About Me
Archive for October 2013
A final article before I start my second semester in film studies.
To recap, Serious Steps are articles that highlight my works for my studies; a more serious effort (That's debatable) for causes outside my own. Only this time, I'm going to center works I did for a carnival that I'm volunteering since I'm not ready to share my videos to the world yet.
Soul Carnival , being held in MMU Cyberjaya, is a carnival that centers the idea of spreading the love and Islam; to share smiles and joy with all. It's a one day event that has games for children, talks and celebrity guests. Click on the link for more information!
Because I'm here to talk about my proposed artworks.
The artworks were done months ago! But execution of releasing them to the public was only recently; even then, only one or two were used. Why I designed these works is because of two things:
1. The longing for da'wah; my responsibility of sharing the teachings of Islam.
2. I had an idea. Once I have an idea, I tend to become obsessed with it
Earlier this year, I missed my post-SPM days where I spend my times teaching kids. I loved every single moment of it. I felt I was doing something meaningful for myself, society and Islam. So, after months of absence in the field, and the much stressful assignments, I figured that I could help out a little with the Islamic clubs in my university.
I volunteered for this carnival and I was tasked as a 'security' or an 'escort' for the celebrities attending. During one of briefing, I reached to one of the leading coordinators to pitch an idea that I've had for a long time.
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| Constructive criticisms are welcomed |
The Idea came from an observation as a geek; that hype loyal fans whom are artists create for their beloved work of fiction. I see so much of beautiful fan arts that are unique, passionate and satisfying. Sometimes, I prefer fan arts over original ones. For instance, due to the fact that Jaegers aren't real, we'll only see the same movie stills and posters of the characters. As fans, we want to see more and waiting two to three years for the sequel won't cut it. Thus the answer is fan art.
The fact that the artworks also create strong hype is also interesting; a free publicity, you might say. Thus with this carnival offering an opportunity, I just can't help but to experiment my styles and knowledge.
I've created a few concepts of art styles based on my observation and the type of audience it captures. The above picture is a Sepia style; a constant style that I see in social networks. Due to it's, especially, simplicity and artistic nature, it's quite teen-friendly. I believe anyone who has Instagram can do this; with a picture, a quote and the filters.
The picture above is an example I did; an extra picture I took for my previous assignments. I knew keeping those extra pics would come in handy someday. The picture beside is more experimental; mashing in random lines and textures. I, kind of, like it but I know it's not presentable.
The Cartoon/Mascot Style
This is a more kid friendly style. The idea was having people creating their own 'little me'; the same shape of body with a different colors and headgear. This could have been a stronger trend setter though but alas, there's not much time to rely on people designing their own. But one of the head coordinator did use it as a profile picture on facebook; that's it.
After seeing a tutorial of making pixel art, I just had to do it! Initially, it was intended to be another mascot style but instead it turned into my personal profile picture. Haha. I love it very much. To be on a safe side, it's 'me' wearing my favorite green hoodie.
Recently, I am fascinated by geometric art. I am not keen on visual art. I can come up with a decent story but not a solid canvas. This weakness lead to some fascinating discoveries of geometrical beauties . One where I find most interesting is rearranging photo(s) into shapes such as triangles, hexagon, octagon and so on. I think it's really cool and, frustratingly, it makes me jealous because I couldn't come up with something like that. Darn. This discovery was observed in social networks; those selfies that are distorted into some new found 'artistic' shapes. But I was impressed with a work I saw on a Photoshop tutorial page. That's when I became fond of this style. So, I did some for myself; for this carnival. And of course I did add some 'me' in it; a restriction if you might say.
The first draft
It's not much of a drastic rearrangement to a point you can't tell what it is. I have this strict 'style' that I must put some 'sanity' to it. It's a puzzle. That's what I could think of and I'm fond of it. The little misplacement of the clouds is something I really like....I can't elaborate why for the moment. I just do.
How would this help the bring hype to the carnival? I thought it would be interesting to bring hype to the fan art itself. Yes, the fan art is to bring hype for the carnival but having more hype before it happens just scream out certainty to me. People would like and share this artwork to reveal the logo and the fan art project. After decent amount of those two, we would introduce the project. Alas...again, there's no time to wait for a decent amount of 'social acceptance' (Likes and Share). This idea was scraped.
The final product. I love it! hehehe~
Finally, as always, I leave the best for last. Come to think of it, I love most of the works I did! Let's not get carried away now. Most fan arts I stumble upon are digital or manual drawings. From Assassin's Creed to Batman, there are thousands of designers dedicating their time to draw an awesome fan art. All the above is experimental with satisfying results but below is not; no new styles, no observing the masses. It's just me being me with my drawing. Sigh, I miss drawing. Take note that this was done months ago, around February. Film assignments doesn't give me much room to draw.
The Sketch
I forgot to mention that it's a collaboration with a friend. I would sketch and he would color. I drew with pencils and thicken the lines with pen to ease the vectorizing.
Yes, I'm aware that they don't have legs. I was, admittedly, lazy. Plus, I can't draw satisfying legs. I was afraid that I might ruin it if I keep erasing it with my eraser. If you'd ask me, I personally love the woman in the middle. I drew my favorite hijab style on her.
Colored
My friend had some problem deciding what colors to use. In the end though, it's really good. It took awhile for me to digest. I know his style and this is definitely his style; seeing it fused with mine was just odd at first. In time, I did enjoy this product. Heck, even others complimented the colors. Here is his blog:
There would be booths and talks special for Muslim women; Sister's Zone. Some of my favorite Celebrity Muslimahs would be there, man! I wanna meet her! Men aren't allowed. I am sad. Najwa Latif, Diana Amir and the lovely Heliza Helmi! Weeee~!
Okay, calm yourself, man.
The Final Product!
Of course, the colored sketch wasn't enough. I need to put the logo to make it more obvious. So, this is the final that I went for. The background I did was a combo with Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop to mimic the textures. It turn out well, Almahdulillah. I like how our names were incorporated. That's essential. I don't think most people would bother to read the descriptions.
Alhamdulillah, it's been awhile since I've updated my Serious Steps articles. Don't even get me started on the rare Islamic articles! I think this is the first one where I'm not that emotional. That's one of the reasons why I call it 'serious'; to show the lessons I learned from these works. I'm grateful that I could help the function in ways that I could. It doesn't end here though, there's still the even itself. What wonders and horrors awaits?
That's it for the third Serious Steps article, constructive criticisms are welcomed.
Salam and have a good day readers!
This is the first new title in my 'must watch' film's list! I know that I'm late upon wiring this review since it was released around 2 months ago but I was just too busy with assignments. Since this is the only new title film on my list that I've managed to watch, I just have to write a review about Guillermo Del Toro's passionate work!
Of course I knew very well about the genre; Kaiju and mecha. I have the need to highlight this because the general audience aren't very aware of this genre's traits and beauties. This notion gives me that annoying assumptions that the masses will automatically compare with Transformers; even worse, saying that it's a rip off of the Cybertronians. Screw this people. But that is one of the challenges of tackling the genre and that's the easy part. The hardest part, in terms of writing the story, was creating a solid universe that relinquish gimmick infringement from it's source material such as Godzila, Gundam and, the most common association from the fans of the genre, Evangelion. But what can I see for sure, besides the breathtaking graphics, is the passion put into the film.
Perhaps the primary traits of this film is it's visual; not only with the epic battles but also the story. I am not exactly a visual driven story teller. Heck, I don't even know how one does that. But upon entering film course, I have to and I begin to understand bit by bit. The world's design was Del Toro's dependency on revealing the depths of the film; not much strong dialogues were used. The Jaeger and Kaiju's design tell more stories behind the current conflict. I am the kind of audience who bashes films that has action conquering over story; when exaggerated explosions has no story significance. But the mayhem in this film was indeed significant in ways that reveals character development and monstrous beauties. For instance, when Raleigh Becket piloted Gypsy Danger with his brother, I noticed a different fighting stance when Becket was piloting with Mako Mori.
Which brings me to the next topic about the characters. First of, I've seen Rinko Kikuchi in another all time favorite of mine; seeing her finally in a big Hollywood film puts a smile on my face. It's good to know that she's making it big now. She's very talented and straight away I saw her performance being very good in this film; the distinctive body language and expression tells us all about the character Mako Mori and not the dialogue. And the scene where Mako dwelling in her past was just. So. Amazing. I just can't stand seeing a little girl crying; little Mako was just so helpless. Man, that actress was amazing. Stacker Pentecost was also a good character; it's freaking Idris Elba for god's sake, of course he was awesome! The man, at most times, is always awesome. He was even good in a Mumford & Son's music video, Lover of the light. He was also awesome in Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance! Good god that was an awful movie. But to be frank though, I must say that Raleigh Becket wasn't a memorable character. Mako is more memorable than him. I can't say for sure whether if it was the acting or the writing. Becket seemed one dimensional. He's that typical hero you always see; a loner who's trying to get away from his past. I can't feel the main character's presence in the film. That's the down side of Pacific Rim.
Another aspect I'd like to point out is the amount of strong dialogue's presence in the story. As I've stated, I'm a story drive guy so I have this feeling that the film could have been better if Del Toro took more time with character developments; of the dialogues and relationships. The best representation of character development this film has is the Drift. It's when two pilots share thoughts in order to control the Jaeger. Again, visual dependency is high and the Drift is such a strong way to highlight the relationships such as Mako's with Pentecost. Del Toro even took the time to explore the Drift's concept with Herc and Chuck Hansen; father and son. Such care were given for this story; bit by bit, I'm learning how to tell stories visually. Even character developments were taken to it's fullest potential with the huge battle scenes.
The battles were amazing. I felt every punch and exhaustion the Jaegers had to go through with the Kaijus. Yes, the CGI was breath taking but make no mistakes; it's not just ridiculous action that made it work. Finally, I can see what's happening rather than what we see in Transformers. Sometimes, I can't tell what the hell is happening when the Autobots are fighting. I don't see the punches clearly.
I admire the passion so much. To be frank, I have this assumption that I have to be a very deep artsy guy when dwelling in the film industry. When I ask myself, am I an artistic person? After recalling all of my inspirations and past works, I'm a geek! A fan boy! So, seeing the film made passionately by a self proclaim Otaku gives me hope that I can be myself in this industry. Thank god.
This year's new title, Pacific Rim, earns a strong 4/5 for it's strong visual story telling and the passion Guillermo Del Toro gave for this film. Perhaps if the main character was given more 'unique' attributes, this film could have been better. The Jaegers beat their way up; surpassing my ratings for this year's 'main event' film Man of Steel . Damn, I put so much hope for the Kryptonian.
OH MY GOD!
It's Eidul Al-adha and it's been months since I posted anything here! A lot has been through with my life which can affect the foundations of this blog:
1. I'm a film student now which brings the question what this blog should be about? I always tried to make my articles 'graphic' based (If it's not about reviews). So, should I just show the short films I did for my assignment?
2. I haven't draw for a long time! The X-factor that drove me to write and procrastinate on this blog.
So many questions yet I gave not much attention to figure it out. While I seek the answers for this question, I'll fill my holidays with this one article. A tribute to Kamen Rider.
It's that time of the year again for Rider Fans: the end of a series and a beginning of a new one! Above is the new fruit/samurai/locks themed Rider. Now that I've done watching Kamen Rider Wizard (The previous one) and Kamen Rider W, I have so much to say about the franchise.
It's safe to say that I'm still a fresh Kamen Rider fan; having to only finish six Rider series. But I can't help to notice the constant teeth grinding cliches' that exists within the franchise. Characters always arrive in the fighting scene on time (With no effort of the writers making it seamless), weakly written punching bags (The weekly monsters to be slaughtered), one dimensional fighting choreography (Every Rider is either a swordsman or Gun fu expert and the main Rider is always both) and bad acting (Just odd body languages).
Of course, there are trademarks that is annoying at a certain point but can't be complained. Such as the toy weapons and gears. Number one rule of getting into Kamen Rider (Especially for those artsy film critics), it's a merchandise-driven show. All of those fancy transformations and the impractical weapons are meant to sell the merchandise to kids and adult collectors. If you complain about that then don't bother watching Kamen Rider in the first place.
Like WWE, I'm having problems of loving these franchises. Both have predictable, boring and repetitive plot devices. That is until I am reminded of the very reason why I love Riders in the first place.
Fang/Joker
One of the hero's power forms in Kamen Rider W; a series I've recently finished watching
Of course, there are trademarks that is annoying at a certain point but can't be complained. Such as the toy weapons and gears. Number one rule of getting into Kamen Rider (Especially for those artsy film critics), it's a merchandise-driven show. All of those fancy transformations and the impractical weapons are meant to sell the merchandise to kids and adult collectors. If you complain about that then don't bother watching Kamen Rider in the first place.
Like WWE, I'm having problems of loving these franchises. Both have predictable, boring and repetitive plot devices. That is until I am reminded of the very reason why I love Riders in the first place.
One of the hero's power forms in Kamen Rider W; a series I've recently finished watching
For Kamen Rider, I always admire the ridiculous amount of creativity. After finishing any Rider series, I always notice the layers of gimmicks of the story. Hence, the fruit/samurai/lock themed Kamen Rider Gaim. And for the debut of Kamen Rider Gaim, here's my own way of a tribute to the franchise.
A story idea
"About a year ago, Mark Rawlins, a private investigator, lost his mentor in a mysterious hurricane incident on an Island during a case they were investigating. The suspect, Alexander Kane, an archaeologist who also lost his 23 year old son in the hurricane blames both Mark and his mentor. Now in the present, Mark stumbled upon supernatural cases that leads to Alexander Kane. His only leads are mysterious artifacts from an unknown culture long time ago whom Alexander Kane recently discovered one of them in his excavations. Suddenly, Mark knew that he was in some very dark secrets that redefines logic. But with help, he might get through all of this madness. That help is Daniel Kane."
The Concept
Alexander Kane believes in the fairy tale of Gaia's Guardians. Mother nature was worried about her earth being destroyed by mankind's parasitic nature so she chose a family to protect it. Instead of violence, Gaia tasked the chosen family to guide the men and women from further damaging her soil; of the ecosystem, consumable energies and many more. With each passing families of every generation, they each acquired a totem that holds their memories; of their sacrifice, love and secrets. Each totem has three distinctive features and they are animals, elements and gems; all representing the families legacy. Not much is known of what these artifacts are capable of but Alexander Kane seeks to find that out.
Upon finishing Kamen Rider W, I notice a huge story possibility in the near ending episodes; a story aspect that can be emphasized in more unique ways. So, this story idea is based on Kamen Rider W and if you have watched the series, it should be very obvious.
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| The heroes of the series. Both men are required to transform into a single Super hero. Guess who's the detective. |
To summarize for those who aren't aware of the show's story, basically it's a detective flick who has superpowers. They investigate supernatural cases but it wasn't emphasized in a way you'd expect. Capiche?
Mind boggling, right? The show's terminology of their source of power is very creative and it inspired me to write the artifact's concept in my idea. The heroes source of power comes from earth's 'memories'. From there, some villainous scientists created the Gaia memories...that looks like thumb drives. Hence, comes my idea of Gaia's Guardians and their artifacts that contains their memories.
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| It's just clever merchandising...okay! Don't ask. |
The heroes and even villains transform by using these Gaia memories. What comes next is who I imagine acting out as Mark Rawlins and Daniel Kane.
From my favorite movie, Mark Ruffalo (left) plays the detective! He's just so cool and charming in this film. Not to mention, the fedora.
And Robert Pattinson to play Daniel Kane. I don't know, I imagined a spoiled rich kid in his 20's...out pops Robert in my head.
Michael Caine as Alexander Kane. For some, when they imagine a wise and charming veteran, they might think of Gandalf. Well, I think of Alfred Pennyworth. Another key point in the plot you should know is that the detective's partner in Kamen Rider W is the son of the main villain. So, their relationship is also important in my story idea.
So, what's the point of these ideas? How does it pays respect to the franchise? This idea is for both fans and non fans alike. I wanted to create different perspectives of seeing the Kamen Riders; of how much inspiration you can get from this merchandise-driven show. Yes, at times the show makes me roll my eyes to a point where it goes white but I have to appreciate and admire the constant fresh ideas every year. It's not easy making a franchise lasted for more than 30 years, you know? So, here's hoping for our favorite franchise to still carry on, Pokemon (Pokemon X & Y's hype is crazy!), WWE, Doctor Who, Digimon, and Ultraman, have a nice day!
