The process of creating images when I was younger has always fascinated me. The thought of seeing a finished drawing or painting has always bewildered me in the fact that I would always feel overwhelmed when looking at an incredibly detailed and designed painting/drawing. I would think that the work seen was created in one sitting and was developed or thought out during the creation of the piece. I carried this thought process over into my earlier drawings as I had no clue, and this was very evident in my art just starting out being as young as I was.
Learning more and more about the process of image-making getting older I then knew that more process is put into finished pieces than previously thought. Although I knew this, I still for a long time would pay no attention to the process as simply put, I would only care for the end product, a means to an end. Mistakenly and naively I would then spend no time or thought into the process as all I would care about would be the finished piece because that was all that was going to be seen by the viewer. This lack of care once again could be perceived in my finished paintings and drawings at the time.
Now I have found myself having quite the opposite approach and mindset to image-making and creating illustrations. These days I find enjoyment and creative liberty in the first stages of creating larger pieces. Being able to freely illustrate in these stages of early development allows me to express the concept in its truest form and drive the rest of the work to follow. As this image encapsulates the raw concept, this illustration is the driving force behind the story and narrative as a whole.
For this specific project that I am developing and working on, the inspiration/concept behind this illustration is mental illness and creating a story that reflects my own experiences and emotions from my childhood. The work to follow in the future will reflect such themes and inspirations whether or not the project visually deviates from its origin and all other illustrations to follow.
My process for this illustration was to sketch ideas and think about a message/ concept that meant a lot to me for the soon upcoming project. I then sketched character ideas, color palettes, and environment concept pieces that first came to mind as well as experiment with mediums. After experimenting within my sketchbook I then took those first sketches/ideas that I liked and that I felt represented the concept/ idea the best and created finished concept drawings to develop into larger pieces later. There will be more to come on this process in future entries.
Using this method and process I am then able to reflect and start properly fleshing out the concept and visual ideas that envision the concept. Although the details may not carry over and be reflected in a larger project, these steps allow me to fully reflect on the message and how I am visually depicting it. I can also then decide at these steps where I should further direct the work, re-evaluate how the message is being visually communicated and if I'm effective in telling the story/narrative within the pieces. Once again, I find that these first few steps are the most enjoyable as I feel the most creatively liberated and free to express what I would like. Despite this, this step can also feel the most stressful if I don't feel very confident in the piece, this is where a lot of pressure and uncertainty for the piece can also present itself. However I may feel about creating the piece in the first few steps, nothing compares to how rewarding and satisfying it feels to see a finished work or series despite how laborious or seamless the process was.
Stay tuned for more blog posts about the further development of this project!
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