KZD Illustration
Background illustration
Laura Nooijen - DDM2A
This period, we had to create a background illustration based on our own story and learn all about depth and perspective. To get to my result, I started with some research, then made sketches and finally drew the final product. I will show you my progress!
Starting exercises
Before we get into it, here are a few quick sketches I made for a practice exercise. We did this to practice drawing in perspective and making a whole environment out of a simple blockout.
I made a space centre with spaceships, a high bridge seen from slightly underneath and a city seen from the sky.
Brainstorm
I decided to go for a desert in the end, because I had never drawn a desert before and really liked the concept of enormous bones in the middle of nowhere.
Inspirationboard
Moodboard & styleboard
I let myself inspire by the desert landscapes in Star Wars and the art style of having the environment looking slightly realistic while keeping the characters cartoony.
Story
Start of log – Title: Why does this planet have to be so hot? – Planet: Planet of Extinction
A long time ago, there was a place, far away in the galaxy, that was only water. A planet as great as a sun, made wholly of water. It was habited by great creatures that roamed the depths.
A long time ago, when the planet called ‘Earth’s’ water reservations came to an end and drought took over, the civilization started to become extinct. ‘People’ were desperate for any drop of water they could find. Their spaceships evolving quick, hoping to find water somewhere else.
One day, one ship went astray by accident and so, the planet of water was discovered. The people on Earth celebrated this day for a long time and was a tradition for many generations.
Until, even on this planet, water became scarce. The creatures that lived in the waters became more protective of their home planet, destroying every ship that tried to scoop up the last bits.
Now, the Planet of Water changed its name to the Planet of Extinction. As the great creatures and the habitants on Earth have died by its resources.
I’ve been travelling across planets as great as the sun, but never a planet that’s as warm as one. The heat is scorching. You can see the three suns rippling in the sky because of the rising warmth.
And I have to keep my mouth and eyes almost completely shut to prevent sand from blowing in by the few rushes of wind, also warm by the way. I’m now hiding from the suns in the shadows of the enormous bones.
I also found some rusty scraps of metal and made a board for fast travelling through the deserts. I might go back home, though. I’ve been away for quite a while now and this place makes me feel like the only alien existing. I miss you, mom. I will find my way back.
- Signed, the young traveler
Sketches
I also made a rough map of the environment for myself to understand where some things need to go:
Thumbnail sketches:
Rough drawing to determine the depth:
My teacher gave me a 'GO' but included some feedback, saying that my story and sketches are great, but since there was once water, I need to show that clearly by drawing big gullies. I also had to make the spine a bit more round, because in the depth sketch it looked a little flat.
Final sketch:
Overdraw
Again, we had to exchange our final sketch with another student to make a drawover and give each other feedback that way.
The overdraw I gave to the other student:
The perspective was nicely done, but I did not really understand what was happening at the front. He said it was a person, so to make it clear, I included a head. And on the right, there was a bit of negative space, so I filled it with small details.
His overdraw for me:
He did not have any tips for me other than making the canvas a bit wider, but I could not do that for my final drawing because we had a certain canvas size to stick to.
Final background illustration
My teacher gave me a little bit of feedback, about making the shadows a bit harder at the front, on the character, spaceship, skeleton at the front and add some texture to the sand in the background. Other than that, he thinks it looks really good!
Evaluation
I have always wanted to learn more about drawing environments, storytelling and creating your own atmosphere/setting and now I did! The rule of Thirds helped a lot and also the feedback I got from my teacher. I am really happy with my illustration and the story behind it and did not struggle with things along the way. I only had fun!
Thank you for watching!
