Opposites Illustration (Panel 2: Positive)
Title: "Act Two: Revenge"
Size: 25.5 cm by 38 cm
Medium: Colored pencil on illustration board
Date: November 2020
The second panel of the opposites illustration is a positive piece that represents me overcoming anxiety through another character. In this case, it is the comic of Harley Quinn by Paul Dini. In my life though, anxiety is always a part of me and will never truly be gone, but this piece symbolizes the good days in my life where I am too distracted to worry about anything. Harley Quinn is the perfect character because although she is a villain, she is a strong and independent woman.
Artistic Inspiration
Inspiration Behind The Illustration:
For one of my opposites illustrations, I knew that I wanted to use a comic as my reference and Harley Quinn was perfect for this because villain or not, she is a very independent and strong woman and she seems to enjoy herself when she is fighting her battles. This was how I wanted to represent the good days in my life. Anxiety and depression will always be a big part of my life; I can’t get rid of them, but I do have good days when I don’t worry about things and this illustration is a good representation of that. In my illustration, Harley Quinn uses a bat labeled “anxiety crusher” to attack the shadow which is my interpretation of anxiety as a being.
About Paul Dini:
Paul Dini was born on August 7, 1957 and lives in New York. He is an American screenwriter and comic creator. Paul created Harley Quinn for episode 22 of “Batman: The Animated Series.” Once that animation ended, he didn’t want to get rid of her character so he worked with “Batman Beyond” and made an evolution of her character known as the grandma of the character Dee Dee. In the 1980’s he wrote stories for “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” which is an animated series by Filmation. Paul began writing two books in 2009 known as “Batman: Streets of Gotham” and “Gotham City Sirens.” Because he enjoys comedy, Dini also wrote “Jingle Belle” which is about a naughty elf. He is also known as the writer for the 2004-2006 film “Lost,” but is currently practicing magic as a magician along with his wife. Paul has had 8 wins and 17 nominations for awards including Primetime Emmy Awards, Annie Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, DVD Exclusive Awards, Online Film & Television Association, and Writers Guild Of America.
Paul Dini was born on August 7, 1957 and lives in New York. He is an American screenwriter and comic creator. Paul created Harley Quinn for episode 22 of “Batman: The Animated Series.” Once that animation ended, he didn’t want to get rid of her character so he worked with “Batman Beyond” and made an evolution of her character known as the grandma of the character Dee Dee. In the 1980’s he wrote stories for “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe,” which is an animated series by Filmation. Paul began writing two books in 2009 known as “Batman: Streets of Gotham” and “Gotham City Sirens.” Because he enjoys comedy, Dini also wrote “Jingle Belle” which is about a naughty elf. He is also known as the writer for the 2004-2006 film “Lost,” but is currently practicing magic as a magician along with his wife. Paul has had 8 wins and 17 nominations for awards including Primetime Emmy Awards, Annie Awards, Daytime Emmy Awards, DVD Exclusive Awards, Online Film & Television Association, and Writers Guild Of America.
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 this panel was what inspired me to make the negative panel a comic strip as well to set them up as acts, as I did this panel first. I decided to make them as acts (that is the version of scene breaks in the comic world) to make them tell two different stories, but still have a connection to each other. I had Harley Quinn's character remain posed the same as in the original and replace Batwoman with my depiction of anxiety as a being. I came up with three different things for Harley Quinn to say when she approached anxiety and as shown above, I went with the second phrase. I decided to also put the words "anxiety crusher on Harley Quinn's bat to make it clear what her intentions were and that the shadow represented anxiety.
Process & Experimentation
For this project, I did the second panel first and from there decided to make the other panel a comic strip as well so that they were better connected. I was going to do one illustration for this project, but when I was looking for inspiration, I liked two parts of the comic strip and decided it would also make sense to do two to make it look more like an actual comic strip. After I did this I chose two reference photos for the negative panel so that the two pieces would remain connected. I started by outlining the comic boxes and then the characters. I freehanded the entire outline, with the exception of using a straightedge to make the boxes. I used Shutter pencils to color in my design. For my depiction of anxiety, I used the colors black, ultramarine, rasberry, and warm yellow. I used the colors red and black for Harley Quinn’s suit as well as the color brick dust for her bat. For the background of the first box, I used the color brown for the wall as well as ultra violet and black for the doorway. I used the color light green for the background of the second box, while applying pressure to certain areas on the outer edge. 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 depiction 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 outlined them with black and then created the words.
Reflection
This project was fun and one of my favorites to work on. I think that the backgrounds in both boxes turned out nice, especially because I used the circular motion technique with my colored pencils. I think the shuttle pencils were also a nice choice of tool to use. The hardest part of this panel was probably the outline, especially in the first box; it was hard to get the proportions right because I free-handed it so in the future, I plan on tracing the outline until I gain more control. 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:
-Both are in the form of a comic -Both feature Harley Quinn positioned in the same way -Anxiety and Batwoman both say the same thing -Violence and anger are represented in both illustrations |
Differences:
-The original comic page included three boxes in the strip, while mine is only inspired by two -Batwoman is replaced with my depiction of anxiety -In my illustration, Harley Quinn isn't the villain; she is the victim and she is defeating something evil -My illustration represents anxiety and mental illness, while his comic strip was solely for entertainment purposes |
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.
I chose a Harley Quinn comic because she is an independent and powerful character and I wanted that positive feminism. However, in my version Harley Quinn isn't a villain; she is a victim overcoming mental health issues.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
All of the sources I looked into, displayed comics and stories he wrote as well as some fun facts about his interests. They talked about where he grew up 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 comics are usually used for entertainment purposes, but that I could take something and put meaning in it and a story behind it. I also realized that like in real life, people who are considered villains usually have a painful and abusive past which could include mental illness problems.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My research was based solely off of Paul and his career as an artist for DC, but my work represents a theme of anxiety, depression, and mental illness. These two can relate though because they both include characters that are considered villains-which could be because of mental health problems and an abusive past.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
There are so many unreliable sources in the art world because a lot of them are created by people who are fans of comics and DC. For example, one source said that Paul was a US president.
I chose a Harley Quinn comic because she is an independent and powerful character and I wanted that positive feminism. However, in my version Harley Quinn isn't a villain; she is a victim overcoming mental health issues.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
All of the sources I looked into, displayed comics and stories he wrote as well as some fun facts about his interests. They talked about where he grew up 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 comics are usually used for entertainment purposes, but that I could take something and put meaning in it and a story behind it. I also realized that like in real life, people who are considered villains usually have a painful and abusive past which could include mental illness problems.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My research was based solely off of Paul and his career as an artist for DC, but my work represents a theme of anxiety, depression, and mental illness. These two can relate though because they both include characters that are considered villains-which could be because of mental health problems and an abusive past.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
There are so many unreliable sources in the art world because a lot of them are created by people who are fans of comics and DC. For example, one source said that Paul was a US president.
Bibliography
"Paul Dini." ComicVine, https://comicvine.gamespot.com/paul-dini/4040-42061/
"Paul Dini." IMDb, 2020. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0227704/
"Paul Dini." IMDb, 2020. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0227704/