Unifying Hibiscus

After all the planning and editing I have completed my final piece. 

The uniqueness of each culture is represented through the differences of the exotic animals. Together the hornbill, elephant and tiger signify a mix of culture with the help of the Unifying Hibiscus.

Unifying Hibiscus

Like my last two pieces I began with using my original sketch. Initially the sketch was quite light so I went over the outline with a darker pencil, once it was cleared I scanned it to photoshop. As there are three animals I used three layers, one for each animal so I can work on them individually.

The advantage of working in photoshop is that I was able to re-do the outlines as many times as I wanted without being left with messy sketch lines. In my original sketch there were lines separating the animals however I realized these lines were crooked. Thus I created new lines, yet instead of using black lines I used colored lines. My intention was to created boundaries with colors rather than lines (trying to stay true to my reference artist Frida Kahlo, as she used colors to make boundaries).

After completing the outline I had three more layers added for the colors. In the beginning I wasn't sure what color scheme I was going to use but because this was all about unity I decided on using primary colors which happen to be the colors of the Malaysian Flag. It worked well because with three colors there are three animals. 

I chose not to use the black lines as my outline for the animals, instead I chose to play around with positive and negative spaces. I colored in the animals and the environments but leave spaces along the lines. At times it would be difficult because my hand was not always steady and so the color would slip into the spaces. I used the eraser tool to solve this issue. 

To choose the right primary colors, I based it on the first color. I worked on Red and so after using red I used the color picker and moved the arrows along the color spectrum to find the next primary color. (This is so the brightness of the color would be similar to one another).

After adding all the necessary colors, I would flip through the layers to clean up the piece. I would hide layers one at a time to focus on each animal, ensuring that the final piece looked complete.

Lines and Color > Unity and Balance

Sense of Repetition: Hornbill, Elephant and Tiger

The use of the hibiscus in each piece. 

Three exotic animals for three Malaysian cultures. They are not defined, even though each culture is different they are unified. 

Textile Jungle

                           

For this piece I was incorporating two sketches. Since I was adding the textile designs into the jungle environment I used the jungle sketch as the guiding layer and the textile sketch as a reference. 

After creating my outline, I created more layers to begin adding my textile designs. Each cultural design has a layer of it's own, so I can work on them specifically. 

Like the separate textile layers, I have more layers of the different colors. A layer for the peonies on the large leaves, for the tree trunks in the background and for the water designs.

To avoid creating a flat piece I used different color tones to achieve a dynamic look. I used the color picker to find colors that were near each other. I did this for a smoother blend as opposed to obvious differences in color (which would make it look choppy).

After I was done with the first colors, I added in highlights and shadows to make the piece pop out more.  These shades can be found in the leaves and under the water lines. Within the trees in the back I decided to use highlights, as the trees were already very dark. 

Lines and Color > Repetition

The use of environment, similar to Kahlo. (Mixing Culture and Environment).

Malaysian Jigsaw

I began with the original sketch as the first layer. I then created a few layers on top to draw the design again in photoshop. I wanted to use many layers, as I would have more control over each specific part. Moreover, with more layers there would be less chances of losing a large chunk of my work.

Once I was done with my outlines, I hid my original layer to see the final outline. I then created more layers to begin adding colors. 

Unity can be expressed in many ways and one of those ways is through color. I decided to use different shades of blue. As I was doing research I had learned that the blue on the Malaysian flag symbolizes the unification of the Malaysian people. I played around with the different shades to create interesting looks.

Too choose my shades I used the color picker. It allowed me to choose colors that were closely related, therefore keeping a similar tone throughout the piece. I worked on a windows laptop to do my designs and when I had transfered them to my mac the colors were a lot different than I expected. For this piece, the Malaysian Jigsaw turned out more purple. Instead of re-doing the whole color scheme, I simply added a new adjustment layer. 

Layer > Adjustment layer > Hue/Saturation

From there I was able to pick a color that I was satisfied with. 

Lines and Color > Unity and Emphasis

The bold outlines within the jigsaw and the jigsaw itself creates emphasis. The color demonstrates unity. Surrealistic in the sense that the textiles have specific meanings > representation of the three Malaysian cultures.

Hornbill

Intercultural at Help

In this sketch I want to emphasize the color use along with the puzzle piece. I felt that making the colors brighter would give it a childish look and so I left it as it is, to allow room for exploration (different shades).

I colored the pieces rather than the flag since I thought that it might make it look common and uninteresting. Furthermore, I wanted to emphasize the puzzles pieces rather than the image of the flag. Looking at this sketch I feel I could have played around more with the position of the flag and use different perspectives (close ups, a part of the flag). 

This is similar to my previous sketch, in terms of using an image to create a puzzle piece. This time, I used a hibiscus to symbolize Malaysian culture. The colors used in this piece were inspired by the colors of the Malaysian flag. 

The first four sketches involve my idea of using puzzles pieces to represent culture. Each piece connects together, as it symbolizes the connection between cultures. As I was doing research for my topic, I began to think of other ways to represent culture and it led me to fabric designs. I have a great interest in patterns and so I enjoyed creating these following sketches.

I took the same three type of patterns to represent the Malay, Chinese and Indian culture and played around with the composition. I used a typical batik design to represent Malay culture, peonies for Chinese culture and a repetitive mango shape for Indian culture. I particularly like the second and third sketch. The second sketch, because each pattern connect to one another, creating a cohesive composition.

Here, I played around with the symbol of the hibiscus by maintaining the color scheme of complimentary colors (adding white). The last two sketches incorporated the use of three main circular shapes. I decided to make the hibiscus only visible within the circles to create an interesting look. Additionally, the three circles represent the three cultures. 

In this sketch, I attempted to explore the use of the circles but with different images. Instead of using a hibiscus I used the idea of lights to tie the cultures together. 

I felt as though I strayed away from the topic of intercultural at help and so I came up with some ideas to incorporate the university/college setting with culture. Again, I am using hibiscuses and the concept of mixing the three cultures. 

In these three sketches I wanted to bring together culture with the environment because essentially, the environment is a significant aspect of Malaysian culture. I wanted to place emphasis on the fact that Malaysia is known for their jungles. 

In the first sketch, I used three specific animals that can be found in the Malaysian jungle and my idea was to use these animals as the three ethnic groups (Hornbill, Elephant and Tiger). To further create cohesion between the animals, I placed a hibiscus in each frame. 

The second sketch emphasizes the use of color (within the droplet of water that is about to drop into the water). I intend on making the background black and white to create contrast between the colors or a light shade of green. In the third sketch I replace the jungle with the patterns I used earlier.  

The Frame

Here is another piece of work that certainly exhibits the use of COLORS. Kahlo utilizes color to surround the main subject, which draws the viewer to the center of the piece. Yet again, orange and red appears as the dominant colors within the frame. In addition to the warm colors Kahlo uses, blue is expressed within a couple of her works as well. Perhaps, the use of blue is to contrast the orange and red colors.