Matching Items (14)
Filtering by
- All Subjects: 19765
- Creators: School of Art
Description
How do you convey what’s interesting and important to you as an artist in a digital world of constantly shifting attentions? For many young creatives, the answer is original characters, or OCs. An OC is a character that an artist creates for personal enjoyment, whether based on an already existing story or world, or completely from their own imagination.
As creations made for purely personal interests, OCs are an excellent elevator pitch to talk one creative to another, opening up opportunities for connection in a world where communication is at our fingertips but personal connection is increasingly harder to make. OCs encourage meaningful interaction by offering themselves as muses, avatars, and story pieces, and so much more, where artists can have their characters interact with other creatives through many different avenues such as art-making, table top games, or word of mouth.
In this thesis, I explore the worlds and aesthetics of many creators and their original characters through qualitative research and collaborative art-making. I begin with a short survey of my creative peers, asking general questions about their characters and thoughts on OCs, then move to sketching characters from various creators. I focus my research to a group of seven core creators and their characters, whom I interview and work closely with in order to create a series of seven final paintings of their original characters.
As creations made for purely personal interests, OCs are an excellent elevator pitch to talk one creative to another, opening up opportunities for connection in a world where communication is at our fingertips but personal connection is increasingly harder to make. OCs encourage meaningful interaction by offering themselves as muses, avatars, and story pieces, and so much more, where artists can have their characters interact with other creatives through many different avenues such as art-making, table top games, or word of mouth.
In this thesis, I explore the worlds and aesthetics of many creators and their original characters through qualitative research and collaborative art-making. I begin with a short survey of my creative peers, asking general questions about their characters and thoughts on OCs, then move to sketching characters from various creators. I focus my research to a group of seven core creators and their characters, whom I interview and work closely with in order to create a series of seven final paintings of their original characters.
ContributorsCote, Jacqueline (Author) / Button, Melissa M (Thesis director) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
I saw a Dove ad called "Real Beauty Sketches" where a group of women described themselves to a sketch artist, and then a complete stranger described them to the same artist. By the end of the ad, it's apparent that the women, when describing themselves, were very critical of all their features. When total strangers described them the resulting portrait was more beautiful to the women. The take-away from the campaign was that others see more beauty in you than you do in yourself. I explored that idea through my thesis. My aim in this project was to learn to see the beauty in myself through personal artistic expression. I completed a series of self-portraits; for about four months straight I drew one portrait of myself every single day. I also recorded my thoughts in a diary entry as I drew my portrait, hoping to capture my emotions and moods during that day. The resulting outcome of my creative project is twofold. The physical outcome is about 100 self-portraits and daily diary entries that represent the creative thesis project I pursued. The second outcome cannot be physically seen. I have discovered more about myself in four months than I have in twenty years. I have begun to see myself differently, and positively. This thesis project turned into a journey of self-exploration, and I'm looking forward to what the future holds for me.
ContributorsRao, Rachana Sai (Author) / Hood, Mary (Thesis director) / Button, Melissa (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Human nature drives us to focus primarily on the present or near-future, instead of considering what consequences our actions may have many years from now. However, in a new era that is increasingly dominated by humans and their ambitions, this tendency has destructive repercussions on the very environment that once supported and nurtured humankind. Wild animals are highly susceptible to human activities that damage ecosystems, and a loss of animal diversity can have unforeseen consequences on future human populations. In the research, I examine the avoidable reasons for the severe decline in population of four animal species, and through my art, imagine the losses associated with their disappearance. The artwork created evokes an emotional response in the viewer through dramatic, contrasting imagery, making them reassess the relationship between humans, animals and the environment.
ContributorsJudge, Nicole (Author) / Button, Melissa (Thesis director) / Hogden, Heidi (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Full Disclosure, an honors thesis painting exhibition presented by Bachelor of Fine Arts candidate, Natalie Saez, strives to visually document the mental progression of people undergoing the transformative process of art therapy. Although often times a term that brings people on edge under certain circumstances, full disclosure brings to light information that otherwise would not have been expressed. In this same way, the process of art making - specifically referring to art therapy - presents a form of full disclosure. Varying stylistic approaches ranging from naturalistic to more abstracted portraits within the exhibition serve as a way to depict the uninhibited expression that results from the creative process.
ContributorsSaez, Natalie Marie (Author) / Schoebel, Henry (Thesis director) / Doane, Leah (Committee member) / Obuck, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Screen printed textiles formed into over-sized pillows and wall hangings encompass the viewer just as emotions and memories envelope a person's state of being. Pillows representing three generations are staged in small vignettes created by found and restored antiques to surround the viewer in a tangible representation of the intimacy one feels with important figures in a lifetime.
ContributorsEhlenz, Ariel Magdalene (Author) / Verstegen, Clare (Thesis director) / Brandt, Beverly (Committee member) / Hanson, Erika (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2013-12
DescriptionArt and business thesis. Hand painted designs on shoes. Marketing. Influenced by Riley, Matisse, Delaunay, and the aboriginies.
ContributorsJacobs, Mariel Fredricka (Author) / Meissinger, Ellen (Thesis director) / Albert, David (Committee member) / Solis, Forrest (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Necessary Objects is a solo painting exhibition examining feminine gender performance through the lens of beauty products and the commercial imagery through which they're sold. Many young girls form a feminine identity through the world of beauty products, their related media, and the rituals of makeup application. By using still life and pop-inspired imagery, Necessary Objects reveals how the seemingly innocuous act of "putting on one's face" can result in a complicated, sometimes neurotic, relationship to one's own appearance.
ContributorsKoth, Megan Kathleen (Author) / Schoebel, Henry (Thesis director) / Obuck, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Every color that you see in film is purposely chosen by the filmmakers. The majority of film viewers do not consciously realize the role that color plays in their movie experience. Subconsciously, viewers are deeply affected by the color choices in the film as it changes moods, tones, characters, and more. By examining color in film, filmmakers are able to create better stories, therefore having a greater effect on the audience. By becoming aware of the role of color in film, audience members become better, more involved viewers.
The following project is cut into three major parts: Color Theory in Film, An Analysis of Symbolic Color, and the Technical Applications of Color in Film. Part One gives the necessary background on color theory, light theory, color mixing, color associations, and color palettes needed to understand the rest of the project. Part Two examines color symbolism and color psychology in three films, detailing their importance to the storylines in-depth. Part Three looks at the ways filmmakers employ color during post-production, principal photography, and post-production. By looking at production design, the history of color grading, and the power of lighting and cinematography, one is able to discern the different effects color creates and how that effect is created.
The following project is cut into three major parts: Color Theory in Film, An Analysis of Symbolic Color, and the Technical Applications of Color in Film. Part One gives the necessary background on color theory, light theory, color mixing, color associations, and color palettes needed to understand the rest of the project. Part Two examines color symbolism and color psychology in three films, detailing their importance to the storylines in-depth. Part Three looks at the ways filmmakers employ color during post-production, principal photography, and post-production. By looking at production design, the history of color grading, and the power of lighting and cinematography, one is able to discern the different effects color creates and how that effect is created.
ContributorsMcholland, Megan (Author) / Nascimento, Eliciana (Thesis director) / Klucsarits, Philip (Committee member) / Dean, Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Fueled by fear in the post-9/11 United States, American intelligence agencies conduct dragnet data collection on global communication. Despite the intention of surveillance as preventative counter-terrorism action, the default search and seizure of global communication poses a threat to our constitutional rights and individual autonomy. This is the case especially for people who may be thought of as in opposition to our current political climate, such as immigrants, people of color, women, people practicing non-western religions, people living outside of the United States, activists, persons engaging in political dissent, and people with intersecting identities. Throughout the Fall and Spring semesters, I have done research, conducted visual experiments and designed exploratory projects in order to more thoroughly identify the issue and explore the ways in which visual communication design can aid in the conversation surrounding global surveillance. It was the intention of my fourth year social issue projects to explore the role of visual communication design in the dialogue surrounding surveillance, principally focusing on the responsibility visual communication design has in spreading ideas about how to globally subvert surveillance until governments disclose information about their unconstitutional actions or until whistleblowers do it for them. My final project, the fourth year social issue exhibit, focuses on how improving our personal password habits can help us gain agency in digital spaces. Using the randomness of rolling a dice to generate entropy can help us generate stronger passwords in order to secure sensitive information online. Using design as a method of communication, my fourth year social issue exhibit shared information about how encrypted passwords can act as the first line of defense in protecting ourselves from invasive data collection and malicious internet activity.
ContributorsBailey, Lauren Nicole (Author) / Sanft, Alfred (Thesis director) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / The Design School (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
My creative project involved the creation of a short, abstract animation set to EDM music. It's meant to mimic the graphics displayed in the background of EDM concerts and was inspired by Beeple and the graphics he designed for EDM artist, Zedd. Under the guidance of my director, Meredith Drum, and with help from my second committee member, Muriel Magenta, I was able to use Audacity to edit the music, Autodesk Maya 2016 to model and animate the animation, the HIDA render farm to render the frames using Maya Software and mentalray, Adobe After Effects CC to assemble and edit the animation, and Adobe Media Encoder to export the end product. The final animation included 20,855 individual frames, totaling to 14 minutes and 28 seconds in length. The project takes the viewer through seven worlds to express the idea of feeling isolated in your home, exploring the world, and then returning home with a new perspective. Each world evokes a different emotion through the interaction of its visual and audio design to allow the viewer to experience the intended storyline without explicit characters or plot detail. Due to the importance of maintaining plot flow, I utilized beautiful, yet difficult, design elements including glass textures, ocean shaders, and paint effects to create drastically different world designs specific to each song. These songs were chosen from a variety of EDM artists and edited to flow together seamlessly through each world and evoke a different emotion. Throughout the thesis process, I gained more skills in animation and editing and greatly improved my ability to use each application. While there is plenty of room to grow, I have improved exponentially as an artist from when I began this project to the moment I completed it.
ContributorsMallik, Ajanta Angie (Author) / Drum, Meredith (Thesis director) / Magenta, Muriel (Committee member) / The Design School (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05