Make my own GIF homework~

Marian Bantjes

MARIAN BANTJES

            
www.bantjes.com

    The designer I chose is Marian Bantjes. She is currently still alive. She first started her career as a book typesetter in 1984. Ten years later, she opened her own design firm. Now she stays with Canada but she works with magazines and people from all over the world.

One of her major influences would be the 14th–18th century calligraphy. It was also the start of her career as a designer. She was also greatly inspired by the Art and Crafts movement. One aspect of the movement was connecting with nature. In certain work, she tends to use actual living flowers and petals to create words and other designs. One example would be Sorrow. It was made up of many flowers and plants in which she organized to spell the world sorrow. Another example would be her design, I Want it All. She created the letters out of peonies. Old lace also inspired her to create other handcraft objects like the lace clock called the Aiga/DC Clock. Although her handcrafts were more for visual than function, it still works. Bantjes also created other high quality crafts such as the snowflake pendants that were sold for thousands of dollars.

The Aiga/DC Clock may have been the inspiration to the 2013 Old Lace Inspired Home Decorating Concepts shown on decoradvisor.com. A series of furnitures, including an old lace clock was designed. However, unlike Bantjes’ design where the hands where laces, the 2013 old lace inspired clock used lace for the shell of the clock. Yganko is an artist that designed the red rose petal typography (http://www.shutterstock.com/portfolio/search.mhtml?submitter=788 122&searchterm=rose%20forming%20petals%20texture). He may had been inspired by Bantjes’ I Want it All, peony letter design which was also made of flowers.

Good or Bad

This was a oreo container I have at home. I think that it is a good design.

Inspiration/Interests

Something that inspired me was this knitted caterpillar. Stuff animals were always my favorite. My bed is full of stuff animals. I remember my first time learning how to knit was when I was in elementary school and I was my grandma knitting. Thinking that it was cool to move sticks and yarns around to make a scarf, I asked my grandma to teach my how to knit. I even made my aunt buy my yarn and knitting needles. However, I stopped without even completing one scarf because it bored me. However, when I was in 5th grade, I was helping out in my school office and a lady here was knitting. I asked her what she was making and she said a stuff caterpillar. After that, I really wanted to make my own knitted stuff animal. I dropped it until I came across a knitting video on youtube during middle school. After watching it, I chose to start knitting again. I bought many yarn and made many scarves for my friends. I made other little projects such as a heart pillow and a little baggy. I even had the owner of a yarn store teach me how to knit different kinds of yarn and she taught me how to crochet. Now, my goal is to knit a stuffed animal and to crochet which I haven't even started. 

> ~ <

Well here are some things I made... 

LETTER PROJECT REFLECTION

Question 1: 

The design I chose as actually not part of my thumbnail sketches. I somewhat combined two of my ideas from the thumbnail into one. Originally, my top favorite ones was the siren with the music notes and the other was the valentines card. After making the valentines card on a the initial draft, I was hesitant with the siren because I know that I am not capable of drawing it. Thus, I combined a rose design with the siren one.   I think that the thumbnail sketches really helped me because I already had many ideas to pick from and I was able to combine ideas. During the coloring, I used chalk pastel for my whole project. I used a q-tip to spread the color. After that, I used put a lot of purple chalk pastel powder on my project and used a tissue to color in the blank spaces. 

        

Question 2: 

When I first started my thumbnail sketches, I didn't really have a concept in mind. However, from brainstorming, one concept was valentines so I chose the love concept. That was originally when I choose the valentines cards design. And since I chose not to do the siren and music notes design, I morphed two into one and made the rose and pedals design. Using the rose design, I was planning to use a heart break concept. After trying multiple times to get a blood red color, which I failed to, I changed the concept but stayed with the same design. I instead choose the love warming design. I tried to represent the concept why using warm pink colors. For the rose, I chose a nice red color stead of blood red to symbolize the love. For the background, I mixed a orange pink color with purple to express the warm feeling of love. 

Question 3: 

The most challenging aspect for my was the background. I wanted to blend two colors together so it won't be too dull. I tried using white and bright pink but that didn't have a warming mood. Then i tried the white and purple which I didn't think was a nice color compared to the red of the. In the end, I chose to use the purple and orangish pink. 

Question 4: 

I don't really think that I am satisfied with my final project. I wanted to blend the purple with the pink more. I do not like how the purple stands out a lot compared to the orange pink in the back. 

Question 5: 

If I can change it, I would blend the colors on a separate sheet of paper then use the tissue to get the mixed color then wipe it onto my project instead of wiping the purple on top after. 

And is is my final :D