GRAPHIC TRANSLATION OF A PAIR OF CUTICLE SCISSORS
jan - mar 2020
THE INCENTIVE
The process of graphic translation produces drawings of instant recognition and visual interest. Graphic translation focuses on the creation of an image with the visual means of abstraction, reduction, and interpretation with point, line, plane, shade, and shadow.
The incentive of this project was to pick an object (familiar to the masses) and successfully translate it into a graphic. I picked cuticle scissors because it was small enough for me to photograph while grasping with my hand.
What does it mean to successfully translate a 3-dimensional object into a 2-dimensional object? Throughout my process, I asked this question to myself many times. At first, I came upon a translation that with shading, looked almost identical to the photographed version. But I soon realized that the goal of graphic translation was not to produce an identical image.
ABOUT THE PROCESS
My first step to approaching graphic translation was examination. I thoroughly inspected my cuticle scissors and snapped a few photographs to secure size and proportions. I also took note of how they were commonly held/used. The usage of the object would be important because I wanted to produce an image that at first glance, invited a hand to hold it.
Next, I took on sketching the cuticle scissors. As they were pretty flat in structure, they were relatively easy to sketch.
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The following shows the process of translation from my first rendering in Illustrator to the final version.
FINAL VERSION
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
This translation challenged me to look at a simple object in light vs. shadows. In recognizing that black and white contours could assemble together into a clearly identifiable object, I had a lot of fun translating this pair of cuticle scissors. The delicate strokes combined together form an object, yet this object is nothing more than some lines on a flat plane.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR THIS CUTICLE SCISSOR?
Along with this prolonged study of graphic translation, I have experimented with visual analogy, typeface combination, and symbol reduction. The full process can be seen in my semester's visual process book.