Dark Matter

Visual Design

A cyber sci-fi themed collage printed as blotter art for inclusion in a local artist's collective showcase

Intro

This digital collage was made in response to an invitation to join a local independent artist’s alliance in Portland, ME. The coalition aimed to host recurring monthly events that would showcase work from alliance members while highlighting a new featured artist each month. Invited artists were encouraged to submit a new or existing piece for member admission and considered inclusion in future showcases.

Contributions

UX Design
Visual Design

Tools

Photoshop
Illustrator
Google

Project Type

Exercise

Enterprise

Freelance

Artist's Statement

I’ve always found inspiration in vintage sci-fi illustrations and comics, and as a digital creator, I’ve primarily used technology as my medium. I felt that combining these two themes would be a suitable motif for this project. With that in mind, I created a cyber sci-fi neo-futurism collage by coalescing fragments of older sci-fi illustrations with new self-made attributes.

The composition is called Dark Matter, named after an elusive and theoretical substance that astrophysicists believe encases the universe. The scene portrays a dramatization of dark matter’s influence over its environment. Galactic collisions, electromagnetic radiation, and black-hole genesis illustrate the causal relationship between the omnipotent force and descendant cosmic phenomena, while other areas delineate the matter itself, an otherwise invisible actor.

Planning

The alliance encouraged us to create a composition that could be showcased or distributed as a physical item. While I brainstormed alternatives to printing the design on regular poster paper or card stock, I recalled several of my peers having characterized my artistic aesthetic as being “psychedelic”. With that in mind, I decided to print my design on blotter paper. These pieces are more colloquially known as “blotter art” among collectors. This creative decision aimed to differentiate my piece from other artists, while guiding the creative direction of the project.

Research

While researching blotter art, I noticed a few thematic similarities across compositions. These themes would later serve as a guide rail when creating my final scene:

Pandemonium

Teeming with lively characters and excessive locomotion, these highly animated scenes might be best described as a centrifuge for chaos, where theatrical mayhem and mystery collide.

Surrealism

A broader predecessor of psychedelic imagery, surrealist pieces illustrate quixotic fantasies within dreamlike landscapes. The genre has been described as an expression of the artist’s unconscious mind.

Ideation

I compiled roughly 70 photos from various sources online. Many of the images served as inspiration and helped guide my creative direction throughout the project. The remaining 19 images (cited below) were used as assets within the actual collage.

Kreiger, Artix. Dec 12. 2017. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Ninth Stellation of Icosahedron” Wikia
https://math.fandom.com/wiki/Icosahedron?file=Ninth_stellation_of_icosahedron.png

Kreiger, Artix. Dec 12. 2017. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Seventh Stellation of Icosahedron” Wikia
https://math.fandom.com/wiki/Icosahedron?file=Seventh_stellation_of_icosahedron.png

Web. 3 Jan. 2019. Shambhala Healing Tools. STAR TETRAHEDRON WITH OCTAHEDRON - MEDIUM
https://www.shambhalahealingtools.com/product-p/geo-earth-med.html

Web. 3 Jan. 2019. Free PNGs
https://www.freepngs.com/icicle-pngs?pgid=iww3u7lk-2fdd31ca-5461-11e8-a9ff-063f49e9a7e4

QAI Publishing. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Saturn's rings”. Universal Images Group via Getty Images.
https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/saturn-planet?mediatype=photography&phrase=saturn%20planet&sort=mostpopular

Wavebreakmedia Ltd. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Technology code design in human eye. Computing, caucasian.” Dreamstime.
https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-footage-technology-code-design-human-eye-digital-animation-video60975822

Darrell K. Sweet. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. (‘Lucky Starr and the Rings of Saturn’ by Isaac Asimov/Paul French) From the book Infinite Worlds by Vincent Di Fate (1997). Tumblr
https://retroscifiart.tumblr.com/post/160280527451/art-by-darrell-k-sweet-lucky-starr-and-the-rings

Russ, Joanna. 1977. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “The Female Man”. Tumblr
https://www.tumblr.com/search/peter%20%26%20joanna

3vidz. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Binary Computer Data City Skyline”. Big Stock Photo.
https://www.bigstockphoto.com/video-74811670/binary-computer-data-city-skyline/

Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Blue Matrix Code Screensaver” Download Screensavers.
https://download-screensavers.biz/blue-matrix-code-screensaver.html

StudioM1. 27 Feb. 2018. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. Getty Images/iStockphoto. “Abstract science or technology background”.
https://www.istockphoto.com/vector/abstract-science-or-technology-background-array-with-dynamic-particles-vector-gm924837594-253803953?utm_medium=organic&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=iptcurl

Hwan, Jhong. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Silver Horse” Art Station.
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rJ8qe

McKie, Angus. 1978. Print. Dec. 1978. “Incredible Tech”. Heavy Metal Magazine, Vol. 2 #8
https://coolpages.tumblr.com/post/130974330509/heavy-metal-volume-2-8-so-beautiful-and-so

Eduardo. 3 July. 2018. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “CONHEÇA 5 ESTRANHAS ALTERNATIVAS PARA EXPLICAR BURACOS NEGROS”. Planeta Pop
https://www.megacurioso.com.br/ciencia/107959-conheca-5-estranhas-alternativas-para-explicar-buracos-negros.htm

White, Tim. 1952. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “Other side of the sky”. Graphicine
http://graphicine.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/tim-white_1.jpg

Web. 3 Jan. 2019. LED Neon Light Tube (WLG-T0301A-RGB). Made-in-China
https://ledsignswlg.en.made-in-china.com/product/XbLJQvaobDVK/China-LED-Neon-Light-Tube-WLG-T0301A-RGB-.html

Webley, Kayla. “The Laser Beam Turns 50”. Laser Beams Refracting Through Prism Visuals Unlimited/Corbis 16 May. 2010. Time. Web.
https://newsfeed.time.com/2010/05/16/the-laser-beam-turns-50/

Tsuruta, Ichiro. 1985. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. Tumblr.
https://www.tumblr.com/search/ichiro%20tsuruta

Sorayama, Hajime. 1993. Web. 3 Jan. 2019. “The Gynoids”. Tumblr.
https://atomic-chronoscaph.tumblr.com/post/139690889668/hajime-sorayama

Design

The following montage illustrates various miletones throughout the design progression. The final composition took roughly 12 weeks to complete, and contains 78 layers, including custom graphics and reference materials.