20120730

Pineapple Invasion I

Okay, so I know I've been stalling, and I shouldn't stall any more... I hope nobody minds that I didn't photoshop my art much cuz I'm no good at digital art. Besides, I think I prefer to preserve these pineapples in their original form, like how they look like on my pineapple aep notebook, since that's how I remember them as and would like to remember them as (memories~). The notebook was originally meant for my aep (Art Elective Program) notes, but I only wrote my notes on one side of the paper, so I began to doodle on the other side of the paper. I can only tell when I started the series by checking my notes... and since my first notes were about Expressionism, which was what we learnt in sec2, I must have began my series around then. There are 40 pages of pineapple drawings in total, with 300 pineapple drawings. I won't be showing all the pages though, maybe just 30+ pages, and I'll be separating this into 7 posts, which each post showing around 4 to 5 pages of pineapples.

Enough with the babbling. Here's the first page:


Though the pineapples drawn here aren't very nice, but hey, I just started. And I'm showing this page cuz I think I should show how my very first pineapples looked like and how the whole series started. The number written beside the pineapples can be kind of misleading... it doesn't show the order in which the pineapples were drawn--the numbers are just for me to keep track of the pineapples I've drawn. The first pineapple depicted is, well, a normal pineapple, albeit simplified and cartoon-ified. Most of my pineapples are like that--the only features that define them as a pineapple are the round-ish shape of the pineapple's body, the spiky leaves on top and the criss-cross lines/pattern that represent the spiky "scaled"-skin of a pineapple. The themes of the other pineapples are as follows: Shot by an arrow (with juice spurting out like blood); Drowning; Sliced (for eating); Roasted over a flame; Cycling/Fleeing; Vampire Pineapple; =_=||| Pineapple; Grim Reaper Pineapple; Giant Pineapple. I guess I could have edited those pineapple drawings of mine, but I wanted to preserve how awful they were when I first started drawing them (so that I can point at them at a later date and laugh). Lolz.

'Kay, so here's the next page:


So the pineapples have gotten more gruesome... I know. The first pineapple depicted there (no. 66) is simply about a pineapple splitting its skin into half. Inspirations: Evil clowns. That pineapple was the one that really got me into continuing the pineapple drawings and in the end, turning it into a series. This isn't actually the original. The original was much nicer (my originals are always nicer... I can't seem to draw a perfect copy of anything) but it was drawn on the whiteboard and had to be erased later... so I drew a copy of it into my pineapple notebook later. After having drawn it on the whiteboard, some of my classmates began to leave comments beside it (we're an aep class, in case you haven't realized that by now) and most of them seemed to like the pineapple... so I drew some more. The themes of the other pineapples are: Partial-disembowelment/decapitation; Dissolving; Soul-fly-away-shock; Rotten pineapple; Devil; Angel; Bloody cactus; Disgust; Carnivore; Shattering-self. That last shattering pineapple is one that I like a lot, mainly beside this was my first (and last) time that I was able to draw out such an effect nicely. As for what any of these pineapples mean, well, I'll leave them to your interpretation, cuz I never really meant them to mean anything.

This is the third page in the notebook:


The first pineapple depicted here was inspired by a typical anime flowers-appearing-out-of-nowhere-in-the-background scene that usually takes place when the character is in a really gay (definition: cheerful, merry, "high") mood. The next few are mostly inspired by natural stuff. The themes are: Rainy day; Pineapples everywhere; Hot springs; Eskimo; Night; Music; Sunburnt; Tornado/Hurricane; Lightning strike; Um.... I think no. 65 should be... tweeting? Like "fishing"? But "fishing" for birds that leave behind text as they fly past? yeah... one of the few pineapples that has a proper meaning behind its drawing. 

Moving on to the fourth page... also the second-last page for this post:


The first drawing depicts a pineapple using a sparkler (you know, the long colorful stick you light up with a flame and it starts shooting out sparks like a mini firework?) to um... that's a snail by the way. The drawing was inspired by the time when my cousins and I were celebrating the Mid-Autumn Fest and we found out that if one holds a sparkler very near a snail, first, it'd retreat back into its shell, then the slimy thing in its shell i.e. the snail will start to bubble and uh... yeah. And the shell will start to form grey-white stuff that could be ashes and... I shall not say anymore about killing/torturing innocent creatures. The next few pineapple themes are: Stuck in time (hourglass) (YES!!! another pineapple drawing with a proper meaning behind it!!); Accidents; The Scream (by Munch): pineapple version; Food chain; Wanderer Above the Mist (by Friedrich): pineapple version; La Musique (by Matisse): pineapple version. No. 26, no. 28 and no. 29, as you can see, are inspired by some of the artworks I learnt about during aep. 

Now, the last (but not least) page for this post:


As you can see, most of these pineapples have been inspired by the school stuff. The first pineapple was inspired by physics. P.E. stands for Potential Energy and K.E. stands for Kinetic Energy. If you want to continue digging into the meaning behind this pineapple drawing, well, look at what its doing and you can see how that links to my idea of physics at that time: "suicide". Haha. And the next pineapple was inspired by the idea I picked up from the net about paintings coming to life. And there's the barcode pineapple. And the pineapple that got sucked into the stuff it was writing. The last pineapple drawing was inspired by chemistry. And yes, both my pineapples AND Chemistry are EVIL.

Hm. That's all for now... Will post another few pages up soon... Do not ask me to define 'soon'.

3 comments:

  1. I really liked the fact that you could stylize images so easily and make these simplified cartoons fill with animation, expressions and mood. One thing I think I am not good in! Kudos to you! Also, The colors that you use are pretty realistic and I love how you are able to vary the cartoon pineapples and give each individual character it's own unique characteristics with it's facial expressions and body language (though they do not exactly have arms and legs). Lastly, I find that the connection you make between your coursework and science (Physics) brilliant! Honestly, science and art are two disciplines that are almost directly opposite to each other and the fact that you could incorporate bait of science into your coursework makes the coursework pretty unique. A commendable work really! Pineapples!(:

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  2. Hi friend!!!
    lets get to business!! <3
    As you know, i am a fan of you pineapples because the thing that attract me the most is the fact that many of these drawings can be related to things we see around in school or somethings we have similar experiences with. This really allow us ( your friends ) to relate to your drawings and at the same time allow others to get a glimpse into our school life through this interesting way. I think what's challenging for me if i were to do it is to use pineapples as the subject matter for everyone of your drawings as there are may limitations at times like movement and features. And thats exactly what you have done well in. You are able to make a inanimate object ( or should i say fruit ) into something that seems so alive and there is really life in it.
    However, I think you can make it better!! you could use different medium to color it, for example the effects of water color and painting it on the computer are two totally different things and i think that exploration is needed to make your pineapples even better! I was going to suggest that you make 3D models of it but you are already doing it for your course work so i guess it really is a great step forward~ mayby you would consider doing similar things to other inanimate objects with a different theme. This can become one of your personal style!!!!
    Look forward to more of your works~ <3
    bye!! <3

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  3. Hi akuma!

    I really look up to the way you are able to relate things that you see in your everyday life, eg school work and incorporate and represent them using pineapples. I also love the way you are able to blow life into the otherwise dead pineapples and give them a character of their own, making them seem unique in their own ways, and yet connecting them as them being the same species- pineapples.

    You were able to turn the limbless pineapples and transform them into something similar to humans, with their own different emotions and actions (although I had absolutely no idea how they are supposed to move withour hands and legs...). That, I think is the magic that you have given to the pineapples and that will remain forever with you as long as you do not lose that touch.

    Congratulations on your 500th (?) pineapple and I hope to see more of your pineapple sketches, maybe in different mediums even after we graduated from Nanyang. Bring your booklet everywhere you go in JC for I will just ask for it whenever I bump into you!

    Keep up the good work and wish you a happy pineapple day! :D

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