Okay. This one is probably the closest I've ever gotten to perfect translation (from brain-to-page anyway.) Everything I wanted in the picture came through exactly how I wanted it to. The only thing different from the original idea is that I used less colors than I wanted to, but I think the minimalism of color actually helped it: it kept the focus of the picture more on the art rather than the use of color.
The background picture was a real push too: I sat down and decided I was going to do a detailed line drawing. Forget proportions or whether the perspective was just right or what...it is just background after all. I finished it in about 90 minutes and depleted quite a bit of ink from my pen. It's probably been the most intensive drawing session I've ever been through: I was working fast and laying down lines constantly of that hour and a half. My hand is still a little stiff. Here's the entire picture:
Like I said, the perspective is a bit screwy, and the architecture is a bit flimsy looking, but again, it's just the back-piece. It's always fun to see a picture take form: that's another thing I have trouble with, seeing the final product I mean. When I draw something, it's often easy to see the problems with a picture, the first stages, and how it might take a miracle to make it look good. I can truly say with this one that it was not like that. I blazed through it, keeping my mind set on that final stage. It was very satisfying to know that I did have it in me after all. I suppose surprising yourself is a good thing (unless it's flipping the light on in the bathroom seeing yourself in the the mirror and screaming like a little girl about a serial killer in the house.) It, uhh, happened to a friend of mine...
The woman is inspired by Ellen Barkin. Her beauty just seems like it would fit in that 60's era quite well (bob-cut hair, apple cheeks, beautiful eyes, etc.) Maybe I have a misinformed picture of the 60's in my head: maybe I'm trying to focus on the part that was untarnished, the upper-class fashion part. I don't know.
Well, not sure when I'll have another one up. I've got one inked and ready to color, but I don't have a free day until the weekend, so we'll see. I'm going to see Arcade Fire in concert tomorrow, and that should be amazing. It's so hard to find good music any more (not too hard, but mainstream is so annoying sometimes). I'll probably have a 'Showcase of Bands' seg up for AF soon. I'm super exited to see them live.
Thanks for stopping by. Have a good rest of your (work) week.
Final score: 2.07/5 (so much for the scores getting better each time I try. Oh, well.)
I also did a shirt with the 'Franceplosion' by itself: the final score on that one was 2.78/5 (highest so far).
© 2010 Jeremy Owen
Bonne nuit,
~J
Super sweet! Love it!
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