Unit 34 Image Manipulation Computer Applications

The Insanity Collage project

Research

Collage sketches

Collage idea 1

Silhouettes for the collage

Multiple other skull attempts

Final skull idea

Final skull idea digitalised

First I started by adding a grey background colour and blending the images I'd chosen together. 

I then added silhouettes all over the picture and reduced their opacity to give them a faded look. 

Then, I added in the skull I'd designed and reduced the opacity in an attempt to make it fit in with the theme of the collage.

I then added in the hand silhouette I'd drawn and covered the bottom of the face with it, making it slightly symbolic. 

And finally, I inverted the background to give the effect of the backwards view insane people have.

Collage 2

Development of insanity tendrils

Collage Development

I started by changing the gradient of the background, giving it a rusty colour, representing decay. In this case; decay of the mind.

I then applied a texture using the gradient as a base, giving it a scratchy messy appearance

I then placed the skull I'd made earlier and added a bevel effect to give it 3D shading

I then took the hands I'd made earlier and placed them all around the skull, reaching for its mind

I then took the tendrils I'd made earlier and placed them over the skull. I reduced the opacity a little and placed it in the centre of the skull. 

Finally, I took the silhouettes I'd created and placed a few around, running along the tendrils. I added a bevel effect to give them a 3D effect which made them seem less like silhouettes and more like 3D people, with no identity.

Collage 3

I started by drawing out my new concept for the collage

Then, I went ahead and coloured it all in, adding a black background and partially drawing out the main piece of text. I also added a green pupil to the drawing acting as my focal point.

I then added a gradient inside the word "MADNESS" going from red to black and finished off the word

I then found myself an eye texture and placed it inside the eye, adding the rest of the phrase up above.

I then attempted to make the phrase stand out even more by adding a gradient to the background, this is the final product.

Artist Critique

The artist I have chosen is Catherine McIntyre. Her work relates to my own with her themes of insanity through surrealism and the abnormal. Her artwork uses insanity as something creepy and weird as I have done, adding that element of unease when viewing the various pieces she’s created.

She has used similar colours and drawings in her work compared to my own. While my work may not be as professional, we have both used a skull in a few pieces and we have both used dark and grimy colours like brown and black. This shows how quite a few people view the subject of insanity. It is seen as unexplainable, unclean, and barely human. It cannot be reasoned with, and we do not understand it. That is what makes us afraid.

Catherine has created her pieces is such a way that it appears hand painted at an incredibly high standard.  It’s impossible to say for sure, but it appears she’s used overlays on most of her pieces to add a grimy texture and colour. She may have sketched out the art in pencil and digitalised it on a computer.

Some pictures show a fading effect on certain objects suggesting a feather effect or just the addition of a gradient effect. She could have used any amount of different techniques either on Photoshop or just by hand drawing them. Both of which being techniques I used. She could even have created them entirely on the computer.

If I were to compare Catherine’s work with other pieces of work, you’d find various similarities and differences. One of these similarities would be a thing being out of place, like the wings on a skull seen in page 2. Or the use of biological forms, like the skull for example, or entire skeletons.

All of these things work together to create a surreal picture that can intrigue you and really make you start to question. Insanity can be represented in so many ways due to the complexity of the human mind. With so many functions, so many things can go wrong.

The mind can become unpredictable and so this can be represented in the artwork. It can become different, unexpected, and represent something unique to that person. Art is said to be what the artist creates to get you to feel the same way they did when creating the art. It’s said we all have a little insanity inside us, and maybe the artist just lets that little bit out to create these strange pieces.

I chose this artist because it links to how I see insanity the most. Other artists form their own impressions, as has this one, but Catherine has shown a kind of insanity in her art I can see. This is why I chose to write about her.

Design report

The task was given to us weeks ago to create two collages of a chosen subject. My subject, as can be seen, was insanity. The human mind, as I have said before is complex. A supercomputer with thousands of processes and problems passing through it every second. This means of course, that there are so many things that could go wrong. And when things do go wrong, they can be absolutely intriguing!

The very first thing I did was research. I looked up how others represent insanity in pictures and collages alike. I often found they were quite complex and featured biological forms most of the time, obviously representing the human form breaking after the mind. I went through some of these and circled the focal points I thought were most clear. I made various mood boards to show this kind of thing, studying the colours used and art style most popular in the theme of insanity. after quite a bit more research, I decided to go by a similar theme and to a biological collage, so began practicing my ability to draw out a skull.

I drew many different drafts of skulls before finally attempting the main thing. The result of said skull can be seen above. I then decided I would use this as the main theme of each collage. I scanned it into the computer and began colouring it digitally, going over the lines and adding colours where I needed them.

The first collage was one I wanted to represent how lost people are when losing their mind, how they can be torn between doing one thing or another. This is when I began developing the silhouettes I have sketched above. I tried to make them slightly out of proportion so as to add that strange feeling of something being just not quite right. I posed them all in stances as if they were lost and wandering without purpose. These were then digitalised and placed onto the collage.

Next I took pictures I had taken earlier and faded them into the picture, inverting them to give it that backwards feel. The skull went in the middle and collage 1 was complete. It was not a masterpiece but I could improve it later if needs be.

Next came collage 2, I wanted to add some different elements to this collage and so created the brand new sketch of the mind escaping, I wanted to make this collage a little simpler and so decided to keep the background clear bar a texture with a gradient. The skull was placed into the picture once more and the spiky sketch was placed over it. The silhouettes went on in their usual lost stance and collage two had been born.

Originally I thought I was done, but after going over both collages once more I realised they were just too similar, both had the skull, both had the silhouettes, I needed something much more unique while keeping the same theme of insanity. Planning on collage number three began.

The other two collages had both been mostly hand drawn, and I wanted to do something similar with the third without making it too similar. This is when I decided to use text. I found a quote; "Sanity calms but Madness is more interesting." I decided this was short enough to use for the design.

I began the sketch I thought would fit and spent quite a while practicing my technique with drawing hands. I wanted to give the effect this time that the insane were lost and just wanted help, something to drag them out of the hell they live. While drawing the hands I realised I also wanted to include something to do with them being lost, so I added in an eye, searching for a way through the darkness. After that, it was just a matter of digitalising it and adding textures like the veins in the eye and the pupil too.

Finally, I decided to research one more artist I could learn from in this project, this turned out to be Catherine McIntyre. Her work was inspiring with the way she used biological forms to give the impression of a broken mind, whether that was her intention or not. Now the task is complete, I feel I've taken a lot out of it. I know more about body proportion now than I did for one, and I've learned how to draw the basics of new things. Photoshop has been a valuable asset in this task and I feel I've learned a lot about the program. Enjoy the pieces I've made, they may not be to an outstanding professional standard, but they're something I can be proud of.