In the scary and boring times of the corona virus pandemic, the studio fictional spaces, took a curious mind on a set of creative explorations. Starting with the fundamentals of illustration style and self-defining visual tropes to create an engaging visual experience of a visual autobiography. Having defined oneself, it was time to know about the journey of others, understanding their personality and creating illustrations about them by learning the fundamentals from the works of Giovanna Giuliano. Having learnt about the world of others and oneself. The creative explorations led to creating our own visualisations of the fictional world based on the stories from the Blank Space Project. Taking the Iconic Bollywood Villain Shakaal, contextualising his character into the world of Meteropolis(2001). In the end the entire process was all about thinking with no boundaries and evolving oneself like never before.
Kal Ka Shakaal is a movie that follows the story of the infamous villain Shakaal contextualised in the setting of the movie Metropolis(2001). The story follows Shakaal after Shakaal is reincarnated as a Cyborg, part human, part machine. He plans to take control of the city of Metropolis by spreading a poisonous gas in the entire city, and start his reign of terror.The Hall of villains is the place where the dead remains of all the villains are collected and preserved in the amniotic chambers. These dead villains can be resurrected when the Shakaal wishes for that, to help reinforce terror across the city. The assets are protected by deadly bull sharks and crocodiles. And the symbolic figures of eagles keeping an eye on the amniotic chambers. Shakaal’s workshop is where he cooks the recipe of terror. New weapons and other chemical gasses are synthesised here. The space is drowned in the idea of poisonous gases. The central operating space is the chair/ throne from which everything can be operated through cybernetic and robotic arms. The hall of performance is a courtroom like space where public dressings and performances happen. The space infuses the idea of fear into the minds of the performers and his henchmen, through symbols like tigers, fire and ice., so giving an average performance is not an option. His throne lies where the two figures kneel, bowing down to the tyrant. The Eagle’s nest is the secret headquarters of shakaal from where he keeps an eye on the city and does his planning. While also having secret meetings with his top henchmen. The space is split in levels of circular disc like platforms. When Shakaal demands to talk to his henchmen, the level of the platform rises up to Shakaal’s level. Anyone who even thinks about disagreeing or betraying him, faces the wrath of the water or the cannons awaiting their faith. Directed by Katsuhiro Otomo Akira is a movie that deals with explorations of ultimate power and harnessing telepathic powers and scientific research. The military Lab facility in the movie is the scientific research lab, where the main protagonist tetsuo is being experimented upon. The readings from his body and the observations are recorded on the red lit space. The entire space uses the idea of contrast, both in color and space planning. The Seedbank Cave in based in the world of Rothiemurchus 2098 is a space where technology merges with nature, that too, to such an extent that it is barely noticeable. The cave emerges out of the tree-like master computer. The Master computer holds an A.I which can initiate forest rejuvenation. In the waterbody are pods holding various specimen of plant life, preserving them in metal and seed pods. The remains of old computers, doors and ruined concrete suggest that the space had an office like Paul Signac is a neo- impressionist artist who painted in the style called divisionism and pointillism. Where each brush stroke comes together to generate the idea of form depth and volume. Using his style and color palette gave a very majestic and a festive sense to the iconic Staircase of the Faculty of Architecture at CEPT University. Interviewing and studying a peer was about decoding their personality and derive visual symbols, ideas and their style. While understanding and deciphering a graphic designer’s style was about understanding the fundamentals. Giovanna Giuliano’s visual style was about understanding the fundamentals of graphic design, the idea of composition, color harmony, balance in illustrations. She took inspiration from daily life objects such as plants, textile patterns, the sky and the idea of calmness and The process of creating a visual biography was a process of diving within one’s life and bringing out the most impactful events that gave shape to one’s personality. But something more interesting that was required was to bring out the visual elements from childhood. The colour of the apartment building, the orange truck, the red Spiderman toy and convert them into visual tropes and style that are self-defining, and then create a visual experience.
