Friday 25 September 2015

Invisible Cities: Thumbnails 13-22


First time sketching thumbnails from Photoshop [Adobe] and Wacom drawing tablet. Want to manage time properly so carefully balancing between brush experimenting and thumbnail drawing - exciting to discover variations in size, tone and water for different brushes:

Diomira [13-14] - At first glance of description, personally visualising "theatre land" [e.g. facade to Royal Opera House, London] surrounded by narrow terraced buildings, sight towers, bird statues and market stalls. Really liked outcome of pens and brushes I was using and how much pressure and quantity I was using - quite French Impressionist outcome, which could be seen as perfect for concept art drawing. Outcome also reminded me of other locations and ideas - Venice street buildings, Hollywood studio backlot buildings, and regenerated waterfronts (e.g. Lisbon Expo Park).



Links - Venice street, Warner Bros. Backlot [Los Angeles], Lisbon Expo Park [1998], Royal Opera House [London]

Ersilia [15-17] - Excited to develop concept which, at first glance, quickly resembling houses and villages found in countries like Nepal - rocky rubble, derelict housing, rising mountains in background, bright poles for supporting ropes and strings, even drawing hanging lanterns or lightbulbs as sign of direction into next location [17]. Experimenting with larger brush sizes with softer touch, creating believable smokey atmosphere inside one of abandoned houses [16].

 

Links - Himalayas [China/Nepal], Nepal town, hanging lanterns

Esmerelda [18-20] - Another exciting concept to explore, and was aiming to draw out dynamic angles featuring canal intersection, and interaction with surrounding buildings at varying heights, plus featuring city's cats about to jump off to different roofs. By No. 20, really wanted to stop drawing lines to realise shapes, as that's not what concept art should be about, so experimenting with particular brush that turned out to have 'snowy' effect, and simply drawing quick strokes to suggest direction of canals. Outcomes later reminding me of real-life locations - e.g. Venice canals [suggestion that Calvino is referring to Venice in many of his woman-named cities] and loading bays to log flume rides [e.g. Splash Mountain, Magic Kingdom, Florida]


Links - Venice canal, Splash Mountain loading bay [Magic Kingdom, Florida]

Fedora [21-22] - Not exactly city description but instead fascination with abandoned concepts and missed opportunities. Going more energetic with chalk-like brushstrokes to draw projected castle-like cities in clean glass globes sitting on columns [e.g. Enchanted Rose in Beauty & the Beast], but contrasting with seeping dark smoke and rubble [larger, softer strokes]. No. 22 reveals surrounding atmosphere in brightly coloured exhibition room, with hole outside revealing entire rubble city, as if destroyed by bomb attack.

 

Links - Concept Art, Beauty & the Beast [1991, Walt Disney], Aleppo [Syria]

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