ASS2 - Project 6 - Choosing Content

Exercise - Choosing Content

Read the following extract and then answer the questions below: 

'The room was void and unquickened; it was like a room in a shop window but larger and emptier; and the middle-aged man who sat at the desk had never thought to impress himself upon what he entered every day. Comfort there was none nor discomfort; only did the occupant deign to qualify the pure neutrality of his surroundings, it would surely be austerity that would emerge. The spring sunshine turned bleak and functional as it passed the plate glass of the tall-uncurtained windows. The windows were large; the big desk lay islanded in a creeping parallelogram of light; across this and before the eyes of the man sitting motionless passed slantwise and slowly a massive shaft of shadow. Perhaps twenty times it passed to and fro, as if outside some great joy wheel oscillating idly in a derelict amusement park. And the man rose, clasped hands behind him and walked to a window – high up in New Scotland Yard. He looked out and war-time London lay beneath… on his brow was a fixed contraction; this he had carried from desk to window, and now there was neither hardening nor relaxation as he looked out… during 15 years he had controlled the file of police papers which dealt with the abduction and subsequent history of feeble minded girls. Here lay his anger as he looked out over London... year by year the anger had burst deeper until it was now the innermost principle of the man. '

Michael Innes Adapted from The Daffodil Affair 

If this were to be made into a film what would the main character be like?

     The main character would be a gentleman who is an inspector. like Sherlock Holmes. His missions in life are to solve crimes and keep peace in the city. He is a deep thinker and some one that is very wise and has see a lot in his life of murders and crimes.

What clothes would the character be wearing?

  A suit, a tie - which he has loosened up from a stressful hard day. He smokes and drinks a bit of whisky, not too much but to take the edge away of his type of job.

What furniture is in the main area in which the action takes place?

There is a desk and windows with curtains - the room is dark and mostly empty which emphasis him with his dark thoughts of evil people on the streets.



Visual Reference:

Here below is some images I thought were idealistic of what I wanted to convay through my character.

     The scene has a darkness mood to it with mystery and it reminded me on the film 'Sin City' (some images above). )It was a really dark film, with thoughts of how to protect people.

Above is some old classic detectives I found. Even Detective Noir is in there as He fits the character well.

    Above - I am a fan for any mystery dramas my favourite is Sherlock Holmes and Inspector Morse. I love the dark hidden secrets and I enjoy trying to solve the mystery before the detectives do. I went to Sherlock's house early this year in London, with my Fiance -  221b Bakers street is was a great experience. Hears some pics below to help to inspire me for my character.

Mood Board Word : Mystery

      Here below is my mood board I have just finished is isbased on the word Mystery on solving crime and finding the bad guys. I think this set me up great with my character as he is a detective but the pharagragh does not give much away about the main characheter. I get the impression that he is a man who has seen a lot and the main character him self is a bit of a mystery.

      Above - For my mood board I have chosen colours such as brown red and black  - these three colours remind me of a crime. I have used yellow paper and stamped in with letters to make it look like police tape. I have put pieces of flower material and beads to look like a necklace to show maybe a woman was involved in the crime. I used my finger in red ink to show finger prints. I feel I have captured the word mystery well. 

My Character portrait:

     From the information I collected, I sketched out a character. I wanted him to be late 40s wearing a brown suit. I wanted him to have wrinkles of tiredness, to show his stress from his job role.

Here is my sketch:

    I decided for this exercise I was going to try using Photoshop. I decided just to go with it and see what out come I make.

First of all with my tablet I sketched out my out line from my original drawing.:

     I then Painted him in with a spray brush nib and used different tones of colour to make there light coming from the right:

   Here below is my image now with my previous sketched lines:

    I am so happy with my out come for a first real go at Photoshop, it's not actually that bad. My character looks just like I pictured him to be.

     Next I decided on the background. I wanted to keep it simple and some how make my character stand out.

I decided on dark blue and discovered a tool, which helped me create a glow around my character.

    I think the background looks really good. I wanted to keep it simple for the view to wonder how this man is.

Here is my finished image below:

I am really happy with my outcome its better then I thought it would of been. I like the paint style which I have made. He looks as how I would visualise him.

I also just tried to see if it would of been better in a black and white  tones with a hint of colour just like 'Sin City' Film.:

I think this works well too, and gives it that old age sense to the illustration.

Overall:

     This has been a good exercise to see how my character was developed. From reading the paragraph, then researching and then creating. This process makes you think and imagine the character you want better. It makes the character more real and helps put their personality in to the illustration. Doing a mood board helps capture the atmosphere on the scene and put it all together create an illustration which works. I think my character comes across as mysterious and has a detective look to him.