:Exhibition:
Blood in the Water is poster inspired by Don't Kill our Wildlife by John Wagner. This piece draws awareness to the issue of manta rays being killed for their gills, which are thought to have medicinal value. This hunting is so severe that they have become endangered. This is something a lot of people are unaware of and I wanted to capture their attention with this piece. Title: Blood in the Water Size: 1584 x 2000 pix, adjusted for print Medium: digital Date of Completion: 9/1/22 |
Inspiration
Don't Kill our Wildlife by John Wagner was created in 1940 for the national parks service's use. The poster utilizes flat colors in a limited pallet of mostly shades of blue and simplistic shapes to be easy to read and understand. The piece's purpose is to raise awareness about the problem of drivers hitting animals in the road and to persuade them to be more careful. Everything about the poster's layout is very intentional, the message conveyed by the approaching car and fleeing deer reaches the viewer even if they can't read the text. |
Planning
I wanted to keep the style consistent with the original, flat outlines of the subjects with clear line of action so that text is not necessary to understand it's meaning, as Don't Kill our Wildlife did very well. The limited color pallet is also something I wanted to include. I chose to make the main color pallet be red, because of it's more sinister connotation in color theory, to further convey to the viewer that the depicted scene is bad. I chose to depict a different problem affecting wildlife in the current day, the hunting of manta rays for their gills, which are thought to have medicinal values. In the scene it is clear the manta ray is being hunted, and the gills are first and foremost on the page to emphasize their relevance. Starting with my initial sketch, I layed out the basic features of the piece. The manta rays, sea floor, and boat above. I felt the use of only different intensities of the same red wasn't visually appealing, and the background felt flat and left large blank spots in the middle and top of the canvas. I chose to make the background colors more purple toned while still maintaining the very red pallet. The background fades to lighter colors the further back you go to mimic how water obscures distance. The variety in coral, rocks, and kelp provide a lively background that convey the great biodiversity present in this ecosystem. In the final piece, the brightest red makes the foreground stand out against the background, which is more dull. The line of action is visually appealing and easy to follow, and the viewer can see the story in the piece. |
Critique
Pictured left, Don't Kill our Wildlife by John Wagner, pictured right my piece Blood in the Water.
Similarities
-Both have a limited pallet and utilize different shades and color intensity to get variation that makes the background stand out.
-They share a purpose, and that purpose is to raise awareness about an issue facing wildlife. The animal is the center of attention in frame and the threat facing them is displayed clearly.
-Clean, solid color shapes make up these pieces. It is clear what is happening due to this simplistic style choice.
Differences
-Don't Kill our Wildlife makes heavy use of the color blue as the scene depicts night, while Blood in the Water is made up of entirely red.
-The composition ended up fairly different, Blood in the Water has the advantage of being in the ocean and not restricting the figures to the bottom of the frame as Don't Kill our Wildlife does.
-Don't Kill our Wildlife uses colors other than blue like yellow and black to direct your attention to certain points, Blood in the Water elects to instead use the brightest color to draw the eye and maintain the all red pallet.
Similarities
-Both have a limited pallet and utilize different shades and color intensity to get variation that makes the background stand out.
-They share a purpose, and that purpose is to raise awareness about an issue facing wildlife. The animal is the center of attention in frame and the threat facing them is displayed clearly.
-Clean, solid color shapes make up these pieces. It is clear what is happening due to this simplistic style choice.
Differences
-Don't Kill our Wildlife makes heavy use of the color blue as the scene depicts night, while Blood in the Water is made up of entirely red.
-The composition ended up fairly different, Blood in the Water has the advantage of being in the ocean and not restricting the figures to the bottom of the frame as Don't Kill our Wildlife does.
-Don't Kill our Wildlife uses colors other than blue like yellow and black to direct your attention to certain points, Blood in the Water elects to instead use the brightest color to draw the eye and maintain the all red pallet.
Reflection
I feel that the work I did on this piece was satisfactory. I am passionate about the environment and conservation, and I wanted to include this part of my interests in my artwork, using my work to raise awareness about issues affecting the environment. The presentation is visually appealing, and the color pallet works together. I am pleased with the way this piece turned out, and really enjoyed working digitally. I would like to continue working digitally in the future.
ACT Connection
1.) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
My artist of inspiration was John Wagner specifically his piece Don't Kill our Wildlife. His piece has flat colors, and strong use of silhouettes. I kept this in mind to to incorporate these two aspects into my final piece.
2.) What is the overall approach ( point of view ) the author ( from your research ) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Protecting wildlife is an important and often overlooked issue, and it is necessary to raise awareness about the dangers our wildlife face and what we can do to prevent them.
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I really enjoy working with digital, it's easy to make adjustments to your work as needed.
4.) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I feel strongly about issues affecting the environment and the organisms in it, more should be done to protect these ecosystems from human influence.
5.) What kind of inferences ( conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning ) did you make while reading your research?
color is so important to a piece's presentation, and can change the whole tone of a piece. Different colors have different connotations and feelings associated with them that the viewer will subconsciously pick up on, such as red showing hurt, anger, and danger.
My artist of inspiration was John Wagner specifically his piece Don't Kill our Wildlife. His piece has flat colors, and strong use of silhouettes. I kept this in mind to to incorporate these two aspects into my final piece.
2.) What is the overall approach ( point of view ) the author ( from your research ) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Protecting wildlife is an important and often overlooked issue, and it is necessary to raise awareness about the dangers our wildlife face and what we can do to prevent them.
3.) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I really enjoy working with digital, it's easy to make adjustments to your work as needed.
4.) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
I feel strongly about issues affecting the environment and the organisms in it, more should be done to protect these ecosystems from human influence.
5.) What kind of inferences ( conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning ) did you make while reading your research?
color is so important to a piece's presentation, and can change the whole tone of a piece. Different colors have different connotations and feelings associated with them that the viewer will subconsciously pick up on, such as red showing hurt, anger, and danger.