Weekly Summary: 11

3D Modelling in Maya

The Representation of Final Girls in Films and Fairy Tales

It is a common trend in slasher films that the final character is a strong willed, innocent and resourceful woman. The final girl trope has always been present in the horror genre, especially in slasher films. In spite of this fact, why is it that no one talks about it? Surely this representation of female characters should be celebrated. In her book 'Men, Women and Chain Saws: Gender in Modern Horror Films', (Clover, 1992) coined the term 'Final Girl'. She suggests that although horror films are about the antagonist, the viewers change the character that they identify with, this being the final girl, at the end of the film.

The shift from being the damsel in distress to the survivor; the prey to the hunter, gives the viewers someone to root for. Although the villains are usually overpowered and has a better chance of winning, it is not human nature to support a character with bad morals. The question that arises is why is it always a female character and why do they always have a stereotype? Studies have shown that if the gender was reversed, viewers are less likely to sympathise with men characters. It could be due to the fact that everyone loves an underdog character and women have always been stereotyped as physically and sometimes mentally weaker than men. Therefore there is a bigger journey for the female character to overcome to be the survivor whereas it would be predictable and viewers can assume that the male counterpart would survive.

Clover also suggests that final girls are necessary because villains are often men and the terror that the final girl experiences throughout the film 'purges' the character of her personal problems. An example would be Ripley from (Alien, 1979) where she forgets about the quest of returning home and all she focuses on in the latter part of the film is killing the Xenomorphs and surviving. She broke film stereotypes when she actively sought the alien to kill it at the end of the film. It is one thing to kill the antagonist while the character is defending herself but Ripley changed cinema history when she took action.

On the other hand, why can't the final girl not experience all the terrors that horror films present? I think we can link this trope back to fairy tales. Almost all notable fairy tales have final girls in them, albeit they may not be the only survivor. Characters such as Cinderella, Snow White and Little Red Riding Hood are innocent and go through hardships like all final girls in films. They eventually overcome their foes and survive, with the exception of the Little Mermaid as she turned into sea foam at the end of the original story. However it can be argued that she won as it is less painful to die than to see your true love loving someone else. It is almost as if final girls are modified versions of fairy tale heroines. There's a sadistic voyeurism in viewers taking pleasure from seeing female characters in distress although I believe it is the resolution that they enjoy thee most. The juxtaposition of being physically and mentally tortured to the final girl having a moment of realisation quite frankly, is enjoyable to see. If the female character was to be tortured and killed at the end, I don't think horror films would be as successful as they are now.

The film (Cabin in the Woods, 2012) is a great critical satire of the slasher genre the final girl trope. It successfully explores the final girl character as she is revealed to be a virgin, would not partake in activities like heavy drinking and sexual acts and she survived the false end of the film. However, she broke the stereotype by deciding that humanity is not worth saving and ends of smoking marijuana as the world ends. It was refreshing to see the final girl relax and not have to worry about death because she chose to embrace it instead.

The final girl can also be observed in games.  Clementine from the Walking Dead (2012) games is one of my favourite characters. Not only do we get to see her grow up, but we also decide who she becomes as a person. Although with decision making games, there will always be multiple set endings. With all the endings, Clementine survives even though she goes through unbearable torments like sewing her own arm and killing people she knew. Strong female characters are slowly developing in games although we could expect them to be weak at first to allow for character development. Another final girl type character in games is Sam from Until Dawn (2015). The game itself is a homage to the slasher film genre. However the game allows the players to make decisions that can lead to hundreds of different endings. This game represents an excellent marriage between games and films which I hope other studios follow up on as I think a successful narrative makes for a successful game. This game demonstrates a great way to let film lovers direct their own film. It's a tendency for viewers to yell at the screen, telling the characters to not split up or to not go to the woods. In this game, Sam is represented as the final girl on some of the endings where she survives. She is 'innocent' and resourceful, like most final girls in films. This game breaks the trope by giving the players the chance to let her die or to fight o the end for her survival. Another great thing about this game is that you can play as other characters: the 'jock', the 'bimbo' or even the villain himself.


Ultimately, there are many things that can be fixed in the final girl trope to better represent women in digital media. However, it will be a part of story telling for years to come. It has worked for years and had proven itself to be a very effective narrative device.


Alien. (1979). [video] USA: Ridley Scott.
Cabin in the Woods. (2012). [DVD] Vancouver: Joss Whedon.
Telltale. (2012) The Walking Dead. Xbox/PS4/PC. California: Telltale Games
Supermassive Games. (2015) Until Dawn. PS4. Surrey: Sony Computer Entertainment

Weekly Summary: 8

New Final Piece:

After talking to Chris, I decided to follow his suggestions by working on this design. He suggested that I take aways the tree and just focus on the character. I've always been worried that I avoid environments because of my lack of knowledge. However it's okay for this particular task because we are briefed to design a character. I also feel that an expressive face could make up for the simple 

background.

I wasn't sure if the witch should have a maniacal smile. Djinns were created to tempt humans and I was thinking that maybe it was her intention all along to have the warrior kill her.

I decided to go with a shocked face because This scene is only the introduction of the story. I think it would give too much away or possibly be confusing if she was smiling.

I tried very hard not to draw without outlines as it is a good practice. I'm pretty proud of this piece. It definitely needs work in terms or lighting, colours and values which I will work on improving  in the future.

Weekly Summary: 7

Model Sheet:

I really like the illustration I made for my character sheet so I reused it for my model sheet's profile view.

This was a fairly straightforward process because I didn't have to generate ideas. However I think it really helped me with my 3D awareness because I was thinking of the possibility of modelling it. I had to think of how much information to put so that it can be seen as a model while also not cluttering it with unnecessary details.

Final Piece Thumbnails and Experiments:

Above: Some sketches for final piece ideas. I really wanted a vertical panorama of witch waiting by the tree showing the underground space.

  Above: Iterations of my chosen design.

I mixed the upper and lower levels of 2 designs and fixed the perspective of the bottom part.

 

Above: Colour experiments. I like them all but I can see the scene set during sunset with purple and red hues. My original plan is to get inspiration from Edmund Dulac or Arthur Rackham as shown below. However it proved to be quite difficult their colour palettes and style.

Eventually I went back to just drawing it for now just to get my final piece finished.

Final choice for colours and composition

Something wasn't quite right with my thumbnail so I sat down and analysed it and I realised the character seems a bit lost in this image so I moved her a bit to the right to show her as well as the hole in the tree.

At this point I knew I want to try a completely new design because the brief says to 'maintain a tight focus on the character and pose to emote'. It seems to be a recurring problem that I don't read the brief enough. Maybe it would be worth printing out a copy so that I can keep looking at it and meet the criteria. 

I thought I was in too deep already so I kept colouring this piece hoping that I would eventually like it.

After looking at some sunset photos, I noticed that most trees are silhouettes so I darkened the tree and lowered the saturation. I have now decided to abandon this design and start a completely new one because I'm not going to be happy with it. 

Dulac, E. (2007). File:Edmund Dulac - The Garden of Paradise - Fairy of the Garden garment.jpg. [image] Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/3/32/Edmund_Dulac_-_The_Garden_of_Paradise_-_Fairy_of_the_Garden_garment.jpg/478px-Edmund_Dulac_-_The_Garden_of_Paradise_-_Fairy_of_the_Garden_garment.jpg [Accessed 3 Nov. 2015].

Rackham, A. (2011). File:Arthur Rackham King Thrushbeard.jpg. [image] Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Arthur_Rackham_King_Thrushbeard.jpg [Accessed 3 Nov. 2015].

Weekly Summary: 6

Iterations:

My first idea was to sketch some body types to develop my character. I focused on 3 and tried to create personas that could be used in my version of the story.

After getting critiqued by my peers, I've decided to choose the first iteration due to the fact that it makes the most contextual sense. I think it makes for a stronger character if the witch is young. The hunched back and the limp adds vulnerability which helps entice the warrior to help her. It doesn't seem too out of place if a disabled woman is in the forest by herself; she was probably driven away by society due to prejudice. I think my idea fits the structure of folklores and fairy stories.

Clothes Pattern Iteration:

Persian aesthetics are most commonly known for their intricate patterns. I did some quick iterations from patterns I found online. I am still undecided at this point although I am leaning towards the first 3. The 4th and 5th ones are a bit too busy for my eyes and I don't think I can spend hours working on a final piece with crazy patterns like those.

Head Gear/ Walking Stick Iteration:

I also did some iterations of the head gear and the walking stick. I could have iterated the dress but with the buys patterns would make it hard for any other design aspect to come through. I decided to go with the 2nd Head gear because I enjoy drawing fabric and I think the draping would be interesting to draw. As for the walking stick, I went with the last one because the most interesting silhouette and it could be fun to figure out how it balances.

Initial Character Sheet:

As I have mentioned before, I love character sheets. The more I work on my djinn character, the more motivated I get to make a character sheet to the best of my abilities. I thought I was doing well until Nigel pointed that my character's centre of gravity was off and that she's not properly balanced. It took me a few attempts with the help of some references to get it right. It did make me a little bit paranoid that my drawings aren't correct because I wouldn't have known something was wrong with it until somebody else pointed it out. I learned to step back and ask other people for opinions more otherwise I would have done a whole character sheet with a character that has no balance.

I then decided that I was spending far too much time on it so I abandoned the idea of an orthographic view and went with a profile view instead.  I then encountered another problem, the smoke. I wanted the smoke to look stylised and hazed and it was solved with trial and error. I think my initial design(above) is too blurred. I wanted the effect to be a mixture of her phasing and smoke.

As shown above, I changed the layout of my character sheet a couple of times in order to maximise space. I really enjoyed creating this and I think it reflects on my work. I can say that I'm proud of it because I had so much fun with it and I learned a lot from it.

Hero's Journey and Seven Stories

Hero's Journey

Below is an excerpt from Joseph Campbell's book, The Hero with the Thousand Faces,

'The standard path of the mythological adventure of the hero is a magnification of the formula represented in the rites of passage: separation--initiation--return: which might be named the nuclear unit of the monomyth.'

1. THE ORDINARY WORLD. The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma. The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history. Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress.

2. THE CALL TO ADVENTURE. Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change. 

3. REFUSAL OF THE CALL. The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly. Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead.

4. MEETING WITH THE MENTOR. The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey. Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom.

5. CROSSING THE THRESHOLD. At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.

6. TESTS, ALLIES AND ENEMIES. The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World.

7. APPROACH. The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world.

8. THE ORDEAL. Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear. Out of the moment of death comes a new life. 

9. THE REWARD. The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death. There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again.

10. THE ROAD BACK. About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home. Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission.

11. THE RESURRECTION. At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home. He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level. By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved.

12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR. The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.

In order to test this theory, I'm going to try and apply each stage to a film of my choosing, Jon Favreau's Chef.

1. The Ordinary World: Carl Casper is introduced as a chef who is friendly with his staff and has a true passion for cooking. We find out that he's separated from his wife and he has a detached relationship with his son.

2. The Call to Adventure: Carl is revamping the menu but the owner of the restaurant forbids him from doing it and demands that he cooks his normal, albeit bland and dated menu. As a result, a food critic gives Carl an abysmal and personally insulting food review.

3. Refusal of the Call: After challenging the food critique to come back so that Carl can cook his new menu, the owner threatens to fire him. Carl quits and leaves the restaurant so the food critic gives yet another scathing review. Carl then shows up at the restaurant and has a hysterical breakdown.

4.Meeting With the Mentor: Carl meets with his wife after his breakdown went viral. She counsels him and convinces him to start a food truck business so he can cook for himself and be happy.

5.Crossing the Threshold: Carl starts setting up the van with his son, thus creating a father/son bond.

6.Test, Allies and Enemies: Carl's relationship with his son is tested during the trip and it is shown that he may have lost interest in working at a proper restaurant.

7.Approach: Carl, his friend and his son tries new recipes to prepare for the amount of customers they are getting every day.

8. The Ordeal: They are now nearing the end of their trip and Carl and his son are both disappointed and scared that things will go back too they way they were.

9. The Reward: Carl faces his fears and opens up to new possibilities. He makes compromises and adjusts his schedule to accommodate more time for his son.

10. The Road Back: Carl now works in his food truck with his friend, son and ex-wife. He seems happy and his business is booming.

11. The Resurrection: The food critic that ended Carl's career approached him at his food truck. Tension rises as the last time they met, Carl had a meltdown. It turns out that the food critic want to open a new restaurant and wants Carl to be his partner.

12. Return With the Elixir: The film ends with a scene of the new restaurant. People are dancing and having fun in what looks to be a wedding. Carl is seen dancing with his ex wife and they are now re-married.  Carl's 'treaure' is his new restaurant and rekindled relationship with his family.

SEVEN STORIES

In his book, (Booker, 2004) outlined 7 basics of plot writing; They are as follows:

Overcoming the Monster
Hero learns of a great evil threatening the land, and sets out to destroy it.

Rags to Riches
Surrounded by dark forces who suppress and ridicule him, the Hero slowly blossoms into a mature figure who ultimately gets riches, a kingdom, and the perfect mate.

The Quest
Hero learns of a great MacGuffin that he desperately wants or needs to find, and sets out to find it, often with companions.

Voyage and Return
Hero heads off into a magic land with crazy rules, ultimately triumphs over the madness and returns home far more mature than when he set out.

Comedy
Hero and Heroine are destined to get together, but a dark force is preventing them from doing so; the story conspires to make the dark force repent, and suddenly the Hero and Heroine are free to get together. This is part of a cascade of effects that shows everyone for who they really are, and allows two or more other relationships to correctly form.

Tragedy
The flip side of the Overcoming the Monster plot. Our protagonist character is the Villain, but we get to watch him slowly spiral down into darkness before he's finally defeated, freeing the land from his evil influence.

Rebirth
As with the Tragedy plot, but our protagonist manages to realize his error before it's too late, and does a Heel-Face Turn to avoid inevitable defeat.

These categories can be applied not only to books but also to films and games. Working in a group, we chose a game that fits in each category.

Overcoming the Monster: Diablo 3 represents overcoming the monster quite literally. As a nephalem, you have to defeat evil and Diablo himself.

Rags to Riches: This trope applies to every MMO game as you usually start with default and basic items. Games like Grand Theft Auto shows that you can be rich as the game progresses and you are able to buy cars, weapons and clothing.

The Quest: Mario's MacGuffin is Princess Peach. The game is all about his quest to rescue her.

Voyage and Return: Pokemon is a good example because the game is about the player's voyage to be the greatest Pokemon trainer and his return home to show everyone his accomplishments.

Comedy: Grim Fandango  is filled with light and dark humour.The visual design perfectly compliments the humour and narrative of the game.

Tragedy: Papers Please sounds like a boring game if you've never played it. Checking paperworks sounds like a chore and if you;re not being rewarded to do it, then why try? However the narrative is simple yet compelling. Making moral decisions that determines the fate of the characters around you, although you've never met them, makes this game both sad and captivating.

Rebirth: Braid  in my opinion is the perfect example of rebirth. The character goes through a form of rebirth when he realises that he is actually the bad guy. He might have been the bad guy throughout the whole film but it shows that your personal view of yourself is what matters the most. The mechanics of the game is also a form of rebirth as you bend time and you are able to redo your actions.

Campbell, J. (1972). The hero with a thousand faces. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press.

Booker, C. (2004). The seven basic plots. London: Continuum.

Weekly Summary: 5

Silhouettes:

I chose the Safavid dynasty because in my opinion, good research makes for a great foundation for a great design. I work well when I have some understanding of my subject. Although I still had some difficulties making the silhouettes because based on my research men and women from the Safavid dynasty share the same silhouette. It was hard to make the silhouettes varied without repeating myself.

Alchemy helped me get over the repetitiveness because I didn't overthink anything. I didn't choose a particular silhouette, instead I combined the parts that I like from a selection of them and drew a quick sketch to start my iterations.

Transposing the Story

A warrior came marching along the high road: “Left, right—left, right.” He had his quiver on his back, and a bow at his side; he had been to the wars, and was now returning home.

As he walked on, he met a very frightful-looking old jinn in the road. Her under-lip hung quite down on her breast, and she stopped and said, “Good evening, warrior; you have a very fine bow, and a large quiver, and you are a real warrior; so you shall have as much money as ever you like.”


“Thank you, old jinn,” said the warrior.


“Do you see that large tree,” said the jinn, pointing to a tree which stood beside them. “Well, it is quite hollow inside, and you must climb to the top, when you will see a hole, through which you can let yourself down into the tree to a great depth. I will tie a rope round your body, so that I can pull you up again when you call out to me.”


“But what am I to do, down there in the tree?” asked the warrior.


“Get money,” she replied; “for you must know that when you reach the ground under the tree, you will find yourself in a large hall, lighted up by three hundred lamps; you will then see three doors, which can be easily opened, for the keys are in all the locks. On entering the first of the chambers, to which these doors lead, you will see a large chest, standing in the middle of the floor, and upon it a dog seated, with a pair of eyes as large as teacups. But you need not be at all afraid of him; I will give you my blue checked apron, which you must spread upon the floor, and then boldly seize hold of the dog, and place him upon it. You can then open the chest, and take from it as many pence as you please, they are only copper pence; but if you would rather have silver money, you must go into the second chamber. Here you will find another dog, with eyes as big as mill-wheels; but do not let that trouble you. Place him upon my apron, and then take what money you please. If, however, you like gold best, enter the third chamber, where there is another chest full of it. The dog who sits on this chest is very dreadful; his eyes are as big as a tower, but do not mind him. If he also is placed upon my apron, he cannot hurt you, and you may take from the chest what gold you will.”


“This is not a bad story,” said the warrior; “but what am I to give you, you old jinn? for, of course, you do not mean to tell me all this for nothing.”


“No,” said the jinn; “but I do not ask for a single penny. Only promise to bring me an old tinder-box, which my grandmother left behind the last time she went down there.”


“Very well; I promise. Now tie the rope round my body.”


“Here it is,” replied the jinn; “and here is my blue checked apron.” 


As soon as the rope was tied, the warrior climbed up the tree, and let himself down through the hollow to the ground beneath; and here he found, as the jinn had told him, a large hall, in which many hundred lamps were all burning. Then he opened the first door. “Ah!” there sat the dog, with the eyes as large as teacups, staring at him.


“You’re a pretty fellow,” said the warrior, seizing him, and placing him on the jinn’s apron, while he filled his pockets from the chest with as many pieces as they would hold. Then he closed the lid, seated the dog upon it again, and walked into another chamber, And, sure enough, there sat the dog with eyes as big as mill-wheels.


“You had better not look at me in that way,” said the warrior; “you will make your eyes water;” and then he seated him also upon the apron, and opened the chest. But when he saw what a quantity of silver money it contained, he very quickly threw away all the coppers he had taken, and filled his pockets and his knapsack with nothing but silver.


Then he went into the third room, and there the dog was really hideous; his eyes were, truly, as big as towers, and they turned round and round in his head like wheels.


“Good morning,” said the warrior, touching his cap, for he had never seen such a dog in his life. But after looking at him more closely, he thought he had been civil enough, so he placed him on the floor, and opened the chest. Good gracious, what a quantity of gold there was! enough to buy all the sugar-sticks of the sweet-stuff women; all the tin warriors, whips, and rocking-horses in the world, or even the whole town itself There was, indeed, an immense quantity. So the warrior now threw away all the silver money he had taken, and filled his pockets and his knapsack with gold instead; and not only his pockets and his knapsack, but even his cap and boots, so that he could scarcely walk.


He was really rich now; so he replaced the dog on the chest, closed the door, and called up through the tree, “Now pull me out, you old jinn.”


“Have you got the tinder-box?” asked the jinn.


“No; I declare I quite forgot it.” So he went back and fetched the tinderbox, and then the jinn drew him up out of the tree, and he stood again in the high road, with his pockets, his knapsack, his cap, and his boots full of gold.


“What are you going to do with the tinder-box?” asked the warrior.


“That is nothing to you,” replied the jinn; “you have the money, now give me the tinder-box.”


“I tell you what,” said the warrior, “if you don’t tell me what you are going to do with it, I will use my bow and arrow and shoot you in the heart.”


“No,” said the jinn.


The warrior immediately shot her in the heart, and she disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Then he tied up all his money in her apron. and slung it on his back like a bundle, put the tinderbox in his pocket, and walked off to the nearest town. It was a very nice town, and he put up at the best inn, and ordered a dinner of all his favourite dishes, for now he was rich and had plenty of money.


The servant, who cleaned his boots, thought they certainly were a shabby pair to be worn by such a rich gentleman, for he had not yet bought any new ones. The next day, however, he procured some good clothes and proper boots, so that our warrior soon became known as a fine gentleman, and the people visited him, and told him all the wonders that were to be seen in the town, and of the shah’s beautiful daughter, the khanum.


“Where can I see her?” asked the warrior.


“She is not to be seen at all,” they said; “she lives in a large copper castle, surrounded by walls and towers. No one but the shah himself can pass in or out, for there has been a prophecy that she will marry a common warrior, and the shah cannot bear to think of such a marriage.”
“I should like very much to see her,” thought the warrior; but he could not obtain permission to do so. However, he passed a very pleasant time; went to the theatre, drove in the king’s garden, and gave a great deal of money to the poor, which was very good of him; he remembered what it had been in olden times to be without a shilling. Now he was rich, had fine clothes, and many friends, who all declared he was a fine fellow and a real gentleman, and all this gratified him exceedingly. But his money would not last forever; and as he spent and gave away a great deal daily, and received none, he found himself at last with only two shillings left. So he was obliged to leave his elegant rooms, and live in a little garret under the roof, where he had to clean his own boots, and even mend them with a large needle. None of his friends came to see him, there were too many stairs to mount up. One dark evening, he had not even a penny to buy a candle; then all at once he remembered that there was a piece of candle stuck in the tinder-box, which he had brought from the old tree, into which the jinn had helped him.


He found the tinder-box, but no sooner had he struck a few sparks from the flint and steel, than the door flew open and the dog with eyes as big as teacups, whom he had seen while down in the tree, stood before him, and said, “What orders, master?”


“Hallo,” said the warrior; “well this is a pleasant tinderbox, if it brings me all I wish for.”


“Bring me some money,” said he to the dog.


He was gone in a moment, and presently returned, carrying a large bag of coppers in his month. The warrior very soon discovered after this the value of the tinder-box. If he struck the flint once, the dog who sat on the chest of copper money made his appearance; if twice, the dog came from the chest of silver; and if three times, the dog with eyes like towers, who watched over the gold.


The warrior had now plenty of money; he returned to his elegant rooms, and reappeared in his fine clothes, so that his friends knew him again directly, and made as much of him as before.


After a while he began to think it was very strange that no one could get a look at the khanum. “Every one says she is very beautiful,” thought he to himself; “but what is the use of that if she is to be shut up in a copper castle surrounded by so many towers. Can I by any means get to see her. Stop! where is my tinder-box?” Then he struck a light, and in a moment the dog, with eyes as big as teacups, stood before him.


“It is midnight,” said the warrior, “yet I should very much like to see the khanum, if only for a moment.”


The dog disappeared instantly, and before the warrior could even look round, he returned with the khanum. She was lying on the dog’s back asleep, and looked so lovely, that every one who saw her would know she was a real khanum. The warrior could not help kissing her, true warrior as he was. Then the dog ran back with the khanum; but in the morning, while at breakfast with the shah and empress, she told them what a singular dream she had had during the night, of a dog and a warrior, that she had ridden on the dog’s back, and been kissed by the warrior.


“That is a very pretty story, indeed,” said the empress. So the next night one of the old ladies of the court was set to watch by the princess’s bed, to discover whether it really was a dream, or what else it might be.


The warrior longed very much to see the khanum once more, so he sent for the dog again in the night to fetch her, and to run with her as fast as ever he could. But the old lady put on water boots, and ran after him as quickly as he did, and found that he carried the khanum into a large house. She thought it would help her to remember the place if she made a large cross on the door with a piece of chalk. Then she went home to bed, and the dog presently returned with the khanum. But when he saw that a cross had been made on the door of the house, where the warrior lived, he took another piece of chalk and made crosses on all the doors in the town, so that the lady-in-waiting might not be able to find out the right door.


Early the next morning the shah and empress accompanied the lady and all the officers of the household, to see where the khanum had been.


“Here it is,” said the shah, when they came to the first door with a cross on it.
“No, my dear husband, it must be that one,” said the empress, pointing to a second door having a cross also.


“And here is one, and there is another!” they all exclaimed; for there were crosses on all the doors in every direction.


So they felt it would be useless to search any farther. But the empress was a very clever woman; she could do a great deal more than merely ride in a carriage. She took her large gold scissors, cut a piece of silk into squares, and made a neat little bag. This bag she filled with buckwheat flour, and tied it round the princess’s neck; and then she cut a small hole in the bag, so that the flour might be scattered on the ground as the khanum went along. During the night, the dog came again and carried the khanum on his back, and ran with her to the warrior, who loved her very much, and wished that he had been a prince, so that he might have her for a wife. The dog did not observe how the flour ran out of the bag all the way from the castle wall to the warrior’s house, and even up to the window, where he had climbed with the khanum. Therefore in the morning the shah and empress found out where their daughter had been, and the warrior was taken up and put in prison. Oh, how dark and disagreeable it was as he sat there, and the people said to him, “To-morrow you will be hanged.” It was not very pleasant news, and besides, he had left the tinder-box at the inn. In the morning he could see through the iron grating of the little window how the people were hastening out of the town to see him hanged; he heard the drums beating, and saw the warriors marching. Every one ran out to look at them. and a shoemaker’s boy, with a leather apron and slippers on, galloped by so fast, that one of his slippers flew off and struck against the wall where the warrior sat looking through the iron grating. “Hallo, you shoemaker’s boy, you need not be in such a hurry,” cried the warrior to him. “There will be nothing to see till I come; but if you will run to the house where I have been living, and bring me my tinder-box, you shall have four shillings, but you must put your best foot foremost.” 


The shoemaker’s boy liked the idea of getting the four shillings, so he ran very fast and fetched the tinder-box, and gave it to the warrior. And now we shall see what happened. Outside the town a large gibbet had been erected, round which stood the warriors and several thousands of people. The shah and the empress sat on splendid thrones opposite to the judges and the whole council. The warrior already stood on the ladder; but as they were about to place the rope around his neck, he said that an innocent request was often granted to a poor criminal before he suffered death. He wished very much to smoke a pipe, as it would be the last pipe he should ever smoke in the world. The shah could not refuse this request, so the warrior took his tinder-box, and struck fire, once, twice, thrice,— and there in a moment stood all the dogs;—the one with eyes as big as teacups, the one with eyes as large as mill-wheels, and the third, whose eyes were like towers. “Help me now, that I may not be hanged,” cried the warrior.


And the dogs fell upon the judges and all the councillors; seized one by the legs, and another by the nose, and tossed them many feet high in the air, so that they fell down and were dashed to pieces.
“I will not be touched,” said the shah. But the largest dog seized him, as well as the empress, and threw them after the others. Then the warriors and all the people were afraid, and cried, “Good warrior, you shall be our shah, and you shall marry the beautiful khanum.”


So they placed the warrior in the king’s carriage, and the three dogs ran on in front and cried “Hurrah!” and the little boys whistled through their fingers, and the warriors presented arms. The khanum came out of the copper castle, and became empress, which was very pleasing to her. The wedding festivities lasted a whole week, and the dogs sat at the table, and stared with all their eyes.

Weekly Summary: 4

Narrative:

Making comics has always been my interest and I can't think of a better way to explain my narrative than to make one. In my story, humans have become so obsessed with time, (almost like they are all worshipping the clock) time is money, being late has consequences, etc. The gods who for centuries, not expected any form of worship from us, finally had enough. They thought that humans are narcissistic as we have become so obsessed with a concept that we created rather than being thankful and making the most out of what they gave us, the world around us.

With a strike of lightning, all timepieces in the world stopped working.

People then started discovering crystals in their bodies. The silence of the ticking clocks were replaced by the horrified screams of humans as they discovered that something is very, very wrong.

Scientists tried to study the crystals but couldn't find anything other than they are just crystals. Black market deals stated popping up, with promises of the removal of the crystals. However money is not the only price. Attempts of removing the crystal creates a pain similar to a numbing toothache. It is as if someone if grinding your bones, not intensely painful but for some reason it is unbearable. People also tried to sell the crystals that are removed, however since everyone has them , they lost their value.

It was the online forums that figured it all out. Correlations between actions and the growth of the crystals started forming. Others have tried to do nothing but sit at home, wait for the 'epidemic' to be over, but it was there to stay. it was then realised that the only way to stop the crystals growing is by doing good deeds and making the most out of life. Every child born after the lightning strike has pure diamonds on the top of their hands. It's beautiful and reflects their innocence. During their teens, the crystals are 'activated'.

Crystal Ideas:

Instead of the crystal growth starting on arms, I decided to have it grow wherever people's sins originated. I also thought of different types of crystals to match different sins/actions. The tar/oil like aesthetic of the hematite is perfect for hideous crimes like murder. Fulgurite however is made when lightning strikes sand and it creates a statue like crystal which I think reflects laziness.

Model Sheet:

After asking for some critiques fro my peers, I fixed a couple of things. One of them suggested that I clean my silhouette because the edges of the crystals don't make sense. It probably added half an hour of work but it was a great advice because it looks way better than when I sloppily drew the crystal. I learned to be more refined and clean with my work and to have patience because it does pay off.

I also realised halfway that the first and last arm are opposite hands so I flipped and redrew the last one as shown below.

Final model sheet:

I added more depth to the arm. I looked at the brief again after I finished and realised that we were asked to do an orthographic view which I forgot to do. Another lesson learned; keep referring to the brief.

Final Piece Thumbnails:

Everyone that I asked agreed that the bench design is the most interesting one. I then drew quick sketches of different ways someone could sit on a bench but my first design still appealed the most to me. I think It works well in terms of composition so I decided to go with it.

Below are the images of the progress of my final piece. The idea is that a man knew he doesn't have a chance in surviving and that it's too late for him. As he was sitting down and reflecting on his life, he was crystallised and became some sort of statue which is the version of death in my narrative.

If I was to redo this final piece, what would I change?

I probably would find an easier way of painting the crystals. I painted on top of filtered(oil paint in Photoshop) images which took a very long time. I also need to do more environment studies because I realised I'm not confident in painting environments.

Weekly Summary: 3

Research:

After doing my research, i have decided to give the narrative a lot of focus. My aim is to create a timepiece that has a great story behind it. I don't want to just create a watch or tower. I want to challenge myself and since I am interested in narratives, it only makes sense to explore it given the chance. I do know that I want my design to have both sci-fi and organic aesthetics to it. 

Silhouettes:

Still undecided on what type of timepiece I want, I created both wrist and chest piece silhouettes. Talking to Chris about my idea made me realise that I first have to finalise the concept of my narrative first, otherwise I'll be generating designs all day rather than iterating. We both agreed that the veiny silhouette on the arm was the most interesting looking one.

I thought the silhouettes needed more refinement so when I knew I wanted to do an arm piece, I created a set of more defined designs. I like the idea of crystals which subsequently finalised my narrative concept.