Prey in the cards
Transformation and semi-transformation deck showcase compelling artistic illustrations with each card bearing one of several pips (symbols) showing to which suit it belongs. I was introduced to transformation card by my teacher, Kriti who showed me the work of Tony Meeuwissen. Contrary to contemporaries, the primary application of my artworks are posters as the pips are camouflaged in the illustration. This enabled me to focus more on the details, composition, colour and form in the cards. Based on the relationship between the predator and the prey or food, I have given my illustrations a quirky theme. Following are four illustrations which are result of some hard work and patience. The process was exhausting but satisfying at the end. Hope you like it as much as I liked working on them.
Spade
The progress is fairly straight forward. I start with simple sketch, flat colours and detailing followed. This illustration is a visceral reflection of my mood during the time I was working on it. I was at my parents home which is surrounded by thick vegetation and importantly fire flies which I like staring at during dark nights. During my stay I felt quite calm and at peace with myself. I might say that the colour palette used, is indicative of my mood.
The tricky part here was to keep a balance between the lighting in the foreground and the background. Since the illustration's point of view was half underneath the sea and half above, working well on the sea surface was crucial and difficult. The surface was worked upon in many layers for various highlight and shadows.
a
Club
This was my first out of the four illustrations and definitely the most difficult one. Prior to this, I had little experience in Photoshop. In my opinion, ants symbolises unity to me. I have seen them on number of occasions working together for the common goal viz, carrying dead cockroaches and butterflies.
The most challenging part in this artwork is the addition of textures on each fruit. Every fruit has a different texture and react differently to light falling on them. I remember bananas and strawberries taking the most amount of time. However I wouldn't suggest to keep cut-open apple and pear in a fruit basket.
in-tandem
Heart
Initially I had decided to illustrate a witch boiling two hearts in her cauldron. Since I was not drawing any human figure in any, I thought that it would a deviation n the theme. Keeping the same theme in mind, I chose an idea of a carnival. An exaggerated full-moon with dark surrounding clouds adds to the character.
Working on the clouds and the terrain were the most difficult part of this illustration. I decided to fill the sky with the daunting clouds. Getting the light falling on them uniformly was the key. The terrain was another tricky part where the moon light falls revealing the coarse surface. The silhouette of the trees with ravens on them and the light inside the tent indicates the presence of someone mysterious.
s
Diamond
Clearly a reference from sylvester and tweety. I found this one to be the easiest. The positioning of the diamonds are very direct and fits unforcefully on the window frame.
The texture of veins in the leaves and the hair on cat were the most difficult things to achieve in this piece. However I took the least amount of time in this as the subjects were fairly easy to illustrate.
Thank you!
