UNIT 10 Personal Archive by Qi Lin

About Composition: a Frame required

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-06 15:24:22 UTC

Performing on a framed stage (shadow puppet and Paper Cuttings have this similarity) strengthens the unity of the picture, and weakens the weakness of Paper Cuttings in perspective and the disorder caused by this weakness with a sense of order.

About colour layers

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-06 15:27:06 UTC

The visual style should be highly flat and not have too many layers. Control within the three main levels, if there are too many, it will lose its priority and be overwhelming.

Character design

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-06 15:34:54 UTC

Fox - was a logo I designed for my friend's planned fashion brand which failed to set up, it symbolizes versatile fashion, agile image, passion, and neutral style.
Snake - Every year I draw a drawing to celebrate the CNY, and 2025 is the year of snake. I took inspiration from my drawing of the year and chose snake to be a character.

I think snake and fox have a mysterious vibe when they show up in the same story. And they match each other's colour as well - orange and green,and it also fits in the colour set I designed

Color test

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:37:33 UTC

Reference: A project I did last year about self-expression.

Progress: Add a color.

The reason for adding green: My nails inspired me.

Material test

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:38:23 UTC

From crayon, pencil, color pencil, ink, watercolor, to finally acrylic, I realised that in order to better imitate the effect of Paper Cuttings and printmaking, it is more appropriate to use a uniform color that is opaque and has almost no strokes.

Project theme - Mindmap

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:39:04 UTC

Storytelling tips

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:39:21 UTC

Perhaps it is better to think about a specific story rather than symbols and forms of expression? A complete story can more intuitively narrate my viewpoint. So I put what I wanted to express in this story
Light and Shadow: I added the lamp as a "key" to this story
I use animals like foxes and snakes, which are often associated with the stereotype of good and evil being indistinguishable, to allude to the soul because I believe that the true soul is not entirely composed of positive emotions and thoughts, and that people should not hold biases against the dark side of human nature. Instead, they should be tolerant and accept the entirety of themselves and others. If I choose righteous animals like lions or cute animals like rabbits, they will make readers subconsciously feel close, which will not achieve the goal I want.

'about' task

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:57:07 UTC

IPS

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:57:38 UTC

Portfolio

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 10:58:27 UTC

1 - The contrast of flesh: non chunked lines

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 22:26:07 UTC

2 - the contrast of flesh(entity): silhouette(shadow)

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 22:27:58 UTC

After the second tutorial of this unit, I decided the theme to be the soul, that contrasts sharply with the physical body. Originally, I wanted to simulate the feeling of the soul with wire, but Billie said that wire is more like the skeleton than soul of a flesh, and iron is hard, which doesn't quite match the vague and soft feeling of the soul. So I wonder if the relationship between entities and shadows is also suitable for referring to the body and soul?

Because shadows are formed by the projection of light onto an object, and they have the shape of the object. The relationship between the two is also inseparable, and at the same time, shadow also conforms to that ethereal and illusory feeling.

3 - Shadows in Contemporary Art - Dominic Dahncke

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 22:29:20 UTC

silhouette/photography/grayscale/nostalgia/faded

Black and white photos with strong contrast have a retro and fashionable style.

4 - Shadows in Traditional/Folk Art - Shadow play

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 22:29:48 UTC

‘This article is about shadows cast by puppet figures. For shadows cast by hands, see Shadowgraphy (performing art). For other uses, see Shadowplay (disambiguation).

"Shadow puppets" redirects here. For other uses, see Shadow puppets (disambiguation).’

Shadow puppetry is a very traditional art form. Its stage, props, and characters are all carved from leather, with a very distinct Chinese traditional and even very folk style. The three primary colors used are also very vibrant and easy to appreciate.

5 - Other artistic styles - the City of Belgium - Brecht Evens

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 22:50:06 UTC

I really like this book. The perspective, abstract style, color matching, and relationships inside are all handled very delicately. And there seems to be no scene or theme that this artist cannot control. I was inspired by this book to complete the entire creative process, and every time I feel discouraged, I flip through it. Because it showed me that there are so many possibilities in illustrations besides realism.

Model made for secondary research 1

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-13 23:00:22 UTC

I tried to use wire as a sample, but using lines to express the soul seemed unsuccessful.

Fantasy Story/Fiction

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 17:18:57 UTC

There are many stories in Chinese culture about animals transforming into human form or reincarnating into humans. In the story, although such people look no different from ordinary humans, they still have some animal like appearance or behavioral characteristics. There are many similar stories in Liaozhai Zhiyi （Strange Tales from the Liaozhai Studio）, such as a fox changing into a human by putting on human skin, or a kind animal being rewarded by immortals to be reincarnated into a human after death.

I really like these folk stories, and I think it's very appropriate to describe this work about the soul in a fable like form, because I think this theme is like a fairy tale dedicated to adults.

3 - Shadows in Contemporary Art - Jess Allen

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 21:02:17 UTC

Delicate nostalgia and warm atmosphere, realistic portrayal of light, precise expression of light and dark relationships using limited colors

3 - Shadows in Contemporary Art - David Maisel

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 21:07:02 UTC

Recording ancient sculpture art with contemporary technology is full of the impact of contradictions. The semi transparent contours make heavy and aged objects appear lighter, as if their souls can be seen through their heavy entities.

3 - Shadows in Contemporary Art - Wenda

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 21:15:04 UTC

This is a set of images generated using AI, but I think the tool was used very well by the author. The images are very distinctive and the expression technique is very clever, creating a digital shooting effect. Monks, carriages, tourists seem to have gathered through thousands of years of time.

3 - Shadows in Contemporary Art

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 21:19:40 UTC

In-game screenshots by:

http://xhslink.com/a/HTCzCR006cycb

3 - Shadows in Contemporary Art

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 21:21:03 UTC

Unknown artists' works

4 - Shadows in Traditional/Folk Art - 25 Degrees

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 22:10:10 UTC

The style of this Paper Cuttings artist is different from the gorgeous and soft traditional Paper Cuttings, and prefers simple and neat lines. At the same time, colors are also lively and simple combinations. Her story illustrations provide me with a great reference.

4 - Shadows in Traditional/Folk Art - Alice in Wonderland by unknown artist

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 22:14:04 UTC

I think these works effectively depict the characters' characteristics through their external contours and restore some classic plot points of the novel. I think accurate control over the details of the outline is something that needs to be paid attention to when drawing shadows, because when a character loses their facial features, the reader's attention is entirely focused on the outline.

4 - Shadows in Traditional/Folk Art - Jinghong

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 22:18:52 UTC

This set of postcards designed by Jinghong uses a special technique. The designer uses the combination of relief printing and paper cutting to form a three-dimensional texture.

4 - Shadows in Traditional/Folk Art - Riya

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 22:22:13 UTC

Unlike most Paper Cuttings artists, whose works mainly depict people, this artist's Paper Cuttings contains many animals. I referred to her way of paper-cutting the animals.

5 - Other artistic styles - Michael McGrath

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-14 22:34:29 UTC

When I was choosing painting materials, I saw his works. The brushstrokes were very obvious and beautiful, so I tried to imitate them with colored lead and watercolor, but unfortunately, the picture I drew seemed a bit far from the ideal state

Color test

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-15 23:05:05 UTC

I noted down the number of colours and tested how they mixed together in different ways.

Material test - Crayon

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-15 23:07:38 UTC

Inspired by Michael McGrath, I tried on crayon imitating his beautiful lines and see if this kind of material matches the theme of soul.

24th April

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-15 23:35:22 UTC

Script

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-15 23:36:49 UTC

People have different inner souls, but we are all trapped in the same human body.

The little girl was startled by the monster shadow in the mirror, it couldn't be herself! She threw down the mirror and rushed out, a huge black figure behind her still pressing step by step under the light. She couldn't get rid of this monster no matter how hard she tried. She was tired and cried by the water's edge, tears flowing into the lake, and the monster in the lake also started crying - it was a little fox. be careful! A green shadow approached, revealing an elderly lady. She said, 'Darling, people have different inner souls, but we are all trapped in the same human body.She is you, you are her. Don't be afraid of the true self that your soul reveals.'

Development of Personal Style

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 00:16:36 UTC

I plan to continue the painting methods of my previous horse racing and printmaking projects, combining them with traditional folk styles for self-expression.

During the past year, I worked on a printmaking project and it had a significant impact on my creative process. The most interesting feature of printmaking is that the use of dots, lines, and blocks is emphasized when printing with the same color on one carved plate each time. And I think leaving white space in the image is also an important component, after all, white is not transparent. Like other colors, it also has a presence in the picture. (Although often overlooked)

Storyboard

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 01:00:45 UTC

4-6 pages planned.

contents of each scene are fine but material (watercolor) test not satisfying.

Character sketch

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 01:00:54 UTC

Young girl with two buns - fox soul

Elderly lady with a low bun - snake soul

Final sketch - scene 1

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 01:03:39 UTC

Final sketch - scene 2

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 13:51:12 UTC

Final sketch - scene 3

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 13:51:20 UTC

Final sketch - scene 4

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 13:51:30 UTC

Final sketch - scene 5

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-16 13:51:40 UTC

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-17 22:22:17 UTC

Lines

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 12:37:11 UTC

17th Feb

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 12:44:55 UTC

Group tutorial -

about task,

3-5 projects for portfolio,

theme for unit 10

25th Feb

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 12:46:06 UTC

24th April

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 12:49:18 UTC

A storyboard-narrative, can be abstract

what material

what's the differences between flesh and soul, why

13th May

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 12:52:54 UTC

Group tutorial - portfolio contains a biography, short brief for each project, 3-6 project, 6-10 pages in totall.

Degree show set-up, 8-10 pieces of work expected.

p.s. Add lines for each drawings.

Audience - Who

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 22:50:19 UTC

Audience - This is a story for children and also for adults. Because I think people spend a lot of time paying attention to and decorating and changing their bodies, but they don't pay so much attention to the inner soul. I want to awaken everyone's exploration and curiosity about themselves, not only in terms of appearance, but also in their inner world, character, good and bad emotions, and thoughts.

Theme - What & Why

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 22:51:23 UTC

in fact, this project originated from a draft of my story with religious implications, and this draft was born before my unit9 project. But after finishing my last project, I found it a bit far-fetched to put this draft into the soul theme. So I continued to explore new styles based on the research in the previous unit. Although I did a lot of experimentation and planning on the finished form, the project still lacked a complete story, so it seemed hollow. In the end, I decided to focus on the expression of the theme, boldly abandoning all existing plans for artistic style, and using what I thought was the most appropriate and appropriate way to express my thoughts and feelings about the soul.

Project Development improvements

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 22:53:07 UTC

Regarding the question of 3D and 2D - I was a little tired of the installation project in 3D last time, so I decided to switch the state this time and lean towards a flat project. Originally, I wanted to integrate more real paper-cutting or shadow puppet techniques into it to make a finished product similar to a pop-up book, but unfortunately it was not realized. Fortunately, as an alternative, these styles have been successfully integrated into the picture expression. Therefore, the early art research such as paper-cutting is not in vain.

If this project is to be further improved, I would like to layer the current colored areas directly, and then cut them into a cut-out paper collage and display them with light sources.

Exhibition Set-up

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 22:54:11 UTC

Curating - The exhibition hasn't started yet, and my plan is to add text to each image and show it in order. And the text is hand-drawn, using the same color system. This makes the whole work as complete as if it were a picture book, and helps the audience understand my content and theme.

Outcome - Further Improvement

qlin0320211_2 — 2025-05-18 22:58:31 UTC

If I could develop it further, I would like to package the illustrations as some kind of publication. For example, a picture on the front and a postcard with text on the back, or a small book. And make a three-dimensional device. I wanted to add more inspiration to the stages of shadow play and make it a paper theater.