Project Information
Name of Project: Right Here/Right Now Project
Class: Special Topics Art & Design – Illustration
Due Date: 10/19/2020
Date Posted: 10/19/2020
Program: Adobe Photoshop
Medium: Colored Pencil, Pencil
Size: 7 in x 4 in
Project Description: We were tasked with drawing inspiration from our recent in-class studies and portraying a quick narrative capturing a moment in time on Alfred State’s campus in the fall season. We were able to work with any size and/or medium of choice, whether traditional or digital, as long as we included color.
Landscape/People Studies Inspiration
Landscape Studies
To start out the assignment, I chose four landscapes from my studies to experiment with for a digital composition.
People Studies
I then chose six different people studies I believed would fit into any of the landscapes I decided to go with. I chose these six because they seemed to be interacting with an object or an article of clothing I believed I could derive a narrative from.
Test Compositions
Composition Line-Art
After I had chosen my selected studies, I drew up mock compositions in Photoshop. I positioned at least two characters in each composition and used every character at least once.
Composition Color-Blocking
I used limited colors to block out sections of each mockup, in order to see where different tones would go. I left the people white because I had not decided on a character design or color palette for them.
Chosen Composition – Test Color Palettes
I ultimately decided that this composition would be best (with a few tweaks) for this piece, as it had the perfect set up of trees and winding streets that encompass the village of Alfred. I tried to color balance the original color blocked palette to see if a more cool-toned palette would be successful, and ultimately decided a balance of the two would achieve the most desired results.
Photoshop Brush Test
Because I had decided to complete this project in a digital setting, I needed to figure out how I was going to add color to my composition. Using a few brushes, I laid out what different styles of digital paint would look like in comparison with each other. While I originally was going to use the third option of a more ragged, individual leave effect, I later decided to use the first effect of smooth mixed brushes with heavier line-art than what I would use normally.
Character Design Process
Character 1: Girl drawing campus
The first character I included in my final composition came together quickly; I was pretty happy with how the proportions of the initial sketch turned out, and the pose went mostly unchanged when detail and color were added.
Character 2: Boy pushing bike up a road
The second character I included, however, needed some work and took longer to develop. The primary issue was the bike; I had trouble understanding the bike’s anatomy, and had to readdress it several times with different reference images. The boy portrayed, on the contrary, was easier to figure out and fix anatomical errors.
Fine Composition Line Art
I refined my original digital mockup, fixing any perspective/positional errors and adding detail to several areas. I ‘zoomed in’ on the landscape, eliminating any distracting outer structures and bringing the characters closer in view without disrupting the integrity of the piece.
Landscape Color Process
I documented my process of coloring in the landscape of the piece using smooth mixing brushes and a combination of palettes I had originally color-blocked with, with a few additions of tone. I experimented with color shifts, which are especially present in the far mountains.
Final Composition
After I completed coloring the landscape, I finished the color of the characters and cleaned up any unblended areas.
Overall, I am quite content with the turnout of this project. It truly reminds me of what you will see during one of the prettiest times of year in this region, especially this semester. I believe this is one of my favorite pieces I have made so far in my college career.
Julie Elwood 