Psyche Inspired
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Psyche Inspired: Brianna Young
Institution: Rochester Institute of Technology
Major: Graphic Design
Psyche Inspired Class: 2020-2021
Madam in her Universe
Brianna Young
Major: Graphic Design
Genre/Medium: mixed media: acrylic paint, oil-based paint, marker, soft pastels, tape, charcoal, paper, and tin foil
About the work: For this project, I created a multidimensional, mixed media painting based on the Greek goddess Psyche. The center of the piece is an up close, semi-transparent portrait of Psyche surrounded by her universe. However, the painting is not just about the Goddess, but what she represents: the soul. Thus, there are many other motifs related to the soul of asteroid (16) Psyche and its mission. Such motifs include:
– The Psyche spaceship as the Goddess’s eyes, as the spacecraft will substitute for our eyes in flight.
– Mars and Jupiter overlapping with the Goddess, as (16) Psyche is located in the main asteroid belt orbiting between these two planets.
-The first phase stamp I created for my first Psyche Inspired project, to symbolize the beginning of the goddess Psyche and my story with this mission.
– Mission to Psyche’s tagline: Journey to a Metal World.
– The mission overview swirled around the goddess’s face, to show the viewers of the painting the exciting and long journey the Psyche spacecraft will undergo throughout our solar system. It will launch from Earth in August 2022 (cheek of goddess), have a Mars gravity assist in May 2023 (left temple of goddess), arrive at the asteroid in January 2026 (under stamp), and end Orbit October 2027 (under the C in “Psyche””).
– The number 16 on the chest of the Psyche goddess, as Psyche was the 16th asteroid discovered.
In order to complete this piece, I collected a wide range of media to cover the canvas. Such materials include: acrylic paint, oil-based paint, marker, soft pastels, tape, charcoal, paper, and tin foil. The painting textures and exposed organic forms are intended to mimic the hypothesized formation of Psyche, which includes violent impacts that stripped away the asteroid’s mantle and left the exposed core. The aluminum foil is intended to display (16) Psyche’s potential metallic nature. I used an expressionist painting technique to convey the emotional experience of the Psyche mission rather than impressions of the external world. Using a wide range of medium and abstract styles helps express the complex makings and mysteries of space and (16) Psyche.
The formation of psyche
Brianna Young
Major: Graphic Design
Genre/Medium: digital illustration, created in Illustrator and Photoshop
About the work: For this project, I created a book of eight postage stamps. These stamps illustrate how Psyche may have come to be, in eight different phases. I wanted to use postage stamps because they are tiny, but a necessary part of mail circulation. Using postage stamps will help express that Psyche is far away and tiny on a planetary scale, but it is an important step towards the future of space exploration. The border of the upper right hand corner of an envelope around the stamps can also symbolize Psyche’s potential remanent magnetic field. Furthermore, postage stamps have a designated price. Because Psyche was the 16th asteroid discovered, the stamps are worth 16 cents, and the numbers on the bar code illustrate the start and end dates of this flight mission by month and year.
I do not digitally illustrate often, so I was excited to experiment with a new medium. To accomplish this project, I started off by researching different U.S. postage stamps and their sizes. Once I found the exact size, I sketched out my illustrations in my notebook. I was then able to digitally create sketches in Adobe Illustrator and bring them to life on postage stamps and envelopes in Adobe Photoshop.
