Concept Art – Dystopia

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to the first blog of PLP 12—the final year of high school. I’d like to take a moment to reflect on the number of blog posts and pieces of work I have published over the years on this blog. Looking back at my older posts really highlights how much I have progressed, not only as a writer but also as a learner.

It’s truly remarkable to go back in time and revisit my earlier work, as it proves that PLP’s system works and has genuinely helped me overcome my dyslexia and difficulty with group work.

The Project

So, what is our actual project about? Dystopia. As with most senior projects since Grade 11, we usually end up reading a novel, and this time was no different. The end goal for this project was to create a piece of concept art themed around dystopia, expressing what we learned from the novel—more specifically, what we found to be interesting.

Instead of everyone reading the same novel in class, we were given the choice of which novel to read. Having different novels allowed us to meet in smaller groups to discuss our progress. I found this approach much better than having one big group discussion, which can be intimidating. Splitting into smaller groups is by far the better choice for projects like this, as it allows quieter people like me to express their thoughts and opinions more easily without the pressure of a larger group.

The novel I chose to read was 1984 by George Orwell. I picked this because I love The Hunger Games, and this novel shares some similarities with The Hunger Games.

Now that you know what novel I chose, let’s get into the details—specifically, what I learned, how I felt I did, how I could improve, and what information I need to take with me moving forward.

Launch – Concept Art

For our first assignment, we were tasked with creating a piece of concept art using objects we found around the classroom. Since I was out sick the day we worked on this, I ended up completing the assignment at home using objects I had around my room.

Audio engineering is something I am deeply passionate about and my first choice for post-secondary studies. It plays a significant role in this piece of art because I chose to base my first concept art project on it.

Moving forward, here is my piece of concept art. Although it is basic, I felt it effectively conveyed my message, especially with the artistic statement providing context to the piece:

Here is my artist statement:

Microphones are tools that amplify your voice, but in this they mean more than that. So far my school year has been driven by communication and collaboration. They represent my growing ability to share different thoughts and opinions effectively with my peers. Last year I felt my voice was quiet, and I couldn’t quite get my ideas through clearly with my peers. However these microphones represent the importance of speaking up which is something I have been keen to improve on throughout grade 12 so far.

In conclusion, I felt I did an accomplished job on this assignment. Even though I was sick, I think my overall use of the objects available to me was quite basic, though the concept behind the piece of art was strong. There was, of course, room to improve and extend further; however, given the circumstances, I believe I did a good job utilizing the resources I had available at the time.

Benchmark – Dystopian Novel Notes

Moving on to probably one of our biggest and most important benchmarks: our novel notes. While reading a novel is one thing, diving deep by drawing connections to previous novels we’ve read is a whole other challenge. Being able to understand and connect with the information presented in 1984 is a valuable skill that can help us truly learn and remember the content we’re reading. Note-taking is a skill everyone should develop, and when done effectively, it can be one of your greatest tools in expanding your voice and reasoning.

Now, moving on to my actual notes: Fleeting Notes (Circle Notes)

Overall, I felt I did an accomplished and thorough job on this assignment. My notes followed a format that I’ve found to be effective for my learning style and were incredibly helpful during our book discussions. They were detailed yet easy to understand. While they followed a similar format to the one PLP has been encouraging, I added my own personal twist to make them easier for me to process and gather information from. Developing a note-taking style that fits my personal learning needs was challenging and took a few book projects to refine, but I now feel confident in my ability to write down my ideas and communicate them verbally with my peers.

Listening to the audiobook also helped me take in more information without tiring my eyes. Finding a system that works for me demonstrates what I believe to be a near-extending level of work—though I feel I could have gone a bit more in-depth and drawn more complex connections to further support my goal of achieving an extending level.

Benchmark – Concept Art

So, now the big moment—our actual concept art. The end goal of the project was to present our piece of concept art at the year-end PLP Winter Exhibition. Before I present my concept art, what exactly is it, and how did I plan and build it?

The Rough Draft:
The concept art, also known as The Watcher, explores what surveillance is like in a dystopian setting. It gives the audience a sense of how it feels to be constantly watched, even when it seems like no one is watching. The original concept was highly ambitious: I planned to use an entire classroom filled with floating heads that had mirrors for eyes. The idea was for the audience to walk around these floating heads, which represent a faceless authority figure. It was meant to be both unsettling and engaging.

The mirrors were intended to allow the audience to see themselves through the eyes of the watchers. However, in the end, I wasn’t able to find mirrors that small and had to improvise as I moved forward.

Blueprint Version 1: CLICK HERE

Blueprint Version 2 (Scaled Down): CLICK HERE

Refined and Enhanced:
In the end, using an entire classroom for one project was an unattainable goal given the number of students in PLP and the sheer volume of projects. I had to improvise and ended up with literally two days before our exhibition to start building—not the best time management. Ultimately, I used one mannequin head on top of a small platform. Inside the platform was a phone live-streaming a security camera feed that was hidden around the room. This was perfect as it kept the concept of the original idea while innovating on it, and in the end, it worked out exactly how I wanted it to.

Even though I had about two days to revise my original blueprint, I felt that I worked very efficiently and was able to achieve my end goal without any major issues. As I previously mentioned, I was unable to find mirrors that mimicked eyes. Instead, I used a reflective film that conveyed the idea but didn’t fully reflect the audience as intended. Despite that, I felt it turned out fantastically, and I received a ton of comments on it, especially regarding the security camera feed—most people couldn’t even locate the camera itself. Perfect!

Wrapping Up:
Overall, I felt I did an accomplished and thorough job on this. Even though my original idea was ambitious and unattainable, I think I did a great job improvising and innovating on my original concept.

Now, let’s move on to our last benchmark: the Annotated Bibliography.

Benchmark – Annotated Bibliography

So, our annotated bibliography. To start off, you first need to understand what an annotated bibliography actually is and how it can be utilized to your benefit, especially when doing a project like this. One article I found particularly helpful in understanding what an annotated bibliography was this one by SFU: CLICK HERE

 

You can find my own Annotated Bibliography by clicking HERE.
Overall, I felt I did an accomplished job—one that I was satisfied with but still felt had room for improvement in terms of detail. This was by far the most rushed benchmark of the whole project, and this is quite clearly reflected in the quality of what I created. I felt I could have spent much more time looking for valuable sources for my concept art and could have expanded more on the sources I chose. What I mean by that is drawing connections between past projects and real-world experiences through the sources included in my annotated bibliography. Now that we have wrapped up our final benchmark, let’s move on to my conclusion.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this project was both fun and challenging. Throughout the project, I was tested both mentally and creatively. Designing a piece of concept art from the ground up that is detailed and informative is no small task, and even though I encountered some roadblocks along the way, I felt I did a good job of managing my time and staying engaged throughout. In the end, I was more than satisfied with my final product, and I believe this is reflected in the feedback I received from my peers, as well as from parents and other students at the Winter Exhibition.

Thank you for reading my blog, and I’ll see you again next week as we reflect on one of our biggest and most challenging projects yet in PLP as a whole.