Just wanted to say that I've liked lots of your exploratory thumbnails - love the Zenobia drawings and likewise the Octavia drawings - expressive.
So Despina - I think your the first student in your class to choose this city and I like your rationale in terms of its location allowing you to explore the aesthetic possibilities of more Arabic cultures. There's a slight impression we get from Despina that it is a mirage - that it is part dream or traveller's fantasy, and I think that should encourage a dreamier, highly atmospheric approach.
One of the key things about Despina is that it is a port city/trade city - which means that while its indigenous architecture might be Arabic, it's likely that other cultures would have created some kind of influence - in the same way that London has a 'China Town' or a 'Little India'. You might want to think about cultural eclecticism - so for example, in terms of your choice of interior space, maybe choose a space that can tell us something about the diversity of the population of Despina - maybe a wonderful covered market or bazarr, where items are from all over the known world. Likewise, in terms of your 'low angle' composition, think about what we're looking at and why - so if you were to put the viewer down amongst the docks, with lots of different sorts of ships unloading their various treasures; chinese junks and steam ships, clipper ships and fishing boats...
In summary, I think your sense of this city is good, so choose viewpoints, content and compositions that tell us more than just 'this is an Arabic city' - so focus on the visual logic that stems from Despina's status as a trading town, filled with different populations and different influences. Despite gives you the opportunity to create rich, complex, exciting scenes. It should be the sort of city that makes people want to go there and soak up the atmosphere and the exoticism!
OGR 07/10/2016
ReplyDeleteHi Greta,
Just wanted to say that I've liked lots of your exploratory thumbnails - love the Zenobia drawings and likewise the Octavia drawings - expressive.
So Despina - I think your the first student in your class to choose this city and I like your rationale in terms of its location allowing you to explore the aesthetic possibilities of more Arabic cultures. There's a slight impression we get from Despina that it is a mirage - that it is part dream or traveller's fantasy, and I think that should encourage a dreamier, highly atmospheric approach.
One of the key things about Despina is that it is a port city/trade city - which means that while its indigenous architecture might be Arabic, it's likely that other cultures would have created some kind of influence - in the same way that London has a 'China Town' or a 'Little India'. You might want to think about cultural eclecticism - so for example, in terms of your choice of interior space, maybe choose a space that can tell us something about the diversity of the population of Despina - maybe a wonderful covered market or bazarr, where items are from all over the known world. Likewise, in terms of your 'low angle' composition, think about what we're looking at and why - so if you were to put the viewer down amongst the docks, with lots of different sorts of ships unloading their various treasures; chinese junks and steam ships, clipper ships and fishing boats...
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/d9/b8/c2/d9b8c24b06750928c5eddbbc3efd8b16.jpg
http://global-mariner.com/1977-10-075-Web-Tetela.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/84/93/21/849321e05560987c9d6dc0f748ca812f.jpg
In summary, I think your sense of this city is good, so choose viewpoints, content and compositions that tell us more than just 'this is an Arabic city' - so focus on the visual logic that stems from Despina's status as a trading town, filled with different populations and different influences. Despite gives you the opportunity to create rich, complex, exciting scenes. It should be the sort of city that makes people want to go there and soak up the atmosphere and the exoticism!