Project 1 - Faux Selfies

Artist Statement: I used this project as a way to bring an alter ego of me from my favorite video game to "life." I started to think about the different versions of me that come from different worlds, like online games. I decided to bring Crystal to life as she has been one of the ego's I spend the most time with. I tried to imagine her qualities, likes, dislikes, and how she would be perceived in both "real life" and animated styles. I wanted to showcase her in activities/places that I know she would do/go to. The first image is of what I would assume she would look like in real life in a place themed after her favorite place in Erinn (mentioned in the Brainstorm Blog, called Corrib Valley.) Not only that, but she flashes her fire magic surrounded by hearts, which I put around her to symbolize that she is sweet and caring. The fire can also be seen as passion for both her studies and occupation (mage), while also being her choice in weapon. The red seen in her theme and in all the images can also be used to describe that she is passionate and loving. I see the cat parts as symbolism for loyalty, as cats are generally really loyal to people they trust and have bonded with. In one of these photos she is pictured with her best friend, where they participate in a magic fight with one of the characters from the game. I chose blue and red/fire and ice to represent them because I wanted to showcase the strong but opposite friendship that they have. The blue character is trying to protect her from the danger while she casts a life-saving spell. The hearts in this particular photo represent the love and appreciation she feels for her friend as she covers her. I think this shows that they are both experienced mages while also showcasing the protecting and loyal behavior of the two of them, which occurs only because they have bonded so closely together. In another photo she sits at a table in front of a large amount of sweets. This alluding to the fact that she is a massive fan of sweets, so much so that she would willingly order that many. If you look you will also see a shopping bag, which alludes to the fact that she enjoys shopping. The different eccentric/specific outfit choices allude to the fact that she enjoys participating in different fashions (which are mentioned in specifics in the Brainstorm Blog. The most common one presented here was the maidcore style.) I wanted to use both Photoshop to attempt to create selfies of what her actual life would be like and Illustrator to create head/body shots of her with decorations (almost like the idea of a Polaroid with writing on them). In general, she encompasses a lot of ideas that both her and I share. While the project itself does not have a deeper meaning, the use of symbolism here was still important to describe to you what kind of person she is!