Feb '17

for my final major project ive chosed Cursed Utopia as my theme,
im using the song 'Ravens in the library' by SJ Tucker as a starting point(teachers suggestion) but i have no idea how to connect it to the theme?!

also i could do with suggestions for artists to study too ;-;

Feb '17
1

Hi there! Here's my two cents...

For art based on music:
Listen to the song a few times, and think about how it makes you feel. What do you think about when you hear it? Is the music fast and full of energy, or slow and haunting? Happy or sad or angry? Is it played by grand, sweeping orchestra or performed solo? If there are lyrics, do any of the lines stand out to you?

After you've answered those questions, start thinking about the colors, shapes, and ideas that put you in the same mood. Look up reference on Google Images. (This can be the funniest part sometimes! You never know what will turn up and inspire you.)

Collect screenshots of things you feel fit the look you want into a moodboard, and you're off to a great start :smile:

Referencing artists:
Who you study/reference depends largely on the final look you're going for. (Realistic? Cartoon? Modern, vintage, abstract...) I find that it's easier to search for a specific style of art and study that instead of only a specific person. Then you can start to pick out what you like and don't like and make it your own.

That being said, I personally love the work of Aaron Blaise, Celine Kim, Ross Tran, Jin Kim, and Glenn Keene, to name a few. They do a lot of characters and visual development and are masters of anatomy. Not sure if that's useful for you or not, sorry 😬

Anyway, good luck on your final!

Feb '17

thats actually really helpful thanks!!
the song is quite high energy but i always feel like its ironic. to me its more like a song about how ravens find a library and start learning but end up learning too much and fighting, kinda like the moral behind it is to not learn everything you can, because too much knowledge causes conflict. so i guess the overall feelings of it are sadness and disappointment?

gonna go research a load on this xD
my project doesnt officially start until the 1st, but i want to get as much done as i can!

lyrics: One flies in to case the joint,
boldly struts around.
Two fly in to make it three,
laugh a while and knock each other down.
Four flies in with a frowning walk
gains a laugh from out a squawk
but it's five who owns the place
and proves it with a look, stopping
six and seven in their tracks from
smuggling a book.

Words within our grasp--do we let go?
Do we fly heavily with the weight of what we know?

My friend bids me come and see
the ravens in the library
setting quiet pages free.

One for fiction, two for truth,
three for bikes and bathing suits
four for scifi/fantasy
five loves art and ancient skulls
six eats periodicals
seven lives in poetry

(One for sorrow, two for joy,
three for girls and four for boys,
five for silver, six for gold,
seven for a secret never told!)

One hangs out on the drama shelves
but keeps the monologues to herself
two and three are studying jewels
Four reads all about the Huns
five won't share the shiny ones
six and seven label molecules

(One crow sorrow, two crows mirth
three a wedding, four a birth
five crows silver, six crows gold,
seven ravens, curious and bold!)

Words within our grasp--do we let go?
Do we fly heavily with the weight of what we know?

hours of study flying by
words soaked up by beady eyes
long debates into the night
pages flying everywhere
seek the language word by word
like the black and clever bird
never let it bring you down
all the things we haven't figured out

My friend bids me come and see
the ravens in the library
setting quiet pages free
(knitting up the 'raveled sleeve of care
pages flying everywhere)

Seven reads about the gods,
chuckles to herself;
to the rest, she never lets on.
Try to catch a glimpse of them
bickering like mortal men-
feathers on the sidewalk.

If you heard a raven say such horrible words
as the ones you may have heard in your day to day,
would it make you choose your own more carefully
around the ones you love?

my friend bids me come and see
the ravens in the library
setting quiet pages free.
(Knitting up the sleeve of care
pages flying everywhere.)