Im Zuge meiner Masterarbeit, in der ich mich mit Work-Life-Balance als selbstständige Person beschäftige habe ich ein Persönlichkeitstraining absolviert. Das 6-stündige Training fand in einer Gruppe aus 7 verschiedenen Personen statt, die sich alle nicht kannten. Hier waren Führungskräfte, ein Physikstudent, eine Hundetrainerin und viele mehr dabei, was eine spannende neue Sicht der Dinge eröffnet hat.

In der Gruppe musste man verschiedene Aufgaben bewältigen, sich kritisches konstruktives Feedback geben und sich in seine Persönlichkeit fühlen und nach außen tragen. Schnell wurde Vertrauen in der Gruppe aufgebaut und wertvolle Tipps ausgetauscht.

Mir hat besonders der Aspekt der vielen verschiedenen Ansichten und Persönlichkeiten gefallen und ich fand es spannend aus meiner “Bubble” auszubrechen und neue Sichtweisen auf mich kennenzulernen.

In the world of mixed media art, creators blend various materials and techniques to craft unique pieces. Like a chef mixing ingredients artists combine paper, fabric, and found objects, creating vibrant textures and colours. From collaging to 3D assemblage, they experiment endlessly, layering paints and adding digital touches. It’s this mix that breathes life into the creations. Therefore I have explored some known techniques:

Collage: This technique intertwines diverse materials—paper, fabric, and photographs—fusing them onto a surface to form a cohesive whole.

Assemblage: Similar to collage but with a three-dimensional twist, assemblage artists meld assorted found objects, such as wood or metal, into a sculptural composition.

Layering: Building depth and complexity, artists overlay various mediums like acrylics, watercolors, and textures (think gesso or sand).

Texture Play: Explorations in texture come alive with modeling paste, gel mediums, and unconventional items like bubble wrap or lace to introduce tactile dimensions.

Mixed Drawing and Painting: Blending the finesse of drawing mediums—pencils, charcoal, ink—with the fluidity of paints, artists craft harmonious amalgamations of line and color.

Transfers: Employing techniques such as gel medium or solvent transfers, artists infuse their creations with transferred images, lending depth and complexity.

Resists: Masking fluid, tape, or wax are used strategically to repel paint or ink, revealing underlying layers or defining precise patterns when removed.

Found Objects: Everyday items like keys, buttons, or organic elements such as leaves and twigs become artistic elements, adding intrigue and depth.

Digital Integration: The convergence of traditional and digital realms sees artists blending digital elements into physical pieces or incorporating digitally manipulated images into their work.

Interactive Elements: interactive features such as sound, light, or kinetic components, transcending traditional static art forms.

The motivation behind researching these mixed media techniques came from a keen interest in incorporating them into my master’s project.

Michel Gondry’s rendition of Metronomy’s “Love Letters” masterfully implements a variety of mixed media techniques to craft a visually rich and engaging experience. Through the seamless integration of practical effects, including split screens and clever choreography, alongside a blend of retro aesthetics with modern visuals such as vintage props and vibrant colors, Gondry creates a dynamic and nostalgic visual landscape. The video’s power lies in its ability to synchronize these diverse elements with the music’s rhythm, resulting in an immersive and cohesive narrative that captivates the audience, showcasing Gondry’s adeptness in utilizing mixed media to elevate the music video into an enchanting visual masterpiece.

In Gondry’s visualisation of “Love Letters,” the blend of drawings with real-life scenes caught my eye. It sparked my interest in experimenting with a similar approach for my music video project. That fusion seems to offer a distinctive flair and depth to the visuals that I’m eager to explore further.

In today’s world, where grabbing attention is the name of the game, the talk about how social media grabs our focus is getting louder. In this entry I will summarise a Joe Rogan podcast episode #1558 with Tristan Harris, where they talk about how social media platform really want to captivate us.

Tristan Harris, a big voice for doing tech right, explained how social media algorithms are built to keep us glued. They’ve got this tailored content, those never-ending pings, and that endless scrolling—all to keep us hooked on that dopamine rush, wrecking how we concentrate.

Our ability to focus takes a hit, work efficiency goes down, and sticking to a task? Lately seems fairly difficult. Harris even hinted how this impacts our minds, sparking anxiety and messing with our well-being.

There is a solution. Once you clock these tactics, you’ve got the power to grab your attention back. Setting limits, being careful about screen time, and just being aware.

In this podcast Rogan and Harris really made me you rethink how I should use my technology. In general, It’s about taking charge, where we need to remind ourselves that we’re the boss of our gadgets, not the other way around.

I recommend watching the whole podcast(https://open.spotify.com/episode/4tu5P35SSCM2nlv34dX9U9**)**,

but if you are interested here is a brief clip from the episode:

Grungy aesthetics, sketchy lines and colouring outside those lines. All of my favorite stylistic choices which I consider implementing in my ongoing art career. The movie Spiderman: Across The Spider-Verse features ground breaking animations, style changes and served as a huge inspiration to me and many others. In the following few points are summarised points on how this particular art style an animation was achieved:

• Art Style Fusion: Seamlessly blends various animation styles, from hand-drawn to computer-generated, in a single film.
• Color and Texture Experimentation: Disregards traditional color schemes and textures, utilizing bold colors and diverse textures to represent the multiverse.
• Frame Rate Variation*: Plays with different frame rates within scenes, creating a dynamic and energetic feel.
• Aspect Ratio Changes: Shifts aspect ratios between scenes to signify shifts between different dimensions and realities.
• Innovative Typography and On-Screen Text: Integrates typography and on-screen text creatively into the visual storytelling.
• Non-Linear Storytelling: Explores the concept of multiple universes and versions of characters, offering a non-linear narrative structure.
• Experimental Transitions: Employs inventive transition techniques, including comic book-style panel transitions and glitch effects, diverging from standard smooth scene changes.

I want to outline the Frame rate variation because I think this is one of the more essential techniques which I will commonly practice in the further development of my project.

Frame Rate Variation*

1. Animating on Ones: Some sequences were animated traditionally on ones, where each frame is shown for a single frame duration. This technique is used for fluid and detailed motion, especially in action-packed scenes or moments requiring smooth movements.
2. Animating on Twos or Threes: Other sequences utilized animating on twos or threes. When animating on twos, each drawing is shown for two consecutive frames, resulting in a slightly more staggered or stylized motion. Threes extend this to three consecutive frames, giving an even more distinct and choppy appearance.
3. Mixed Frame Rates: The film cleverly combined these different frame rates within scenes, alternating between sequences animated on ones, twos, or threes. This variation created a dynamic visual rhythm, emphasizing specific actions or intensifying the atmosphere of certain scenes.

For more details I highly recommend watching the following 2 videos:

• How ‘Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse’ Was Animated (Breakdown): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEXUG_vN540
• How Spider-Verse Broke The Rules of 3D Animation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jH0wDp5GnQ

Also here is a rather fun video of another artist implementing the Spider-Verse approach into his little animation:

• I Made a Across the Spider-Verse Animation in 24 Styles: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPd-TQnLyS

Inspiration

There are so many styles to be inspired from, but I am particularly fond of one aesthetic. The grungy, punk fanzine inspired look for the character Hobie (As you could’ve guessed form the first few lines of this blog entry).

Hobie Brown, known as the Prowler in Spider-Man lore, shares an intriguing link to punk fanzines in some versions of the character. He’s portrayed as a creator of these DIY publications, revealing his artistic side beyond being a superhero. This connection implies his potential involvement or association with the expressive, underground realm of punk culture. Fanzines were pivotal in this culture, serving as avenues for unconventional expression, sharing alternative ideas, and spotlighting underground music, art, and lifestyle. Depicting Hobie as a fanzine artist hints at his possible connection to the rebellious and creative world associated with punk.

Punk Fanzines?

Punk fanzines display a gritty and unpolished style that resonates with the rebellious spirit of the punk movement.

These DIY publications are distinctly handmade, often using basic materials like photocopiers, cut-and-paste techniques, and hand-drawn elements. The layouts appear chaotic, featuring asymmetrical designs, bold fonts, and irregular lettering that convey a sense of urgency and spontaneity.

The visuals within these fanzines are provocative, showcasing raw and gritty imagery such as unpolished photographs, rough illustrations, and photocopied graphics. The content itself is daring, offering radical art, anti-establishment messages, underground music reviews, and personal anecdotes.

With intentionally low-quality printing, the fanzines carry a raw, grainy texture, often containing smudges and uneven ink distribution. Yet, these imperfections are embraced, adding to the authenticity and DIY aesthetic of punk fanzines.

In essence, the rough and grungy aesthetic of punk fanzines captures the untamed energy and counter-cultural defiance that define the punk movement.

There are multiple lessons which this movie has taught me, story wise I can’t say much, but aesthetically and technically there is a whole lot to unravel. After my initial watch I have gone over the parts I have liked in particular and viewed the sections frame-by-frame. It was quite interesting to see some imperfections in resolution, simple color changes or whacky doodles contribute so much to the whole scene. On its own some frames don’t seem truly spectacular, but given the fact that the average human being won’t go over frame-by-frame for an almost two and a half hour long movie, it is fair to say that every frame could be a poster. This is what I want to achieve, or at least try to achieve in my project.