FINAL PROJECT: RESEARCH & REFLECT
Week 6 (07/02/2022) - Week 7 (18/02/2022)
Faith Aimee Choong Jia Yi / 0345509 / Bachelor of Fashion Design Technology (Hons)
Intercultural Design [GCD 61304]
Final Project: Research & Reflect)
LECTURE
Week 6: Short Lecture on 9th February, Wednesday, about Final Project: Research & Reflect
Week 7: No lecture session, continue with the Final Project.
Week 8 [Extension]: Extension of deadline for Final Project.
INSTRUCTIONS
PROJECT 3: FINAL PROJECT RESEARCH & REFLECT
From Mr Asrizal feedback about our final outcome ideations, we decided to go with the second idea which is " Portrait Painting". This ideation is about transformation which reflects on how cosplayers transform from a normal human beings to this fictional character.
We had a meeting to discuss further our final project idea.
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| Figure 1.0 |
The square shape section represents the original form of the cosplayer while the other polygon sections are for us to design our own cosplay character. This is a simple form of what our portrait painting will look like. Suggestions were to make the square section smaller as it eats up the space a little of the portrait.
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| Figure 1.1 |
We devised another idea in which we find a starting base to work on and recreate our own cosplay character using the polygon sections idea.
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| Figure 1.2 [Example] |
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| Figure 1.21 [Base] https://i.pinimg.com/564x/0c/9e/e5/0c9ee5b09698cf20067a0d10a93a5ead.jpg |
Figure 1.21: Photograph of Laura Gywneth Butler for @britishgirls_magazine taken by @anyaholdstock
We numbered the parts and used a 'spinning wheel' to decide which part we got. Since we had only 6 parts, the 7th person will be the combiner (in which he/she combines all of our parts together and make sure they harmony well with each other).
We decided to go forth with this idea and sort out the parts for everyone. We labeled each part with a number.
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| Figure 1.3 |
Before beginning, Mr Asrizal has asked for our final outcome idea.
FEEDBACK
By: Mr Asrizal
"The idea sounds interesting! You may now proceed to build up your final outcome."
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| Figure 1.4 |
We provided everyone's part in this google drive folder, according to the number we got from the spinning wheel. We each did our parts individually.
The software I used to edit my section was FireAlpaca64. It is a digital art software which I'm comfortable using. The inspiration for my piece was an anime called "Sword Art Online", I really loved one story arc which was the Phantom Bullet. Sword Art Online is an anime that portrays young teenagers escaping reality and endorsing themselves in VR games. This story arc Phantom Bullet is a VR gun game.
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| Figure 1.5 https://aniparade.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/sword-art-online-ii-episode-06-kirito-embraces-hugs-sinon-lovingly-tenderly-kiss-her-deeply-i-wish.jpg |
These are the two main characters in the story arc. I was inspired by the color scheme in Figure 1.4 and I was fascinated with how the colors relate to the scene.
I was captivated by this reference/inspiration because it reminds me of one of the main characters, Sinon (a cyan hair-colored girl). Sinon is a shy girl in real life who often got bullied, she played gun games to gain the courage and stand up for herself but she couldn't bring herself to stand up to the bullies in real life. I feel that Sinon relates to me as I was once a shy person who was afraid to speak in front of a crowd and especially to my enemies. After taking public speaking classes, I felt courageous to speak confidently on stage and to an audience.
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| Figure 1.6 |
This is the final outcome of my section. My other reference for this cosplay character was also Star Wars, Arcane, and Hatsune Miku. She is painted as a foreign alien from outer space who is part of the military. Her eyebrows are shaved into two sections at the end to symbolize her manliness, power, and supremity. The white check cover symbolizes the armor, again power and as a galactic soldier, she wasn't allowed to talk or show emotions like in the real military. Indirectly the white check armor is like a mask to prevent or narrow her speech. The cyan h
ighlights in her hair are to symbol the environment she is in, outer space. The overall color used is green which relates back to the military.
ighlights in her hair are to symbol the environment she is in, outer space. The overall color used is green which relates back to the military.
Lastly, we have to focus on our final project slides. Mr Asrizal gave us a list of things to include in our slides such as the 200-word rationale (from project 1), a summary of data collection (project 2), research question and objectives, message to the audience and the progress along with the final outcome. Everyone uploaded their own progress and recording for their part in the slides.
FINAL OUTCOME
THE MESSAGE
"The message behind the portrait is to bring awareness to people of the real reason why some people really enjoy cosplaying. From what I have seen and read throughout my exploration process, usually, people only see cosplay as a hobby or as a way to show people how you really love certain characters, and it's not hard to understand why people do it. But there's so much to it that makes cosplaying is so interesting and unique. As you can see, we deliberately emphasize the natural part of the lady’s face because we want to drag’s viewers' eyes directly to this particular part of the portrait because that is the focal point. The natural part of the face shows an individual while the customized parts of the portrait around the frame show freedom. Why do I say freedom? Because it's giving people the freedom to escape from the reality of who they are as an individual in real life where people can pretend to be in an anime/ manga or game world. So, it gives people the freedom to be someone else even just for a day. Cosplaying also gives the freedom to people to feel a sense of belonging like when they walk through a convention and see a community of people with the same interests. especially, When people make eye contact and smile when they recognize your character and ask to take pictures, it's giving you a moment to feel special and appreciated. Furthermore, the various parts of the portrait also show the creative sides of an individual because some people really enjoy the processing of planning and creating custom as it’s such a rewarding hobby."
VIDEO PRESENTATION [FINAL PROJECT]
FINAL PROJECT SLIDES
REFLECTION [INTERCULTURAL DESIGN]
Experience:
Doing this project was pretty difficult as we kept it as an online-based project. However, we still manage to complete our projects on time despite the difficulties we face. The challenges we had were the research statutes and miscommunication. The benefit of having this project online is that the research is much faster, coming from secondary research on sites like Google and other sources. Since our topic was Cosplay this topic is very frequent on the web and appears in many searches and forms (videos, pictures, blogs and etc).
Observation:
During Project 2, my part was to collect data on the lifestyle and well-being of a cosplayer. After watching several videos, I wondered how they could still enjoy and love cosplay even though it was a time-consuming and weary job that they had to do every day. From what I observed from all our data collection, there are some cosplayers who are very passionate about cosplay and they enjoy the friendships and bonds they have with the community. This hobby or passion also increases their self-esteem to have bigger social circles and skills like communication.
Findings:
From this project, I've come to learn and understand more about the cosplay community and why the younger generations are highly influenced by this trend.
A cosplayer compared to an influencer is contradictory. Unlike influencers, cosplayers tend to be more interactive with their fans and followers because they feel that they have so much in common that they are a part of something. Cosplay mainly originates from those who read or watch manga or anime.
Being an anime fan myself, I don't think cosplay is for me after doing a lot of research on it because it is a heavy workload to take on and I'm not really social active. But I would love to visit Harajuku Street in Japan to walk past cosplayers with their creative and amazing costumes. From this module, I've gained a variety of information about the culture and especially on Cosplay Culture. Although it is devasting that this year there wasn't a trip to Japan or other places because the experience would be much more exciting and interesting.
SPECIAL REFLECTION [MAH MERI CULTURAL VILLAGE]
Experience:
When I arrived at Mah Meri Cultural Village, I was amazed at the surroundings and the environment there. I could feel this spiritual energy surrounding us. The vibe was quite eerie and quiet.
Our tour guide, Diane, was telling us all about the Mah Meri orang asli's and their culture. I was indulged with their culture the most because they believe in the "another world" spiritual beings somewhat similar to Japanese animalism beliefs, where spirits possess certain beings or objects.
I was so fascinated to see their culture up close as they perform their marriage ceremony as well as the Mask Dance. By participating in their culture, I sense a bonding or togetherness with the orang asli's even though we come from different lands with different cultures, I was so glad to experience the traditions.
Observation:
The thing that stood out to me the most in the Mah Meri Cultural Village was the carved wooden statues that symbolize the different spirits, that the Mah Meri people believe in. At first glance, I thought those wooden statues were souvenirs however after hearing from Diane about these wooden statues having a certain meaning behind them and what they are used for, I felt amazed yet intimidated.
I was amazed at how the Mah Meri people are able to carve out these wooden statues so beautifully and also smooth to touch. The wooden statue that amused me the most was the "Tiger Chain". The "Tiger Chain" wooden sculpture had 7 rings forming a chain from which the tiger is holding as well as a ball inside its fangs. From what Diane has mentioned in the tour, the "Tiger Chain" sculpture was carved with the ball inside its mouth and the chain attached to the tiger's limbs. I was surprised by how it could be sculpted that way because initially, I thought each piece was sculpted individually then placed together. The ball in the tiger's fangs was very well curved out and smooth.
Every wooden sculpture in Mah Meri, is made by an expert craftsman. I also notice their weaving technique which is very beautiful but hard to weave. Trying their weaving technique was a good experience but I could never match their speed in making those weaved crafts.
Findings:
What I've learned throughout this whole trip is basically the Mah Meri culture but also to respect other native cultures in the world. Even if their culture doesn't make sense in the modern world we still have to respect their culture because culture is what made them today.
Although during this pandemic era, we aren't able to travel abroad, this was truly a memorable trip for me as I get to explore and discover new people and cultures in our country. I really adore their culture and well-being because it is something that we in the modern world wouldn't experience. I hope in the future there will be more trips like this because I think it is something that everyone would enjoy especially during the Covid-19 period and it's also educational to those who have not heard of Mah Meri or others.
FURTHER READING
mmcv. 2021. Mah Meri Cultural Village. [online] Available at: <https://www.mmcv.org.my/> [Accessed 12 January 2022].
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