Below the Surface
My transformative portrait is about introspection and the feeling of looking inward rather than just outward. By showing a girl staring through a window at an underwater scene, I wanted to suggest that what she’s seeing might actually represent her own thoughts and emotions. The moving fish and jellyfish symbolize how ideas and feelings drift and shift beneath the surface, even when everything on the outside seems still. The contrast between her stillness and the movement beyond the glass reflects that quiet, in-between space where imagination and reality start to blend. Overall, it’s meant to capture a calm but reflective mood—like being lost in your own thoughts for a moment.
Blue Overlay Image
Blue Fishies
Blue Jellyfish
https://www.vecteezy.com/video/2027916-jelly-fish-floating-slowly-in-water
Lens Flare
https://www.vecteezy.com/video/2019426-lens-flares-background
School of Jellyfish
https://www.vecteezy.com/video/2027919-jelly-fish-on-blue-background-floating-slowly
All sources have free license listed
Hey Liz! In your piece, we see your subject standing at an open window with your back turned to the viewer, holding a tote bag. The room is still and quiet, but outside the window there’s an underwater scene with fish swimming around. The ocean scene is the only part that moves, which immediately draws our attention past the physical space and into whatever’s happening internally. The soft blues and calm motion make the whole image feel gentle and reflective.
ReplyDeleteThe portrait feels like it’s about being deep in thought. The posture suggests someone going inward mentally or that you're subject is admiring the fish almost like an aquarium. The underwater view feels like a visual metaphor for that inner world. The fish drifting works well for that idea, because their motion is calm but constant.
I think your piece works well as a transformative portrait because the movement actually helps communicate the emotional meaning. The stillness of your figure next to the flowing movement outside the window makes the contrast clear. It tells the viewer where to focus and what the shift in reality is meant to express. The compositing also looks good, the underwater environment feels like it really belongs beyond the window.
In a cultural sense, your image connects to the idea of needing mental space or taking a moment to breathe. The underwater theme is something we often see used to represent emotions, memory, or thoughtfulness, so the piece taps into a visual language that’s already meaningful to most viewers. It feels relatable because we’ve all had that moment of zoning out and being somewhere else mentally.
Overall, your piece stands out for being quiet but intentional. While some of the other portraits are dramatic or humorous, yours leans into softness and reflection, which gives it a unique tone. The motion supports the feeling without overwhelming it, and the concept comes through clearly. It’s a strong example of using movement to express an internal emotional state.