Artist Lecture RoundUP

David Clemons

I was really disheartened by the fact that I missed this lecture when he came. This was amplified when watching the video in the library as it was one of the few lectures that I actually enjoyed. Being a huge fan of metalsculpture, I found it refreshing to see a different medium being spoken about. I was especially interested in his experiences as a black artist and what it took to be viewed by his work. This is I feel what made many of his pieces very good to look at since they are metaphorical - so to speak - of the dictation one's social influence toward the interpretation of his work can cause.

Shawn Sheeny

I feel that this lecture was decent. I was excited for for given the complexity of the pop up art displayed on the posters advertising his lectures. When I got there I found it pretty lackluster. This could be due in part to the fact that the majority of the lecture was spent on the history of books, which was educational but very hard to sit through since it was so slow. Now what I can say about the artwork that was shown was that I can completely appreciate the time it takes to make a pop up book. Something that is perceived as such a simple construct takes years and years of meticulous planning and hard work. This was amazing given that his book took him almost a decade to make and distribute all by himself.

Post Thanksgiving Update

Well, here we are again. As of now, I can say that I am 2/3 of the way done with my key animation, maybe a little more than that. The animation that I do have done is a little shakey but if all goes to plan I will still be able to go back and fidget with minute details. What I have to present is basically the final scene. Due to unforeseen complication I had with creating the assets for the scene I was not able to be completely done at the end of Thanksgiving break. So, for class I will show the transition from the microscopic world to the object that it makes up. This object is a star that is shooting off fragments of galaxy-like cells. As with molecular structures, the star will collide with another that will essentially bring birth to the universe.

Update for Tuesday Nov. 23

I have the animation for the second scene done as planned in my schedule. there are still assets that need to be put into the scene but they are minute details that I am trying not to get tied down with. I have already begun creating my assets for the third and final scene.

Update for Thursday

At the present moment I still am not done with my first scene completely, but this is intentional. I am trying to make it a rule of thumb to just finish the overall project and go back to clean up some of the small rough spots. I am still going to try and get the quality down as I work but the clean up will come later. So far I am moderately on schedule with my original schedule but will update it minorly.

As far as the second scene goes, time has been spent experimenting to try and get my idea to work. For the second scene, the viewer will be given a broader scope of the space and the next sequence in the composition. There will be multiple little orbs that will start to link up. The look is to be akin to the neural system and the firing of synapses. It is to speak on how the creation of the universe is the same as that of the creation of man. Thus, speaking more on how each individual is a part of the universe on even the most microscopic level.

November 18-23: Second Act started on. Work a bit on getting aesthetics to work with the narrative.

November 23-25: Second Act done and Third Act begun.

November 25-30: Third act done and resolution begun. If ahead of schedule at this point, will go back and do revisions to make piece more polished.

November 30-December 3: Project complete

Update for Tuesday November 16

I have the majority of scene 1 done. Although I planned to be completely done, I suffered minor setbacks. Fortunately I have just one or two shots to do and I will be done and ready for the next scene. What I do have completed is the beginning of my animation that leads up to the big explosion. I definitely have to make the explosion bigger as well as clean up some rough spots. Other than that, I am not far behind on my schedule.

Calendar for the Rest of the Semester

November 11-15: Revisions to story and finalization of aesthetics. Will revise and finish composition (one major scene) began on November 10.

November 16-18: Will begin on second scene.

November 18-23: Second Act done and third act begun.

November 23-25: Third act at least halfway done

November 25-30: Third act done and resolution begun.

November 30-December 3: Project complete

Aesthetics

So, for my revisions I have took all my critiques and tried to mesh them all together. While doing more research on my topic, I got hit with the idea of having a series of four events taking place. I will treat each explosion/creation as a landscape that the viewer will journey through. As for my aesthetic, I spent a lot of hours working on it and here is what came of it. I wanted the aesthetic to carry a realistic feel. I want to challenge myself in seeing how far I can go in implying depth and space with 2 dimensional assets.