The colour I have chosen for this project is red. This is because red is my second favourite colour after black (which is technically not a colour but the absence of colour). Red is a strong colour with positive and negative connotations like love and hate, good and evil, bravery and danger, and blood. Red is common in nature: fruits like tomatoes, strawberries and some apples are red; flowers like roses and poppies are also red; as are animals like ladybirds and certain birds (like cardinals).
I have generated ideas through secondary research to understand the connotations of red. I have looked up how and why red is used in warning signs and on fast food logos: red light is light that is scattered the least. Red is said to increase blood pressure and appetite, energising people. Red is also the most common colour used in national flags (e.g., the American, British, English, German, French, Chinese and Japanese flags).
I will generate more ideas by researching movie posters that use a lot of red or that use techniques and styles that interest me. I will also research how red is used with white as symbolism; that colour scheme is either holy and heroic or uncanny and disgusting. Red and black are usually portrayed as powerful and edgy: villainous or anti-heroic.
I will research more of Tom Phillips’ works. I researched his illustrations in his version of Dante’s Inferno last year, but there are more striking pieces done by him that I want to transcript for this project, both in and outside of Dante’s Inferno.
I intend to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to make my pieces for this project. I have already made one piece so far in Photoshop: The Batman & I, which uses a poster from the 2022 Batman movie and a photo of me in my red jacket and hat out in the rain; actually, a lot of the posters for The Batman use the colour red, which shows that it can be an aggressive and threatening colour.
I am trying to research who was behind the composition of those posters and see what else they have done but I have found nothing so far. I will keep looking for these posters.
I would like to improve my Photoshop and Illustrator skills and use the Photo Studio in college to make new pieces. I am thinking about experimenting further with my first piece.
I do not know what my outcome will be, but my concept will focus on red as a colour used in horror and action because it is a colour of blood and violence. I also like red rain, or just rain in general. I could even show raining blood.