Discover
Size: Small... approx. 6ish x 10ish in.
Material: Prismacolor Colored Pencils and Computer [Paint.net program (love it btw)]
Time: < 1 week
So, this was a lot of fun. I made this picture for a t-shirt contest [didn't win, but I didn't expect to; it would make one expensive t-shirt! {congrats to whoever the winner was}]. The theme was DISCOVER, so I created a picture in which you can discover the word 'discover' inside discoveries... or something like that. Anyways, I thought my concept was pretty cool, so I made it, choosing to work on the picture as a picture rather than a t-shirt design. I put it together really quickly so it isn't that great; my colored pencil technique is especially bad but I really wanted to see my concept take shape. Initially I thought that I would draw it out and then color it on the computer and make it look super professional, but I am not very skilled with that yet, so instead I just unleashed my messy colored pencil skills on it and used the computer to make it a little more... neater? [Basically I just increased the contrast and decreased the noise]. Overall, I had a lot of fun with it, and I would love to go back some day and make a better, more detailed drawing/painting of this or a similar concept.
Developing the concept: It started when I asked my brothers what they thought of when they heard the word 'discover.' One replied 'Columbus,' and the other, 'Finding something new.' So I immediately thought of some sort of multi-terrained area that included a Columbuslike figure [originally he was Columbus, but I changed that when I had to turn him red and make him into a 'D'] and finding the letters of discover in famous discoveries. Originally it was going to be water with Columbus in a boat, the shore with a clam, 'C,' and then land and a volcano. Later this changed into mostly a water scene. The first letter I decided on was the telescope aimed at the moon for the 'I.' I wanted the other letters to represent other discoveries. A sunken ship became a 'V.' Electricity inspired 'S' [though S was one of the last letters I decided upon]. The tree 'E' and dolphin 'O' represent different facets of life sciences, just as the 'S' represents both the discovery of electricity and the study of everything derived from that discovery. Similarly the volcano is both a discovery that 'that mountain is not a mountain after all' as well as the science of geology and similar fields. The 'C' cave was initially supposed to have a shining jewel inside it, but I decided that caves themselves had enough to discover inside of them. That's pretty much it...
Developing the concept: It started when I asked my brothers what they thought of when they heard the word 'discover.' One replied 'Columbus,' and the other, 'Finding something new.' So I immediately thought of some sort of multi-terrained area that included a Columbuslike figure [originally he was Columbus, but I changed that when I had to turn him red and make him into a 'D'] and finding the letters of discover in famous discoveries. Originally it was going to be water with Columbus in a boat, the shore with a clam, 'C,' and then land and a volcano. Later this changed into mostly a water scene. The first letter I decided on was the telescope aimed at the moon for the 'I.' I wanted the other letters to represent other discoveries. A sunken ship became a 'V.' Electricity inspired 'S' [though S was one of the last letters I decided upon]. The tree 'E' and dolphin 'O' represent different facets of life sciences, just as the 'S' represents both the discovery of electricity and the study of everything derived from that discovery. Similarly the volcano is both a discovery that 'that mountain is not a mountain after all' as well as the science of geology and similar fields. The 'C' cave was initially supposed to have a shining jewel inside it, but I decided that caves themselves had enough to discover inside of them. That's pretty much it...
Side note: It's really interesting to see at what point people discover 'discover.' It took my roommate forever, but she watched me from the beginning, so it makes sense that she wouldn't see it since she saw it mainly in parts. Took my brother a while to notice too ;) Other people notice it immediately. [shrug - it's fun to watch].
Alternate Work:
This is the exact design I submitted with the title. I think the noise level was slightly different...
This is the picture with a 'pen ink' filter. I thought it looked kinda cool :D
Concept Art:
Early sketches... Originally the 'C' was going to be a clam, then I thought of a cave with a jewel, and later I got rid of the jewel to just have a lighted up cave. Notice I was spelling 'Discover' wrong in the dolphin pic...
Method in this madness??? Highly debatable.
The weird plant/berry thing was an idea for the 'O.' Also, I was trying to put in a windmill for either the 'D' or the 'S' [with swooshy wind forming the letter], but I decided against it.
Final Placement and sketch.
Begin coloring. :)
Final, unaltered picture. Note: this is a picture of the picture whereas I altered a scan of the picture, so in reality, the altered picture isn't really that altered, just that the blacks are a little blacker pretty much.
And we come full circle :)
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