Maps & Networks #9: Illustration Style

LOW ROAR ALBUM (2014)

'0'

Whilst listening to Low Roar's album '0', I found the album cover was really interesting as there was parts of a face that seemed to be made up of lines that resembled contour lines on a map. As the face seemed unfinished, it felt like it was an incomplete memory that was trying to be retraced. This was also emphasised by the stray coloured lines towards the right half of the album cover. To me this looked like strands of other memory that could be overlapping or even fragments of the current memory which cannot be placed. 

Maps displaying contour lines: 

I really like this style of the Low Roar drawing because its not extremely detailed but it depicts enough to only just make out what the subject is which is a perfect way to depict memory. This got me thinking that I could relate this back to the unit of 'maps & networks' as I could use it to depict and map out memory in this style. I begun this project really interested in stop-motion animation, however, I parked this idea as I do not have access to dragon frame at home. But this artwork made me consider looking at digital animation. 

After a 1-1 tutorial with Jeremiah, I really liked the idea that was talked through of creating a digital identity. By choosing memories of my own and noting them down, I am planning to then turn them in to a set of digital drawings in the style of contour lines in cartography as I will be mapping my memories. 

I then plan to put them in to an online API software (which I have yet to do research on) and see how it is interpreted. However, my only issue I have from here is that I don't feel confident with the work to just stop there as I don't want my final outcome to be a static piece but instead an abstract moving images. So from here I need to experiment with the drawings and API software to figure out what kind of format I want to create for my final piece for this unit.

I began by gathering ideas and exploring more in to contour lines on maps and how it can be turned in to art. I found a bunch of images and art online that was in the style that I had in mind and created a mood board so I had some sort of reference to go back to if I became stuck:

The lined contouring style also looks like a finger print which also is a part of a person's identity as it is unique to them. This is much like memories which are a part of what makes up11 a person's identity. This reinforces the link to the theme of persona as well as the style of drawing i have chosen to capture my memories with. I am creating my own 'finger print' drawings which each highlight parts of who I am.

 I found that I had a week before done a doodle which became really handy with developing ideas from and was coincidentally in the same style of the contour lines. Although it didn't depict a memory, I found that when I was doing it, drawing line after line, I would begin to recall memories and replay them in my head over and over too each time I drew a line. Each section that is drawn is different from the other which reflects this.

Before drawing I realised that I needed to select memories to draw and pay attention to how I remember them. Firstly, I made a spider diagram of different memories which I could focus on. I wrote down the most significant parts of those memories which seemed to be mostly specific objects or just generalisations of the whole memory so I knew which ones they were.

QUICK DIGITAL SKETCHES: