using reference images of paper boats I drew one in order to signify the fragile creations of humans both tangible and intangible.

the sailing through water towards a waterfall reflects that ideals eventually fade like how water will eventually soak the paper boat too much for it to float and eventually fall off the edge and disappear and be forgotten. I feel this reflects the flat earth theory in a way and eventually science will disprove the non-believers resulting in the theory being forgotten in the future

I tried to add some ice bergs in the background in order to recreate the famous ice wall that flat earthers are convinced exist but they did not look right in the background so I decided to remove them.

I also added some small ripples to signify movement of the boat symbolise the traction and popularity the flat earth theory has gained recently.

Next I tried to experiment with some water falling effects like the ones I came across in my research. I like the way the circles create a splashing effect in the corner of the shape but it did not look right as i tried to recreate light reflecting off the water but i want the water to also be transparent.

Here I tried some more effects to simulate the effect of falling water in a stream but again it did not work.

a bit more progress on I got a rough idea of what i wanted the illustration to look like so i went ahead and started to experiment with the background. I decided to use a gradient colour transition in order to cement the atmosphere and mood of the image. I also put in place holder planets in order to help convey the notion that the flat earth edge rests at the edge of space to create a grandiose emotion.

 

my place holder image for now while I work out colour schemes and gradient effects.

 

What I see:

• references for my waterfall illustration relating to the flat earth

What makes me think that:

• different moods are created through the use of colour schemes where blue would represent a calmness and warmer colours like reds and oranges are used to create a sense of low effort activity
• the geometric nature of the shapes in the illustrations as well as the minimalist design reduce details in order to get the audience to look at the illustration as a whole where everything seems to mesh together
• there are also rounded shapes in order to add a playful element to illustrations whereas jagged edges have a more professional and technical aesthetic

 

What more can I find:

with the help of gradients and colour changes the atmosphere can be clearly outlined and established with the use of appropriate colours.

minimal shading also helps with the playfulness of the images

What I see:

• a dingy slowly rowing towards the waters edge where there is nothing but darkness and a few birds to watch him fall
• the colours are flat and so is the illustration
• the edges are displayed like a grid net to produce an artificial feel

What makes me think that:

• the black and blue colour scheme create a sign of loneliness as these colours together produce a sad and isolated atmosphere
• the lone dingy emphasises this feeling of isolation as it is the only person present and he is coloured in black which could signify a sign of depression
• the black abyss also supports this notion and that once he reaches that point of no return he will just continue to fall forever

What more can I find:

I think it is interesting how the artist chose to depict the water as very flat but yet is shows no motion in the scene which makes the scene very surreal and artificial.

What I see:

• illustration of a waterfall
• later afternoon because of the warm colours
• looks like a giant ravine instead of an edge of the earth
• more trees and rocks present
• a group of people enjoying a swim

What makes me think that:

• the composition here seems to be more calm as the people in the illustration do not seem panicked or alarmed but are instead depicted to be having a nice relaxing swim.
• the atmosphere is warm and calm which is signified by the red warm glow of the setting sun and supported by the sign of water vapour rising in the air
• there are signs of vegetation which supports a more positive mood

 

What more can I find:

I like the faint glow in the distance because it suggest that there is more to see of this mystical place and also signify glimmers of hope from our modern consumerist society that there is still beauty out there left undiscovered.

What I see:

• a lone dingy with a and a wooden shed. The person in the dingy is about to drift over the edge of a waterfall of unknown height but most waterfalls are bad whatever size.
• actually judging from the lines and ripples made in the water it appears as if the individual has in fact paddled up the waterfall.
• it seems like it is around mid day in the picture
• there is a lot of flat colour

What makes me think that:

• the way the artists has included the ripple line behind the boat to show its path leads the audience to suspect that the man has paddled the dingy up the waterfall
• readers may need to have another glance at it as I have since I initially assumed that the paddler was about to fall. Small details like that subtly change the nature of the image from negative to positive.
• the bright warm colours of the blue and the yellow suggest that the lands surface is sandy or dry and the light suggests that the time is around noon.
• there is minimal shading in the scene and this minimalist approach is eye catching because of the absence of details and complimentary colours

What more can I find:

• the man in the dingy seems to be wearing a native american feather head dress which is unusual as you do not see signifiers like that often in media.
• the mans shirt is also yellow which makes him stand out against the water
• there is not reflection in the water, just shadow

What I see:

• asian themed waterfall with snow capped mountains in the spring

What makes me think that:

• This image has a very Japanese feel to it because it involves a cherry blossom tree which are synonymous with japan and spring time as well as two mountains which are stereotypical depictions of the famous Mount Fuji.
• the angular shapes make the image very unique and distinct as it gives a jagged feel to the landscape as well as the water which is very ironic
• there is very little detail on the landscape close up because they are a solid black and this may be down to style

What more can I find:

• the atmosphere is cool due to the blue hue in the image which reflects the colour blue very well and represents it within the image

What I see:

a man desperately trying to paddle away from a waterfall in the forest in the day

What makes me think that:

• the figure is standing up on the dingy which may not signify anything on its own but when combined with the rest of the signs in the image the context becomes clear.
• The man is standing which means he is desperately paddling away from the waterfall. If he were not in a panic he would remain seated as he can exert more effort standing up
• the waterfall takes up two thirds of the image which hails the audiences towards the urgency the man is feeling as it looks like a long drop and because the audience cannot see the bottom the audience can assume this.

 

What more can I find:

the calmness of the trees and the background juxtaposes the main focus of the image which produces a dark  comic humour because as the man is faced with this dangerous experience the world stands still and watches his misfortune unfold.

 

 

 

What I see:

• a small scale waterfall within a woodland area

What makes me think that:

• the waterfall seems to be rather small in this image because of the perspective it has been drawn.
• audiences can tell it is in a woodland area because of the appearance of the top of the trees in the background behind the cliff
• the atmosphere is calm because of the absence of major ripples in the water
• the image seems to be made up of shapes with no line art in order to signify that all the elements are separate but are one with nature

What more can I find:

• there are a flock of birds in the background which are reduced to their basic shape when viewed from so far away which is a nice little detail to denote that there may be wildlife abundant in the area.

 

 

What I see:

a comical portrayal of the flat earth theory. Instead of it being disk shaped it is rectangular with soft edges and there appear to be droplets round the edges to make the water on top to appear to be overflowing.

What makes me think that:

• the earth seems to be on a wooden surface for comic and a cartoon effect perhaps in order to make a light heart joke at the subject.
• the manner of the big drips add an element of cuteness to the image which takes away from the serious nature some flat earthers take this theory
• the continents are reduced to a general shape in order to reduce details of the illustration because it would be more consistent

 

What more can I find:

• there is an absence of the ice wall
• this image is not serious about the flat earth
• there is a small grid system seemingly underneath the water perhaps to signify the blue print nature of the flat earth

For my first flat earth piece I went ahead and just did whatever came to mind when I thought of the idea of a flat earth.

In the above image, there is a flat plane which what most flat earthers believe the earth looks like. It is a disc shape where the edges are covered by an ice wall and it accelerates through space which is why object drop to the floor.

I really liked this idea and it looked good at the time but it seemed to be a very cliche take on the conspiracy. A lot of my research that I came across had been presented in near identical fashion and I wanted to expand on it instead.

I also want to include more detail and signs in this illustration and I do not feel like drawing the continents on the earth is very practical even if it does not have to be accurate.

 

 

 

 

What I see:

• old concepts of what the earth looked like to earlier civilisations
• some of these concepts are based on religious texts and beliefs
• There is either a edge where water falls of  and so would ships
• The earth is surrounded by a barrier
• there is another realm below the earth
• Modern belief is that the earths edges are surrounded by an ice wall guarded by the world government
• the sun and the moon are not millions of miles away, they are much closer and they circle the disk shaped earth

What makes me think that:

• the disk shaped earth would make one assume that of course objects and entities would fall off the edge if they reached it
• the traditional depiction is usually water as that is what takes up most of the earths surface
• not a lot of land is depicted at the edge unless it is the ice wall
• the dome shaped object is similar to that of a snow globes glass case which prevents everything from within escaping, leading to the idea of isolation and being trapped
• all the images provide a sense of mysticism and legend which is signified by dragons or unexplored reals given fantastic names.
• Also that through the barrier lies heaven or another form of afterlife beyond human comprehension

 

What more can I find:

• most of the depictions of old flat earth beliefs are illustrated by hand based on religious texts and beliefs, these are the ones which are most fantasy driven whereas the modern ones are more graphically produced and assumed to be illustrated on a computer.

Here is my illustration of JFK portraying the king of hearts. I chose to have him the King of Hearts for a few reasons:

• King = he is a leader, The president of the United States the link is symbolic.
• Hearts = JFK met a bloody end and when he died there was a lot of blood. The heart suit could be more attributed to blood as it signifies the heart organ and life in general.
• It could connote that he was seen as a peaceful leader and also one who was loved by many.

I have also placed a cross hair symbol on JFK’s head where a crown would be placed. It is a sign of his brutal death as he was aimed at and shot and also a symbol of his crown like the traditional king playing cards.

I have coloured him in a way similar to traditional playing cards found today with the blue outline and red, yellow and black colour scheme to remain consistent.

I have also incorporated some shadow techniques I came across during my research in making the shadows very large and one solid shape in order to give the illustration a unique take.

An image of the illustration duplicated and flipped to create a typical playing card layout.

 

My illustration of Lee Harvey Oswald, JFK’s assassin.

Above, I have outlined and shadowed him similar to JFK but I have changed his attire to be more in line with a Joker with the triangular frills to signify this.

I have chosen to portray Oswald this way because I am trying to communicate to audiences the notion that in the entire conspiracy, many saw Oswald as the only player/mastermind in the plot to kill JFK. However, many believe that he was just a pawn/fool/scapegoat for the real killers who remain unknown and he ended up being killed in the end.

I want to communicate that Oswald was manipulated by powers above him and he was just a tool for their ends. I later added the stick handle in order to further support the notion that Oswald was just a tool put on display for the world to see and we never got to hear his side of the story.

 

What I see:

Very traditional king cards of the different suits found in a deck of cards. These cards are traditionally illustrated like the originals which gives them a very classic look as well as the aesthetics of the character on the cards. They appear to be royalty of a house and they wear fine clothing to denote that. Most of these have black or blue outlines which lets them be differentiated from the white background and they have a side way posture on both ends of the card. The image is doubled so that it may be held either way up with not differences.

What makes me think that:

• the cards are drawn in a very medieval style which is a reference to how old the idea and game of cards is.
• The characters are depicted as royalty because they are well kept and groomed as well as wearing clothes with bright regal colours such as red, yellow and blue.
• They also seem to hold a weapon or object of some kind in their hand to denote their power as rulers of a house.

What more can I find:

• The character designs are very elaborate which is a testament of how important royalty was back in the day.
• the illustration usually has a border around it to frame the character like a painting similar to how the rich and noble had their paintings done by artists to immortalise themselves.

What I see:

Some more stylised depictions of card caricatures featuring the queen of hearts. Some proportions are exaggerated and very different from the traditional depiction of a queen. These ones make them look young and glamorous whilst the traditional style depicts her as a older more reserved demeanour. I like how the first one shows the woman popping out of the card partially in order to give the illustration some depth and the second one used very angular shapes to depict the dress.

What makes me think that:

• more than just the face and body are depicted in the first image and does not seem to be reflected at the bottom which gives the illustrator more freedom in what pose he can have the queen in.
• she is more sensual and has very revealing clothes compared to her traditional counterpart.
• she humorously makes a heart shape with her hands whilst also being the queen of hearts.
• the second queen has two different reflections on the card with one looking young and the other seeming to be older.
• it signifies of the duality of personalities as two beings part of the same card.
• It strays away from the original colour palette by having the colour red absent.

What more can I find:

 

What I see:

a bird (maybe a peacock) in the shape of a spade. It looks royal and important.

What makes me think that:

• the bird is in the typical shape of a peacock which is recognised as a very colourful bird which emphasises the colourfulness of this card design
• the wings form the shape of the sides of the spade and the converge at the top to complete the shape .
• the use of a dark yellow is reminiscent of gold which is a colour associated with royalty
• this royal notion is further suggested through the sign of the feathers in the shape of a crown above its head.

What more can I find:

The smaller spades shapes are not in the shape of a peacock and have their own shapes instead.

What I see:

• various joker card designs throughout the ages from different decks of cards.
• some include the face and some include the whole body
• the full body ones hold a stick with the jokers head on it as some sort of puppet?

What makes me think that:

• the joker is depicted as a jester in a royal court which is under the command of a king
• his purpose is to entertain and his outfit is suited for that purpose as it is very odd and usually has bells attached
• the colours he wears are bright and usually are in a pattern across the outfit
• sometimes they are depicted wearing make up like a clown to emphasise their entertainment factor or some may find it disturbing
• the stick that they are sometime depicted using has a head similar to theirs on it almost like a puppet they can manipulate or pretend to talk to to entertain crowds.

What more can I find:

• there is something very sinister looking about the joker, modern media depictions of them portray them as untrustworthy and always has some manner of scheme in the background in order to cause mischief.

Based on the research conducted, these are the colours I will use for my card designs as they align with the more traditional colours used in playing cards whilst also standing out against the white background.

First I drew the Spades suite from a reference online, I did not want to alter the shape just yet because I wanted to use it for the smaller suit symbols later used on the card.

 

I took some references of eagle icons and symbols from my research and tried to apply some elements of them into the spades shape starting with the feathers. I thought of this idea because the colour scheme was the same and it seemed like a logical choice.

 

I also ended up placing the shield in the middle in order to provide more shape and distinction to the wings which would then be formed out of the separated sides of the ace suit.

 

 

After adding the eagle head and the compass rose I tried to make the rest of the ace suit look a bit more like a bird in order to remain consistent with the notion of the eagle. The Compass Rose is coloured differently because it is a central point in the illustration which immediately draws the audiences eye to the drawing and then they will take notice of the rest of the shape because black and white is not very exciting to look at against a white card background.