Leeds City Museum

On Tuesday I went to the Leeds City Museum to photograph anything and everything that might inspire me and help me create some ideas to throw around. I took a small point-and-shoot camera and these are some of the pictures I think might influence my work in some shape or form.

Natural forms have always been of big interest to me because they're just so fun to study. Shells in particular, have some intriguing designs and amazing textures.

As far as ideas go, I'm thinking of possibly creating a male warrior. The shells could be a great foundation for me to create some interesting-looking armour. Accessory wise, shells instantly make me think of tribes which is something I'll definitely explore in more detail. I'm quite fond of the idea of creating a water-based tribe and looking at other natural forms such as corals, rocks and precious stones. I think that the coral and precious stones will help me create a nice colour palette and allow me to discover a range of different textures/patterns.



This image is one of my favourites. I really love the angle and the lighting for this because it fools you into thinking that this is a full scale model when in fact it was pretty minuscule. The shadows cast by the pillars have generated some interesting shapes too, especially on the opposing wall. It looks almost like a cathedral with the arches that have been formed.

The model itself demonstrated a fine example of Roman architecture. This is something that may possibly assist in sculpting an environment for one of my character designs. If I decide to develop this further I will look at more temples and grand buildings in more depth and collect an array of textures. These textures could be anything from rough rocky landscapes to a smooth marble.

This was at the 'Dancing in the Streets' venue that's being held at the museum for a limited time only which is why it comes across as quite random in comparison to the other photos. However, I actually found this section very inspiring because it was bursting with life and colour~

This costume to the left was the one that caught my eye from within the collection. I really like the branches coming out from the back. They're like plants branching out depicting a wing design. It's a very intriguing feature. This also brings me back to using natural forms as part of my study.

As well as the unusual shapes to this outfit, I rather like the colours used. I think the green and orange make a good contrast with one another but it's not too heavy due to the amount of orange used. The black also works well to balance out the shiny materials for the various props.

This area as a whole got me thinking about the use of colour and shapes, and how they can portray different things. This may lead me onto looking at Colour Psychology.