LOGO DESIGN

From as early my project proposal, I had already thought out the design for the Phantasia logo which is simply made out of the janeausten font I found on DaFont.com - I knew I wanted a font that was handwritten and romantic. I spent a long time finding the perfect shade of red, I worked towards creating crimson lettering which I bevelled for a three dimensional effect as I wanted the letters to appear as through they have been freshly written with thick ink. I am pleased with the outcome, although minor changes may still need to be made depending on the colouring of the website. 

ORIENTAL THEME: A CREATOR'S SIGNATURE

Throughout the development of this project so far, I have noticed that there has been an oriental feel running throughout the images, some more subtle than the others. I guess I added oriental elements within my work without too much thought because it is like a creator's signature. Although this was not an idea that I had at the beginning of this project, I plan to expand on this idea for my last two remaining characters.

DEVIL IN THE ROOM

I found another disturbing short film based around sleep paralysis...

Devil In The Room is a mixed-media short film about sleep paralysis, which was completed in May 2013. The film uses stop motion animation, live action film and projection mapping techniques to evoke and explore the worlds experienced between sleeping and waking.

'It doesn't matter if i'm not real, what matters is that I feel real.' 

SHOOT 4: VISITATION DREAM

For this series of images, I tried to experiment with different lighting, combining both cool and warm colours. I achieved this by using two spotlights on either side of the model, one utilising a cool gel filter and the other a warm gel filter. In a couple of the images, I created a hazy gradient background by aiming a pink light upwards from under the model. Using a cloth filter over the camera lens also gave the images a dreamy effect and the model an airbrushed feel which smoothens the skin whilst adding a glowing effect. I found that this setup worked particularly well, I also found that adjusting the intensity of the light gave different effects, making the image either softer or more contrasting. I was very happy with the studio set up, having regularly assisted shoots in the past, I feel that I have put to use the skills that I have learnt from various photographers and adjusted techniques to find my personal style. By using similar effects on all series of images I will be able to keep the images looking consistent. 

I was very happy with the model, I had a conversation with her before the shoot about the Edith Wharton story that inspired the character and having also seen Crimson Peak, she understood the dark gothic romance storyline. 

STUDIO PROBLEM

When booking a studio space today, I was told that I can only book a studio for maximum 4 hours a week. This is a worrying problem, although I recently decided that I was going to complete two shoots per week, four hours per week is not sufficient time. I have now decided to shoot once a week, making sure that I am extra aware of time, I will ask the model to come in two hours prior to my studio booking so that I will be ready to set up and shoot as soon as the studio available in order to maximise the studio time. 

VISITATION DREAM: CHARACTER DESIGN

Since my project is centred around darker dreams, my dream character for this series of images will resemble a vengeful spirit with sinister intentions - she is a deceased lover of someone who is still living, one who contradicts the phrase till death do us part. The series of images that I will create can be described as a twisted love story. As discussed in the previous post, this series is inspired by Edith's Warton's Pomegranate Seed. 

Red will be used as a symbolic colour. Red is a colour which symbolises love and romance, rage and anger, blood and malice - all the emotions this character is to portray.

For the makeup, I was inspired by the ghostly character designs from Guillermo Del Toro films such as the Devils Backbone (2001) and Crimson Peak (2016) where blood flows down along the natural contours of the face but leaving some to defy gravity by flowing upwards giving it a supernatural effect. I wanted to create intricate details around the eyes to imitate the pattern of lace but also cracks and veins. I chose a model with blue eyes so that the eyes really stand out from the makeup. 

Designing the hair is always a challenge. For this shoot I have decided to give the model big blonde hair with curls that imitate unravelled 1930s hair to give softness to the harshness of the look but to also to create a more historical look.

 I have decided to use wigs for all my images because using the model's real hair really limits colour, length and volume. By styling wigs ready for each shoot I am able to drastically transform the model and it drastically saves time when getting the model through hair and makeup.  

INSPIRATION: CRISTINA FRANCOV

My work started as a worldly extension of my dreams. I wanted that exquisite context in which dreams unfold to be, somehow, relished by the senses beyond my own imagination only. Growing up, I realized dreams flashed small centrifugal shards of my persona, the universe and all of it encompassed symbols open to personal conclusions stemming from brief events, oftentimes imperceptible to myself and the world at large. As if it almost were a cryptic game of questions and answers.

And so I assumed dreams and symbolic manifestations to be coded messages that, when translated into images, could establish themselves as obvious but never simple links straight to the anima and spirit of the beholder (and my own). I worked on my dreams as I worked on myself; trained my hand and tied it to my mind in an effort to lift off the chains of reason and sense; opposite actions that I hoped would someday teach me a way of materializing all of that which floated in rather ethereal and cosmogonic forms.

 - Cristina Francov 

Cristina Francov is an artist who gives life to her characters using experimental digital photography and mixed media through self-portraiture.

Sphynx

Spirits Weaving a Nexus 

In the painting, Spirits Weaving a Nexus, two otherworldly women weave the dream of a sleeping woman. Not only does Francov personify the dream process, she also shows a relationship between the ethereal and physical realm, both of which operate with conscious intelligent intention. What some might consider balance between the light and the dark, or the above and the below, or the right hand path and the left hand path, good and bad, male and female, might also be thought of as suspension. (Beautiful Bazaar Mag, 2014)  

To Keep You Alive

I Shall Never Forgive You 

In paintings such as Nunca te voy a perdonar (I Shall Never Forgive You) or El banquete magnetic (The Magnetic Banquet) spirits hover above sleeping persons. The dream state in which the person lies is manifested by the spirit floating above them.

The Magnetic Banquet

Introspection Whilst Dreaming

The works of Cristina Francov are dark but brilliant in colour, dreamlike in the way refined images dissolve into washes of colours. Cristina is a realist of cerebral abstraction. Surrealism, expressionism, impressionism, and symbolism are all infused within her style. She generates psychological and spiritual archetypes into modern forms through photography, photo manipulation, painting, and drawing. 

Francov's work is unnerving and portrays the terrors of dream which is haunting yet beautiful. The discovery of this artist's work has inspired me to perhaps experiment with mixed media and to create portraits that appear almost like paintings for I have always found realistic portraits frightening. Perhaps, I could also incorporate myself as one of the dream characters as this would give the exhibition a personal touch. 

The Commitment

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Artist's Gallery:

http://www.cristinafrancov.com/en-index.html

Beautiful Bazaar Article:

https://beautifulbizarre.net/2014/12/04/deconstructing-shadow-self-cristina-francov/