Dark Clock Tower

The dark world clock tower design. Snakes wind around the body of the structure. Their heads hold orbs that light the entryway.

5 Narrative images

The following are the 5 images that tell a short narrative about Alexander and Jenny jumping through the clock tower and into the other world. The black boarder around the image is where the frame will be.

 The first image, reading right to left because they start in the light world.

 

 Second image, Jenny pulls Alexander towards the mysterious glowing crack.

  

 This image sits above the centerpiece image and forms the arc that plays throughout the images.

 The falling arc of the two characters jumping into the dark world. Not the final clock tower design.

Final image stops the flow movement with Jenny giving Alexander a spell book. The narrative ends in the dark world.

A mock of narrative images within the frame.

Final Frame Examples

I am considering this frame shape or something close to it for my digital paintings. The flat colored frame on the top would be a simple boarder with no edges sloping in towards the image, but the bottom is an example of a beveled edge for the frame.


My BFA advisor is interested in the idea for the frame and wants me to build it in the wood shop here on campus. We looked over some frame ideas that may be feasible to work with.

 This is a more detailed example of the beveled frame, however it could have one bevel or some slope to draw the eye into the frame.

 

This is more simplistic, yet the thickness of the edges makes it pleasing. 

This poster is a general concept of what my frame is imitating by using the circles above to surround a central image.

Final Frame Sketch

This is the rough sketch of the frame I have chosen and I will post a cleaner version very soon.

I am planning on taking the frame to the wood shop and creating an art nouveau design to compliment the artwork. I will have a total of 8 digital paintings. The top 5 circles will tell the narrative between Jenny and Alexander, the clock tower will be in the middle and have the cracked glass and on either side will be the dark world on the left and the light world on the right.

The circular images will be about 12 inches in diameter, the center image will be 3 feet long by 1.5 feet wide and the two images on the side will be roughly 3 feet in long and 1.5 feet at the widest width. The shape comes from a window design I had found on an art nouveau building design by Gaudi.

Narrative Frame Concept

The following sketches are for the 5 images that go above my clock tower centerpiece. They read right to left and form an arch over the three images that will be below them. I plan to fit each image into a circular frame that will be 12" in diameter.

I have cut the narrative down to just Alexander and Jenny and the process of jumping between the worlds and the development of their relationship.

Frame Design Concepts

A basic narrative structure to show the connection between the protagonist and his familiar.

The oval is the concept for my centerpiece, where I plan to crack the glass to show the imbalance of the worlds.

A more art nouveau style frame that incorporates the narrative along the top and holds the centerpiece and two images that will show the opposites worlds.

A similar concept to the one above, but with a thicker frame and different design.

Based off of the yin and yang symbol.

School Concepts and More Clock towers

Light World Design of Witchlyn High School

Dark World Design of Witchlyn High School

Light/Dark World Clocktowers

Character Design

Alexander (Protagonist)

Alexander is a 16 year old trying to survive Witchlyn High School as a popular kid. With a talent in theater, he wishes for nothing more than to perform his way through school and be admired by his peers. Born with the gift of the medium, a modern term for witch, it is his duty to protect the balance of the light and dark worlds. He has shirked from the responsibility to accept his birth right for far too long; for fear that high school would burn his reputation if they ever found out.



David (Best Friend)

David, Alexander’s best friend and theater classmate, is a drama king. He specializes in plays with dramatization and tends to be loud and obnoxious both in and out of class. Because David doesn’t believe in the supernatural, Alexander has used him as a means to ignore the duty of being a medium.

Jahi/ Jenny (Alexander's Familiar)

Jahi, is Alexander’s familiar and is supposed to protect and teach him how to use magic. Playful and a little curious, she follows him around in either her creature or human form to make sure he stays focused on his studies of witchcraft.



 

Summary of Narrative and Characters

The theme centers on the importance of balance and understanding that there is no cause without effect. 

Summary

The dark world, an alternative reality to the human world, is falling into chaos as the light from the human world grows dark. True evil is beginning to fester in the shadows of the light and the wall between worlds is weakening. Wicked men are causing a rise in evil monsters using corrupt magic in the alternate world, but the worst turn into demons and must be stopped before they destroy the alternate forms in the light world. In the epicenter amidst the chaos is the clock tower that resides in Alexander’s hometown. It was erected on the center of the worlds and if it were to crumble, the dimensions would collapse. A crack has appeared in the clock face, signifying the breaking down of the balance that keeps the worlds together. It is the job of the witch to keep the cycle going undisturbed, and as far as their bloodline is concerned, light and shadow were never meant to blend together.

            With the crack in the center of town, the darkness begins to seep through and cause further imbalance to the light world. In order to stop both worlds from collapse, Alexander must rise to his birth right as the medium between the two realms and purify the demons plaguing the dark world before time runs out. With the help of his familiar, Jahi (Jenny) and his best friend, David, they work together to protect the balance of light and dark.

Main Characters:

Alexander is a 16 year old trying to survive Witchlyn High School as a popular kid. With a talent in theater, he wishes for nothing more than to perform his way through school and be admired by his peers. Born with the gift of the medium, a modern term for witch, it is his duty to protect the balance of the light and dark worlds. He has shirked from the responsibility to accept his birth right for far too long; for fear that high school would burn his reputation if they ever found out.

Jahi, is Alexander’s familiar and is supposed to protect and teach him how to use magic. Playful and a little curious, she follows him around in either her creature or human form to make sure he stays focused on his studies of witchcraft.

David, Alexander’s best friend and theater classmate, is a drama king. He specializes in plays with dramatization and tends to be loud and obnoxious both in and out of class. Because David doesn’t believe in the supernatural, Alexander has used him as a means to ignore the duty of being a medium.