Design and Balance

Today on the bus I started wondering why the people who draw well are often the people who design well. Not always though, but it's a generalisation. I'm not talking about how artists are able to visualise objects better - that is of course a given. It so happens a bus came and I started tracing its outline mentally. Then I came upon the conclusion that design is all about balance.

There are some designs that look good. And there are some that no matter which angle you look at, it will always seem so mediocre and bland. There are some patterns that make you wonder at its intricacy and go how the hell did anyone come up with that. Sharon told me once that patterns can be created with Maths - isn't that what it is about? Maths is about balance, algebra especially. x+1 = 2, x must be 1. Colour A + Colour B = Result C. And if you want C you cannot do without A or B. Adding in a D will only make the equation unbalanced and wrong.

Same concept for design. There are some colours that just do not go well with one another. If one were to use them they must be balanced off with something else: space, shape, gradient, patterns maybe. Removing certain ingredients from the recipe takes away the taste of the food. Adding in some things only enhances it.

Back to artists VS designers. The people who draw well are often the ones who design well. Why is this? Because artists have a subtle understanding of Maths. They feel balance without thinking about it. That's probably what 'an eye for design' is about - an eye for balance, an eye for contrast (which in itself is balance), an eye for detail... not messy jumbled detail but detail at the right places to balance off the wrong. Isn't that what intricate patterns are about? Sometimes when I'm drawing a figure it just turns out wrong. The thumb is sticking in the wrong direction. The palm shouldn't be facing upward. Adding in the correct lines changes everything - from amateur and untrained my drawing is suddenly transformed into something that has 'potential'.

Nature balances things out, I notice. Take a tree for instance. If the trunk is facing left the crown cannot be in the same direction. Not scientifically possible. The centre of gravity is off. When that happens, the root goes in the opposite direction to balance it out. By opposite I mean taking the ground level to be the mirror.

And that is the reason why most artists are better at design. Years of drawing have made them subconsciously adept at understanding balance. Some things look good with others and some just don't. Whatever goes up will definitely come down. Design, nature, life - whatever. Now I understand why there's yin and yang. So true.

Note: Okay for one, I'm not claiming to be a scientist or philosopher and I'm sure there are examples which I use that are wrong. And I care to debate about it. :) I'm not saying that ALL artists can design well, because I've seen quite a few who don't. I'm just saying that all good designers understand balance, whether consciously or sub-consciously and no matter how messy their designs, there will always be balance in the unbalanced. Like for example, exaggerated poses that still look good.

On a side note, you know you're an INFP when you type out an entire philosophical entry about design, balance and yin yang.

On a side note, I've decided that my BF should be someone who can debate with me on these thoughts, aside from being rich enough to buy me a) the 1-m teddy bear from Loony Toons b) box of Copic markers c) design magazines / books d) nice clothes e) Sakae Sushi / expensive restaurants f) air tickets to anywhere in the world... multiple times and g) a library.

And hence - and hence - and hence: Now I know what my problem with 'furpy' is. It doesn't look as balanced as I want it to.

Short fic

“Why are you here?”

He was in front of her then, hands shaking her furiously, fingers digging harshly into her shoulder blades and leaving crescent mark bruises on them that she later discovered, would take many days before they healed. Right now, however, injury was the last thing on her mind.

“I came here because I am needed!”

And then she was stumbling backwards, arms flared out in an attempt to steady herself from the sudden change in movement.

On one occasion, she had mused that one look from him could reduce even the bravest of warrior to rubble, and now has he turned the full force of gaze onto her – threatening her, taunting her, forcing her to back down – she glared back at him, eyes matching his in insurmountable fury. Her chin lifted defiantly.

An angry thud reverberated through the archway as he smashed his fist against the nearest pillar.

“Dammit Lena, you know what will happen if you come, you know what the prophecy foretold – ”

“I am beyond caring.”

He slumped against the pillar heavily, as if drained of all energy.

“Lena –” he bit out, hands fisting his hair, face, his eyes in frustration. “This is the unavoidable – you know that. No one can turn the wheels of motion once it starts spinning, not us, not the Priest, not even the Pharoah on his damn praenomen. We are the sacrifices for what will come later on – why are you being so damn difficult when there’s enough reason to justify this –”

“It is no justification when you are the only one imprisoned!”

Author's Note: Oh noes, here we have a typical story of a typical prophecised drama. And I even added in an exotic word! Praenomen! Meaning the Pharoah's throne! Embrace my intellect, folks.

(...This lame commentary totally spoils the emo-ness huh...)

Okay, what I don't understand is - why does every prophecy have to forshadow something bad? Why can't it be something good? Like the birth of The One Who Will Save Us All - oh wait - it happens in every fantasy story, just overshadowed by the Prophecy of Impending Doom, Future Doom or Doom in general. I'm so tired I can't think straight.

The Temple of the Rising [short desc]

When I was but a child, my grandfather told me the story of the Temple of the Rising. It was said that the Temple did not originally belong to Candor, a country that had so much soil it garnered the name “The Earthly Cemetery” – for ours was a land borne of blood and war. The Old Ones spoke of how the Temple rose from the ocean, that it was Water as our land was Earth, and hence the people of Candor gave it the name The Temple of the Rising – or The Rising Temple.

As a child, sometimes tiring of the games I played with Temari and hungering to rebel against my guardian, I would slip quietly away to the Temple. There I would stand, a small figure in rags, gazing in wonderment at its grandeur and majesty. If one had chanced upon the scene one might have laughed. But as strangely as things go, no one did. Hence, there was just me, and the Temple.

I did not think Water was a good name for it. Fire was surely a more appropriate title, for as much as the Temple was the sacred grounds of worship it was also the heart and backbone of the village.

Author's Note: Cannot begin to say how unsatisfied I am with this short story. My writing has seriously gotten very rusty.

One of the ideas I have about the Rising Temple - rumoured to be part of a lost continent (Atlantis, perhaps? I've always loved that story.) or is, in itself, a lost island/Temple/shrine, which rose from the sea. It is said that the people who are buried at the temple supposedly roam the place, guarding it from thieves and robbers, etc. The 2nd approach is to have the protagonist (whom I haven't thought of a name for yet) fearing the Temple instead of being fascinated with it, and decides to explore it one day.

Note the change in name of the Temple from my previous entry.

Candor: A country borne of blood and war, a sharp contrast to the holiness of the Temple (a messiah perhaps?). I like the description of 'The Earthly Cemetery' and the references to elements.

The Moon Lady

They see the blessings and call her The Moon Lady.

“She honours our crops with abundance,” the farmers say.

“Her touch praise our lands with life,” the ruler said to its people.

“She is the Child of the Moon,” the Book reads, “the gravity of lunar power.”

And so they enshrined her, at the Temple of the Rise, next to Gods and Goddesses past, in gold and silver and bronze.

Every full moon she changes, and prowls the lands to feed.

--

Author's Note: Just an idea I have about a moon deity who is loved and worshipped for her beauty, grace and compassion. However she, unbeknownst to her people, is damned by a terrible curse that causes her to change into a werewolf every full moon - also the time when she is glorified and praised. I thought it'd be interesting to show the fragility of immortality. In stories, I notice that the only problems Gods & Goddesses have are 1) choosing between mortality and immortality 2) Falling in love with a mortal and choosing between mortality and immortality 3) Practising polygamy and thus having too many babies that will grow up and kill you and 4) Being an unfortunate beauty that attracts other evil deities. None of them have human problems. I want to show the dilemma of a deity, one who carries immortality as both a blessing and a curse. What of the people she loves when they discover that she is their feared werewolf - the one who terrifies, destroys and kills?

The Temple of the Rise - Just a random idea I had. I like the name a lot. As soon as I typed it out, the image of an entire temple with glorious pillars, extensive altars and statues after statues lining its grounds came to mind. I'd describe it in detail (the visuals are all in my head, rather sketchy but there nonetheless), but I can't really. My writing has become so rusty that I took at least an hour to type out this entry, amidst many corrections, re-corrections and retyping of my awkward sentences, speaking of which, this entire entry is an awkward mess.


So. I'm back, welcoming writing with open arms.

FIRST ENTRY OMFG

This blog will be an archive of my past, present and omg, future works. I like the fact that no one's actually reading this first entry, hence I can type whatever nonsense I want without them archived to my flawless history. The power of the Delete Button is g000d, and here I'd like to point out a random fact about myself: everytime I say "g00d" I'm really thinking of the JimCarrey-BruceAlmighty way of saying it where you make a half-gurgling sound in your throat, jut out your jaw and let out a satisfying 'guuuuuud' - which is actually a cross between 'ger' and 'ooooh' - with a 'd' somewhere in there.

Please, Google, do not cache this.