In my typography class, we were tasked with creating an artistic representation of a phrase, song lyrics, poetry, or dialogue. I chose to pick a song that was just begging to be made into some kind of project - "Blue Orchid" by the White Stripes. I was listening to the song a lot at the time, and it just sounded like something I could work with. Jack White's high-pitched, forceful voice required a fluid, even slightly feminine typeface - I found a graffiti-esque font, by the name of Farfel ICG Felt Tip. Since White's delivery of the lyrics emphasize each syllable, I off-set each syllable and placed it in a vertical hierarchy - as if written on a musical staff - to mimic the changes in pitch. Some of the words had a certain accusatory "bite" so a grungier, bolder font is positioned behind the main script when necessary. Meg White's steady drumbeat is represented by the ever-present lyrics in the background, that have a much more rigid grid system than the main text. Those are a dark grey, which only pops out against the black a little bit, so as not to overpower the piece.
The paint splatters represent the blaring guitar riff, that come and go. I would have liked a brighter more electric blue, but It would have looked funky next to the blue "blood" dripping from the orchid. To create the effect, I made a very dark gradient of blue and used Liquify to pull down various parts on top of the flower. I then used Bloat to create more realistic "drops" on the flower. I added the white splatter to emphasize the end of the song a bit, and to make the blue stand out, otherwise it would get lost in the black. The picture I had didn't contain a stem on the orchid, so I had to make one up with some filters and shapes...It's the only part I kinda regret, but no one takes pictures of flower's stems on the internet it seems...
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