zahra portfolio magazine

66

My name is Zahra, and I am a 22 year old Visual Communications student.

In this portfolio magazine I hope to give you a little insight to who I am but also hopefully get you to think a little.

special but they are things we tend to forget, by consciously reminding ourselves, maybe it’ll make us feel a little better.

I hope you enjoy this work as much as I enjoyed making it!

I have personally struggled with depression for most of my life, and I’ve also had to hear a lot of things because of it by people who mean well (usually), but don’t really help. the sentences you see throughout this work are things I want to tell or remind myself, and also to those who might need to hear it. They’re not that deep or

8

interview

I had the chance to interview David Ardinaryas Lojaya, a visual development artist and illustrator, who mainly focuses on Animation film and games, who’s also worked freelance for DreamWorksTV. The reason I asked him for this interview is because besides being a long-time follower of his work, I’m also always so inspired by his work and talent.

Is the art style you are currently working in the style you’ve always worked in or do you actually change it depending on the brand it’s for?

I personally think that an art style is a fluid thing, it’s constantly changing for me depending on my inspiration at that time. But you can always tell the style by simple information or even the lines that someone uses.

And also it can be changing depending on the work or client’s request. That’s why a flexible art style is needed for me.

How do you, if at all, manage to balance your style with trends or pressures for your style to look like?

I’m fortunate enough to be working in a style that is currently trending in the animation industry, and of course I’m willing to adapt my style if the industry has shaped into a different thing from now.

Do you find inspiration for your work in your daily life?

Absolutely, I think all life aspects could be an inspiration, whether you mean it or unconsciously.

Does your work and daily life go hand in hand or are they two very separate things? How do you combine them?

I’m not sure how to answer this, but I feel like I wanted to separate my daily life with work, but it’s not something that I can do best since my passion is also my job. So when I work, I draw, and when I do my hobby, I also draw. Sometimes it’s a bit frustrating and could be boring, so gaming and going out to nature, or watching films could be my break.

What do you do during an art block?

It depends on each case, if I get an art block for a client work, I can force myself, and look for inspiration until I get rid of that, not too forceful though because our health is much important. But if it’s an art block as in general art, I could always go out, sleep, play games, or do any activity that I like and take a break from drawing.

Did you always think you would be doing the work you are doing right now?

go to college.

Do you have other ambitions or goals you want to achieve in the future?

I do want to create something that is inspirational and memorable to people who enjoy my works in a form or art, could be a painting or films. And I’m still working for that.

What’s your favorite and least favorite piece you’ve made and why?

It’s a very hard question indeed! I’m not sure if I have a favorite one yet, but I like all my recent works for several times until I moved on into a new one. And my least favorite piece was probably my work from several years ago that I have forgotten lol Where do you usually start with a piece and what’s your favorite part to do?

I always start with researching and gaining some references or information. And then I go to sketch. I think I like sketching and do grayscale painting.

Never in my mind when I was a kid. It was just a hobby but it’s becoming more serious when I

12

How do you research the subject/project you work on?

interview

The easiest one is by researching on the internet! If you have more budget, you can always go to the place and look for it and experience it.

Does art help you in your daily life? How? Yes, it’s my job, so money. lol, jokes aside, I learnt a lot of things from my work. The industry that I’m working in is covering unlimited topics and it’s always a new thing to learn. Also I learned about the diversity of the world and be more respectful and grateful for what I have.

Is there anything exciting or special you are currently working on that you would like to share?

Yes! I’m currently working for a farming game like Stardew Valley or Harvest Moon with a more diverse cast of characters. It’s very exciting, I learnt a lot from it and the game is coming in 2021! Please look forward to it on Steam. The game name is called “Coral Island” Thank you!

Instagram: @ardinaryas print shop: artstation.com/david_lojaya/ prints merch shop: ardinaryas.threadless.com Coral Island on Steam: store.steampowered.com/ app/1158160/Coral_Island/

tussen pagina intro werk

14

werk

18

20

22

I have made a foursome of tarot cards, based on the four antagonists in the chinese novel “Heaven Official’s Blessing” (天官赐福) written by Mò Xiāng Tóngxiù (墨香铜 臭). The novel falls into the xianxia genre (a fantasy genre influenced

by Taoism, Buddhism, and Chinese mythology).

There are four tarot cards, the cards “The Emperor”, upside-down “Justice”, “Judgement”, upside-down “The Hermit”.

The Four Great Calamities (四大 害) is the collective name given by the Heavenly Court to refer to the Four Demon Lords of the ghost realm that have caused the Heavenly Officials the most and greatest grievances.

Huā Chéng, “Crimson Rain Sought Flower” (血雨探花), his title comes from a time when he was done putting Qī Róng in his place, on his way back he let it rain blood and saw a little flower get dirty, so he tipped his umbrella to protect it. He is a ghost king and one of the most feared creatures in the three realms.

26

Bái Wúxiàng, “White-Clothed Calamity” (白衣祸世), he earned this title when he was seen putting an end to the great kingdom of Xiānlè - the kingdom of which the protagonist was the beloved crown prince of - wearing white clothes and a mask that seemed to be half crying and half laughing. He seems to have been defeated a long time ago, however who he is or what his motives were are unknown.

28

Hè Xuán, “Black Water Submerging Boats” (黑水沉舟), there is also not much known about him, except that he is the lord over a big part of the sea, where the water is coloured black, and no living creatures roam inside. He seems to be keeping to himself usually, however people steer clear from passing his territory, since no one has ever gotten out of it alive.

30

Qī Róng, “Night-Touring Green Lantern” (青灯夜游), has gotten his title after terrorising the humans at night, usually in a forest where there are green flames and where he very “cheaply” mimicks Huā Chéng’s blood rain by hanging corpses upside down in trees - a very grotesque scene. He’s also not as powerful as the other three calamities - something he would never admit - nor is he liked by them for multiple reasons including snacking on human beings.

32

abc

tussenpagina

werk

I have made these desingns specifically to put on clothes

I have a Redbubble page where these are sold alongside a few other designs I have made

you can find them on: www.redbubble.com/people/zahrapew

34

36

The mural that we have made for the Dominicanen church.

After my design was one of the few that were picked, we were able to put paint it onto the wall ourselves in two evenings, in a small group of four.

Each “head� consists of a quote by each writer from one of their works.

You can find the full painting in the mini version of the church which is situated within the Entre Deux in Maastricht for a limited time;

The design consists of writers that the client had picked.

Dominicanerplein, 6211 CH Maastricht

from left to right: Edgar Allen Poe, Annie M.G. Schmidt, Haruki Murakami, Andrzej Sapkowski Margaret Atwood.

tussenpagina

for my intervention I decided to make two movie posters, where a refugee and a regular traveller are compared, two posters that consist of the same elements but opposite from one another

I really wanted to show the difference between the two, and by doing that also highlighting the fact that refugees are also people instead of a number or “a thing� as they are often seen as

44

suicide prevention hotline (Netherlands): 09000767 stichting 113Online (provides a 24/7 national suicide prevention phone line and webchat): 0900 0113 Veiligthuis (National Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Elderly Abuse) 24/7 Hotline: 0800 2000

suicide prevention hotline (Netherlands): 09000767 stichting 113Online (provides a 24/7 national suicide prevention phone line and webchat): 0900 0113 Veiligthuis (National Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Elderly Abuse) 24/7 Hotline: 0800 2000