text reinforces my thoughts on combing traditional drawing art with video games or any other digital ways in order to make new style of visual communication. More importantly, I also think the investigation and researches Wong have done had a great impact on his innovation, thinking of my own practice, I need to keep in mind that research is a method to find inspiration for every art practitioner, it’s really necessary because it will open some new ways of thinking by deliver some successful works that others have done. Just like how Wong get his inspiration, I wonder if I can also create something unique by mixing different approaches of presenting illustration, perhaps in a way which involves not only visual, but also tactile, even olfactory? A message I received from the editor was that people have a common sense of aesthetics, so the simple rule to create a popular work is to make it beautiful so it is worthy of being appreciated and then it will help to attract a wider group of audience.Being an artist is” to provide stimulating material for other people” (Wong, 2016, p.252). I found his concept is worth thinking about, because it is quite accurate for how art works, it’s a process of being created and then passed down from person to person as a for reference material.

Fantastic BeingsJapanese artist Kazuki Takamatsu’s work connects western and eastern culture, as well as

the world of digital art. He combines traditional gouache painting technique with depth map technology to add realistic 3D depth filed effects to the drawn figures. The doll figures he painted are rich in typical characteristics of Asian art. The oriental style in classic comic image and injected surrealism let the result achieve a cross culture. The girls in the artworks is beautifully created but also ethereal like ghosts. Combined with elements like guns and human skulls which add a dark atmosphere of death and violence.

Jamieson present his interpretation of the artist and his work as disturbing but unforgettable, he found a more appropriate description of the artist as “metaphorist”, and he express “Using his singular vision and imagery, Takamatsu is able to explore questions of beauty, contemporary society and the digital world” (Jamieson, 2017). Using a quote from Takamasu, this artist expresses his believes on the figures he painted represents young generations with negative emotions about themselves. The beautiful but frightening schoolgirl portraits being placed with the dark background implies a metaphorical plane between reality and fantasy. It’s unforgettable how innocence from the youth and thrilling death suggestions blend so will together. The author also questioned that the pervasive melancholy, sadness and even violence in the artist’s work may be related to the context in which he comes from.

Kazuki Takamatsu was born in Japan, which is a country known for its picturesque landscape and high suicide rate. This duality of contrast helps shape the melancholy of the artist’s work. His childhood was spent in Sendai but it was destroyed by the earthquake and tsunami in 2011. This event can still be understood in Takamatsu’s work where he mixes blank, white and grey to form endless emotion of grief and hope.

Reminiscent of me as an illustrator or a painter, I found that I often bring my own background into my

arts, such as adding some culture elements from where I born and live, it’s almost a subconscious move. I feel the same way that art is an expression, it is a way people vent their experiences and what they feel. Luckily unlike Takamatsu, the memories I had are most relaxed or enjoyable, therefore it’s what reflected in my art works that I prefer to use brighter and more gorgeous colours. Perhaps what I should consider is not how to integrate art into the circle of modern peoples’ life, but to work more on the art itself, from choosing the mediums to ways of presenting. I tend to learn more about his thinking method, it is different from the way that ordinary artists use clear graphic to convey ideas, his works do not immediately make the viewers understand the concept, but that also comes with a greater realization because it let them think through the metaphors hidden in the painting.

Reference:

Alter, E. (2014). Parental Descent. Film Journal International, 117(11), 24–32. Retrieved fromhttp://search.ebscohost.com.libproxy.unitec.ac.nz/login.aspx?direct=true&db=anh&AN=99085656&site=ehost-live&scope=site Yang, G. L. (2007, November 11). Stranger in a Strange Land. The New York

https://metropolisjapan.com/fantastic-beings/

Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/books/review/Yang-t.html

Vargas, S. (2015). Seizing public space. Retrieved from https://www.dandc.eu/en/article/politically-relevant-street-art-has-long-tradition-latin-america

Byrd, C. (2016, May 2). ‘Samorost 3’ is a strange and beautiful point-and-click adventure game. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com

Dobrovský, P. (2015). Samorosti z Prahy - pohled pod pokličku pětiletého vývoje Samorost 3 od Amanita Design. Retrieved from https://games.tiscali.cz/tema/samorosti-z-prahy-pohled-pod-poklicku-petileteho-vyvoje-samorost-3-od-amanita-design-254752

Lipps, A., Lupton, E., Varella, K., & Cooper-Hewitt Museum, host institution, issuing body. (2016). Beauty : Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial. New York, NY: Published by Cooper Hewitt. (pp. 252).

Jamieson, A. (2017, November 24). Fantastic Beings: The surreal art of Kazuki Takamatsu. Metropolis Magazine Japan. Retrieved from https://metropolisjapan.com