My art/design creation process begins with thorough research, usually a spidermap first. Sometimes, when I come up with something to create I use AI generative features to gather inspiration and ideas at the very start. Once I have a concept figured out, I create a mood board to get a look and feel first, using Pinterest boards. Then I transition to my iPad or traditional paper and pencil, where I sketch a LOT, experimenting with various layouts and thumbnails to refine my vision. This digital phase allows me to explore composition and form before committing to anything. Moving on, I begin hands-on experimentation by using different mediums like pencil, pen, gouache, watercolors, and magazine collages, and occasionally incorporating chalk for added texture.
Additionally, I extend my experimentation beyond traditional materials by incorporating various types of paper too. The versatility of my creative process is magnified by examples where I've gone beyond conventional materials, such as using toilet paper to add an unconventional yet captivating dimension to a piece. This willingness to explore unconventional tools and materials adds a layer of innovation and uniqueness to my artistic practice. This practice not only allows me to fine-tune the visual elements but also provides a tactile connection with the materials, creating a deeper understanding of their possibilities.
The combination of digital exploration and traditional experimentation forms a dynamic and iterative process that ultimately leads to the creation of my unique and multifaceted art pieces. I also believe that it is just as important to write down all your thoughts as you are drawing to not lose track of your train of thought. You will see most of these screenshots of my work having a lot of text, showing my racing thoughts as I draw.
Now let me show you!
Here is a collection of my work and the process behind them.
The final piece:
The final piece in this example is my watercolor painting of myself being 'cracked'. A lot of thought went into this process.
PROCESS
My starting point is skulls because I was fascinated by them at the time. I explored vanitas and old paintings and found them so gruesome and interesting! So I replicated and made my own. I also took photos whenever I traveled to different museums, for instance in Venice, and used them as my first-hand references. Then I started thinking why skulls? Skulls are under our heads, why not draw portraits of people instead and make them more personalized and fun to look at?
After exploring and drawing dozens of portraits, I thought: how do I make them resonate with me? As a moody teenager, I had instances of feeling 'broken' or 'lost', as one does at such an age... Which is when I decided to crack the human faces. But first, I experimented with something real that I could crack and use as my reference: EGGS!
So I cracked a bunch of eggs!
I then started drawing the cracks on all the portraits taking inspiration from the eggs:
I explored different ways of being cracked: on the sides? In different shapes? Collage? In a spiral? Should it be one person or several? What is the relationship of the cracks to the person, should they interact with it? I even ripped up my other portraits and stuck them to each other like shown below.
When working with each of these, I usually took photos first. For instance, this one is my little brother, I asked him to pose for me and I compiled all the images in Photoshop to come up with an interesting way of being cracked. I explored the idea in different color schemes and then replicated the same idea on a portrait of myself too. You can see little sketches of me considering the composition:
Then I thought... what would be the easiest way to draw a portrait of someone as a reference? MYSELF! It is my project after all, and that way I can make it more personal to myself. I took photos of myself and drew on top of it to figure out the layout and where I wanted the cracks to be located.
So I bought a mirror, broke it into small cracks (safely of course!), and took photos of my face in it:
That is how I came up with a very strong foundation for my final painting. Then I decided to stick the remaining egg photos that I took on top to relate it back to the start of the project. I also implemented those thick lines in the background from the skull painting that I created using a red pen, I thought it was a non-distracting and great way to spice up the background. I drew this on a canvas using acrylic paint, but I then created dimension by adding thick strokes that can also be tactile!
So here is me, all cracked:
