For week 5, I created a set of drawings exploring the boundaries between cute and monstrous. I was interested in whether or not I could use simple colors and facial expressions to evoke feelings of cuteness or unease.
Cute Set:
To bring out a feeling of cuteness, I stuck with a soft, bright color palette. Despite having a variety of expressions, the eye and mouth shapes are all very clean and simple. I believe that this combination of dreamy tones and childlike expressions are the main driving factors in displaying 'cute' things.
Monstrous Set:
Keeping with the theme of simplicity, I had to find a way to change my drawings into depictions of uneasiness. Therefore, I had to rely heavily on my use of colors and shape alteration. The monstrous drawings all utilize the sharp contrast of heavy black and blinding whites to create a jarring sensation for the viewer. The charcoal brushes I used in Photoshop also provided a very rugged, unhinged feel to the shapes, almost as if someone unstable had drawn them. In contrast to the clean eye and mouth shapes of the cute set, the monstrous shapes subvert the usual facial expressions by distorting the smiles and eyes in an unfamiliar manner, generating feelings of strangeness and disgust.
Side by Side Comparison:
Personally, while I really enjoyed the cute set, I was more drawn to the unpredictability of the monstrous set. Even though they are not as 'cute', they are more interesting in that they offer a variety of different characteristics that set them apart from the monotonous cute drawings.