Selected work #3

Dimensions: 6 X 12 in

Materials: #2 HB pencil, Sketch paper, Procreate (iPad) Brushes: "Syrup", soft airbrush, "Nebula", "Clouds", (2 others).

Ideas:

• My art class paired up with Modern Literature class, and I chose a poem to make an art piece out of. I found one that pertained to my Dark Fantasy inquiry. Except, it was about someone being lifted out of a bad mental state by another.

• Personally, I wanted both figures to look like the same person to promote my own values of self-reliance.

• However, this idea won't reflect the poem's central theme of showing gratitude to another for lifting them out of the darkness.​

• I'm not religious, but seriously; what if God was a woman?

• The hands of darkness convey a better sense of the left figure being pulled down than just a sticky slime texture. I got the Idea from "The Spell of Obtainment" from She-Ra and the Princesses of Power.

• I referenced the Venom symbiote for the texture of the slime, since I thought a more corded texture would add emphasis to the strength of being pulled down.

• Originally, I was going to have both figures' hands already holding onto each other, but I think having the hands "almost there" create a more emotionally charged feel. Like it could still go either way.

​Processes

This was what went through my head as I read the poem, so I pretty much just picked up a pencil and started sketching what was in my mind's eye. There was a bit of trial and error with positioning and pose of the two figures. I made the horizon at an angle to create more of a dynamic angle for the whole piece. I then set the base color for both of the people and played around with lighting, to make sure the light source was apparent. I had to look at some references for light on the face. For the robes on the woman of light, I wanted them to look like super light cotton, and also have the texture of clouds. I put some cloud-like texture in the hair to match. I yellow in the aura of light and purple in the cloud of darkness to further add contrast. I did the yellow first because the robes were hard to see in the aura of white light.

 Relation to Inquiry

Often, one of the worst mental states one can be in is described as dark and exceedingly difficult to escape without the aid of another. Depression is a very real issue for teenagers, especially, and can feel like it's pulling you down and it can be very hard to see the light. Here, this is portrayed in a sort of fantastical way, almost biblical.