I’ve been doing some research on colour theory and colours representing and based around emotion as this can really help and influence the progression and journey in my comic.

I took some photographs to reference loving, gentle relationship hand gestures vs overpowering, controlling hand gestures as the comic novel will need to show the journey, I want to show the progression of good to bad.

I took some photographs for inspiration and reference in the condensation of the shower with my hand pushed against the glass pain. This represents the idea of being trapped and unable to escape something.

I decided to do some sketches using black charcoal.

For the first sketch, I created a female figure with a dark human figure looming behind her. The details in the females face were created with a black fine liner. I added tears and dark, sad eyes. The female is consumed within the figure behind her, trapped by the presence of the person.

For the second sketch, I used black charcoal again with the same blacked out eyes effect which presents the idea that she’s losing touch of reality.  I sketched chains around her neck as if she is trapped, locked up.

I rarely use chalk as a medium but I heavily enjoyed the outcome of it with this sketches as I could blend them out to create a ghostly illusion.

I decided to create a small acrylic painting on addiction and the stereotypical ideas surrounding addiction such as drugs and smoking. I also added some eyes that merge into each other to represent that idea of losing your identity and your self. I also created a black, red and white background with paint to add depth and texture.

I decided to create some sketches that represented how I felt in the addictive, bad and toxic relationship.

These first two sketches were 30 second, one line drawings. I used blue oil pastels.
For me, Blue resonates the feeling of hopelessness and sadness. I often correlate blue with feelings of numbess and emptiness.

These two sketches are also 30 seconds. I decided to just let loose and feel freely on the page. I used a purple coloured pencil and really allowed my feelings to portray onto the page. In the moment I was completely overpowered with emotion. Looking back, I can tell that the drawings portray lack of identity and losing who you are. There is no connecting body or facial features. It is very abstract.

For these two sketches, I focused on portraits. Both were 1 minute sketches and one line. Using a black, thick felt tip for the first and a thinner fine liner for the second.

For the first sketch I focused on the idea of dripping, as if drowning or falling apart in a slightly more dripping appearance. There is no real correlating facial feature other than a mouth, head shape and neck.

For the second sketch, I did create more detail in the face, yet it was still abstract in a sense. I used the same scribbled out technique as the purple sketches. This is showing more of an angry, passionate rage rather than a sadness.

I decided to create a 5 minute sketch of a female, character type portrait.

I used a black fine liner for the details, which I used as an ink wash to create the watered down effect. I then added a slight purple to the underneath of her eyes to emphasise exhaustion.

This portrait really portrays the sense of tiredness and general sadness. The facial expressions, the lingering darkness created by the ink wash and the dark of her eyes.

I realised both my ideas intertwined with each other. You can be addicted to a person who is toxic. You can also be in a relationship with an addictive substance.

I decided to create a Instagram story in which people could reply. I asked how it felt to be in a relationship that was addictive and toxic/abusive.

Here are the answers people gave, I blurred out their names for privacy.

The brief for this project was a metaphorical journey. During the lectures, we created Mirro boards on different variations of this brief. I felt most compelled to a journey from something positive to negative and the change of reactions, colours etc.

I created a mind map of my two main ideas to gather general ideas on them

The first idea was  a journey of falling in love with an abusive person/falling into the realms of a toxic relationship. The main ideas surrounding this were being trapped, manipulated and losing your identity as you’re being slowly overshadowed by this person. This  idea came from past relationships that I have had where I was emotionally abused, gaslight and manipulated so much I lost myself.

The second idea was the journey of addiction and watching someone slowly progress in a downwards sprial due to this.

BRIEF 2: Metaphorical Journey. 

POSSIBLE IDEAS:

Journey of growth and recovery (Positive) :

• Personal growth in terms of bettering yourself from ; toxic traits, toxic people, addiction.
  Starting with the negative. Removing yourself. Feeling better. Growing. Change in colour palette.
• Overcoming health issues, physical and mentally.
• Create a character who is a metaphor of the journey.
• Overcoming trauma – PTSD. Triggering aspects.
• Discovering your sexuality.
• Freeing yourself from an abuser.

Journey of losing yourself (negative and sad)

• Falling into a depression. Starting happy and getting sad.
• Falling in love with an abuser. Noticing the changes. How you feel smaller and smaller and burnt out.
  How does the beginning feel? Does it get worse the longer it goes on. Does the character feel small, like an ant.
• Journey of grief.
  Where does the journey begin? At the first moment of death or a few days down the line. How long do you grieve for? Weeks, months, or years? Does the journey ever get better? Does the feeling start with loneliness and sadness and become emptiness and numb?
• Journey of addiction .
  From the beginning you see the effects of the addiction, how you lose yourself to the addiction.
  What is the addiction? Is it a person? A drug. Alcohol? Does the addiction present itself in anger or sadness, or maybe it’s a journey of ups and downs. Happy and sad.

Colour palettes:

Restricted: black and white: could represent emptiness, loneliness, hollow feeling. Numb.

Warm: Happy, vibrant, joy.

Cool: Sad, lonely, exhausted.

Metaphors/Characters:

Does the character start out large and grow small or the other way round?
Is it an animal? Or a person?