Opposites Illustration (Panel 1: Negative)
Title: "Act One: Fear"
Size: 25.5 cm by 38 cm
Medium: Colored pencil on illustration board
Date: November 2020
The first panel of the opposites illustration is a negative piece that represents my anxiety through another character. In this case, it is Ron Dias's illustration of Belle from Grolier Books Beauty and the Beast. The shadows represent anxiety chasing me in unknown directions and sometimes, facing me head on, as shown in the second strip. Belle is a perfect character for this piece because she is innocent and kind, yet she still faces challenges in life.
Artistic Inspiration
Inspiration Behind The Illustration:
I own a bunch of Grolier Books and knew I wanted to do a Disney themed panel so when I was flipping through them, I found the book Beauty and the Beast. This story has always been my favorite Disney one because I love the beauty of accepting someone even at their worst and helping them get through it. That is something that society doesn't have enough of. When I found these two images in the book, I knew immediately this was what I was going to recreate in my own version. The only thing I changed was replacing Beast and his shadows with my interpretation of what anxiety would look like as a being. I wanted to keep Belle in the illustrations to show society what it is like for an innocent and kind hearted person to experience fear and anxiety and being ignored. No one believed Belle's father that she was in danger and this is what I wanted to show, but in my perspective; people think that I am faking and trying to get attention even though anxiety and depression are a big part of my everyday life. These illustrations were perfect for this message because the shadows represent anxiety coming in unknown directions, while the second illustration represents anxiety facing me head on at other times.
I own a bunch of Grolier Books and knew I wanted to do a Disney themed panel so when I was flipping through them, I found the book Beauty and the Beast. This story has always been my favorite Disney one because I love the beauty of accepting someone even at their worst and helping them get through it. That is something that society doesn't have enough of. When I found these two images in the book, I knew immediately this was what I was going to recreate in my own version. The only thing I changed was replacing Beast and his shadows with my interpretation of what anxiety would look like as a being. I wanted to keep Belle in the illustrations to show society what it is like for an innocent and kind hearted person to experience fear and anxiety and being ignored. No one believed Belle's father that she was in danger and this is what I wanted to show, but in my perspective; people think that I am faking and trying to get attention even though anxiety and depression are a big part of my everyday life. These illustrations were perfect for this message because the shadows represent anxiety coming in unknown directions, while the second illustration represents anxiety facing me head on at other times.
About Ron Dias:
Ron Dias was an American animator whose career began in 1956 after winning a stamp animation contest. He grew a love for animation after seeing "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" when he was 6. Disney Studios hired Dias after he submitted two portfolios. Later in his career, he painted backgrounds for popular features and TV shows. His career lasted over 40 years before he died in July of 2013. Dias graduated from the Honolulu Academy of Art. His work for Sleeping Beauty was the beginning of his long career. In 1999 he started focusing on fine art painting and advocacy for art in the school system in California.
Planning
Planning Sketches
For my opposites project, I new that I wanted to a Disney themed panel as well as a panel based off of a comic. I wanted to make both panels have a comic strip, but for the negative panel, I decided to do the Disney themed one after finding my Grolier Books Beauty and the Beast book. Belle was a perfect character because she is innocent and kind hearted which I wanted to use to represent me and how I feel that I didn't do anything to deserve anxiety and depression. At first I was thinking about replacing Belle with a cartoon version of myself in Ron's style, but I felt like her character and personality would be a perfect representation. I replaced Beast though with my interpretation of anxiety as a being.
Process & Experimentation
For this project, I did the second panel first and from there decided to make this panel a comic strip as well so that they were better connected. I started by outlining the comic boxes and then the characters. I freehanded the first box of this panel and decided that it really didn't turn out as good as it could have so I traced an outline in the second box. I did this by printing out the image and using a led pencil to scribble over the back of the image. I then drew over main shapes and traced the image onto my panel. I used Shutter pencils to color in my design. For my depiction of anxiety, I used the colors black, ultramarine, raspberry, and warm yellow. I used the colors sky blue, blue, peacock blue. and ultramarine for Belle's dress, her cloak, and her bow. I used the color rosy pink for her warm lips as well as her bright cheeks. I used light coral and shallow orange for Belle's skin, as well as brown for her hair, eyebrows, eyes, and the outline of her skin. I used the colors olive and light olive (starting with the lighter one, and then switching between the two to blend) for the background of the first box, as well as light orchid for the background of the second box. I also used a grey to make the cracks in the wall on the background of the first box. I used circular motions with the colored pencils so that they could blend well, but I found it easier to use lines flowing with the shape of the body when I was coloring in my depiction of anxiety as a being. My depictions of anxiety didn't turn out as frightening as I wanted it to, but trying to make emotions like anxiety and depression as a being is very difficult. After I colored in the boxes, I outline them with black and then created the words.
Reflection
This project was fun and one of my favorites to work on. Free-handing the outline of Belle in the fist box didn't make the best results so from now on I will trace the outline and freehand with colored pencils only until I can gain more control. Blending the different blues in the cloak was definitely a fun experience and circular motions and layering definitely helped. My depiction of anxiety as being didn't turn out as frightening as I wanted; I wanted it to also make people with anxiety, depression or mental health issues to feel like they could connect to it and understand it, but it was very hard to assume what anxiety would look like as a being. In the future, I will probably do more planning in similar situations and try different things as well as maybe see if I can find inspiration online.
Compare & Contrast
Similarities: Differences:
-Belle remains posed the same in both illustrations -Mine was set up as comic strip, while his
-Fear is represented in both was an illustration for a children's book
-Mine represents anxiety and mental
illness, while his represents natural fear -The shadows were changed because of
the obvious differences between anxiety
and the Beast
-Belle remains posed the same in both illustrations -Mine was set up as comic strip, while his
-Fear is represented in both was an illustration for a children's book
-Mine represents anxiety and mental
illness, while his represents natural fear -The shadows were changed because of
the obvious differences between anxiety
and the Beast
ACT Responses
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
Like Ron's piece, mine represents an innocent kind-hearted person who is being harassed for no reason. However, mine represents mental illness, and his an illustration for a children's fable about loving a person for what is on the inside instead of the outside.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the sources I researched talked about how Ron's career started, his most famous projects, and how he developed as an artist.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
I realized that our society is very judgmental; while we are starting to slowly accept POC, LGBTQ+ people, etc., individuals are still judged on the daily. People don't tend to actually get to know you and figure you out; they just make an assumption and leave it at that, especially if you have a mental illness.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My research was based solely off of Ron and his career as an artist for Disney, but my work represents a theme of anxiety, depression, and mental illness. These two can relate though because they both act as a fable.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Talent can lead into all sorts of directions and opportunities; Ron did a lot of animations of Disney characters, but his skill was used for the backgrounds most of the time.
Like Ron's piece, mine represents an innocent kind-hearted person who is being harassed for no reason. However, mine represents mental illness, and his an illustration for a children's fable about loving a person for what is on the inside instead of the outside.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The authors of the sources I researched talked about how Ron's career started, his most famous projects, and how he developed as an artist.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc., while you researched your inspiration?
I realized that our society is very judgmental; while we are starting to slowly accept POC, LGBTQ+ people, etc., individuals are still judged on the daily. People don't tend to actually get to know you and figure you out; they just make an assumption and leave it at that, especially if you have a mental illness.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My research was based solely off of Ron and his career as an artist for Disney, but my work represents a theme of anxiety, depression, and mental illness. These two can relate though because they both act as a fable.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Talent can lead into all sorts of directions and opportunities; Ron did a lot of animations of Disney characters, but his skill was used for the backgrounds most of the time.
Bibliography
"Background Painter Ron Dias Dies at 76." CartoonBrew, 3 August, 2013. https://www.cartoonbrew.com/rip/background-painter-ron-dias-dies-at-76-86917.html
"Ron Dias." TheSantis. http://www.thesantis.com/html/ron_dias.html
"Ron Dias." TheSantis. http://www.thesantis.com/html/ron_dias.html