You're not being rude it's fine.
I asked Tumo the other week to find a Chinese translation for "city of a thousand petals" (which I thought fit a city deeply rooted in flowers given the importance of certain flowers in China's cultural heritage. A thousand-petalled lotus flower is also the metaphoric representation for the crown chakra in TIbetan Kundalini Buddhism) and apparently "Senbonzakura" was it - So Hatsune Miku's song wasn't my inspiration. I was worried that it would in fact be a Japanese translation or that it would actually mean something completely different so I plan to change it if neccessary.
The China thing comes from an interview with Lux Magazine. Revolving around his Orchid Collection that was shown at the January 2000 Paris Fashion Week: http://lux-mag.com/2013/04/19/hats-off-to-the-preacher-man/
Near the end he says “I have my own style of shape so I can adapt what I do to anything potentially. Designing a building would be fun, in Shanghai, China; they are very open to the future." That's what inspired me to put the city in China because it sounds like somewhere he'd be interested in working. Plus China is known for its crazy and often organic buildings. I found several examples of organic architecture in several locations within China.
I asked Tumo the other week to find a Chinese translation for "city of a thousand petals" (which I thought fit a city deeply rooted in flowers given the importance of certain flowers in China's cultural heritage. A thousand-petalled lotus flower is also the metaphoric representation for the crown chakra in TIbetan Kundalini Buddhism) and apparently "Senbonzakura" was it - So Hatsune Miku's song wasn't my inspiration. I was worried that it would in fact be a Japanese translation or that it would actually mean something completely different so I plan to change it if neccessary.
The China thing comes from an interview with Lux Magazine. Revolving around his Orchid Collection that was shown at the January 2000 Paris Fashion Week: http://lux-mag.com/2013/04/19/hats-off-to-the-preacher-man/
Near the end he says “I have my own style of shape so I can adapt what I do to anything potentially. Designing a building would be fun, in Shanghai, China; they are very open to the future." That's what inspired me to put the city in China because it sounds like somewhere he'd be interested in working. Plus China is known for its crazy and often organic buildings. I found several examples of organic architecture in several locations within China.
Looking
great so far Mark, you have a nice composition going on here! I like
how you clearly guide us through each step it's very useful in terms of
being able to change things quickly. Though remember this is just a
concept piece, I wouldn't get caught up in every tiny detail as these
can be left for your key asset and orthographic sheets. Other than that
keep going on with this! :)
I
might have gone a tiny bit overboard with the buildings in the
foreground (what with them being the closest buildings in the shot) but I
have been telling myself to spare the detail towards the back of the
piece so I don't overdo it with detail and thus lose the focus.
Hi Becky
I really like 17 and 13 for their modern-yet-traditional feel. The use of turf for your first thumbnail set adds a nice modernist-yet-country charm to the whole feel. 18 looks like a huge fancy tent. It really works as a bungalow.
I really like 17 and 13 for their modern-yet-traditional feel. The use of turf for your first thumbnail set adds a nice modernist-yet-country charm to the whole feel. 18 looks like a huge fancy tent. It really works as a bungalow.
That orthograph for the star-balconied hall is impressive!
Thanks. I think that might be my hero prop. Either that or the spherical;building behind it.
Very
surreal. The floor from the midground and further back looks like it
could be the patterns of a sprawling metropolis, with the gnarled
outcropppings being megastructures. That's what I see anyway.
The sun being a ring is a very surreal addition.
The sun being a ring is a very surreal addition.
Hi Mark!
Looks like it's coming along well....Looking forward to seeing the final piece on Friday!
My advice would be to put the film reviews on the back burner for now, and concentrate on getting the WIM done in time - you can wrap up any 'left-over' film reviews over the holiday :)
Looks like it's coming along well....Looking forward to seeing the final piece on Friday!
My advice would be to put the film reviews on the back burner for now, and concentrate on getting the WIM done in time - you can wrap up any 'left-over' film reviews over the holiday :)
That is looking really cool! I expect that will look magnificent once it's textured.
Looking good Mark!
Deep breath.... keep pushing on! :)
Deep breath.... keep pushing on! :)
Hi Mark,
That's one sensual, luxuriant city you describe - I was quite swept away by your lavish descriptions of this 'petal city'! I enjoyed your travelogue very much! You've given yourself a richness of detail there in terms of inspiring your next thumbnails - and it appears as if you're moving towards those dominant towers as being among your 'key assets' in terms of working in Maya. The only thing I'd say is be sure to go back to the works of Treacy as a touchstone even as you've identified 'petals' as a preoccupation of the designer, and as you move towards developing your key assets. Don't let this world of 'flower-like' forms as inspired by Treacy become a world of architectural flowers; look again at the essential organic shapes favoured by Treacy and ensure you maintain that same level of 'abstraction'; for example, the idea of having actual globe artichokes as architectural elements is too literal; and the idea of the city 'being' a lotus flower - is also too literal; for example, if you were to look at the Sidney Opera House, it's suggestive of lots of organic elements, but is not quite any of them either:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Sydney_Opera_House_Sails.jpg
So, just don't take your eye of Treacy as you seek to take your city to the next level of refinement.
I can understand where I may have been a little too literal as some of Treacy's hats do appear like that and I think I became a little too preoccupied with mimicking these designs.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02871/treacy1_2871104b.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwWDb9ipb9uDGYOM3MosVAorWXu-3dII4JFDM652w9jK62Yh1X78xfTpGsP6NhEzUDXdskyuvtnyJdKMjMWT0f5feboTBqjlMOz9bRx9rsZQPmO-tNQMae1stZ0DM2_tP2hxqM_gEK2-w/s1600/P1090730d.jpg
But true they are not his only forms, he is also known for abstract looping and folding designs as well as the usage of feathers. One idea I had earlier on was to take the shape and arrangement of the lotus petals but only as an outlining "sliced and laid out orange wedges" kind of shape. Some of his designs do appear as curved leaves, but they are also un-leaflike In terms of colour and pattern.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2011/05/04/article-1383648-0BD71EFB00000578-934_306x423.jpg
I will look into making my buildings organic, but abstract. Part of the reason was perhaps I did not want to wander too far into the designs of Zaha Hadid who uses plenty of organic shapes but not in the same way Treacy does.
http://danadecals.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/214.jpg
simple, strong, organic, essentialised... this is what you need - not complex pencil drawings, but punchy forms; why not take Treacy's hats and turn them into an inventory of silhouettes for recombining?
Time to change up your method!
With the latter interpretation, I think such a combination may work as we both enjoy organic and nature-inspired styles and shapes. The brief felt quite brief on our intended relationship with our designers.
At the moment, numbers 4,5 and 8 appeal to me the most....
Just a thought, could you post your silhouettes of the hats that you are using to construct these cityscapes, if you haven't done so already? (I have had a look through, but I can't see them...) I think it would be useful for your viewer to see what the shapes are derived from :)
I'll see what I can do about posting my silhouette templates. I have a collection of the templates I used on my home PC so when I can I will see about pasting them on to a contact sheet.
Though..
As Senbon Zakura is a Japanese term (I'm assuming from that one Hatsune Miku song...) would it be fitting to use it as a name for your city? Philip Treacy does do a lot with flowers and so cherry blossoms would be justified in that sense.. however he is Irish, not Japanese. That and you talked about your city perhaps being in a Chinese Valley. That could also be very contradicting. The same Kanji is used for "One Thousand Cherry Blossoms" in Chinese and Japanese but it is a different pronunciation. There's a clash of culture.
Curious about your reasoning is all, sorry if this sounds a little rude, I don't mean to be! ^^