Here's a collection of pictures I took this weekend when I visited 'The Deep' aquarium in Hull. It was like they knew I was coming... and set up an exhibition on '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' just for me and my Steampunk fascinations.
Monday 31 May 2010
Tuesday 25 May 2010
Steampunked
Another day, another exciting discovery.
I was thinking about drawing the mechanical workings inside my sea monster and decided to have a go on the old Google machine. While scrolling through an image search I stumbled across an exciting website: http://steampunkworkshop.com/
Steampunk is a movement which is inspired by a collection of conflicting themes - Science Fiction, alchemy, Victorian ideals and a steam powered world of the future.
An effective embodiment of these elements would be the Japanese film Steamboy by Katsuhiro Otomo. In this film, characters exist in an 'alternative' Victorian age, with industrial and technological differences to the historical fact.
Researching this style has introduced me to an exciting fashion and crafts movement, which may offer an effective reference point for my own work.
A festival celebrating Steampunk will unfortunately be occurring after my final submission, but I'm not sure I can pass up the opportunity to dress in an appropriate costume...
http://steampunk.synthasite.com/
Today I started some drawings inspired by this research, and set about designing the laser cut workings inside my monster. I took photographs every few minutes as I drew, and finally combined them together to make a little Quicktime movie of my progress.
Some interesting Steampunk links:
Thursday 20 May 2010
Screen Printing with Mo
I was screen printing some fabrics with some Art Deco wave motifs, and when I removed them from the table these beautiful marks were left. The varying weight of pigment creates some nice tones, and the existing marks on the table make it quite effective for a weatherworn surface pattern. A happy discovery!
Monday 17 May 2010
Animation trials
This is a short selection of animations experiments with the monster wallpaper from Semester One, created using stop motion techniques and Apple iMovie. The second set of experiments were into fabric manipulation, and how textiles could be used to simulate waves and water effects. Patterns and reflections were created using tiling effects in iMovie.
Thursday 13 May 2010
Semester One
A sketchbook drawing was also developed into an animation experiment. It seems that Captain Mo's wallpaper is even growing angry and restless. Here, one of the motifs morphs into a troublesome character.
The Origins of Captain Mo - The Project Inspiration
The story I am using as a narrative for the project follows the adventures of an intrepid sailor, Captain Mo, whose endeavours to explore new seas are repeatedly thwarted when he is drawn to the Underworld during every voyage. Initially, my intention was to depict this story in its entirety as a short animated film created using textiles, but as the course progressed I realized that time limitations would make this very challenging to complete. I therefore decided to focus on one single element of the story, and explore it more thoroughly. I am now focusing on his encounter with a huge mechanical beast from the depths of the ocean- one of 7 fearsome monsters faced by Mo, with the unfortunate outcome of repeated trips to the Underworld.
The visual style of the project has several influences. During a research trip to London, I was inspired by the Victoria and Albert Museum's exhibition of theatre costume and set design, and the display of promotional posters. I decided to research Art Deco graphics and architecture, and in particular, theatre interiors and stages. Since the project has a colourful narrative, a theatrical aesthetic approach seemed very appropriate. Art Deco is a style which has always appealed to me, and its clear-cut motifs and elegant repeating forms are an apt design source for laser cutting, shadow puppetry and background sets for an animated film.
I also researched traditional animation styles such as shadow puppetry and silhouette, and was greatly inspired by the work of Lotte Reiniger. The textile techniques I hope to explore include screen printing and laser cutting, and I again found inspiration through researching the work of contemporary practitioners such as Su Blackwell and Ingrid Siliakus. The laser cutter could offer a modern twist to the traditional animation technique of shadow puppetry.
With its juxtaposition of old techniques and new technologies, cross-discipline design and whimsical storytelling, this project aims to be folkloric yet modern, playful yet innovative. It will present an intriguing cross-disciplinary insight into how textiles and animation may be combined to an inventive end.
A Beginning
A weatherworn theatre set from the 1920's.
A rusty mechanical beast from the depths of Atlantis.
A stalwart captain with a woeful tale of misfortune.
This is the epic of Captain Mo.
"The Underworld Likes Captain Mo" is a short story I wrote when I was in Primary School, which I have chosen to use as the narrative behind my Masters project at Heriot-Watt University. The course, Textile Innovation and New Applications, inspired me to pursue a new direction for my work with textiles. I have always had a keen interest in animation, and therefore decided to create a cross-discipline outcome through the development of a short stop-motion animation, created almost entirely from textiles and related processes. The project gradually developed into an inventive combination of laser cutting, screen printing, fabric manipulation and shadow puppetry to create an innovative and experimental outcome.
This blog aims to document my work as it develops, from story-boarding and sketchbooks to sampling and final outcomes.
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