Started with a rough light setup and some shadows. I like where this is headed. I can already think of many many illustrations on these lines haha. Eggs-cite-menttt!
In the middle of this, I also tried to replace the forest with a maze; didn't work! A little too distracting, but leaving it here as part of the process.
#illustration #art #process #wip #dawn #surreal #calm #visualdesign #poster #print #color
— How to give yourself deadlines?
There comes a time for every artwork when it needs to be called ‘‘Finished’. Generally speaking, depending on how new the subject is or how much detail I have decided to cram into the artwork, I give myself a rough deadline — lets say 40 hours/1 week for something like this. If you are starting out, then you might want to make a list of the steps you want to take to finish the illustration. My list looks something like this…
For me right now, this process needs to get done in 40–60 hours and is spread out over 2–3 weeks, because this is a side project remember. But that feels like a good estimation for something like this where for the first 15 hours I had no idea what I was doing haha.
This timed method also works, because sometimes I just cant improve the image any further, not because I don’t want to, but because I lack the necessary skills to manifest my expectation. And so I go do more pieces and may be a year later, I know exactly what was wrong with the image and I can fix it. Also, timing the image helps because in case I have used 25 hours in the concept stage, then I know I have only 15 hours for the rest of the process, and you know what means. PANIC MODE! haha Trust me, there is no better teacher then a deadline :)
Although I really would say, that if you are just starting out, you should break down your work schedule into multiple pieces with varying amounts of time, for example
— Every day 1–2 hours of studies (No exceptions)
— Some artworks that finish in 8 hours
— Some that finish in 40
— And 1 or two that you give 100 hours or more. These not only test your skills, but also your patience, and that is an equally important tool in the game called Art.
And if you follow that kind of a pattern for lets say 2–3 years. Man! You will change your life forever and a day.
Anywho, coming back to this image then, I started with the flats or masks. The colors are not representative of the final, but I am liking the bright vibe so far, so may be I’ll stick with this kind of a palette and see where this goes.
#illustration #art #process #wip #dawn #surreal #calm #visualdesign #poster #print #color
— How to fix an illustration?
The image on the left, has all its energy leading outward. In that it is a confusing image with an unfit composing for the visual. In certain cases, guiding the viewers eyes outside the image is a good idea, depending on the visual narrative, but here the goal is to create harmony and balance around the central character, and that wasn't coming through in the image on the left.
Another thing of note for me was that the density of objects around the character. It came across to me as very distracting and claustrophobic, which once again, defeats the core of this visual. So I changed some things around, which you can see on the right.
Also, I changed the character to be a meditating Buddha, or in the case of this narrative, this would be ‘Awakening’ itself, using a body stemming out of a lotus as his vehicle. I am still conflicted about the expression of the character, but for now this works.
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— When do you know you have gone too far?
It's tough to say, but really, here is an example of overstepping the details, where the earlier image that was peaceful, and more symmetrical has become an orgy of squiggly details. This is drawing for drawings' sake and it's fun for sure. But it might be the direct equivalent of over-rendering.
But as they say, the first step to solving a problem is to identify it. Not sure who says it, but here it is. And to make an image visually appealing or harmonious, if you will, one needs to think about it beyond the details, it's about the mood; this doesn't feel peaceful anymore and that is what is biting the eyes.
But to fix it, we shall return to it and talk about it when the time comes:)
Stay safe.
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— Where is the bridge between the imaginative drawing and reality?
The answer to that, as every professional knows, and no amateur practices, is — References. And it takes time and practice to build those references and that ever eluding visual library of the mind. You know the people who can draw from imagination? That’s a skill that has been honed over time. And i know what you are thinking, but those people are not crazy! Well, maybe crazy imaginative, but the reason anyone can draw spontaneously is because over time there is a compounding of skills and knowledge.
No excuse for hard work aye? Back to the illustration then.
I was looking for flowers that bloom in the morning and found these beauties — Portulaca oleracea and Morning glory; these dudes flower everyday. So nice of them. haha
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— Fix the roughs so you don't have to fix the finals. Or so you think :)
Because its easier to keep it rough and throw in as much randomness as I want — here are some more iterations. I think I have a general sense of where this is headed, given the recurring motifs so going forward I will clean this up.
And since the bottom part of the illustration was set I cleaned some lines.
— Explorations are the most fun thing ever!
This “figuring-as-I-go” process is so much fun. Lately everything I had done had a definite brief and outcome and this kind of exploration feels so liberating at the moment. Sooo, instead of cleaning up the line work, which is what I usually do, I thought I’ll try to figure what kind of colors would sit with this image and if they would then inspire some other thoughts. I am not sure if I intend to make this look like a morning or give it any specific time of the day, but the bright colors feel nice for now. The saturation does not work, but that I’ll fix once I know what exactly is happening in the illustrations. I also think I will keep this a low key image and reduce the darks to a minimal.
Below are some some random sketches of absurd foliage to details. They desperately need some serious referencing to make it look a little more grounded but its a start I think. Lets just hide behind the excuse that these are form explorations for now haha :)
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monkeyverse.in | instagram | youtube | twitter | prints
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— It gets dirty before it gets clean.
Some very, very, dirty scribbling and notes on top of the previous sketch. I felt the previous version was way too flat and needed depth to increase the feeling of scale. While also exploring with more poses and details. I am quite sure that I want this to be a little surreal, if not all the way.
The Visual Narrative
Loosely, the image is about a dawn breaking or in other words about the day arriving and as the light spreads, in the darker recesses, at the bottom of the image there is a man (symbolic of all of us I guess) laying down a series of mines for the day.
I am not sure if this holds water, but I like it more than the previous idea of an alien visitation at the moment.
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So as I said, things will change…I think I am gravitating toward a surreal concept packed with celestial meets earthly illustration.
I like the fantasy elements along with the symmetrical and calm vibe. Will continue exploring this further and see where this lands before locking on to anything.
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monkeyverse.in | instagram | youtube | twitter
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Started thinking of doing this illustration but got delayed due to some work. That said, I am thinking I’ll make this available for print once its done. Finally some personal work! Ha!
Its a simple concept right now — a visitation from space type of thing. Something around an alien bringing secret plants or warnings to earth or something on those lines, since lately the world seems to be ending, and the persistence of habits being something I have been thinking about. But also, these are early ideas and since I am not married to them, a lot will change and in the end this might not have anything to do with aliens or secret things haha We’ll see. For now, these are some notes and sketches for today.
Stay safe everyone :)
