Evolving Love by Margaret Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description

Abstract My project titled Evolving Love will utilize the shadow box format to display 6 cut paper illustrations contrasting images of healthy and toxic love. Since these two types of love are often confused, the goal of my project is to raise awareness about this important issue, particularly among teenagers and young adults. The illustrative style for both the shadow box cut paper stacked layers and print based pieces will be based on stylized, curvilinear, geometric shapes that depict characters and settings which will then be digitally painted and hatched in a watercolortextured style. The shadow boxes will be photographed for collaterals including 3 sets of 5” x 7” postcards (showing photographed shadow boxes on the front and a checklist questionnaire on the back) and 2 sets of 4” x 6” greeting cards (showing photographed shadow boxes on the front and inspirational quotes inside). Other collaterals will include a 8” x 10” soft cover perfect bound book that will contain 14 illustrations and 2 posters representing the ideas of healthy and toxic love respectively; each poster will combine a photograph of an appropriate shadow box and the project’s logotype that reads Evolving Love. This logotype will be also used on the cover of the book, postcards, and greeting cards.

Expanded Project Description

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Shadow Box Shelves by Heezome Etsy Shop NOTE

Shadow box definition from Oxford University Press, The Oxford American College Dictionary, Published G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 2002.

Margaret M. Erlano

Shadow boxes are cases, with a protective transparent front, used for displaying jewelry, coins, or other small objects.* Normally, shadow boxes are used as display cases. These displays show off treasured trinkets or mementos representing personal memories and accomplishments. What one puts inside these shadow boxes determines the theme of the box. Themes include childhood keepsakes, sports collectibles and awards, and military awards and medallions. The themed shadow boxes contain items such as baby clothes, sonograms, stuffed animals, toys, handprints and footprints, and photos; the boxes may also have a sports jersey, award ribbons or medals,

trading cards, and an item from any sport such as a baseball bat or mitt, a tennis ball or racket, or a basketball. Nowadays, shadow boxes are used by crafters to preserve historic, dear, or nostalgic items. My project titled Evolving Love will utilize the shadow box format to display cut paper illustrations representing both healthy and toxic love. For this project, I chose to “preserve” love because it is considered as something valuable —a learning experience. Ultimately, that learning experience should be treasured. Even though love is understood as an intense feeling of infatuation or great interest in something or someone, many people find themselves in toxic, unhealthy, unfulfilling or even abusive relationships. I believe that it is easy for one to find themselves conflicted between toxic and healthy relationships. I use the term “love”

love [is a] cycle of comfort and contentment. Toxic love [is a] cycle of pain and despair.

*According to the American Plaque Company, shadow boxes traditionally and originally were for the naval forces; “[t]he term shade, a name for ghosts, springs from the idea that ghosts were made from the material of unattended shadows.” In naval lore, shadows are related to darkness and danger. If the shadow of retired sailor reached land before he got off the ship for the last time, he would have terrible luck afterwards. To be a sailor meant to leave behind the home and family he lived for numerous years to work a dangerous career at sea for life and death. Because of this, retirement was of high importance for the life and time of a sailor. To protect the retiring sailors from the risk of the superstitious lore, sailors made the shadow box retirement ritual to ward off the bad luck. Due to the fact that shadow boxes were made from the material of ship wood and each shadow box was filled with personal belongings of the time during the sailor’s life at sea, the box became symbolic of the sailor’s memory to represent their shadow proxy. Shadow boxes were named literally so that the sailors could carry their own figurative shadows to make sure that their foot touches the land before the shadow and that bad luck wouldn’t occur.

to describe feelings that range from simply ordinary to something that is wonderfully special. This project will raise awareness about this important issue. I will make 6 shadow boxes—3 representing the theme of healthy love and the other 3 representing toxic love using a technique of stacking cut paper outlines. The box illustrations will first be made in Adobe Illustrator CC and printed on paper. Then, the illustrated prints will be cut with x-acto and scalpel blades into layered pieces that will be assembled and stacked inside of a black wooden 20” x 20” x 2.75” shadow box with foam core, mounting boards, glue, and double sided foam mounting tape. Thematically, my illustrations will be based on Sandra L. Brown’s categorization of intimate relationships. She states that “love [is a] cycle of comfort and contentment. Toxic love [is a] cycle of pain and despair.” I will illustrate these examples playing with symbolism, scale of the characters, and the use of symbolic images to figuratively represent something else, i.e., the use of a witch and a witch hat to represent someone’s terrible cooking as shown in an HJ-Story doodle. This Thesis project will target teenagers and young adults. Toxic relationships—dating

relationships or friendships—are not something people willingly look for. Bad friendships are stress factors that impact health; people are usually surprised when they learn about the connection between toxic friendships and illness, according to Dr. Jan Yager. I want my audience to appreciate and cherish the healthy relationships that they are in. If the audience finds themselves negatively affected by the project, I want them to see this as a chance to reflect on their relationships and do something about them. Rather than accepting and settling with toxic love, I want the audience to aim for healthy and more meaningful relationships. The shadow boxes will contain stacked cutouts of the printed illustrations with smooth rounded edges. The illustrations will represent characters and will be based on stylized, curvilinear, geometric shapes. These shapes will be digitally painted in a watercolortextured hatched style as a visual homage to the original US Navy shadow boxes which represent the seas and the life lived on the ocean. Besides evoking the Navy theme, the soft, painterly digital watercolor style will also emphasize how vast the idea of love is. Because Evolving Love is a project that will allow viewers to grow and develop by understanding the nature of love, the color

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Keepsake Shadow Box by Arielle Elise Bottom Left

New York Yankees Baseball Sport Shadow Box by sfDisplay Right

Shadow Box Retirement Ceremony (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Tyler S. Dietrich, MCIWEST-MCB CamPen Combat Camera/Released)

Margaret M. Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description palette will be earthy tones such as greens, browns, tans, and yellows to represent growth. Unlike some shadow boxes or light boxes, my shadow boxes will not have a backlight. Back lighting displays visuals and cutouts as silhouettes; therefore it hides the illustration detail. For my boxes, ambient light will be the only source of light similar to Hari & Deepti’s shadow box, which portrays a hand-watercolorpainted and cut blue monochromatic flock of snowy egrets surrounding a girl wearing orange or Chao Zou’s Forest Smell that uses light in a similar way. The first 3 cut paper illustrations will depict healthy relationship bonds between a couple. The qualities that make relationships healthy, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, are compassion, security, safety, freedom of thinking, sharing, listening, mutual love and caring, healthy debates and disagreements, and respectfulness, especially when there are differences in opinions. To illustrate these qualities, scenes will be titled—Love is Growth, Love is Teamwork, and Love is Respect. In a shadow box titled, Love is Growth, conquered trials and tribulations will be depicted as a mountain of piled personified defeated “demons” of bills, job ads, calendars, textbooks, and notes. The couple will be standing in each other’s arms on the mountain as one will say, “Everything will be alright.” Another one titled, Love is Teamwork, will depict a couple doing separate chores. One will be cooking and one will be cleaning.

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Forest Smell Cut Paper Shadow Box by Chao Zou

Margaret M. Erlano

The interaction between the couple will be expressed and shown through the kitchen door. While one person is holding a spatula and the other person is holding a vacuum cleaner; they exchange a thumbs up. Love is Respect will portray one of the two excitingly playing video games, while the other one is enjoying a book. The couple will be sitting on the floor with their backs leaning against each other. This will show their respect for individual interests while still enjoying their time together. The next 3 cut paper illustrations will depict the toxic relationship. Characteristics that describe toxic relationships are insecurity, abuse of power and control, demandingness, selfishness, self-centeredness, criticism, negativity, dishonesty, distrust, demeaning comments and attitudes, and jealousy. To illustrate these qualities, scenes will be titled—Love is Not Controlling, Love is Not Delusional, and Love is Not Scoring. Love is Not Controlling will illustrate a person sitting on a couch with the TV remote on the table. The person has marionette strings in one hand and in the other arm is the partner as a puppet. The puppet will longingly stare at the scissors that are out of reach. The marionette strings will symbolize the demanding and manipulative control of a puppet master it has over the puppet. This will symbolize control through ownership and possessiveness. Love is Not Delusional will illustrate a person idolizing the partner. Although praise

is a good thing, excessive praise can cause an imbalance, making partners no longer equal. It can also prove to be more harmful if the recipient struggles with their self-esteem. To portray this, there will be a tall pedestal in the background. The one praising will be on the ground and the idolized above. The height from the bottom of the floor to the top of the tall pedestal will emphasize a massive distance between them. Love is Not Scoring will illustrate a couple keeping score or tally of who did what for or against each other. The couple will be shown yelling at each other with the scoreboard in between them. This will portray an unjustified sense of entitlement. In addition to being displayed in a shadow box, my illustrations will be printed in an 8” x 10” soft cover perfect bound 42 page book outsourced to Blurb.com. The first section of the book will contain photographs of the 6 illustrated shadow boxes. Healthy love will be on the verso page and toxic love will be on the recto page. Under each photograph will be a caption of the scenario portrayed. By placing the photographs on each facing page, the ideas of healthy and toxic relationships will be contrasted. After each spread comparing the 2 photographs, details of the compared pieces will be laid out to show different angles in varying sizes. The spreads in the book will display print illustrations that measure 16” x 10” to fit the full dimensions of the book. These illustrations will depict healthy relationships that focus on group activity in everyday scenes. The rationale for this choice is to point out the idea that love should be between two partners. The box encloses and “contains” their love. In addition, friendships, work relationships, and family bonds will also be represented. Illustrations of these group scenes in the book will depict healthy group environments and activities, such as sharing, working on school group projects, welcoming and inviting the newcomer, giving credit where credit is due, showing affection, displaying true cooperation without hostility in a team-based competitive match, understanding the one friend who is always unable to join the planned social events and gatherings, and enjoying quality time at the table without a single phone in sight. Although these illustrations will be printed, they will share the same style as the shadow box illustrations. A slab serif typeface will be used for the headers and titles of the pieces and a sans serif typeface for body content.

My collaterals will include the design of a logotype in a slab serif typeface that reads Evolving Love. The logotype will emulate a rounded-edged box to combine the cut paper illustrations’ style and the shadow boxes’ shape. The main title, Evolving Love, will be broken up and with stacked letters. By enclosing the main title in the square, the focus will be on the backwards spelling of the word “love” inside the word “evolving” to highlight the idea that relationships are capable of evolving through love. The sans serif subtitle, Toxic vs Healthy Relationships, will be placed under the title, outside of the contained words. The color palette will use only shades and tints of greens to represent growth. This logotype will be used on the collaterals—posters, books, greeting cards, and postcards. The posters, books, greeting cards, and postcards will use the same color palette, typography, and visuals to maintain the look of the layered, stacked, illustrated shadow boxes and photographs. For the text in the collaterals, I will make type studies for the headers using boxy slab serifs with rounded arches; and for the body text to go with the headers, I will do type studies using sans serifs typefaces. Two 24” x 36” posters will be illustrated with a photograph of the shadow box version of the logotype. This logotype shadow box will consist of stacked layers of paper with knockout cuts of the design of the logotype. The knockout cuts will act as a window that allows the viewer to look inside. While the same photo of the stacked logo will be used for each poster, for the healthy love poster I will add illustrations of intertwining healthy vines, leaves, branches and white roses to represent healthy growth. The superimposed images will look like they are coming through the window of the knockout cuts. The photograph in the toxic love poster will have superimposed illustrations of intertwining dying vines, dried up leaves, and wilting brown and aged petals to represent the lack of growth. Under these photographed cut and stacked letterforms of the logotype in the posters, there will be a sentence asking “How are you loved?” The poster focusing on healthy relationships will have the caption, “Love is nurturing.” The other will focus on toxic relationships and be captioned, “Love is not destructive.” The 4” x 6” greeting cards will show photographs of the healthy love shadow boxes at a slight angle so the idea of depth is consistent and the layers’ shadows will be visible. The card interior will have inspirational

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Broken Love And Trust By Praveen Kumar (Kumar’s Edit Studios)

Margaret M. Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description self-worth, self-love, and self-care quotes from my research, which will be typeset and designed with a lot of air to leave room for personal messages. The fronts of the three 5” x 7” postcards will display straight on close-up photographs of the healthy love shadow boxes. On the back of the postcards, I will print the quote from 1 Corinthians 13:4–6, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no

record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” It will be designed and typeset as a checklist. Taking the word “love” out and replacing it with blanks will provide a space for the viewer to read the list with a name of the reader’s friend, relative, or significant other to fill in the blank. Each description is a line next to a checkbox. The list will build up to a final question asking, “are you happy with your partner, your family, or your friend?”

Background The reason for the project’s name—the first four letters of the word “evolution,” “evolving,” and “evolve” is “love” backwards. I first heard of the term “Evol” from my parents. When I was younger, “Evol” was the nickname they use to call each other. They didn’t want to stick to traditional already used nicknames couples give each other. Eventually, they stopped calling each other that when they realized I would only call them “Evol” instead of “mom” and “dad.” Growing up, watching them, they have raised me with standards of what love is. It is from them that I learned that love is a powerful thing. With love, people can learn and grow to better themselves. I want to take the opportunity to thank and honor them both with this project.

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Imelda & Agustin Erlano (Mom & Dad, the original evols)

Margaret M. Erlano

While the overall project may seem romantic, sweet, and gentle at first glance, the project as a whole will have a bittersweet tone. Toxic relationships exist in the world. In a dating relationship for example, it doesn’t necessarily take two people to make it toxic; even one of the two can be the cause of the bad relationship. According to Asa Don Brown Ph.D., “people who are toxic are rarely aware of their own toxicity. They are too self-absorbed and preoccupied with their own emotions, interests, needs, and goals to be aware of the needs, goals, interests, and emotions of others.” With Evolving Love, I want my audience to be able to relate to the topic and contemplate whether or not they are with the people they should be with. Whenever I log into Facebook and scroll through my newsfeed, I see multiple posts of words of wisdom. Sadly, something as caring, encouraging, and helpful as a message of advice can make someone feel either grateful for what they have or sad, wishing they had something they are missing. An example of this is a quote from a Facebook page, called Poem Porn, which posts an image quote that reads, “Self-love is so important. Because when you find yourself crying on the bathroom floor whether it’s 3am or 5 in the afternoon, who is going to be there for you? You. You have to pick yourself up and find the strength to move on. At the end of the day, you’re all you’ve got.”

In a screen capture I took on December 23, 2017, this post was reacted to, or agreed with, by approximately 16000 people. 474 of these people were saddened by the inspirational words. At a time when Facebook didn’t have the other reaction buttons—when Facebook only had the like button—these cyber ”likes” mattered. According to the Tech Target Network, a Facebook like is a feature that allows users to show their support of a specific comment, pictures, posts, and pages. The use of the sad reaction is a more specific reaction other than agreeing or supporting what’s being shared. Another image quote post from their page states, “Sometimes home isn’t 4 walls, It’s 2 eyes and a heartbeat.” This had 620 sad reactions out of the 29K rounded total

of reactions—in other words, approximately 29,000 people agree with the statement. Although there are many people who agree, there is a percentage of people who lacks this “home.” With my Thesis project, I want to help people realize what they have or lack by showcasing toxic and healthy relationships. To paraphrase 1 John 4:19, we have the ability to love because God has loved us first. We are meant to love and to be loved. Because love is often highly romanticized, we may, through time forget or neglect our self-worth and what it is we truly desire and deserve. This therefore affects the love for oneself. A love that is toxic, is not love at all. Toxicity is destructive. I believe this project will be interesting for thesis because the relationships we make are what help make us turn into the people we become or will eventually be. Relationships impact us in such a way and for that reason, I want to highlight such importance with the use of shadow boxes. Things stored, preserved, and displayed in traditional shadow boxes are of high personal value. The protective glass front keeps the content inside while showing off the precious things inside the box. I want to use the boxes as a means of artistic expression, to show gratitude for the painful relationships in my past. Although they may have broken my spirit in the past, they have made me learn about what I like and what I don’t. They’ve helped understand how ugly and scary jealousy can be. They’ve helped me understand how manipulation is a power that allows people to control others. They helped me realize my selfworth—what it is I clearly want in a relationship with my friends or significant other. Some realizations of my self-worth include the following: I’m not clingy. Wanting to be with the people I love is normal. I know when not to overstep my boundaries when people can’t be there, but don’t let people neglect me. I am kind-hearted, but I will not sacrifice my entire being just to fit the wishes and standards of others. The shadow boxes’ will showcase these messages I want other people to tell themselves. Cut paper shadow boxes have many layers stacked upon one another to show the

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Image Grabs (23 Dec 2017) of Poems Porn’s Reactions to... Middle Left

Importance of Self-love Top Right

What home Can Be

Margaret M. Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description depth of an image. It is easy to define what love is by defining what love is not. Love has so many complicated and delicate layers; I want to capture and portray that by literally illustrating the layers of an image in a shadow box. I want this project, Evolving Love, to encourage people to evolve with the help of love by illustrating, cutting, and stacking images of healthy and toxic relationships.

Research

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Stills from Which Type of Person are you: There are two kinds of people in this world Video by buzzfeed Left

PB&J Down the Middle vs Diagonal Right

Chocolate Bar Piece vs Bite

Margaret M. Erlano

The idea for contrasting different kinds of love was originally inspired by a BuzzFeed video titled Which Type of Person are You?—it was captioned, “there are two kinds of people in this world...” The video showed side by side footage to compare the things people do. Examples included clips on how people divide a slice of bread, eat corn, eat a chocolate bar, drink their coffee and more. Some choices are obvious while other choices are not. People can relate and debate about each comparison which is the right way of doing things. The question asked in the title of the video mentioned brought me to question people and their relationships—are you happy or are you sad in your relationships? A part of my research will be based on the experiences I have had in my relationships— experiences that have shaped me to become the person I am today. Research will connect to the thoughts such as: “I know what I want. I know what I need. I’ve had enough. I deserve better.” These thoughts are examples and steps of self healing—mental, emotional, and physical healing—highlighting how to improve and acknowledge one’s self brought by asking a series of questions to oneself. An important part of my research includes questions from Dr. Will Cole’s Relationship Quiz. According to this author, “most people know when their relationship with someone is not positive, but for some, the toxicity can be so pervasive that it begins to feel normal.” With the quiz, you are asked to answer a series of questions about how your partner or friends makes you feel: physically and/or emotionally drained, bad about yourself, the lack of equal give and take in which you are in the position you give more than you receive, not accepted as

who you are, isolated (by friends, family, or any supportive person because your partner/friend(s)/ etc. don’t want you to be with them), emotionally or physically unsafe or injured, and fear. The deciding factor will be based on your answers to these questions. After that, you are asked to think of the possible scenarios and decide which one of these scenarios you will carry out—accept the relationship and be at peace with it as is, change the relationship by setting your boundaries, leave the relationship, or continue to feel miserable. Evolving Love project was inspired by the following artists: Hari & Deepti, Margaret Scrinkl, Chao Zou, Tomi Um, Owen Davey, Mary Blair, Gabriel Picolo, Yehuda Devir, HJ-Story, Puuung, and Chiara Bautista. Hari & Deepti, Margaret Scrinkl, and Chao Zou inspired me to create paper illustration shadow boxes. Gabriel Picolo, Yehuda Devir, HJ-Story, Puuung, and Chiara Bautista inspired me to choose the theme of love. Tomi Um, Owen Davey, and Mary Blair inspired me with their representational forms in their art. The illustrators Tomi Um, Owen Davey, and Mary Blair inspired me to illustrate representational curvilinear geometric forms. Tomi Um is a New York-based illustrator of the advertisements for Casper Mattress—the perfect mattress for everyone. These ads’ color palette in each illustration is limited, pastel-like, and monochromatic. The flat vector, stylized, simplified, and curvilinear characters—animals and people— are shown enjoying their time on the mattress. The characters’ enjoyment is expressed through the definite forms that make up the poses and body language. Examples of such vary from animals and people cuddling really close together as they all sleep to a little girl playing patty-cake with the Boogie Man and many more. Owen Davey is famous for being the primary illustrator for Two Dots. Two Dots is a puzzle adventure app in which the player has to connect

the matching colored dots to solve the level. In both the game and in his overall work, characters and backgrounds are stylized. His style uses muted tones with small highlights of a pop contrast color. His style also uses flat, simplified, geometric, curvilinear and angular solid shapes to represent forms. Mary Blair is the watercolorist behind the design of the Disney attraction “It’s a Small World.” Her hand-painted watercolor childlike charming style uses primary colors. Characters have rounded tiny features with a rounded big head and her backgrounds are made up with a combination of geometric angular and curvilinear shapes. The style is present in not only the mechanical engineered characters and colored paper collage constructed backgrounds of the Disney attraction, but also in background concept art in Disney animated films such as Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Cinderella, and many more. Gabriel Picolo, whose real name is Gabriel Bertasoli, is a Brazilian illustrator and comic artist who specializes in personifying inanimate objects to tell relatable stories with his traditional and digital watercolor manga-realism style. Although Gabriel Picolo gained his fame through his black and white, lined, hatched and cross hatched drawings inside of his 3.5” x 5.5” Moleskine challenge series titled, “365 Doodles a Day,” he is famous for his illustrations of love stories. Examples of these are his “Icarus and the Sun” series and his illustrations of the couple Beast Boy and Raven from his “Modern Teen Titans” series. “The Modern Teen Titans” pairing goes by the ship name—short for a romantic relationship, popularized in fanfiction circles—BBrae. Most of the BBrae works illustrate a comedic, sweet and tender bond between the two heroes in Picolo’s usual black watercolor manga-realism hybrid style. BBrae would be shown dancing together while Beast Boy plays his guitar. Other times, they are shown sitting together with their pets, or reading two different works of art to show their different tastes—the play Macbeth read by Raven and the comic book Batman read by Beast Boy. When they kiss, Raven and Beast Boy are shown in a digital watercolor painting—Raven with her pale skin and dark hair and Beast Boy with his peculiar green skin and green hair. The Icarus and the Sun illustrations depict a couple that tells a painful love story. The two characters were first introduced as a personified lit candle—Icarus the waxed-winged man and Sun the female flame—during the “red month” in his A Color Per Month challenge series in which he sketched inside his pocket-sized Moleskine and added a watercolor effect in Photoshop.

With the personification of a lit candle, he illustrates that toxic love is the love that does more harm than good. The candle wax keeps the flame ignited and burning, yet the burning will diminish the wax. When the wax disappears, the flame will burn out; they depend on one another to live on. That codependency will bring them to their downfall; when wax melts entirely, the flame will be put out. Their love is the love that stubbornly stays despite all the red flags and warning signs. Picolo is metaphorically comparing a toxic couple hurting each other to a melted candle wax extinguishing a flame and a burning flame melting a candle. His works inspired me to play around with watercolor and to tell the story of toxic love by personifying and using symbolism so the story I share is better told and expressed to those who has never been through toxic love and more relatable to those who have been through toxic love. Yehuda Devir is a Tel-Aviv-based illustrator, graphic designer, comic artist, and character designer who illustrates a comic series titled, One of Those Days. The series depicts his everyday life with his wife, Maya. He takes his themes from his own life. His action comedy cartoon comic book style is shown with his choice of lively poppy colors, consistent line work, exaggerated and expressive elongated or squashed features and poses. He illustrates lively, humorous, and relatable moments between significant others. This allows him to comically illustrate scenes that shouldn’t be funny to be funny. An example of this shows Maya looking terribly ill in Yehuda’s arms as they’re both covered in piles of used up tissues. He uses a squiggle to indicate a weak speech line from Maya. He did one illustration that portrays a serious moment he shared with his wife—he and Maya on bed, going to sleep right after a fight, not facing each other but still reaching and longing for each other. His color palette is darkened and muted, while the light shines on their far apart hands reaching for one another. I admire his capability to tell a story through the characters’ expressive body language. HJ-Story is a popular art blog by Korean artist, Andrew Hou. It started off as cute doodles sent as text messages for his girlfriend (now wife), HJ. It was easier for him to express his love to her that way. Andrew Hou doodles spot illustrations of cherubic, childlike, rounded-full-stick-figured versions of them expressing their love. He does this by using descriptive titles, soft pastel colors, and symbolism with props and costumes. Props and costumes include a witch’s hat and cauldron to make a metaphor that expresses his wife’s cooking is bad, but he still enjoys it

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Raven and Beast Boy (Close up) BBrae Illustration from Modern Teen Titans Series by Gabriel Picolo

Margaret M. Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description

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Close up of Finders Keepers by Chiara Bautista

Margaret M. Erlano

anyway because it’s made by her. This illustrated metaphor with the help of the title shows us that “Love is… …loving any food [she makes for him].” Another example of props and costumes illustrates the couple as zombies. Andrew, as a zombie, gives his heart represented as the organ instead of a valentine heart, to HJ. This illustrated metaphor also with the help of the descriptor shows that “Love is… Forever…” I enjoy his simple, visually punning narrative. Puuung, whose real name isn’t mentioned, is a Korean illustrator and animator known for her Love Is… series. Illustrations and animations depict heartwarming experiences a couple finds in little everyday life using watercolor-paperlike textures with warm brownish reds, yellows, pinks, and orange tones. Mundane actions such as napping, going to doctor visits, and pulling all-nighters become great because the couple spends these moments together. She states that, “Love is something that everybody can relate to. And love comes in ways that we can easily overlook in our daily lives. So, I try to find the meaning of love in our daily lives and make it into artwork.” A lot of her work contains detailed background art in comparison to the simplified, drawn characters with short lines indicating the eyes, nose, and mouth. The focus of the background emphasizes the everyday theme even more so than what the couple is doing. An example of this is her illustration of the couple napping in bed together. Behind the spooning sleeping couple, there is a brick wall that has 20 pinned up photos of their, what we can assume, memories they share together. It is her dedication to backgrounds that inspired me to experiment with layering paper and textures. Background art provides information on the story of the setting that is taking place. Another example of this is shown by one of her illustrations capturing a depressing moment of the couple on steps. In the corner, a cat is watching a lady in despair, curled up in a ball, sitting on a step, hiding her face inward to her crossed arms. Her boyfriend is beside her, wrapping his arms around her. The dynamic diagonal, low-angle-shot perspective Puuung uses scales down the couple to be just as small as the cat. Her playing with scale makes the world overwhelming. By placing the couple in a setting as ordinary as a bedroom or living room steps, Puuung’s goal to express love in everyday life and the value in every small moment is effectively realized. I will research the illustrator Chiara Bautista for her works about toxicity. Her visual themes show “a beautiful sexy heroine in a bikini, Deer Horns/hooves, tentacles, the squid girl, arrows

piercing her skin, little dead skeleton birds, broken hearts, subtle freckles, lucha libre masks, words/ phrases, little bears, rifles (the hunter), swords, rain clouds filled with blood, tears, the word sailor, jets, planes, hair in a innocent double bun, drugs, pills, needles, alcohol, blood, the word ‘malamor,’ bells, royalty, a repeating cross emblem, technology, wounds, wings, the number 777, bondage, death, certain key dates, earphones, lyrics, and MUSIC.” An example that depicts most of the listed is the illustration of her antlered, bikini lady self, smoking her 4th cigarette. Sitting in a love club, she is accompanied by 3 dead skeleton birds sitting on arrows that each pierce through her neck, arm, and heart. Beside her, hugging her fingers, is her tiny tentacle squidfriend swimming inside her alcoholic beverage and music-speaker-like little bear. Bautista is a Mexican illustrator. Her personal long-distance-artist-to-muse relationship has influenced her to create dark, painful and magically morbid portrayals of toxic love. She said in an exclusive interview that her works are love notes to a person she has never met in person—her “untouchable” and “unreachable” muse, Ilka. Most, if not all, of Chiara Bautista’s work elegantly depicts animalistic human females coping with toxicity or being toxic. Scenes of fantasy-exaggerated melancholy moments and addictions to toxicity portray a female mermaid and a skeletal, transparent birdman hugging in their sleep. The mermaid’s arm is inside the birdman’s ribcage holding on to his noticeable and exposed heart as she says, “finders keepers;” this portrays possession and clinginess. These eerie characters are present in other works that portray their time together. In both cases, the mermaid clings on to or is eating his heart while they eat popcorn together in the middle of watching TV or while he smokes a cigarette. Chiara Bautista portrays not just that specific couple, but she also portrays more fantasy-based characters. Other than illustrating and identifying herself as the bikini-wearing- huntress, she draws other female aquatic-tentacle characters— squid girls who are going through the effects of toxicity. One is shown with green tentacles holding her hair in two buns. She is crying as she takes out a ruined-heart-shaped mixtape out of her heart-shaped cassette player heart. While the source of music in her heart is now damaged, a dead skeleton bird sings a painful love song identified by a crying heart-shaped music note. This depicts the damage done from broken love that stays and haunts a person. Another is shown as a pink squid girl tied up in ribbons, surrounded by needles as she grips onto

a giant 777-marked-syringe injecting a heart. Close to the pierced heart there is a skeleton bird feeding the heart a pill. Another skeleton bird tries to feed a pill close to the squid-girl’s face. Her long pink hair, tangled up with the ribbon tied around her, is wrapped around orange medicine bottles, pills, and a bullet. This portrays and implies one who is tied to substance abuse or the addiction to drug-like love. The variety in her character designs which tell many toxic stories is proof of the many issues in toxicity. This has inspired me to illustrate toxic scenes to spread awareness of toxic relationships. Love as a whole involves many layers and practically, the shadow and light boxes are built upon these layers. Most of these boxes are pretty, but have no actual purpose other than just looking pretty. But paper Illustrators Hari & Deepti, Margaret Scrinkl, and Chao Zou have used paper as a medium for both decoration and a means for storytelling. Hari & Deepti is a married duo artist couple whose works are visually dreamy and full of simple yet elegant stacked paper cutout designs which play with light. Their works vary in scale—11” x 14” desk table pieces, indoor gallery or outdoor public advertisement installation pieces, and pieces which were photographed and shrunken down to print as novel book covers. They cleverly silhouette plant life to act as their shadow boxes’ borders and frames. Most of their paper cutouts are colorless silhouettes that focus on visuals from nature or humans interacting with nature and each other. Although their silhouettes of animals and humans are simplified forms, the silhouettes of plant life are treated with more care and attention to detail. The holes made add details that capture the ever-growing trees’ intertwining branches. With the light shining from the inside, shadows casted directly at the viewers’ direction, and the numerous layers used depth is created. The image of human wandering at land and sea looks very mysterious and magical. The mysterious effect is due to the hard dark shadows casted outward from the light shining inside. An instance in which they don’t play with backlight shows the married duo working with watercolor-painted-layered-shadow boxes. Instead of leaving the paper colorless, they decided to paint with an aquatic, blue monochromatic color palette for the tall pale snowy egret birds, water, and plant life. They added an additional complementary orange to contrast human life in the nature scene. They still use organic delicate forms and cuts to portray plant life such as seaweed. Because they don’t put light at the back, the shadows are cast by the

light of the room. The shadows are also cast by the paper layers themselves. Hari & Deepti mentioned on their Facebook page that the works of Wes Anderson, Hayao Miyazaki, Jules Verne have inspired them to create a mystical world of human and nature interacting peacefully. They also are inspired by nature and their travels around the world. To Hari & Deepti, “Paper is brutal in its simplicity as a medium. It demands the attention of the artist while it provides the softness they need to mold it into something beautiful. It is playful, light, colorless and colorful. It is minimal and intricate. It reflects light, creates depth and illusions in a way that it takes the artist through a journey with limitless possibilities.” Margaret Scrinkl is playful in her paper illustrations. Her cut paper illustrations are colorful; instead of using colorless paper or painting on the paper, she uses colored paper. Her cut paper illustrations representing gay rights using a black heart window outer layer. Each of the inner receding heart layers is a single color from the rainbow which frames a close up of hands holding each other. This is an example of her traditional paper cutting and stacking. While sticking to traditional paper cutting and stacking—making the outermost layer a window frame which leads in to the next layers portraying a scene, she branches out of shadow boxes to make minimal paper sculptures and stop-motion animated advertisements from her cut paper illustrations. In these animations, she thinks out of the box and plays with both flat and curled paper. This is another technique she uses to portray depth in her stop motion animations and cut paper illustrations. An example of this is a promotional stop-motion animation she did for MantraBand. The first few seconds of the ad has a cut paper illustration of Santa’s hand peeking in the video. With his fingers curled around the gift and the sleeve curled to imply the mass of the arm, she is showing depth. Scrinkl’s Instagram’s top 9 of 2017, showcases illustrations that depend on stacking and those that depend on curling the paper. It also showcases her pop color, children’s book style. While her shadow boxes are minimal in the number of layers, some of her layers seem to be floating at the middle without being connected to the inner borders or boards. We can see this in the bottom row of her Instagram Top 9—the smoke clouds coming out of the chimney, the steam clouds coming out of the tea cup, and the clouds in the background sky behind a cabin. None of these elements look flat and there is no sign of it being attached to the edge to make it a separate layer. Because of that, I will research and

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Photos of some shadow boxes from Margaret Scrinkl’s Instagram Top 9 (2017)

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EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description

IMAGE

Close up of Light Shadow Box by Hari & Deepti

Margaret M. Erlano

experiment with her floating technique to display title texts and other details. Chao Zou’s work combines both of the styles of the previous paper artists. His shadow box works are similar to Hari & Deepti’s elegant forms and Margaret Scrinkl’s playful experimentation with structure. An example is his typographic cut paper sculpture. The number “4” is threedimensional, a white paper box casing that he drew and cut. Inside the number 4 are minimal layers of stacked dandelion silhouettes. A silhouette of a deer is poking its antlers out of the top of the paper. Knockouts are cut into the silhouettes to show detail. An example that sticks to the standard box shape is his work titled, “Forest Smell.” He uses colored papers of different greens and yellows to represent leaves and plant life. The stacking of the plant life represents the forest. The cut paper window is a silhouette of a lady. Next to the silhouette is the cursive title “Forest Smell” cut and stacked on top of the window which appears to be slightly floating on the frame. The stacked forest inside of the knockout lady silhouette is inspired by a painting his wife did which is based on the time she wore his perfume, smelling like the forest. Chao Zou dedicated the project to his wife as a unique love letter. I chose to illustrate layers of cut paper to put into shadow boxes for my Thesis project because love has many layers. The topic of love has so much depth to research. The design challenge and goal of this project is to use paper layers to define, express, and portray the layers of love. I will research paper cutting & sculpting techniques by watching more process video recordings done by Hari & Deepti, other than their video of the Google Doodle shadow box. I will also research the number of layers appropriate for stacking the illustrations to give the illusion of depth. Most of the process videos recorded by Hari & Deepti don’t show the preproduction stages and only shows the process of stacking and layering. The bright side to showing the stacking process is that it showcases each layer cutout as they progressively stack the following layers on top of the other. I am able to see the shapes of each layer as it builds up. Because of that, I will also research more in depth tutorials on how to make the layers for the shadow boxes. I will research paper cutting techniques of various blades, assembly techniques, and gluing methods. The research will benefit me during the pre-production prototype stages and production stages. I will research paper types that have a watercolor-paper or canvas like texture to

add to the effect of digitally made watercolor brushstrokes. I will look at reviews and compare prices for the possible paper types I will buy, test print, final print, and cut. The paper must be thick enough to make the cut forms stable, but it must not be too thick and cause printing errors or paper jams. I will specifically research Epson cold press natural, Epson velvet fine art, and Hahnemühle fine art. Once I find the right paper through print tests, I will research the type of glue to put the boards and the paper together. I have to make sure that the glue will not damage the paper or the print. I will also research the kind of blades I would need, other than x-acto blades and box cutters, that can handle curves. The printed colors will be based on soft, pastel-like, earthy tones. I will research color swatches which will have different greens, browns, yellows, tans, and so on. I will research tints and shades that go well together to add onto the visual depth of each flat layer. I will look up love quotes and poems to include in the content of the book and greeting cards. Marilyn Monroe once said, “People change so that you can learn to let go, things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right, you believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” Karen Carpenter sang the lyrics “You’ve got to love me // For what I am // For simply being me // Don’t love me // For what you intend // Or hope that I will be // And if you’re only using me // To feed your fantasy // You’re really not in love // So let me go // I must be free” in a song titled, “Love Me for Being Me.” Bronnie Ware wrote in her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing, “... to be in any sort of relationship where you do not express yourself, simply to keep the peace, is a relationship ruled by one person and will never be balanced or healthy.” R. Y.S. Perez wrote in her book, I Hope You Fall in Love: Poetry Collection, “I have to remember it is not love that has hurt me; but someone who could not love me in the right way.” These phrases and verses are examples expression of the realization of selfworth and self-care. These realizations are the first step in moving away from toxicity. Using Adobe Typekit, I will also research display typography for typefaces with heavy bold serifs and slabs. Boxy slabs in the typefaces will complement the boxiness of the shadow box. I will also research slab serif fonts that include some curves. The roundness of the letterforms’ arches will connect to the roundness of the representational stylized forms of the scenes

portrayed. I want to find the right balance between the boldness of a typeface like Rockwell and the sweetness of Ernestine. The display typography must fit those two criteria because these typefaces will be the visual titles on the shadow box illustrations in the outermost layer which will describe the scene. The body typeface which will be used for the narrative descriptions, captions, and quotes in my collaterals will be a san serif to contrast the slab serif headers. The body type will have thin strokes, a high x-height, a regular width, and different weights within its typeface family. For my soft cover perfect bound outsourced book, I will research art gallery books and anthologies such as the published collection of the annual event, P.S. Art: celebrating the creative spirit of NYC kids, hosted, curated, and published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art. According to The Met’s website, “P.S. Art is an annual celebration of achievement in the arts in New York City public schools. [It showcases the various creativity of more than 100 prekindergarten through grade 12 students from all five boroughs.] Each work demonstrates personal expression, imaginative use of media, the results of close observation, and an understanding of artistic processes.” Another book I will research is art.now.2017 hosted, curated, and published by Hearst Tower. According to the Hearst Tower website, Art of Now is an on-going exhibition that celebrates, appreciates, and further explores “the visions of a diverse group of working artists [with] new thoughts, new visions, new realities.” I will also look at a book by David Revere McFadden which showcases photographed works of paper sculptures featured in the Museum of Arts and Design, Slash: Paper Under the Knife. These books will be inspiration to my book layout design process for the spreads of the contrasting love pages and their corresponding details.

Methodology Weeks 1–4 will focus on developing the illustrative look, developing the typography that goes with the look, and creating tests and prototypes. During the first week, I will jot down and bullet list adjectives and nouns to describe the themes of Evolving Love. This brainstorming process will also include listing activities people do together. This brainstorming process will help me organize my thoughts and information into a 2-circle Venn diagram. The Venn diagram will be

sectioned off with two circles with a shared middle gray. This will help me quickly pinpoint what scene belongs in which category— healthy love and toxic love. In addition to my brainstorming, I will reference articles to paraphrase the contrasting definitions of what love is and what it is not. After brainstorming, I will sketch thumbnails, drafts, and compositions for the scenes I will depict to develop a style for the shadow box environments, props, body forms, and poses. These forms will be portrayed by using stylized, curvilinear, and geometric shapes. With the sketches and earthy color palette in mind, I will use grayscale watercolor brush strokes on watercolor paper which I will then scan and import into Adobe Illustrator. In Illustrator, the scanned strokes will be image traced, fine tweaked, and dragged and dropped into the brush swatches to be imported as art brushes. I will adjust the art brushes to have the colorization method set to “tint.” This will allow me to change the hue of my grayscale strokes. I will test the digital brushes and test print the vectored test illustration. Using the pen tool and paint brush swatches I created, I will vector and color one of the healthy love scenes for a 10” x 10” shadow box prototype. Before illustrating with the pen tool, I will leave a 0.5” border on each layer of illustration. Any important imagery should not be too close to the border or else it will not be seen. I will name layers in Adobe Illustrator by number so I know how to organize them. When they’re all printed, I can cut each of them avoiding the borders. I’ll cut my foam board spacers to place between the layers for depth. The cutting process of the cut paper illustrations will help me determine which shapes are more stable to stay up and use for stacking. It will also help me keep note of which shapes and forms will need extra structure support during the production. If some shapes cause too many problems, I will redesign supporting shapes accordingly. With the typefaces I research, I will design black and white digital compositional studies of the print based logotype in Adobe Illustrator. The logotype will emulate a rounded-edged box to combine the cut paper illustrations’ style and the shadow boxes’ shape. The main title, Evolving Love, will be broken up and stacked in a way that “Evol” will be on top of “Love” and “ving” would be rotated to use the right side of “Evol” as a baseline. By enclosing the main title in the square, It will visually focus on the backwards spelling of the word “love” inside the word

Margaret M. Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description “evolving” to highlight the idea that relationships are capable of evolving through love. This will use the slab serif typeface. Underneath, outside of the contained words is the tagline, “Toxic vs Healthy Relationships.” This will use the sans serif typeface. (A flat version of the logotype will be used on the remaining collaterals which will be developed later on in the semester; the logotype will be the cover of the 8” x 10” book and watermarks for the 5” x 7” postcards, and the 4” x 6” greeting cards). Using the final design of the logo as a guide will help create the layers for the first shadow box prototype. The completed prototype will be a 11” x 17” test for the photographed visuals of the two 24” x 36” posters. I will create a template for this logotype shadow box prototype in Adobe Illustrator. The design of this particular shadow box will be knocked out—this means that the window, or the cut hole, of the first paper layer will be the logotype. Through the window are more knocked out cut layers of the logotype decreasing in stroke weight as if bits of the outer parts of the type is being removed in each layer to add depth. Each layer in Illustrator will have the main title decreasing in stroke weight as the stroke weight of the tagline remains the same. The text will be converted to shapes to adjust the points and the shape of the letters. When the design and digital layer organization are done, I will use the digital brushes I made to experiment with painting techniques and transparencies and to test print the colors in cut forms on different papers. I will choose a paper and color correct according to the print on the chosen paper. After I print the layers out, I will practice the cuts with the shapes provided by my template and stack them in order, placing and gluing measured and cut boards to act as dividers between the layers. I will also use double sided mounting tape as dividers for the floating layers if the design requires me to do so. Weeks 5–9 will focus on developing, printing, cutting, and constructing the shadow boxes. After testing the printed digital watercolor brushes and techniques in the making of the prototype, I will move on to developing my sketches to then illustrate, vector, and digitally paint the six pieces for the 20” x 20” x 2.75” shadow box—3 pieces for each of the two kinds of love. Because my main focus is the illustrations, I will purchase 6 Studio Décor shadow boxes. One layer will go through a test print to check the colors of the print. Test and final prints for the illustrations will be printed on the final paper. Illustration layers of the 6 shadow boxes will be printed on 24” x 50’ rolls of the same kind of paper on the Digital Output Center (DOC) large format printer. Floating layers

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will be printed on 17” x 22” of the same paper in the DOC’s medium format printer. After the prints are done, color corrections will be made if necessary and files will be reprinted. Once I get good final prints, I will cut and begin construction of the shadow boxes. Weeks 9–11 (including the week of spring recess in between weeks 9 and 10) will focus on photographing the shadow boxes that have been completed by this time and on print based media. To photograph the shadow boxes, I will use a white XPRO 36” x 36” Studio Photography Translucent Light Tent Box and a studio lighting kit from CowboyStudio that comes with 2 table top lights. With the shadow boxes inside the light tent with setup lights on each side, the cutout layers and their shadows will be emphasized. I will take shots in RAW with my Canon T3i Rebel DSLR and capture different angles and close ups so I can have options to choose from. Previewing the shots in Adobe Bridge, I will organize and prioritize the photos by using the 1–5 star rating system. Whichever I give a rating of 4 and 5 stars will be color corrected in Adobe Bridge. Additional color corrections and necessary touch-ups will be done in Adobe Photoshop. Before importing the completed photographs into the InDesign layout for the soft cover perfect bound 8” x 10” book, I will first go through my research for the book content. I will write captions for the 6 shadow boxed scenarios. I will create and experiment with layout sketches, grid structure layouts, and spread illustration thumbnails that will also include superimposed text with the illustration. These will help me plan the pacing and flow of the book. I will create type studies to create header to body type pairings. I will use the successful type studies to typeset captions and the research content of this proposal. Layouts will be designed in Blurb’s InDesign plug-in. The plug-in will provide the book’s bleed, rules, outer and gutter margins. I will also use the Blurb ICC Profile to make sure the colors Blurb prints and the colors shown on my screen match. The color palette of the illustrations will be the same as the palette used in the shadow box illustrations. After downloading the plug-in and color profile for Blurb, and setting up the document, I will create my digital layout compositions with the imported photographs. Spreads will have pages that include finalized photographs of the shadow boxes—healthy on the verso pages and toxic on the recto. Under each image will be a narrative scenario of the story that’s being told by the photograph. Other spreads will include tiled photographed close-ups of the shadow

boxes for more detailed and dynamic angles. The remaining spreads will contain the group activity illustrations. By keeping note of the gutter, trim line, safety margins, and bleed margins, I will create thumbnail sketches and compositions of the print based illustrations depicting group activity between friends, classmates, co-workers, and families. Utilizing the same illustrative style used for the shadow boxes, I will illustrate, vector, and color final pieces in Adobe Illustrator. When the illustrations are done, I will import the print based illustrations into their designated spots according to the layout sketches. I will then finesse the design. The spreads will be test printed to check type, color, brightness or pixelation issues. I will fix possible errors accordingly. The typefaces used in the book will also be used in the remaining collaterals. By using my first shadow box prototype as the basis, I will sketch layout compositions for my posters. The most successful sketch will be used to design the layout. The layout will determine the placements of the photograph of the logotype shadow box, the superimposed illustrated elements to distinguish toxic and healthy relationships, and title text and or taglines over the photograph. Using and switching between Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign, I will adjust the layers to match the desired layout. I will then test print, color correct, print, cut, and assemble. Using the lighting equipment again, I will photograph the finalized logotype shadow box. I will design the poster using the straight on photograph as the main background image. I will test print to scale (24” x 36”) in tiled and laid out tabloids pieced together so I can check for any issues that need to be fixed. Each one of the 3 sets of 5” x 7” postcards’ fronts will contain a photograph of one of the healthy love shadow boxes. I will sketch layout options for front and back of the portrait orientation postcards. I will design digital compositions for the front which will contain an image, the logotype, and a caption. I will also typeset the checklist questionnaire on the back. These will be laid out in InDesign. Two sets of 4” x 6” greeting cards will contain close-up photographs. I will decide which two of the healthy love shadow boxes to use. I will also create sketches for the front and interior of the cards. Each front will be designed with only the photograph. The back will have the logotype in a small but legible size. I will typeset and design the content inside. Weeks 12–14 will focus on finalizing the print based collaterals and sending the designs out to print in order to receive them on time.

I will make any final changes and fix if errors are spotted. I will export high quality PDFs to submit to the places I will print with such as Blurb, MOO, 4over4, and/or VistaPrint. I will then place orders for 8 books, 200 postcards, 100 greeting cards, and 2 posters.

Goals Toxic love shouldn’t be called love at all. Honestly, I am grateful to my failed relationships and friendships. I too had my own share of toxic bonds which I have learned and have grown from. Because of the confusion and pain I went through with the people in my past, I have truly defined who I am as an individual. I understand my worth. My experiences lead me to set my own standards and rules. Because of these rules and standards, I found myself surrounded with the people who are genuine— people I am happy and honored to call my dear ones. I grew to understand to know what it is I want in life, how to attain them, and be more appreciative with what I have. As a friend, it hurts me to see the people I care about in similar situations of my past. I would do anything I could just to advise or support them. As an illustrator, I want to spread and provide any help I can give with my work. My goal is to let people become aware of healthy love. Love is not something one tolerates, puts up with, ignores, or painfully makes sacrifices for. It is a two way street of communication, understanding, patience, compromises, and growth. It is something someone can wish for—I wish I had better friends. I wish my significant other would treat me better. I wish my parents understood me more...etc. Instead of wishing, do something about it. If my work depicting the positive love will make people think, “I wish so and so would do the same for me,” then it will trigger them to either better themselves on their own and/ or find better people to be with. If I am able to help my friends through debates and advice then I want to do more to help more people— help them realize their worth, their standards, and free themselves from the toxic people that prevent individual and human growth. From my experiences and from what I have heard, I noticed that toxic relationships are built on selfishness, insecurities, the desire of control, stubborn minds, lack of communication (which lead to the lack of understanding), jealousy, and many more. These lead to fights and problems. While

Margaret M. Erlano

EXPANDED PROJECT PROPOSAL The Project Idea and Description fights and problems are unavoidable, they can be resolved. If the fights and problems become reoccurring issues about the same thing over and over again, that is when one should know and understand that nothing really can be done about it—the solution was never made. Normally, this would be one’s breaking point in the relationship. Sadly, some people choose to stay hopeful despite the frequent pain. To summarize the idea of toxic and healthy relationships with a question: If there is more bad than there is good, then what is the point? With this question in mind and kept to heart personally, I want people’s standards and views of love to evolve with this Thesis project, Evolving Love.

References Good news Bible: with Deuterocanonicals/ Apocrypha: Today’s English Version. 2nd ed. New York: American Bible Society, 1992 Urban-Muse.com Purity, Love, and the Impossible Dream– Chiara Bautista (Milk)–Exclusive Interview and Feature by Curt Anderson BrownPaperBag.com Paper Craft Shadow Box Pays Homage to the Forest by Sara Barnes DesigningDisney.com Designing “it’s a small world”–Mary Blair by M. Bogaert PsychologyToday.com Toxic Relationships by Asa Don Brown The Hidden Health Hazards of Toxic Relationships by Sherrie Bourg Carter Instructables.com Paper Cut Shadow Box by Bunbun_da_bunni

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MagicOfMaryBlair.com Mary Blair Gallery Hearst.com The Art of Now MetMuseum.org P.S. Art 2017: Celebrating the Creative Spirit of New York City Kids. LoveIsRespect.org Dating Abuse Statistics, Relationship Spectrum, What Should I Look for in a Partner?, Why Do People Stay in Abusive Relationships? by National Domestic Violence Hotline Crafts.TutsPlus.com Papercutting Fundamentals: Essential Tools & Techniques by Robin Wilson Owen HuffintonPost.ca Be Honest About Why You Keep Falling Into Toxic Relationships by Karolina Pasko

DrWillCole.com The Science Behind How Toxic Relationships Affect Your Health by Dr. Will Cole

WhatIsIt.TechTarget.com What is Facebook “Like” button? by Margaret Rouse

GoodReads.com Quotes About Healthy Relationships

Urban Dictionary.com Ship

PlaquesAndPatches.com History of Military Shadow Boxes their tradition

RealSimple.com 7 Signs You’re in a Toxic Friendship by Samantha Zabell

NewYork.CBSlocal.com Study: “Toxic Friendships” Can Lead To Serious Health Problems by Kristine Johnson

QZ.com Toxic relationship habits most people think are normal by Mark Manson

SHADOW BOXES Crafting Techniques

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Finals and progress by Chao Zou Top Left

1,2,3,4 Spring Paper Crafts for magazine Top Right

Deer & flower pieces for number 4 paper box Middle Left

4 paper craft sketch Middle Right

Spring 4

BottomLeft

Wip of 4

Bottom Right

Forrest Smell shadow box

Margaret M. Erlano

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Progress of Forrest Smell shadow box by Chao Zou Top

Silhouetteâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;main window layer Middle

Cut Script Title Bottom Left

green leaves Bottom Right

yellow leaves

Margaret M. Erlano

SHADOW BOXES Crafting Techniques

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Final shadow box and process of Google Doodle commemorating the 187th birthday of Nain Singh Rawat by Hari & Deepti Middle Left

Sketch Plan of all layers Middle Right

Poking through the sketch plan on top of good paper Bottom Left

Impression of the pokes Bottom Right Upper Half

Cutting shapes using the cut impressions as a guide Bottom Right Lower Half

Assembly

20 Margaret M. Erlano

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Work by Hari & Deepti Top

The Princess and the Goblin book cover art Bottom Left

And then She Told Her Story hand cut water colored paper shadow box (11” x 14”) Bottom Middle

Pure Leaf Ad Shadow Box Bottom Right

Kids in front of Gallery Shadow box Installation

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SHADOW BOXES Crafting Techniques

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2017 Instagram Top 9 showcasing Paper cut illustrations and shadow boxes by Margaret Scrinkl Bottom

Inside look of Matthew Elleroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s layer stacking process

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SHADOW BOXES Lined & Illustrated

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Smart Cars in the Wild Shadow Box by Matthew Ellero Top

Full view Bottom

Detail of Smart Cars in the Wild

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SHADOW BOXES Lined & Illustrated

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Miniature Worlds Shadow Boxes by Jim Doran Top

Like A Fish That Needs A Bicycle Bottom

Shadows of Pine Island

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VISUAL STYLE Limited Color Palette & Drawn Textures

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Screen grabs of the web comic Hobo Lobo of Hamelin by Stevan Zivadinovic Top

Tale 1, Middle of Parts 4 and 5 Middle

Tale 2, Part 2 Bottom

Tale 3, Part 5

Margaret M. Erlano

VISUAL STYLE Curvilinear & Geometric Forms

IMAGES

Illustration with stylized, curvilinear and geometric forms to represent characters and settings Top

Facebook Award Art by Owen Davey Top Left

Virgo the Virgin by Owen Davey Top Middle

Label design made with Horse Studio for Nongfu Spring Ice Tea 2016, endorsed by South Korean band Big Bang Bottom Middle

Casper ad by Tomi Um Bottom Left

Alice in Wonderland concept watercolor art by Mary Blare Bottom Right

Cinderella concept watercolor art by Mary Blare

Margaret M. Erlano

VISUAL STYLE & THEME Love Themes & Watercolor Textures

IMAGES

Love themed illustrations with story telling techniques (exaggeration, props, and personification) and watercolor textures Top Right

Icarus and the Sun Moleskine by Gabriel Picolo Top

When Her World Falls Apart by Puuung Middle Left

Loving Any Food You Make by HJ-Story Middle Right

We Had a Fight by Yehuda Devir Bottom Left

Napping by Puuung Bottom Middle

Memories by HJ-Story Bottom Right

Workaholic by Yehuda Devir

Margaret M. Erlano

VISUAL STYLE & THEME Toxic Love Themes & Line

IMAGES

Illustrations by Chiara Bautista

Margaret M. Erlano

PHOTOGRAPHY Cut Paper Sculpture Shots

IMAGES

Various angle shots from an exhibition in the Museum of Arts and Design Slash: Paper Under the Knife Top Left

Installation by Saraben Studio Top Right

Detail of Installation by Saraben Studio Bottom Left

Installation by Mia Pearlman Bottom Right

Detail of installation by Mia Pearlman

Margaret M. Erlano

PHOTOGRAPHY Cut Parer Sculpture Shots

IMAGES

Various angle shots from an exhibition in the Museum of Arts and Design Slash: Paper Under the Knife taken by blogger Taniatells Top

Installation by Ishida tomoko Bottom

Detail of Installation by Ishida tomoko

30 Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Greeting Cards & Postcards

IMAGES

Photos of cards with polaroid-like front captions, shadow box references, or popup touches Top Left

Friend card found in Pinterest Top Right

Shadow box photographed to look like a Christmas card by Christmasnotebook Middle Left

Love Today by Shari Carroll Middle Right

Polaroid business card by Studio Output Bottom

Inside of a love Hallmark card

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGOTYPES Slab Serifs

IMAGES

Slab Serif logotypes (initial idea) Top

Evernote logo Top Middle

Milk Lab logo Middle Left

Global Gardens logo Bottom Left

The Biography Channel Logo Bottom Right

I love NY Logo by Milton Glaser

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGOTYPES Squares, Boxes, & Frames

IMAGES

Logos that have boxes, or squares to frame and/or emphasize the visual concept and theme Top

South Square logo by 4x3 LLC Agency Top Middle Left

Focus logo by Ahade Top Middle Right

Cartoon Network logo by Cartoon network team and brand new school Middle Mid-Left

Linkedin logo by ches wajda Middle Mid-Right

YouTube logo (2015â&#x20AC;&#x201C;2017) Bottom Middle

Square one logo https://squareonesask.ca Bottom Left

Town Square Mortgage logo http://www.tsmlending.com/ Bottom Right

Jack in the box logo https://www.jackinthebox.com/

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGOS & LOGOTYPE Shadows & Scripts

IMAGES

Logo research for the new logo idea consisting shadows and script Topâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;Middle Top

Social Flat Icons with Long Shadows from awwwards.com Middle Bottom

Michaels logo Bottom

Madewell logo

Margaret M. Erlano

The Typography & Logo

TYPE STUDIES Sans Serifs Avenir Black ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Medium ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Medium Oblique ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Roman ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Book ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Book Oblique ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

65 Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

55 Roman ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

45 Light ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

45 Light Oblique ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

SemiBold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

SemiBold Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Museo Sans 700 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Museo Sans 500 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Museo Sans 500 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Museo Sans 300 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Museo Sans 300 Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Univers LT Std

Gill Sans

Museo Sans

BODY TYPE SAMPLES

San Serif Typefaces to be paired with the slab serif headers

Margaret M. Erlano

TYPE STUDIES Slab Serifs Ernestine Pro EVOLving LOVE Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

EVOLving LOVE Demibold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Rockwell Std EVOLving LOVE Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

EVOLving LOVE Extra Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Chennai Slab EVOLving LOVE Medium ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

EVOLving LOVE Black ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

EVOLving LOVE Black ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Courier EVOLving LOVE Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Adelle Condensed EVOLving LOVE Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

Museo Slab EVOLving LOVE Museo Sans 700 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

EVOLving LOVE Museo Sans 900 ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

TYPE SAMPLES First 6

Slab Serif Typefaces that reach the desired visual criteria for the ease of cutting: rounded like the cutouts & boxy like the shadow boxes for the initial logo idea Bottom

Samples of type for new ideaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, header, and caption type

Margaret M. Erlano

TYPE STUDIES Script & Friendly Slab Serifs

Pacifico

Evolving Love Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Mr.Rafkin

Evolving Love Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO PQRSTUVWXYZ

a bc d e f g h ijk l mno p q r s tu v wxy z 0123456789

Fertigo Pro Script Evolving Love Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Prater Script Pro Evolving Love Regular

ABCDEFGHIJK LMNOPQR STUVWXYZ

Coquette Evolving Love Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQR STUVWXYZ

Josefin Slab

DISPLAY TYPE SAMPLES

Type for the titles inside the illustrated Shadow Boxes that read “Love is...” and“Love is Not...” for a handcrafted aesthetic

Margaret M. Erlano

Evolving Love Bold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Evolving Love SemiBold ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Evolving Love Regular ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

Evolving Love Italic ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz

0123456789

TYPE STUDIES Finalized Type

The Header is Josefin Slab Bold The typeface listed above is used for headers. The caption headers in this book use Museo Sans 700. The normal type for the body copy is Museo Sans 300. Museo Sans 300 Italic is also used for titles of works within the body copy.

The Caption Type In addition to Museo Sans 700, 300, and Josefin Slab Bold, Josefine Slab Regular and Italics are used for the body text within the captions as shown in the following example. CAPTION HEADER

MUSEO SANS 700 ALL CAPS

Caption Subhead

Museo Sans 700 Sentence Case

Title of work inside of caption Caption copy Title of work inside of caption Caption copy

Josefin Slab Italic Josefin Slab Regular Josefin Slab Italic Josefin Slab Regular

The Display Type Pacifico Bold is used for the logo and the displayed titles in the illustrated shadow boxes.

Love is & Love is Not evolving love

Pacifico Bold

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGO DESIGN Initial Drafts

TOXIC VS HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

LOGO DRAFTS & SCALE TESTS IN GRAY SCALE & COLOR 1st Row

Experimenting with stacked type and “ving“ to the side of “evol’s” “l” 2nd Row

“Ving” as a part of the box to frame the shared characters, but had mixed legibility results and the subtitle is too tiny 3rd Row

Capitalizing and framing the shared characters in “evolving” and “love” while having “ving” break out of the box to emphasize “evol” and love” 4th Row

Experimenting with boxy shadows and flipping the letter “L” in”evol” and the letter “E” in love

40 Margaret M. Erlano

TOXIC VS HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS

LOGO DRAFTS & SCALE TESTS IN GRAY SCALE & COLOR 1st Row

More experimenting with stacked type and shadows 2nd Row

Experimenting with the mirrored last e 3rd Row

Experimenting with script type using the capital E 4th Row

Experimenting with script type using the lowercase e 5th Row

Previous logo without the rounded box frame and a shadow

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGO DESIGN Logo Development

LOGO DEVELOPMENT & SCALE TESTS WITH NEW CONCEPT

Script with capital E for the first E of “Evolving” and the last E of “love” 1st Row

Flat version 1 2nd Row

Shadow version 1 3rd Row

Flat version 2 4th Row

Shadow version 2

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGO DEVELOPMENT & SCALE TESTS WITH NEW CONCEPT

Script with a lowercase e for the first e of “evolving” and the last e of “love” 1st Row

Type only 2nd Row

Boxed and knocked out version 3rd Row

Script connecting for better legibility 4th Row

Previous design as a box to resemble the shadow box framing the paper cut illustrations

Margaret M. Erlano

LOGO DESIGN Final

SCALE TESTS OF THE GRAYSCALE & COLORED LOGOS

Logo shows a flipped reading and backwards spelling of â&#x20AC;&#x153;loveâ&#x20AC;? to emphasize that growth and evolution is possible through love. Instead of framing the color within the box, the color is pushed back to highlight the physical depth of the illustrated shadow boxes. Top Half

Logos on a plain white Bottom Half

Color legibility testing for the flat logos and the drop shadow logo on a neutral gray-beige color background NOTE

On white surfaces, the flat logo is used. On colored surfaces, the drop shadow logo is used.

Margaret M. Erlano

Inside the Shadow Boxes

ILLUSTRATION Pencil Sketches

IMAGES

Scanned plans of the Love is and Love is Not pairs 1st Row

Love is Respect vs Love is Not Delusional 2nd Row

Love is Growth vs Love is Not Controlling 3rd Row

Love is Teamwork vs Love is Not Scoring

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Initial plan Top Left

Initial vector of Love is Teamwork Top Right

Layer plan & illustration distribution Middle

Color palette Bottom

Scaled 3D Model Plan (Border not to scale)

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Digital Art Brush Experimentation

20 2

14 4

5 15 22

7 17

18 8

9 19 10

IMAGES

22 Digitally scanned and converted watercolor brushes (each has a setting that stretches the stroke or scales the stroke proportionately)

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGE

Digital color painting test of 2nd sketch of Love is Teamwork with a combination of the self-made brushes (Scenario angle version 1 Visual style version 1)

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Experimenting with Line 1

0.5PT

0.25PT

0.15PT

0.1PT

IMAGES Left Column

Chosen self-made Adobe Illustrator art brush used, watercolor brush #11 Middle Column

Initial drawing of visual narratives Love is Teamwork (Scenario version 1, style version 2), Love is Respect (Scenario version 1, style version 2), and Love is Growth (Scenario version 1, style version 2) Right Column

Brush usage samples of different stroke weights and transparencies 1, 2A, 3A, 4A—outer line work, 100% black 2B–4B—hatching line details, 10% 2C–4C—hatching line details, 5% NOTE

Art brush scale option is set to stretch to fit. Color method is set to tints and shades. Hatching line details’ stroke colors use the same color as the shapes’ fill color.

50 Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES Left Column

Revision drawing of visual narratives Love is Teamwork (Scenario version 2, style version 2), Love is Respect (Scenario version 2, style version 2), and Love is Growth (Scenario version 2, style version 2) Right Column

Initial drawing of visual narratives Love is Not Scoring (Scenario version 2, style version 2), Love is Not Delusional (Scenario version 2, style version 2), and Love is Not Controlling (Scenario version 2, style version 2)

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Development

IMAGE

Love is Teamwork with self-made, stretched watercolor art brush 11 for hatching and outlines (Scenario version 2, color version 4)

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGE

Love is Not Scoring with self-made, stretched watercolor art brush 11 (Scenario version 2, color version 4)

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Development

IMAGE

Love is Growth with self-made, stretched watercolor art brush 11 for hatching and outlines (Scenario version 4, color version 4)

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGE

Love is Not Controlling with self-made, stretched watercolor art brush 11 (Scenario version 2, color version 4)

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Development

IMAGE

Love is Respect with self-made, stretched watercolor art brush 11 for hatching and outlines (Scenario version 3, color version 4)

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGE

Love is Not Delusional with self-made, stretched watercolor art brush 11 (Scenario version 3, color version 4)

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Scenario & Layer Organization

IMAGES

Layer distribution & cut guide for the 3 Healthy Love shadow boxes

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Layer distribution & cut guide for the 3 Toxic Love shadow boxes with titles in different scales and colors to lessen the number of prints and test which color goes well.

Margaret M. Erlano

ILLUSTRATION Scenario & Layer Organization

IMAGES

Layer distribution & cut guide for the remaining Toxic Love shadow box, Love is Not Controlling. Underneath is the shadow box line up for gallery installation.

60 Margaret M. Erlano

The Making

C RAFT Prototype

IMAGES

The cutting and assembly of printed layers for Love is Teamwork (50% scale)

Margaret M. Erlano

MATERIALS USED

book board, paper cement, double sided mounting tape, x-acto knife, box cutter, and ruler

Margaret M. Erlano

C RAFT Shadow Boxes in Actual Size

IMAGES

Cutting 19.5” x 19.5” prints to fit 21” x 21” x 2.75” shadow boxes

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Creating the depth MATERIALS USED

Regular and adhesive backing foam core, double sided mounting tape, paper cement, scissors & blades

Margaret M. Erlano

C RAFT Shadow Boxes in Actual Size

IMAGES

Sticking on the “floating layers”

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Stacking and sticking the supported layers from front to back layers

Margaret M. Erlano

C RAFT The End Result

IMAGES

Final shadow boxes and their placements on the wall

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Posters

NOTE

Both posters share the same photo. The photograph is a hand cut, stacked, and assembled version of the logo to give an introduction to the depths and shadows created in the main shadow boxes. Because the logo resembles the illustrated post-it notes seen in some scenarios illustrated in the shadow boxes, the posters are also illustrated with post-it notes. IMAGE

18â&#x20AC;? x 24â&#x20AC;? poster representing healthy love with healthy vines and leaves

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGE

18â&#x20AC;? x 24â&#x20AC;? poster representing toxic love with dying leaves and twigs

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Posters

IMAGES

Process of the hand-cut, stacked, and assembled version of the logo to resemble the layers, shadows, and depth of the shadow boxes

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Process continued and final photo Top

Adding support to the page so that the layers do not fall inside Bottom Left

Logo Shadow Box photo taken at an angle to emphasize the shadows Bottom Right

Logo Shadow Box warped to stand upright and color corrected

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Book Illustration

IMAGES

Full bleed drawings to fit 16” x 10” spreads Top

Love is Considerate Bottom

Love is Acknowledgment

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Full bleed drawings to fit 16” x 10” spreads Top

Love is Comfort Bottom

Love is Visible

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Book Illustration

IMAGES

Full bleed drawings to fit 16” x 10” spreads Top

Love is Effort Bottom

Love is Synergy

Margaret M. Erlano

IMAGES

Full bleed drawings to fit 16” x 10” spreads Top

Love is Open Bottom

Love is Present

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Book Illustration

IMAGES

Special spreads and pages Top

Couple Love transitioning and introducing Group Love Bottom Left

Take Care Book Ending to fit 8” x 10” page Middle Right

Love is Teamwork vs Love is Not Scoring photographed details Bottom Right

Love is Growth vs Love is Not Controlling photographed details

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Postcards

Thanks for cooking our meals while I clean our home. You’re a big help with the laundry and groceries too. Most of all, thanks for being my partner through it all.

Challenges may come our way, but that won’t stop us. We have our ups and downs, but we manage to stick together. Each time we pull through, our bond grows deeper and stronger.

Love is love (Beloved’s name here) is patient is kind is not proud does not dishonor others is not self-seeking is not easily angered keeps no record of wrongs does not delight in evil rejoices with the truth always protects always trusts always hopes always perseveres

Am I happy with my partner, my family, or my friend? 1 Corinthians 13:4–6

The space between us is non-existent. While your nose is to your games as mine is in my books, we know we’re in each other’s hearts. You love me for me and I love you for you.

IMAGES

5” x 7” Postcards with three fronts and the same back

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Greeting Cards

Love is love. “People change so that you can learn to let go. Things go wrong so that you appreciate them when they’re right. You believe lies so you eventually learn to trust no one but yourself, and sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.” —Marilyn Monroe

I’m glad we’re in this together. IMAGES

4” x 6” Greeting cards Top

Love is Teamwork card’s cover Bottom

Love is Teamwork card’s inside

80 Margaret M. Erlano

Love is love. “... to be in any sort of relationship where you do not express yourself, simply to keep the peace, is a relationship ruled by one person and will never be balanced or healthy.” —Bronnie Ware The Top Five Regrets of the Dying: A Life Transformed by the Dearly Departing

I respect and love you for who you are.

IMAGES

4” x 6” Greeting cards Top

Love is Respect card’s cover Bottom

Love is Respect card’s inside

Margaret M. Erlano

COLLATERALS Preview

IMAGES

Front view and angle view of scaled model of project and all the supporting project elements

Margaret M. Erlano

PROJECT PLANS Production Schedule

February

March

Week 1 (02/01)

Week 5 (03/01)

• Initial research and brainstorming about love, starting of the process book, and beginning rough sketches for logos and scenarios • Come up with scenarios that depict toxic and healthy relationships

• Revise scenarios and logos in Illustrator. • Decide on the final color and drawing style.

Week 2 (02/08) • Revisions and cleaned up logo sketches done in vector. • Start painting grayscale watercolor brush strokes with watercolor paper and paint • Scan original strokes and color correct scan in Photoshop, and image trace them to be used as Illustrator brushes. Week 3 (02/15) • Alternating between the brush and pen tools, illustrate, plan, and organize the couples’ poses, surrounding settings, and props by printed layers and by art bounds space in Illustrator to provide a cutting guide. • Begin the first attempt of the shadowbox prototype with existing design. • Cut boards to Illustration border size. • Print the layers to 50% scale, cut pieces, assemble, and stack. Week 4 (02/22) • Narrow down the brushes that will be used • Redraw scenarios by determining dynamic angles and three-dimensional compositions that visually narrates with details

Week 6 (03/08) • Continue drawing and organizing the healthy love scenarios’ layers used for shadow boxes. • Print the layers to 50% scale, cut pieces and additional double-sided mounting tape, assemble, and stack. • List project’s collaterals and create a gallery set up layout plan in Maya and render the plan. Week 7 (03/15) • Continue drawing the toxic love scenarios used for the shadow boxes. • Revise minor details and begin to color. Week 8 (03/22) • Begin a cycle of test prints with paper scaled down to 50% in the Digital Output Center (DOC) with Andrew and/or Michael and color correcting to move on to final prints for all the shadow boxes’ layers. • During the printing wait, use strokes to take away from the logo design to create a shadow box template version for the poster. • Work on the body copy that will tell the stories of each scene. • Get copy proofread. • Start drawing the group healthy love scenarios’ settings, poses, props, and text layers for the book using the same illustrative style. Week 9 (03/29) • Continue printing the final prints at 100% of scale the shadow box layers. • During the printing wait, finish up drawing the scenarios for the book using. • Begins sketch compositions of layouts for the posters, postcards, greeting cards, and book. • Typeset the narratives and quotes used • Prep assembly materials by measuring and cutting the boards for the spaces between the illustrated layers • Begin cutting the layers of the prints at hand

Margaret M. Erlano

April

May

Spring Break (04/05)

Week 13 (05/03)

• Finish up the last prints the shadow box layers • Cut the remaining layers and pieces left over • Begin assembly with the materials already prepped and cut additional double sided mounting tape

• Submit files and place out orders for outsourced materials by this day (the latest) to prevent delays and to pay for the most affordable shipping option provided by sellers.

Week 10 (04/12) • Finish up the stacking and taping process if not already finished. • Begin photography and color corrections, • Continue the layouts for the books and greeting cards by tweaking kerning. Week 11 (04/19) • Continue shooting photography and color correcting if need be. Week 12 (04/26)

Week 14 (05/10) • Prints continued. • Prints should arrive by May 17. Install (05/19) • Install at 10AM Exhibition (05/21–06/01) Reception (05/24) Final Thesis Paper Due (06/28) Deinstall (06/01)

• Finalize color corrections of photographs and finalize collateral layouts by placing images into their assigned spot.

Margaret M. Erlano

PROJECT PLANS Gallery Floor Plan & Project Elements Wall 9’ X 7’

Average Height 5’10”

Pedestal

Floor

Pedestal

24” X 24” X 42”

9’ X 7’

24” X 36” X 42”

Project Elements 6 Illustrated Shadow Boxes • 21” x 21” x 2.75” • Each box contains individual scenarios • First half will contain healthy love • Second half will contain toxic love 6 Soft Cover Books • One set of 6 • 8” x 10” • Roughly 42 pages (more or less) • Will contain the 6 shadow boxes as photographs and 6 print based illustrations showing healthy love within groups • Body copy contains narratives of the scene and other information from research

IMAGE

Front of Installation Plan Character Model by Monica M. Erlano

Margaret M. Erlano

3 Postcards Sets (150 cards) • 4” x 6” • Each will have a photograph of a shadow box that depicts healthy love • Will contain a checklist of what love is

2 Greeting Cards Sets (100 cards) • 4” x 6” • Each will have a photograph of a shadow box that depicts healthy love • Will contain quotes 2 Promotional Posters • 18” x 24” • Both posters will contain the same imagery of a photograph showing the shadowbox version of the logo • One poster will represent the toxic love • One poster will represent the healthy love

(6) Shadow Boxes 21” X 21” X 2.75”

(2) Promo Posters 18” X 24”

Wall 9’ X 7’

Average Height 5’10”

(3) Postcards 5” X 7”

(2) Greeting Cards

(EACH SET ON ITS OWN STAND* )

4” X 6”

(6) Books

(2) Card Holders

8” X 10” (3 EACH ON 2 STANDS* )

4” X 1.75” X 1.75”

(1) Itoya Portfolio 8.5” X 11” CLOSED OR

Pedestal

18.5” X 11” OPENED

24” X 24” X 42”

*STAND MEASUREMENTS 5.125” WIDE 1” LIP 6” FROM LIP TO TOP

Pedestal

Floor

24” X 36” X 42”

9’ X 7’

I WILL ALSO NEED A LOT OF LIGHT

Project Accessories

Details

1 Itoya Portfolio • 8.5” x 11” closed or 18.5” x 11” opened • 60 pages, 120 views

Hung by 18 Picture Hanging Hooks • Able to hold 5–10lbs

2 Business Card Holders • 4” x 1.75” x 1.75” 5 Book Stands • 5.125” wide, • 1” lip • 6” From lip to top

Hung by Picture Hanging Wire • Able to hold 5–10lbs Must have a lot of surrounding light IMAGE

Angle of Installation Plan Character Model by Monica M. Erlano

Margaret M. Erlano

PLANS Budget & Materials

Main Pieces 6 Shadow Boxes (21” x 21” x 2.75”) • $59.99 each 3 Rolls of Epson Somerset Velvet Paper (24” x 50’) • $121.99 per roll 36 Illustration Layer Prints + Test Print (19.5” x 19.5” excluding crop marks) • $0.02 in2 3 Sets of Just Stick-It! Mounting Boards (Set of 4 pieces, 1/4” thick, 16” x 24”) • $38.95 each set 1 Pack of White Foam Core Boards (Pack of 10 pieces, 1/8” thick, 20” x 24”) • $27.99 per pack Scotch Double Sided Mounting Tape • $24.99 each Paper Cement (8oz) • $8.99 each 2 Posters (18” x 24”) • $25.40 each 6 Softcover, Perfect Bound Books (42 pages) • $24.99 for 20 pages + $0.35 per additional page 3 Postcards Sets (5” x 7”, 150 cards total) • $74.10 per set 2 Greeting Card Sets (100 cards total) • $81.30 per set

NOTE

This does not include tax, shipping, and replacements or re-stocking for errors in printing and crafting.

Margaret M. Erlano

Photography Equipment XPRO 36” x 36” Light Tent Cube • $37.99 Lighting Kit • $38.61 Lighting Gloves • $54.95

Accessories Picture Hanging Hooks (Set of 20) • $4.29 Picture Hanging Wire • $26.99 Book Holders (Pack of 6) • $20.82 Business Card Holder (Pack of 6) • $12.99

Other 6 Pizza Delivery Bags (Shadow Box Carrying Cases) • $22.95 each Bubble Wrap (175’ 3/16”) • $14.00

GALLERY The Final Set Up

90 Margaret M. Erlano

Margaret M. Erlano

GALLERY The Final Set Up

Margaret M. Erlano

GALLERY The Final Set Up

Margaret M. Erlano

Special Thanks My family My mom, Imelda My dad, Agustin My sisters, Monica & Maricar My relatives Those here in America, Canada, back home in the Philippines, and all around the world My friends, family friends, and colleagues The City College of New York Department of Art Annette Weintraub Ana Marjanovic Mark Addison Smith Pilar Newton-Katz Nina Frenkel Ina Saltz Amy Huelsman Sean King Justine Reyes Luciana Moiriana Carl Fudge Anne Bartoc Lora Morgenstern Joseph Moore Asuka Goto Joseph Cavallieri Andrew Harrington Michael Conrader The City College of New York Department of Public Safety Others Dr. Nicholas Papapietro Dr. Herminia Tolete-Rotor Teachers, staff, & friends from Mary Help of Christians School, Immaculate Conception School, St. Vincent Ferrer High School, and The City College of New York

DEDICATION MESSAGE

This project, Evolving Love, is dedicated to those who have impacted my life greatly. For the lessons you’ve taught me, the skills I’ve learned—for the experiences that made me who I am today—I thank you all. This is only possible because of you guys. I’m grateful that I can learn, grow, and continue to love through the experiences God let us share together.

Margaret M. Erlano