THE ELEGANT MAGICIAN

Background

This project is inspired by traditional Chinese close-up magic. It relies more on the performer's skills and ingenuity to conquer the audience. This form of performance left a deep impression on me, and I really enjoyed the feeling of close interpersonal interaction. Zhou Changrong is a close-up female magician that I admire very much. I like her elegant and simple performance style very much, and I see the unique charm of female magicians in her. Therefore, in this project, I combined some principles of traditional magic with the costumes of Chinese female magicians, hoping to show the charm of traditional Chinese close-up magic through this project.

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Design Process

1. Silhouette inspiration: Deconstruction of retro magic costumes
The silhouette of the costume is derived from the costumes of female magicians in the 1970s and 1980s, integrating the elements of capes, small suits, and corset dresses. The spatial sense of the nine-ring magic is extracted for deconstruction design. Through the splitting and reorganization of the ring structure, the silhouette of the costume not only fits the personality of magician A, but also strengthens the visual level and three-dimensional tension.

2. Transformation of ball tricks into optical illusions
Process 1: Extract inspiration from the classic optical illusion magic of "one ball becomes multiple balls", and transform the magic phenomenon into clothing silhouette creation through three-dimensional cutting and volume superposition, so as to achieve the modeling effect of "one ball becomes four", and construct a dynamic extension of the visual dimension.
Process 2: Combine the fixed-angle optical illusion experiment with the outline of Chinese comics, establish a multi-angle visual association in the ring structure, so that the ring appears circular at a specific perspective, and enhance the magic sense and geometric interest of the clothing modeling.

3. Fabric deformation: material interpretation of crystal magic
Inspired by the magic of "water turning into ice", the needle-shaped form of sodium acetate solution crystals is extracted, and a three-dimensional pattern is constructed through sequin tube bead embroidery. Focusing on the high contrast between ordinary matter and abnormal state, fabric deformation is used to simulate the radial particle effect of crystal growth, which has both texture and visual impact.

4. Material experiment: multi-dimensional exploration of crystal texture
In order to present the crystal effect of the magic of "water pointing to ice", materials such as cardboard, sulfuric acid paper, and heat shrink paper were tried successively. Finally, laser-cut acrylic board was selected as the supporting structure, and silver-black gradient model paint was sprayed, which not only restored the radial optical illusion of the crystal, but also strengthened the three-dimensional silhouette of the clothing through the hardness of the material.

5. Color matching and stage: retro tone and narrative of play within play
The color scheme is taken from old photos of female magicians in the 1970s and 1980s, and the visual tone is set with retro tones. The stage design adopts a "play within a play" structure. The perspective of the audience on the second floor runs through the entire situation. Through the interaction of magicians A/B and the coordination of lighting and sound effects, the audience's attention is instantly shifted, creating a magical atmosphere of dual viewing experience.

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