Since I’ve rekindled my love for pastels and that japanese aesthetic I was so obsessed with as a teenager (I stopped since I felt it was a bit cliché, but I realized a lot of artists borrow from inspirations like this, especially pop surrealism which I am very interested in. So I revisited my old tumblr blog and got some images saved for inspiration - I love packaging and the graphic design that went into the simple but pretty designs in packaging. I also love the gif culture on tumblr - I was a gif maker myself, and that’s how I learnt the basics of photoshop. I want to make some gifs from the videos I take on a day to day basis. Perhaps put some text over it… I’m ready to play with the process. This morning I also checked out lynda.com for motion graphics lessons but it seemed way too advanced and I couldn’t find a beginners class, and the programs too expensive. I guess if I tried harder I could learn it, but right now I want to focus on something I can achieve quicker. Pixel art / text is huge on tumblr, and I’ve always wanted to try it. What better time than now? I just need photoshop. It does take time, of course, but I’m ready to take on the challenges. I don’t know what to do yet though. I found some good channels on youtube that are really helpful so I will be spending time learning through those. I know you can book tutorials at the digital media suite, but I want to try it myself first. This channel on youtube also made a ‘travel cinematics’ video for NZ, which is a coincidence, I see how beautiful the country I was born in is. The way he filmed it was beautiful and it made me want to make video work and try aftereffects etc. (though that costs if I want to have it on my own computer)
I am also going to watch the video that jack perry from the cinematography in painting workshop recommended. It looks super useful. I also want to watch some of the films that he talked about. I struggle so much with lighting and making things seem real, I wonder how edward hopper trained himself to control lighting so expertly.
Right now I am struggling between going for the very ‘kawaii’ cute imagery such as strawberries, cake, hearts, etc. and the idea of loss and grief. Why can’t I combine both? Hikari Shimoda does this very well and I’ve always adored her paintings.
