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This is my Digital Design class portfolio, 2021-2022.
The Portrait of Miss May Belfort, a piece by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
"The Portrait of Miss May Belfort" Art Criticism
"The Portrait of Miss May Belfort" Art Criticism
This piece is “The Portrait of Miss May Belfort” created by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec in 1895. It is an oil on canvas painting, vertically formatted. It measures at 80 by 60 centimeters.
In theme with a majority of Toulouse-Lautrec’s works, this piece takes place in a Parisian nightclub. Belfort was a singer and comedian, and the artist’s deliberate setup of this painting gives the impression that she is on a stage, looking down on the viewer. May Belfort stands, her hands threaded together, in a golden dress and a white headpiece. Due to the nature of a nightclub, the viewer assumes this piece takes place at night. The colour scheme and the use of darker neutral colours as the background also affords a sense of nighttime. This takes place in the late 1800’s, assumedly 1894-1895, given the piece’s date.
Belfort is depicted in bright colors, her face nearly as white as her headpiece and her dress composed of bright yellows and golds. The background and a slight edge of the foreground creates a strong juxtaposition between Belfort and the environment, using dull colors in order to achieve such a contrast. The background of the walls and ceiling, as well as the foreground edge of the assumed stage or platform follow this theme of diluted color to draw the viewer’s attention to Belfort, the focal point of the piece. Toulouse-Lautrec uses gestural, almost painterly, lines in most of his paintings. He captures the form and colours with loose, flowing lines.
An implied ‘wood’ feel is best depicted in the walls, ceilings, and the edge of the object in the foreground. Texture is mostly implied in Belfort’s dress. The artist achieves a glossy look, implying a smooth silk of sorts. Patterns are most evident in the lattice work in the background and the rafters of the ceiling. Patterns also occur in Toulouse-Lautrec’s line work.
Toulouse-Lautrec’s use of space seems to maintain a similar theme throughout his works. Belfort obviously dominates the space of the piece, although some of that space is given to the object in the foreground of the lower right hand corner. Although the space seems full, with Belfort’s brightly coloured form making up most of it, the lack of overtly detailed or distinct features in the background almost grants the viewer the feeling of emptiness behind Belfort’s form, despite the logical reasoning that the wall ends somewhere behind her. Text is not used and the lighting seems to come from directly below Belfort, shining in from the right.
The focal point of this piece is Belfort herself. Her face stands out the most, her pale face framed by her dark hair grabbing the viewer’s attention. The detail of Belfort’s form, most specifically her face and dress, ‘pop out’ the most to the viewer. The viewer’s eyes move from the white of Belfort’s face down to her bright yellow dress, outwards to her arms, towards her headpiece, and then taking in the piece as a whole. The detail of the lattice work of the wall to the right of Belfort’s face helps emphasize her face and shoulder. Her lips are the only thing that is painted red, also aiding in drawing the viewer’s attention to her face.
Unity is achieved through the use of the same colors. The same neutrals are apparent throughout the piece, and the few colors that are used are nigh analogous. Green, yellow, and blue are the most prominent colors in the piece, the blue underlying the colors and being most apparent in the gestural lines of the background. Toulouse-Lautrec’s linework also brings unity to the piece, the same gestural markings tying the environment and focal point together. The short brush strokes create an almost impressionistic sort of feel, and the same brushwork is prevalent throughout the entire piece.
A notable difference is the difference between the linework of Belfort’s dress. The lines are steady, yet still gestural, and have a more flowing feel than the background brushstrokes. The piece is realistic to a degree, the artist’s style being stylistic. It is semi-realistic with slight abstraction.
The composition is well-balanced. The object in the foreground at the bottom right is balanced to Belfort’s headpiece. The large, dark form is balanced by the tall, almost translucent white of the headpiece. The piece maintains an asymmetrical balance. Everything apparent in the piece is appropriately scaled- Belfort’s form is anatomically correct or nigh correct. The only size that is slightly baffling is the size of Belfort’s cat. Either it’s a stuffed animal or an incredibly small cat.
The piece seems to emit a sense of stillness as Belfort awaits assumed applause, or an anxious stillness that takes place before a burst of movement. Rhythm is apparent in the brushstrokes that make up the background, as well as the linework that makes up.
I believe that this piece is simply meant to capture Parisian nightlife. I believe that the artist is trying to convey the feeling those who attend the nightclub feel. The painting makes the viewer feel as if they are there themself. This artwork is centered around May Belfort, who was a comedian and singer that performed at several nightclubs in Paris. She was Irish and there was a particular want of English-speaking performers in Paris. The way she is angled in this piece makes her seem ethereal and unreachable, maybe hinting at her being foreign. The contrast of her dress as opposed to her surrounding environment also weighs in an unattainable feel.
The theme of this piece is to entice and captivate the audience, as well as serving as an artistic depiction of nightlife. The art seems to serve the function of both being looked at and captivating the viewer.
I like the artwork due to both the subject matter and the artist’s stylization of the forms and environment. The best part of this piece, in my opinion, is the composition and approach to the contrast between Belfort and the environment. Something I believe to not be successful in the artwork is the slight inability to pin exactly where Belfort is. I assumed a stage, but a staircase or elevated platform seems just as feasible. The lack of detail of the edge in the bottom right corner may also aid in making it difficult to pinpoint where she is. If I were to create or recreate this piece, I would’ve added a bit more detail to the edge in the bottom right corner and I would’ve slightly refined the dress.
I believe that the piece may serve a functionalist purpose, in the sense that, while advertisement may not be the ‘point’ of the painting, it certainly seems to have a convincing aspect to it. The piece seems to show Parisian nightlife and encourage viewers to attend.
Digital Master Study Painting
September 1, 2021Reflection
Reflection
I attempted to emulate Toulouse-Lautrec’s post-Impressionistic style and approach to the human form. Obviously, my work falls short in both emulation of the style and my attempt in composing my piece similarly. I tried to vaguely abstract the form of the figure in order to make it look like the original piece. I also attempted to use lines of an impressionistic quality. The most noticeable difference between style and form from the original to my recreation would be that my piece is less impressionistic and is apparently in my own style.
The most challenging part of this assignment, for me, was trying to make the figure in my piece look the same or similar to the original. On the other hand, I believe I was most successful with the shading of the skin on the figure’s face and my attempts to have cohesive colours.
Digital Master Study Painting
September 1, 2021Reflection
Reflection
Our assignment for this project was to create a short animation in Photoshop that served as a ‘self-portrait’, portraying who we are, our interests, and the sort. I approached this project more as a portrayal of my interests and passions rather than showing myself directly in order to depict myself.
Our assignment for this project was to create a short animation in Photoshop that served as a ‘self-portrait’, portraying who we are, our interests, and the sort. I approached this project more as a portrayal of my interests and passions rather than showing myself directly in order to depict myself.
In order to do this project, I learned how to use Photoshop in order to edit and create my animation. I also created and modeled figures I made out of Play-Doh, and I took photos of them that I would go on to edit. I then used the photos I took as well as photos I found on the web in order to cobble together my animation.
My animation reflects my personality by showing my interests and pursuits. Some background images I have in my animation are straightforward posters that represent my interests, while some images are more subtle with depicting aspects of myself. The figures I hand-modeled show my interest in the arts. I dislike physically representing myself in any sort of medium, so I went for a more symbolic route. The main metaphor in this piece was the clay man, one of my characters, and life came from blood he extracted from a clay rabbit. This is supposed to represent my artistic process when I create characters and try to bring them ‘to life’ by giving them personalities and life stories.
Skills I had to learn were how to tween, how to make difficult selections, how to properly adjust photos, and how to make an animation. I incorporated all of these skills into my animation in order to create it. Something that I taught myself was how to show a sense of movement without using the tweening tool, because tweening only covers certain transformations in Photoshop.
Autobiographical Animation
October 7, 2021
Our assignment for this project was to create a short animation in Photoshop that served as a ‘self-portrait’, portraying who we are, our interests, and the sort. I approached this project more as a portrayal of my interests and passions rather than showing myself directly in order to depict myself.
In order to do this project, I learned how to use Photoshop in order to edit and create my animation. I also created and modeled figures I made out of Play-Doh, and I took photos of them that I would go on to edit. I then used the photos I took as well as photos I found on the web in order to cobble together my animation.
My animation reflects my personality by showing my interests and pursuits. Some background images I have in my animation are straightforward posters that represent my interests, while some images are more subtle with depicting aspects of myself. The figures I hand-modeled show my interest in the arts. I dislike physically representing myself in any sort of medium, so I went for a more symbolic route. The main metaphor in this piece was the clay man, one of my characters, and life came from the blood he extracted from a clay rabbit. This is supposed to represent my artistic process when I create characters and try to bring them ‘to life’ by giving them personalities and life stories.
Skills I had to learn were how to tween, how to make difficult selections, how to properly adjust photos, and how to make an animation. I incorporated all of these skills into my animation in order to create it. Something that I taught myself was how to show a sense of movement without using the tweening tool, because tweening only covers certain transformations in Photoshop.
Personal Logo
November 17, 2021
The color choices in my logo represent me because I tend to use duller colours in my art, and I also lean towards reds or reddish hues in a majority of my pieces. The image I used was that of a figure inside of a television, looking back towards the viewer. One representation of this is that it is my creative process, in which I make characters and their connected stories and I often look back on them in the sense that there’s something that’s like a person but not-quite a person, similar to the figure, that I had made. I also tend to lean more towards digital art than traditional art which is somewhat represented in the television set in which the figure is displayed on.
In order to create my logo, I started with brainstorming by writing down what details I wanted to include as well as sketching out potential designs. While the figure in the television set was one of the first ideas I had, I still went through a few other designs until I settled back on the TV. Changes I made throughout the process were my approach to what parts of the design were to be coloured or in black and white. Both the font and how it was positioned were also changed during the process- the planning sketch of the logotype is different from the final product.
If I were to start this project again, I would be more exact about the outlines I used and the line weighting, as well as focus more on the hatching of the figure and fixing the figure’s hands. I believe the most successful part of my project was the figure’s form itself and how it contrasts with its background. I also believe that the logotype ended up being one of the more successful parts of the project, despite being vastly different from the planning sketch.
Infographic Project
December 17, 2021
The message of my infographic is that it’s supposed to inform the reader of the differences in two examples of gothic literature (Frankenstein and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) compared to modern iterations of their stories.
My design supports my message by using more illustrative designs typically connected with frivolous Victorian themes. The fonts, save for the ones providing information via numbers or recounts, are also decorative. The design better targets my audience by using stereotypical Gothic designs- decorative lines, muted colors, etc.
I created unity in my design by using a tight color scheme, as well as using consistent fonts and font sizes. By keeping a muted color scheme, the piece feels more unified. In order to achieve emphasis in some spots, I made things bigger and more decorative.
For my design process, I started with gathering the information for and creating the graphs. After finishing the graphs, I went into Photoshop and did a few illustrations to add to the infographic. Once I finished all of the drawings, I copied them onto the sheet with the graphs, re-ordered and re-organized, added in extra designs, then finished.
The information for the graph detailing various Hyde appearances in live-adaptations was designed to show the various visual representations that Hyde has taken. In order to gather this information, I went through a list of all of the live-action films including Edward Hyde (or some form of him) in their cast and read through film synopses and looked at film stills to gather information. For The Venn-diagram, I used first-hand experience of reading the original novella and watching the film that I compared it to. The ‘fun facts’ were also from personal knowledge. Similarly to the Hyde appearance graph, I went through a list of all the movies that mentioned Frankenstein’s monster, then went in and found Victor Frankenstein’s role in the film by scouring synopses. For Frankenstein’s monster’s appearance, I used first-hand knowledge of the book and researched his appearance in movies throughout the years. For the number of J&H film adaptations, I used the Robert Louis Stevenson archives and counted how many films were made every decade.
3D Modeling
3D modeling is a technique where an artist creates a '3D' object on a modeling program on a computer. Objects can be made in a program using meshes and vertices, and objects can be both manually created by an artist or generated by the computer. These meshes are composed of polygons, which can be changed into smaller shapes in order to achieve greater detail. The artist will typically begin with a primitive shape- a cube, sphere, plane, etc.- and build upon it using a variety of sculpting tools. By sculpting these shapes, figures, architecture, and objects are most commonly modeled.
3D modeling is used in a variety of industries- most commonly game design, animation, film, architecture, and interior design. The film, animation, and game design industries can use it in similar ways. They render characters for rigging and render locations (whether exterior or interior). Architects use 3D modeling to plot out or build a 'prototype' of a building, and interior designers can work in a similar way, plotting out the interior planning and location of furniture.
3D model examples I like:
3D Model Project
January 26, 2022The goal of this project was to create a form and properly depict a sense of three-dimensionality in a 3D modeling program. My choice of subject matter was a character of mine, and he’s holding an exotically-colored chicken.
My process for this project was that I began with a simple, rough form for the face and refined it on its own. Once I finished the face, or came as close to finishing it as I could, I began the body on a different file, detached from the head. After refining the body to a certain degree, I added in the head, and now with the body and head attached I tweaked the form in order to make it seem proportional. After finishing the form, I went in and began to sculpt the chicken, slotting it into the character’s arms and refining the rest of the piece to a certain degree.
Challenges that I faced during this project was the difficulty in constructing forms, even with reference, that I didn’t understand. In example, the back muscles and the folds of the clothing proved difficult. It was also a struggle for me to make the piece look refined in any way, for it still looks rough no matter how I work on it. It was also incredibly difficult to sculpt out the fingers, for the program wouldn’t allow for sculpting out holes in an object. The most successful part of the artwork would have to be the face, simply because it looks the most refined.
Planning sketches for the 3D model project.
adanimation_pantoja.3gpAudio Animation Project
March 3, 2022The goal of this project was to create an animation paired with audio from a song. Before we began the assignment, we learned how to animate and use different tweens in the Adobe Animate program, so having tweens in our project was also required. I picked a song I liked with a prominent bassline so that it’d be easy to animate along with the beats, and I tweened certain areas of the animation to make it flow smoother.
I would describe the feeling of my selected song to be anxious and off-putting. I tried to use muted colors (the original plan was to color everything in flat colors then have a layer in which I would go over the entire animation and shade the frames to be much darker and give off a sense of isolation) to convey a more serious mood but also sought to add some levity in the cartoonish designs of the protagonist and what little background there was. I thought the heavy bassline coupled with the bleak colors and the contrasting protagonist would make the piece seem a bit more off-putting.
The strength of my work is that the few moments that I do have animated are on-beat, but the overarching weakness is that I barely had any animation done and none fully refined. Something that I thought was really successful was that the walk cycle and the crossing the street scene were fairly smooth despite being incredibly sketchy. With more time, I believe I could’ve refined the piece better and made it longer- the backgrounds would be more fleshed out, the lineart would’ve been completed and therefore the final piece would’ve been less sketchy, and everything would’ve been properly colored and shaded as to benefit to the mood I was trying to set.
After Effects Project
April 18, 2022For this project I proposed that I would draw, rig, and animate characters in Adobe After Effects. For the final project I did just that but I cut down the amount of characters and difficult animations I had initially planned for. I changed the animations to be simpler due to lacking skill on more difficult animations, as well as a lack of time and the difficulty of the process of drawing the pieces of each character individually and properly for animation.
The skills that I learned how to do in After Effects in detail are as follows: I learned how to draw and render a figure in separate pieces so that it would be possible to rig them fluidly without noticeable flaws, I learned how to attach those drawings to a skeleton and rig them so that they worked like an actual body, and I learned how to animate with a rigged-up character model.
A strength of the project is that the figure on the right is the most refined point of the piece. Unfortunately, I didn’t split my time evenly, so the rest of the piece is lackluster in comparison. I think, with more time, I could’ve refined everything else (the additional figure, the props, and the background) to that level. It was difficult to learn and adapt to the layout of After Effects because there’s so many things going on in a single moment due to the animation aspect.
aeproject_pantoja.mp4Independent Project
May 12, 2022For this project, I proposed a comic in the form of a zine. For the final project, I did just that, although I had to cut down on how many pages I wanted because it became clear to me that I couldn’t make several volumes of a comic within a little over a week. My standards were set impossibly high, so I cut down on a few things in order to be more realistic. Originally, I had wanted the entire comic to be in color, but decided that color worked best for certain characters and sequences in order to emphasize certain messages. This restraint of color also cut down on the time it took. Heavily simplifying certain aspects of the characters and backgrounds also helped in the long-run.
For this project, I had to learn how to properly format a comic for print in a zine, how to juggle several aspects of comic-making within a set timeframe, and how to format dialogue boxes around the artwork. I demonstrated these skills in my project by applying them- I realized early on in the project that I had a habit of formatting each page’s panels exactly like the last and so on, so I deliberately tried to change the format at least a bit from page to page. I learned several aspects of comic-making- scriptwriting, formatting, sketches, lineart, color, and textures- and applied them visually to the piece. I demonstrated that I learned about dialogue box formatting by adding them to the comic in a way that I thought wasn’t visually clunky.
A part that I think is really successful is the contrast between dream scenes and reality scenes with the changing style and color. With more time, I could’ve better emphasized this difference, added more textures to make the whole comic more visually appealing, and do better, cleaner linework. For my project, it was hard to learn the proper formatting of the piece when printing, as well as learning how to manage the lining and coloring of several pages at once.
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