Rationale

I first decided to choose this conspiracy theory because I felt it held a lot of potential, illustration wise. It seemed simple at first, but once I started to design the image I realised there were so many interpretations that could be gotten from it. In the end though, I chose this particular image because I felt it was both visually and metaphorically strong.

The image of the boiling flask as the earth, for instance was both representative of global warming and suggestive of science and experiments as well. Moreover, it could also neatly tie in with the scientist turning up the fire of the Bunsen burner, thus indicating the scientists sabotage in global warming. Also turning up the heat also ties in with the metaphor of putting pressure on someone, and thus with the collection of people within the globe and the pipe sucking up the money, we can tell that the scientist is using global warming as a tactic to pressurize people into giving him money.

I chose to cast the scientist into a rather dark light as well, in order to make him more sinister. The figures of human beings were kept deliberately indistinct, however, I feel the effect of their panic might have been lost in the abstraction.

Final Piece

References

final thumbnails

With some thought to colour as well as perspective. I plan to make the perspective much more drastic in the final piece.

Refining ideas

My three final ideas:

1. The boiling point (first row)
The scientist is literally turning the heat up on the earth, forcing mankind to give him money for research in order to make it better. The boiling flask resembles the earth, the people are just indistinct blobs, perhaps reddish in tint to resemble the heat? Thinking also of taking out the vacuum hoovering up the money and instead just show an open palm in a "where's my money" pose.

Cons: The message that scientists are using the money for research may not be clear enough. Also, the money/ people may not read clearly.

2. Stoking the fire (second row)
 Two scientists, on on the surface extorting money, one hidden below stoking the fire. Background of smog and withered trees. The people have panicked expressions on their faces. Scientist could perhaps have a "research" donation box or perhaps be standing like a doomsday prophet, i.e. the last hope for mankind etc.

Cons: Very tenuous link to global warming. Also suggests that scientists are causing global warming rather than simply taking advantage of the already bad weather to scare people into funding their research.

3. Grass is greener (last image)
I initially had an idea of the scientist blocking out the view of a perfectly fine earth, in  order to scare mankind into funding his research. However, I had a sudden brainwave: why not combine two of my ideas together? Thus I came up with my final idea. Two pieces of land, one with horrible pollution and one without. Two scientists, one scientist acting as a toll booth collector on the bridge from the polluted land to the clean land, and one scientist in the depths secretly making the pollution worse/ fanning the flames.

Development

Inspirations: Also, these guys

Chuck Groenink







Kali Ciesemier