3 Cards – Illustration Brief
When I was faced with the topic of ‘Conversation’ to base my three cards around, I chose to take the topic and turn it upside-down. I decided to take conversation and think what isn’t in our daily conversations, or rather, what society says we shouldn’t talk about. Taboo. From this I narrowed my it down to three themes; Sex, Religion and Politics.
I chose to create characters of politicans because they are people that society often makes jokes about and have a facination with their personal lives. This also extends to how they conduct themselves in public. Each character is drawn with their exterior and ‘acceptable’ face and then extends down to create a double life for each of the characters.
Kevin Rudd is a stripper as once he was reported as being at a strip club, which sparked outrage. This explains the idea of sex and how there is still taboo around such matters. Julia Gillard is the Anti-Christ because she came out and said she didn’t believe in God. To many people and the media, they played her out to be more than just an Atheist but an evil person. After backstabbing Rudd to gain the title of Prime Minister I thought this narrative was fitting to speak of religion. Finally, Tony Abbott is portrayed as a priest as he is a proud Christian. However, as the body extends down we see he’s actually reading a satanic book. By this, I am playing on the idea of perception whilst also telling a tale of influential people in society and the gossip and rumours that the media creates around them.
I tried to emphasize unflattering aspects of each character such as the bags under Julia Gillard’s eyes or Tony Abbott’s big ears. Using the elements of design, I focused on my use of line and the quality and thickness of the lines with markers and fineliners. I also used watercolour to bring out the colours of each of my characters and to connect with their dominant features & story.
In the background is parchment clippings from the Bible. I took articles that I found to be the most fitting for each character and highlighted the relevant points. I also wrote in my themes with the language of The Ten Commandments to further enforce that rules that society places in order to be socially acceptable in our culture. I think that each of these elements make postcards that would be perfect for an alternative bookshop with their interesting interpretation of society.
