Visual Evaluation, Selection & Summary

Robots have always been hyped and glorified by pop culture over the years, be it time-travelling robot assassins, A.I. overlords or simple household assistants. But somehow, they have consistently remained as characters of interest in comics, novels, films and animation with a whole range of roles and archetypes. The visual journal aims to investigate how robots are represented in visual media, and how they appeal to their audience. It looks into both physical features and behavioural characteristics of robots, and how they are suited to their intended purposes. The works of Matt Groening in Futurama, and Andy Suriano in Samurai Jack are some notable examples where robots are cast as the deuteragonists, antagonists and even protagonists in some episodes of the show. It has also been stated by novel writers and animators alike, that great characters are key to great story-telling (Morris, 2013).

In conclusion, I believe the visual journal performs well, and does what it was meant to - breaking down the elements of appeal in all sorts of robots. I feel the progress in the journal is clear, in the sense that the drawings near the end are better looking in terms of appeal and purpose, and so, ultimately, I believe the research was successful. The practical survey distinctly stood out as something worked well, as its results had both unforeseen and obvious correlation. It could, however, be improved by asking more people, and asking them to draw a more specific type of robot. Also, the grouping and categorising might’ve been limited but it allowed for the groups in question to be analysed deeper. The theoretical research working to make the practical research was something I found interesting, especially its scientific aspects. I feel the next step to take to further this work would be how to efficiently break the rules of appeal, and to explore movement and gait of these robots.


5 things that worked well:

1. The practical survey was efficient in that it yielded obvious, yet interesting results.
2. The combining of robots to create multiple robots helped bring out positive and negative design aspects.
3. The flow of the journal shows improvement as design aspects become recognisable and are used.
4. The use of media, like tracing paper to analyse drawings and images while keeping them original so they can be viewed without bias.
5. The breaking down of artists' characters to analyse robot characteristics.

5 things that I would change:

1. I would ask the participants in the survey to draw different types of robots too, such as a fighting robot or an assistant robot. 
2. I would also try to survey more people in order to get more accurate results and a wider range of robots.
3. The section focusing on texture and materials could've explored more textures with secondary examples and references
4. I would separate the robots into more groups for purpose and explore them.
5. I would use more media to depict the robots, like paints, pen and digital instead of just markers.

5 things I want to further investigate:

1. I would take a historical approach to this and look at robots from the past, more specifically automata.
2. I would apply the same process and motive, but with monsters and fearsome beasts.
3. I would break the rules, essentially design robots that look friendly but act violently and vice versa.
4. I would also focus on the movement of the robot, more specifically it's gait.
5. I would look at how to create appealing robots that are plausible in real life.

Study Task 4 - Practical Research Statement

Context of Practice - Visual Journal Blogging

Initial Thoughts

My first look at robots in general made me realise that there are quite a few categories of robot. I divided them in terms of their appearance; cutesy and armoured.

I picked two prominent robot characters that were iconic during my childhood; Robotboy and XJ-9, and I noticed multiple similarities. Colour, shape, and function, and so to test this, I fused them together to see how different they would be. 

Primary Research - Practical Survey

To simply find out what the 'public' thinks of robots, I asked a few of my colleagues to draw what they a robot was.

A quote relevant to this seemed to predict what the results would be:

"When you ask most people what a robot is, they’re going to describe a humanoid robot. They’ll describe a person made out of metal. Which is essentially a mirror for humanity."

- Wilson, D. (2016)

 The results had lots of correlation:

One iconic type was the classic boxy type:

A lot of them are humanoid, even though real life robots are rarely so:

Some were either cutesy or bizarre (or both):

An interesting pose, that correlates between them, was the s-arm pose:

 Combat Robots

Pop culture simply loves the idea of robots fighting. They're dispensable, upgradable and have peak performance.

I particularly like the voxel art style of the video game, Clone Drone in the Danger Zone, especially in relation to the 'robot look' and I liked how Megaman was simplified in the pixel version so I fused them together in Autodesk Maya. 

Eyes as Indicators of Intent and Purpose

One of the primary purposes of robots, both in fiction and non-fiction, is companionship. They serve as trusty, know-it-all guides in many situations.

I chose to focus on their eyes, as robots have all sorts of interesting eyes. And as a companion, these robots must express themselves too, so I experiment with expressions using a single eye, it's position. Colour too conveys what type of robot it is.

However, this idea of eye colour can also be applied to fear inducing-robots. Red is usually associated with danger and death and so red eyes are used on robots meant to kill.

Analysis of shape and edges

Another pattern I noticed was the use of shape in respect to its purpose, more specifically whether the line was curved or straight. The works of Matt Groening in Futurama and Andy Suriano in Samurai Jack are prime examples of this.


Matt Groening uses sharp edges and straight lines to depict hostile, malevolent characters, such as Boxy (left) and Beelzebot (right).

 

And friendly, sensuous characters have plenty of curves like Hookerbot (left) and Monique (right)

While characters that have don't have one-track minds, or are neutral have a combination of curves and straight lines. (from left to right: Roberto, Bender, Hedonismbot)

 



Andy Suriano draws plenty of hostile robots for Samurai Jack, and he rarely draws shapes that have right angles. His robots also lack symmetry. This intentional flaw is iconic of the art style and makes the robots more tactile and gritty.