Composition - 3 Elements Challenge

I used pinterest to source some reference imagery for this task. I took a detour from my initial theme of haute couture fashion and started to look at vintage fashion. Swimwear was the direction I decided to take this in which sparked a brief investigation into 50s beachwear, I was also looking at vintage postcards for inspiration. 

Figure

Object

Landscape

I chose this composition to take forward because I like the drastic difference in sizes of the lady in the swimsuit and the ice cream van. Because the ice cream van is so close up, I will have to make an extra effort to ensure it is recognisable. I also considered the rule of thirds when deciding where to place the horizon line. I want my final image to have the simple narrative of a woman walking along the beach to get an ice cream. Part of me feels like there should be more people in this image but I also like the simplicity of it. I may experiment with simpler forms to show other people also on the beach. 

I selected a few postcard images to upload to the Adobe Colour CC website to get some colour scheme ideas. I initially liked the yellows, blues and pinks in this first image but after looking at the image with more purple in, I realised this was also a viable option. I had never used this website before for a piece of work but it has proven very useful so far and it is so easy to use. 

I used wax crayons to experiment with some colour. More can be found in my sketchbook but these were the two I was deciding between. I like the summery feel of the one on the left but also think the simplicity of using different tones of one or two colours could be effective too. 

Final Images

I had some issues with the printer as it kept printing sheets saying there was an error which I did not understand. When I printed this first image, the quality was not what I expected - it was pixelated so my line work appeared blurry. I went back to look at my image settings. I couldn't see what was wrong with this so I think it was one of the printing settings I must have set to the wrong option. 

I then printed it again and the textures of the paper showed through which is what I had initially planned, but the colours did not show as well. The image looked dull and although the quality was better and the printing was crisp, I felt that the toning down of colour was detrimental to the image as a whole. 

I wasn't happy with the two images that were shown during the session so afterwards, I adjusted the saturation and exposure to produce this final image. I think it looks  better with brighter colours as it makes it look more like summer and the pink bikini stands out more which makes you notice the girl easier.