blog post 3- personal development reflection
My aim at the beginning of this unit was to create a character who was grounded in their own ‘reality’ and I did this so by attending several hair, makeup and prosthetics lectures which broadened my knowledge on how to create different stage makeup looks and work with all ages and skin tones.
The character I essentially decided to design was that of an ‘evolved’ human. Given the current coronavirus crisis, I thought it may be interesting to imagine a world where we never recovered and the last few who have survived have ran out of non-essentials and man-made products. Due to this they have now had to reverted back to the earth and nature when it comes to materialistic items.
When it came to physical appearance, I drew a woman and her body hair and nails (both finger and toe) have completely grown out. As the need for survival grew greater the need to withheld appearances grew dearer. As a direct result of this the hair has become long and matted and the eyebrows are now a singular eyebrow. Using techniques that I had acquired in a hair and makeup workshop I also drew the woman to have an old and wilted face. I chose to draw the character like this to not only present some of the skills I had learned during the better lives project but to enhance the physical struggle and tiredness.
As far as material appearances went, I didn’t want to completely neglect the idea of costume so designed an outfit created completely from leaves and shrubs, allowing for the human form to still keeps its modesty. I also used the idea of flowers in the hair as accessories. I understand that even in post-apocalyptic times we as human beings will still be looking for mates.
I feel that both my online lectures and practical workshops helped a significant amount when designing my character. The main focus of my design process was to create a character that is 100% sustainable. As Kate Fletcher stated the earth is rapidly increasing. I myself wouldn’t be surprised if eventually humans have to resort to a 100% sustainable lifestyle in order the save the planet so creating an ugly, dirty futuristic image was also used in effect to scare the audience into considering their consequences.
This also plays on the idea of creating empathy in my design. The idea of creating a not-too-unrealistic futuristic version of a human being seemed like the ideal idea! I wanted my character to really hit home with the audience and to remind them to stay indoors and to love out planet. My character is so hideous I doubt that any observer would want their future family to live the way that my character does.
The better lives project made me realise how desperately we need designers who are making a positive impact on the earth and who are considering the target audiences feelings and emotions. I wanted to ensure that with my design hopefully something positive could be taken from it and that I have created empathy between the character and my audience.