For this ADS, I was responsible for painting the portrait of the female lead, Vivian, and also provided suggestions on the stage art design. My undergraduate degree is in Visual Communication, and I usually focus on brand design, graphic design, and art direction. This time, I was fortunate to receive hands-on guidance from Harvey Chan, a renowned Hong Kong figure painter based in Canada, on the painting. This May, I received intensive weekly painting training, focusing on sketching techniques, composition, lighting, and more. In class, I took every opportunity to learn Harvey's secrets for bringing characters to life, allowing me to paint Vivian more vividly and bring the image in my mind to life.

A large part of my design inspiration comes from the superstar Lady Gaga. The setting for Vivian’s famous painting is that it serves as her concert tour poster. According to the script, Vivian is a wealthy young woman whose family hopes she will become a “demure lady.” However, her personality is unique and unconventional—she is a free-spirited diva who dislikes following rules. Later, she meets a talented but poor artist (Charles in the story), and they fall in love. The famous painting is actually the artist’s work.

When I received the fashion design student’s sketch, it was entirely gold and featured avant-garde elements, which immediately reminded me of Lady Gaga. I designed an extraordinary pose and composition for Vivian to highlight her “unconventional and confident” qualities. I also put a lot of thought into the composition—for example, the hand gesture forms the letters “VI,” and the lines of the hands and overall composition create the symbol for infinity (♾️). This allows viewers to linger on the painting and focus their attention on Vivian’s confident facial expression.

I hope that viewers can feel the message Vivian wants to convey: “Be brave and become your true self.”