Art: LILYPAD- Vincent Callebaut

"The goal is to create a harmonious coexistence of humans and nature, exploring new modes of cross-cultural aquatic living"

http://wanderlustmind.com/2008/06/28/lilypad/

This beautiful set of images is the vision of Vincent Callebaut, a Belgian based architect. At the news that sea levels with rise a meter with every degree that the earth heats up due to global warming, Vincent has created a solution. These floating cities can house up to 50,000 people who could become homeless due to the rising sealevels.

This half aquatic half terrestrial city floats just off shore, harnessing rainwater, cultivating plants and purifying the water. The city is based on a 3 mountain and 3 marinas structure all encompassing a central lagoon. Together the city creates a “...a Floating Acropolis for Ecological Refugees.”

I love this design! I would be the first to buy a room on this floating wonderland. Its organic shape and clean appearance reflect those of naturally occurring lagoons. This is a good example of Biomimicry- using lagoons as the starting point to help solve a human problem.

Lilypad-03 accessed 13-01-12

http://wanderlustmind.com/2008/06/28/lilypad/

Lilypad-01 accessed 13-01-12

http://wanderlustmind.com/2008/06/28/lilypad/

Lilypad-02 accessed 13-01-12

http://wanderlustmind.com/2008/06/28/lilypad/

Lilypad-04 accessed 13-01-12

http://www.designtavern.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/s7.jpg

Art: Fantasy Island- Heather & Ivan Morison

"The Morisons’ work pushes notions of going green and alternative culture into the realm of alternate reality, largely through their interest in the literary genre of science fiction."

http://www.morison.info/fantasyisland.html

This installation was designed and made by Heather and Ivan Morison. The installation is located in an area of woodland in Northwest Wales. The structure uses wood from within the forest so as an old tree dies, it is replaced with a new tree and the wood cut up and used for building new structures, this ecological approach makes the structure look like it belongs within the forest, nestled amongst it brothers and sisters.

The style is based on the geodesic shapes of 1970s utopian architecture and the idea of do-it-yourself handicraft. The shape and structure was inspired by a rock the couple found whilst travelling through America. It reflects the couple’s interest in nature and the fantastical. This links well with my project as they are artists who create natural structures with a fantasy twist.

From the outside the structure looks strange and alien, creating a sense of danger but inside a small wooden stove provides the cabin with a warm ambiance creating an environment of refuge and safety.

I really like the looks of this cabin- its bulging shapes contrast with the organic landscape yet it looks at peace nestled within the trees. I have always wanted to build my own house within a forest. I love the idea of escaping the hustle and bustle of the manmade city environment and taking refuge in a wooden house hidden amongst the trees of a forest. One day I AM going to build my house in a forest!

fantasyisland03 accessed 13-01-2012

http://www.morison.info/fantasyisland.html

fantasyisland04a accessed 13-01-2012

http://www.morison.info/fantasyisland.html

fantasyisland05 accessed 13-01-2012

http://www.morison.info/fantasyisland.html

fantasyisland09 accessed 13-01-2012

http://www.morison.info/fantasyisland.html

fantasyisland10 accessed 13-01-2012

http://www.morison.info/fantasyisland.html

Work: First Attempt at Digital Painting

This is my first attempt at using Digital Painting on Photoshop.
I followed an online tutorial to help me produce it and think its turned out OK- its quite simple but I think as a first attempt its not bad. I had to use a mouse to do the drawing because I don't have a graphics tablet...yet. I'm hoping they will improve with a tablet.

Technique: Digital Speed Painting

The way I render images I produce is a collage based technique similar to what’s known in the film industry as Matte Painting. I layer up photographs, textures and colours to produce a rendered image. I want to experiment with some other forms of rendering particularly for producing concept images. I purchased an ImagineFX: Fantasy & Sci-fi Digital Art magazine and noticed that the majority of the concept art pieces were produced by painting with Photoshop. Digital painting uses similar painting techniques to normal painting but with the added convenience of full digital editing capabilities.

The following video is one of the videos I found that shows you how to digitally paint in Photoshop. The notes from the video are listed bellow.

Drawing from your mind concept art tutorial environment magma river

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiSsxumLFjs&feature=relmfu

• Landscape orientated images look more cinematic
• Have an idea of the look before you start but don’t rigidly stick to it
• Don't need to focus to heavily on perspective when drawing organic shapes
• Simple layouts are best when incorporating a Foreground, Midground and Background
• Determine the chromatic value range before you start
• Keep colour values simple- 3-5max with a dominant colour- using an overlay layer filter
• Use contrasting colours to create atmosphere and more striking form
• Values become more washed out as the move towards the background

Here are some more digital painting videos that use nature as their main theme. The second video creates a particularly stunning image of a forest. When I return to university next week I want to try reproducing some digitally painted concept drawings using a graphics tablet in photoshop.

Speed painting - Soul of the forest.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJhcbfZv-6M&feature=related

  Green forest speed painting

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdcXVcCDrTQ&feature=related

Analysis of Question

“How can the natural world be adapted to create magical landscapes and imaginative worlds in film sets for a younger audience?”

This is the big question I’m trying to answer and at the moment it is proving difficult to get my head completely around it; so to help me and others know exactly what I’m looking at I’ve broken the question down.

Each of the following is based on the Oxford English Dictionary deffinitions (oxforddictionaries.com)

Nature

This is the collective phenomena of the physical world which includes plants, animals, landscapes and other features or products of the earth. Manmade objects and environments are not included in this.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/nature?q=nature

Adapt

To make or modify something giving it a new purpose.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/adapt?q=adapted

Magical

Magical has two meanings which can be used in the context of my project. The first is that magical describes something which relates to, uses or resembles in some way the idea of magic. The second is that magical can be used to describe something beautiful  or something that seems removed from everyday life.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/magical?q=magical

Landscape

The visible features of an area of land which are often considered to be aesthetically pleasing.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/landscape?q=landscape

Imaginative

An imaginative design or image shows creativity or inventiveness.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/imaginative?q=imaginative

Worlds

In this instance, Worlds is used to describe particular regions, groups, periods of history, groups of living things or distinct environment.

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/world?q=worlds#world__5

The Younger audience described in my question is defined as age 7-12.

In essence my project is looking at techniques for changing and adapting nature to create landscapes and environments suitable for fantasy films aimed at a 7-12year old audience.

Work: Contra-biomimicry

The Christmas break is over... on with the PGD.

I went back to my previous research into Biomimicry and decided to create some responses. I decided to add a twist to the basic principal of Biomimicry by reversing the two roles of nature and the manmade environment. This created a new theory I dubbed Contra-biomimicry.

Biomimicry:

Taking design principles from nature and adapting them to help solve human problems.

Contra-biomimicry:

Taking manmade ideas or objects and adapting them to create variations on nature.

Each butterfly is made up of a series of images to represent a different concept or theme. Some are easier to spot then others which is one of the things I like about them.

Aircraft:

This series of butterflies are based on aircraft.

 Communication:

 Marriage:

Finance:

Using manmade objects and ideas like communication and marriage I have created some examples of Contra-biomimicry. Nature created using inspiration from manmade objects.

Work: Kami

"Out of the trees wild people stepped forth, gods and goddesses of the wood; with them came Fauns and Satyrs and Dwarfs. Out of the river rose the river god with his

Naiad daughters."

(Lewis, C.S, 1990, pg171)

I decided to produce some of my own work based on the information I had gathered about the idea of Kami and spiritual beings in nature. Using my text, which is The Magicians Nephew by C.S.Lewis, I found a passage which described beings emerging from the forest linked with elements of the natural world (see above quote)

This first Kami is based on the Silver Birch tree. I decided that if there was to be a Kami who personified the beauty of this type of tree she should be an elegant female form to reflect the gracefulness of the Silver Birch.

This Kami was designed to hold control over Autumn. Her hair therefore is a tangle of beautiful golden leaves.

Both characters link with Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s development of the theory of Suspension of Disbelief, as both characters still take part of their form from the familiarity of everyday life- the female figure is clearly present in both characters.

The female figure I used for both images was drawn by myself as part of the life drawing classes I attend (which are turning out to be more and more useful).

Lewis, C.S (1990) The Magicians Nephew, Collins, UK