COLONIZE MARS – SCIENCE TIMES:
Every Tuesday The New York Times highlights its science section. It has featured illustrations commissioned by artists to accompany the articles. I have always had an curiosity with science and enjoy reading the articles and decided to create one myself focused on a subject dear to my heart. Space.
I chose to focus on the colonization of Mars for a couple reasons. Firstly for I have always had a fascination with the idea of space travel and there was lots of information to find on the process of colonizing Mars. Secondly, I had just seen the move “The Martian” and I was a little obsessed.
The passion of the subject quickly escalated into more than just the Science Times moc and resulted in multiple illustrations and a poster.
PROCESS:
With the subject of colonizing Mars, I wanted to really focus on what it would look like on the planet, but also idealize it enough for it to be idealized enough to make prospective viewers want to go to Mars. I settled on some sunrise/sunset lighting for the colors created can often bring a level of inspiration to them. At the beginning of the project I did lots of research on what a Mars home would look like. That research ended with the inclusion of the dome style of architecture seen in the background.
Originally, my sketches and early illustrations had a much larger, more cumbersome outfit for the figure. While it was easily recognizable as a space suit, it was not looking very appealing with the overall image. The shape it created against the dramatic lighting I wanted made the figure look like a blob. I was beginning to work through it and get it to look more appealing, but quickly stopped when I realized all my research was incomplete. I was so focused on the infrastructure of a Mars colony that I forgot to look up information on what the individual people would experience. To my surprise, the suit worn on Mars itself was not predicted to look like our suits at all. Something much more form fitting and slim is under development for those already on the surface of Mars.
It solved my problem and I was able to pull a more tight form around the man highlighted in the image. I just wish I had thought about researching it sooner. Lesson learned I guess!
