Early in the pre-production stage for the Estika Project, there was some key imagery I had in mind that I wanted to bring to life through concept art. The environment which Majala Estika would inhabit was important, not only in setting an emotional tone for the film, but also as an essential part of the narrative, almost like a second character. This scene study was created as an experiment with color and composition, a way to start thinking about the visual substance that will translate the intended atmosphere of the screenplay. There are still many details to be developed, but it's an important first step toward producing the film.
The illustration was created entirely with Adobe Photoshop, using a Wacom drawing tablet. With over 100 Photoshop layers, it's quite a beast! The full-sized file is 3900x2325, which translates to 11"x6.5" at 360dpi (it started out twice as big, but became too much for my poor computer to handle!). In the end, it's a hefty 237MB file.
Below, you'll find a progression of images that help give a sense of how the illustration came together. There's also a collection of layer breakdowns and details at the end. I hope you enjoy this small peek at the making of the "Estika Scene Study."
Note: This stamp denotes images which can be clicked to get a closer look.
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The basic visual structure of a new scene usually starts as an abstraction in my imagination. Eventually, it becomes important to get that idea down on paper, even if only at a basic level. It acts as a simple reminder to do further exploration later, sort of like leaving oneself a note.
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A rough sketch leads to one or more compositional concepts. Without putting too much emphasis on the details, compositions can set up the overall balance of elements on the canvas. This includes ingredients like size relation, light and dark, and possible text placement.
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With a final composition as the backdrop, it's time to start laying in areas of color and building up base textures. The nice thing about working digitally is that an artist can chose to create elements in any order he or she wishes (utilizing layers). Still, I thought it would be wise to start with the background since it would be important to the color choices for foreground elements.
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After advancing the background far enough to start getting a feel for atmosphere, I decided to start on the main subject of the piece: Estika herself. I sketched in her form (and her tea accessories!) and began making some initial color choices. You'll also notice some midground vegetation is popping up behind the rocks.
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I continued to develop Estika's depth, all the while adjusting the background colors and values to ensure that everything meshed together. I also added in an important secondary subject: the large tree behind Estika. This tree is essential to balancing out the rocks in the composition. The image is close to finished.
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To complete the piece, I continued to tweak various elements to achieve optimal balance. I added in some foreground weeds to give the rocks more grounding within the environment. Title text was placed in the sky and interlaced with cloud layers to make it feel more like a part of the image. This is the completed image.
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Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you might have. |
