Project 1

Photoshop:

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Illustrator images:

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Artist statement:

My character stood place in the future, and his name is Ada. He is a powerful soldier who could operate a huge human shaped war machine. He is so strong that nobody treats him as a human being, nor anybody wanted to be friends with him, because everybody sees him as a weapon in the military. He does not have a teammate because he does not know how to collaborate with people, so whoever partners with him always dies during battle. Ada tries to make himself look tough but he actually have a very sensitive heart, he eager friendship and partnership, and he also desires a real partner who could stand and fight side by side with him. One fun fact about Ada is that, he always tries to hide his passion for cats, all cats. Ada doesn't want people to know this because he doesn't ruin his 'tough guy' images in front of people, but when he sees a cat, he cannot control himself but chasing it.

The reason I created this character is because I view Ada as a product based on my current and childhood understanding of the war. When I was a kid, I always think the strongest soldier will earn all the flowers and glories, however when I grow up I realizes that none of these really matters. What really matters is that how many people care about you. Similar in Ada's situation, even though he is the strongest soldier who could turnover the battle single handedly, but he is still a nobody before his fellows and government. Such tragic hero is my favorite. There are difficulties when I try to create the character, especially when it comes to how to show his inner world in a way without using words. The solution was to instead add symbolism, but to remove some symbolisms. For example, instead of trying to add more symbolism to represent that he is depressed or how isolated he is, removing his eyes and hiding his emotion better describes his emotion and inner heart. For me, art is never just addition, but also substraction.