Choice Piece: Digital Illustration
Exhibition Text
The Game of Life was inspired by a 16th century tapestry depicting the three fates from Greek mythology, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. These three were in control of mortals' life, and how long it lasted. I created this digital illustration to show how unpredictable life can be, as these three creatures are deciding your fate based on the roll of a dice.
Planning
Inspiration
“The Three Fates (Tapestry).” V&A Search the Collections, collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72702/the-three-fates-tapestry-unknown/.
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This tapestry done in the 16th century in the Netherlands was the main inspiration for my piece. It depicts the three fates (or the three Moirai) from Greek mythology, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. According to the myths, they are in control of everyone's life, both how they live it and when it ends. Atropos is "the weaver", or the one who decides your life events, and Atropos is the one who cuts your string, and ends your life. While I knew I didn't want to make a tapestry, I liked the symmetry of this piece and the details of the clothes they are wearing, so I wanted to emulate that in my piece.
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This adaptation of the three fates was created in a Marvel comic by Stan Lee. They were first shown in the comic Journey Into Mystery #102 March 1964. They aren't directly connected to the three fates from Greek mythology, but they do the same things. Superheros in the comic were able to meet them, however, it seems like they play more of an antagonist role.
I really liked this version of the three fates because I liked the darkness and mysteriousness. I also liked that they included the strings, which is where I got the inspiration to add them for my piece. I also decided that I didn't want to show their faces, just like in the comic. |
“Norns (Fates) (Earth-616).” Marvel Database, marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Norns_(Fates)_(Earth-616).
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Sketches
These were my sketches I made before I began drawing it in FireAlpaca. For the first sketch, I wanted to do my research and gather my ideas for this project, and I was able to learn about the history and the myth of the three fates. For the second sketch, I wanted to lay out how the piece would look as a whole, so I sketched out the three figures first, because I knew it would be the hardest to do. I also sketched out how the table would look in the middle of all three of them to get a feel for the sizing. Lastly, I wanted to practice how I would draw the skeletal hand coming from the third fate. I wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing so I could put a lot of detail into it.
Experimentation
Process
Reflection
Critique
Overall, I really like how my piece turned out. Because this was my choice piece, I really wanted to experiment with a new medium, and I wanted to see how I did with digital illustration. This was hard for me, but I like the simplicity of it. The hardest part of the process was working with the software, because it was new to me. It was similar to photoshop, but some of the things weren't working the way I wanted them to. It was hard to get really precise lines when I was doing the black and red lines, maybe because of the pen I was using on my computer, or maybe because of the program. I do like the way it turned out, though, and I like the way the shading turned out. My favorite "person" is the one on the left, just because I like how smooth the blending looks.
Compare and Contrast
The Game of Life
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Similarities
Differences
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16th century Tapestry
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ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork.
The symmetry in both the Marvel comic and the tapestry were reflected in my piece. The detail and shading were also translated from my inspirations to my own piece. This shading allowed for detail and depth in the piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author is trying to communicate that life can be unpredictable, and out of our control, so it's important to try to live in the moment.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned a lot about the Greek culture when researching my inspiration. They rely on storytelling and mythology to explain natural phenomenons, including death.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme of my inspiration is how life is unpredictable.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I could infer that the Greeks relied heavily on mythology because they had no other way of explaining some of the natural wonders in the world.
The symmetry in both the Marvel comic and the tapestry were reflected in my piece. The detail and shading were also translated from my inspirations to my own piece. This shading allowed for detail and depth in the piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author is trying to communicate that life can be unpredictable, and out of our control, so it's important to try to live in the moment.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I learned a lot about the Greek culture when researching my inspiration. They rely on storytelling and mythology to explain natural phenomenons, including death.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The theme of my inspiration is how life is unpredictable.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I could infer that the Greeks relied heavily on mythology because they had no other way of explaining some of the natural wonders in the world.
Bibliography
“Norns (Fates) (Earth-616).” Marvel Database, marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Norns_(Fates)_(Earth-616).
“The Three Fates (Tapestry).” V&A Search the Collections, collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72702/the-three-fates-tapestry-unknown/.
“The Three Fates (Tapestry).” V&A Search the Collections, collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72702/the-three-fates-tapestry-unknown/.