“You are here”
Task: Creatively explore the statement ‘you are here’. Produce either a short self-published fanzine, graphic novel or artist’s book; an online interactive experience; a piece of street art; or an illustrative object. This is a very open brief, so it allows you plenty of room for exploration and creativity. ‘You are here’ can suggest a site-specific approach, an historical perspective, or you could be philosophical or humorous or both! Remember it’s an illustration project so, whatever you decide to do, make sure it focuses on developing your illustrative work in some way.
Brainstorming Ideas
Planning out the beats of the story, first in words and then in 20 teeny tiny thumbnails.
The only parameters I was sure of going into this exercise were that I wanted to be able to self-publish the work digitally. The easiest place to do so was Instagram, so whilst brainstorming, I kept in mind the fact that the subject would have to be achieved with single panels, in groups of 10 because Instagram only allows for 10 consecutive images per post.
“You are Here” is a fairly open theme and there weren’t any hard requirements in terms of subject, so I selected a type of story to tell in images which was in line with what I am interested in. Most of my work centers around fantasy and children’s tales, so I created a short story about a child dreaming, first of his favorite characters, then of some unnamed fear, then overcoming the fear with the unseen help of his mother who Was There, therefore incorporating the theme. I settled on making 20 panels, because I felt 10 would have been too few to tell a story and 30 too many to achieve in a reasonable period of time for a self-published Instagram comic. Again, 10 is the necessary limit for a single Instagram post.
The thumbnails were for laying out the general idea of the story. The first set of sketches were larger, but still fairly quick, and were used to straighten out kinks with the pacing of the panels, add details and clarity in terms of characters, and work out the compositions a little bit.
The final drawings were all done on a single large sheet of watercolor paper, which was gridded into 10 cm x 10 cm squares (Instagram best works with a square image). The squares were cut out later. The reason I didn’t from the start was it was better to work with the base color in a quick and cohesive manner. I also didn’t want to have to tape each piece of paper down individually as it would waste time, tape and my own patience. (Watercolor paper must be taped down in order for it to dry flat.)
Watercolor layer
Color choices were mostly determined by what was bright and whimsical. The first layer of watercolor was a little paler, but as I inked over each piece (after cutting them out) the images gained vibrancy. I used dark blues, purples and magentas for the parts that were cast in darkness darkness, like the child’s room and warm yellows and oranges for light or bright areas.
The child sleeps and the room is dark, but it is comforting. The colors are still bright even though they signify nighttime.
We zoom in to the face to show that we are entering the child’s dreams.
First glimpse into the inner world and the child’s playmates, who are all heroes and friendly monsters from the child’s favorite stories.
They have a friendly spar, though darkness looms on the horizon as a dark patch marring the golden landscape.
The angry smoke overwhelms the skyline, and the characters now stop their game to watch it. It watches back.
The child’s heroes desert him, all running to outside of the panel.
The boy stands alone in face of the monster loose in his dream. The monster is mostly a mass of chaotic squiggles, in contrast with the friendly forms and colors of the environment.
The pursuit begins. The orange hill transforms into action lines in order to denote movement.
The monster’s hand feels close enough to grab the boy. In reality, the monster is quite a bit farther but this panel sort of shows how the child feels and increases the tension of the chase.
We are reminded of the waking world, and the mother is first introduced as a shadowy form. She brings light into the dark room as she enters.
The boy looks back at the thing chasing him. On the road ahead, there is a city of cardboard cut-out houses.
The pursuit continues. This time we pull back in order to see the character from afar.
A new house emerges, this one real/not a card board cut-out. The ground changes from the fantastical golden to a more real green. The hands are close enough to grasp him.
The mother sits down on the bed to keep vigil over the sleeping boy. The door remains open.
In the dream, the boy is able to open the door separating him from safety.
The child now struggles to close the door.
The mother offers what the child needs to conquer the monster.
The image contains three quick images in succession. The door is slammed shut, the boy sighs in relief, and then he cracks the door open to check if the monster has left.
The boy stands in the golden light of his realm, now safe once again.
In the waking world, he sleeps peacefully, never having been awakened and never knowing who guarded his dream.
The images were then finalized digitally. I enjoy the randomness of watercolor and ink (the digital medium does not allow for true randomness and it is one thing I dislike about fully digital images), but the sketchy style I used is not suited for a set of final pieces. I painted over the images digitally (using Photoshop) and built on the foundation I already had, using the available textures to my advantage and occasionally correcting mistakes. It was a little less like drawing and more like sculpting what was already there.
The final step of the process was self-publishing. The result can be seen below or on Instagram. Initially, I had wanted to post all of the images in a single run, but I later realized that there was a limit on the number of images. I had to create some additional title panels and “to be continued…” panels, but things worked out in the end.
Another link to my OCA Instagram account: https://www.instagram.com/sara521838/
