The Brief
We were asked to make three illustrations based on three given proverbs. The three illustrations should have been a digital vector illustration done on Illustrator, a digital raster image manipulation or digital collage and a digital painting done on Photoshop. My three proverbs were:
He who is unable to dance says that the yard is stoney ‐ Masai proverb
The night has ears ‐ Masai proverb
Do a good deed and throw it in the sea ‐ Egyptian proverb
The first proverb I decided to do on Illustrator and my interpretation was quite literal. The proverb was depicted with the imagery used in the quote as well as the figurative meaning of envy (with the figure on the right side looking envious).
The second proverb I used for my digital collage and I have decided to mainly depict the night and ears using my own film photographs. Again I depicted it very literally and clearly.
The last proverb I did by means of digital painting. Here I chose flowers to resemble a good deed and then the subject throwing the "good deed" into the ocean. This too was quite a physical depiction of the concept but it links with the conceptual meaning of "throwing something valuable and beautiful away".
Reference Boards Vector Illustration
Reference Board Digital Collage
Reference Board Digital Painting
Reflection
Since this was our first Illustration assignment of the year it was daunting but exciting at the same time. The complete freedom of style caught me off guard. It was a valuable learning curve. I learnt much about the subject and also about my personal style. The first illustration which includes the given proverb was at first my least favourite and it felt unsuccessful. With tips like creating pattern-like elements out of certain components inside of the illustration I managed to gain better focal points and I managed to sepperate the foreground and background. These pattern-like elements can be identified within the stars and rocks inside of the frame. Movements lines around the character also added surprisingly much life to the composition. The collage came more naturally to me and I recognised the value in the "overlay" effect inside of photoshop. In my last illustration (the digital painting) I really enjoyed the chosen loose style. It was great to see the difference more shadow and a clearer light source made to my painting. I tried opting for an interesting point of view for the scene. The colours were tricky to figure out but I am pretty satisfied with it in retrospect.
