Portfolio slideshow link: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1wAFCeokdCzmb21R_Pw6JAKZg-zVoEXZx4ogiqY72jhM/edit?usp=sharing
About my sustained investigation theme
My investigation explores sin & virtue, and my fascination with the human condition juxtaposed with the sinful nature of the divine. The narrative-based illustrations are conceptualized from a fictional world where humanity struggles with its gods for sovereignty.
#1 introduces the concept of divine punishment, alluding to The Last Judgement to clue the viewer into the underlying story. #4 builds on the feelings of intimacy & the connection between characters through an analogous palette. #5, 7 & 8 pair eye contact with visuals of manic & lust to invoke unease. Using harsh, saturated color, balanced with simple rendering, I created an unsettling feel. These, alongside #9, utilize a disorienting perspective & composition, accentuating the chaos. The boldness of #5, 7, & 8 contrast with the painterly, narrative-based illustrations in #2, 3, 6, & 13. These visually distinguish between story-based & character-based by capturing my character's interactions in dynamic environments. #9-12 depict a full storyline. The inclusion of strings in #9-11 visually represents the lack of control the character feels, as a puppet to a goddess. In #12, the severing of strings conveys liberation.
#1 introduces the concept of divine punishment, alluding to The Last Judgement to clue the viewer into the underlying story. #4 builds on the feelings of intimacy & the connection between characters through an analogous palette. #5, 7 & 8 pair eye contact with visuals of manic & lust to invoke unease. Using harsh, saturated color, balanced with simple rendering, I created an unsettling feel. These, alongside #9, utilize a disorienting perspective & composition, accentuating the chaos. The boldness of #5, 7, & 8 contrast with the painterly, narrative-based illustrations in #2, 3, 6, & 13. These visually distinguish between story-based & character-based by capturing my character's interactions in dynamic environments. #9-12 depict a full storyline. The inclusion of strings in #9-11 visually represents the lack of control the character feels, as a puppet to a goddess. In #12, the severing of strings conveys liberation.
Piece 1: The Last Judgement
This piece will likely be my favorite in the portfolio. The initial concept behind it was a symbolic representation of guilt, but as I painted this I wanted to go in a more literal direction, where the figure is being dragged down to Hell for his sins, pushing the divine aspect of my portfolio. The absolute madness going on in the background is a depiction of the angels, who play a large role in my story. Angels serve a role similar to divine bounty hunters in my world; they do the biddings of the gods without question, which can often include killing other gods (as divine beings, that ability belongs solely to them. Mortals cannot kill gods, and gods cannot kill angels. Gods can kill other gods, but they are bound by moral code. To defy that would result in death). The angels surround the creation goddess, praying for forgiveness or serving by her side (for context, my creation goddess is comparable to Christianity's God). I tried to depict a sharp contrast between the heavenly side versus the damned, emphasizing the light source on the leftmost part of the relief carving. I depicted the fallen angels to have twisted forms, using minimal lighting and sharp bone structures, distinguishing the right side as the 'evil'. Though I want the difference in the sides to be apparent, I also want cohesiveness in the mural, so I decided to reflect the poses of the angels on the damned side, varying it up slightly so the composition is more visually interesting. As I continue on this piece, I really want to push the red bounced light from the pool of blood. I feel that it looks rather flat right now due to the greyscale appearance, and having that pop of color to complement the dark theme would really sell the depth of the environment.
The male figure in the middle ground is my unnamed original character, who serves as an army general for the region in which the majority of my story takes place. Quick summary of his lore is that he was taken away from his family at a young age along with a dozen other candidates to become 'super soldiers' of sorts: their only purpose to serve their kingdom with undying loyalty and kill angels. Obviously the gods weren't very happy about mere mortals killing servants of Heaven, so Mr. unnamed angel slayer's entire squadron gets wiped out by a vengeful god, and he barely escapes, entirely traumatized as the closest thing he had to family was brutally destroyed before his eyes. But regardless, he continues to fulfill his job as an angel slayer and gains the title of army general as time progresses. His skills are unmatched in every way, and he's commonly perceived as a ruthless general to be feared by any nation. Though he is a reasonable man, he entirely lacks empathy, and he buries his loneliness in his work. Now applying that knowledge to this piece, in the simplest terms: the unnamed character is being dragged down by the skeletons of his victims, brought 'to life' by sheer will and the desire for vengeance. The skeletons also relate to the concept of having skeletons in your closet, or being restrained by your guilt; I applied this both metaphorically and physically in this piece. He is being persecuted for his crimes against the gods, hence the piece title "The Last Judgement". It's a reference to Christian religion and the various depictions of the scene (particularly the tympanum at the Church of Saint Foy). The mural in the background queues the viewer in to some of the lore of the story, adding depth to both the character and the world.
The male figure in the middle ground is my unnamed original character, who serves as an army general for the region in which the majority of my story takes place. Quick summary of his lore is that he was taken away from his family at a young age along with a dozen other candidates to become 'super soldiers' of sorts: their only purpose to serve their kingdom with undying loyalty and kill angels. Obviously the gods weren't very happy about mere mortals killing servants of Heaven, so Mr. unnamed angel slayer's entire squadron gets wiped out by a vengeful god, and he barely escapes, entirely traumatized as the closest thing he had to family was brutally destroyed before his eyes. But regardless, he continues to fulfill his job as an angel slayer and gains the title of army general as time progresses. His skills are unmatched in every way, and he's commonly perceived as a ruthless general to be feared by any nation. Though he is a reasonable man, he entirely lacks empathy, and he buries his loneliness in his work. Now applying that knowledge to this piece, in the simplest terms: the unnamed character is being dragged down by the skeletons of his victims, brought 'to life' by sheer will and the desire for vengeance. The skeletons also relate to the concept of having skeletons in your closet, or being restrained by your guilt; I applied this both metaphorically and physically in this piece. He is being persecuted for his crimes against the gods, hence the piece title "The Last Judgement". It's a reference to Christian religion and the various depictions of the scene (particularly the tympanum at the Church of Saint Foy). The mural in the background queues the viewer in to some of the lore of the story, adding depth to both the character and the world.
Piece 2: Verdict of Suffering
Piece 3: Empathy
Continuing the story of the character in piece #4, I wanted to take the time to create a piece to emphasize the storytelling aspect of my illustrations. I call it the "emotional impact" of my work; basically, my main goal as an artist is to have a breathtaking factor in each piece, and to use my knowledge of composition and lighting to create compelling environments and stories you can feel immersed in. For this piece, I want to draw the viewer in to my story. There's little context, so I wanted to counteract that with a whole lot of emotion, conveyed through their facial expressions and the mood of the environment. The piece feels chilly, which emphasizes the cold nature of the male character. The female figure wears an entirely different expression, which I used to develop a contrast between their characters. The polar opposite expressions, to what I hope the viewer can assume is some kind of trauma outside their perception, reveals a slight amount of information about the characters. Additionally, it shows character development. The male character, who I've already introduced as a ruthless soldier, shows little remorse, but he embraces his partner to comfort her. It's clear he's used to violence, but the scene establishes a bit of a realization as he recognizes how 'normal' people react to the effects of war. I converted this concept into a fitting title, to que the viewer in to what's being depicted. I am somewhat obsessed with contrast, so I had to incorporate the red in the blood and flower blossoms to go against the white of the landscape. In fact, half of the reason I chose the snowy environment was to add that shock element: since it's the only source of color in this piece, the viewer is drawn to these facets of the piece, and they are left to question what has occurred in this scene, and what has occurred outside their field of view.
Piece 4: Divine Punishment
I loved the original piece I had up for slot 9, but I don't think it's as cohesive with my theme. To be safe, I'm replacing it with this piece instead. I'm trying to go for a more realistic look for this portrait while adding elements of my preferred style as well. The goal of the portrait approach (this one and piece 14) is to show a bit more of the details of each character and their distinct features. I would've liked to do a portrait for all six, but I'm totally out of space in this portfolio. I picked this character (Arthur) and the blonde character for 14 (Leon) because they are the least developed of my characters, but ironically they have the most complex stories. I hope I can bring forth their emotions a bit more in these pieces and convey maybe a fraction of the story to the viewer.
Piece 5: Bait
The concept of this piece is pretty straightforward. This character is in the foreground, luring the viewer in with her gaze and overall appearance, but if you look closer than face value, it's apparent that something is off about the scene. The vertical composition shifts your gaze upward, and the different elements in the piece queue you in to her situation: she's being restrained by some unknown force, and there's dozens of talismans hung from the ropes. The talismans are hand painted by the way, based on Japanese Ofuda. They are essentially just talismans with religious purposes, primarily intended to honor kami at their respective Shinto shrines. They have various purposes depending on the symbols and the meaning of the inscribed kanji. I included them for two reasons: if you're familiar with Japanese culture, you'll recognize that there's a god being honored before her, and if not then it serves as an alternative meaning for the piece, which is the deceptive nature of appearances. The talismans may be perceived as seals to the majority of viewers, which suggests that a spirit or demon is being sealed away. Carrying on the theme of Japanese culture, Lilith (that's the name of this character) is wearing a kimono, though it is more revealing than a traditional one, which is intentional because of the nature of Lilith. She's meant to be seductive, as infatuating as she is terrifying, and I wanted to make that as obvious as possible to emphasize the meaning of the piece and her character in general. To briefly comment on the art itself; I used desaturated colors in an overall dark environment, adding a bit of strong lighting from the left side to help separate the figure from the background. I wanted to use a variety of colors in the kimono and push myself away from my comfort zone of simple, complementary color palettes. The red and purple symbolize lust, beauty, and mystery, while the green serves as a visual complement to those chosen colors. I carried the greens up into the painted mural on the wall, which I've yet to complete. The mural will eventually depict Lilith's god.
Is she helplessly trapped, or is she luring you in? The piece is meant to be mysterious and prompt that question in the viewer's mind.
Is she helplessly trapped, or is she luring you in? The piece is meant to be mysterious and prompt that question in the viewer's mind.
Piece 6: Kiss of Death
Piece 7: Manic
Piece 8: Monster
The best way to summarize this piece is this: the duality of Lilith. I have quite a few illustrations of Lilith that accentuate her femininity and almost come off as graceful (ex: the piece right above this one), so this is the contrast to that. This piece is all about the shock factor. Lilith is a succubus-type character, so I wanted to show her 'true form', for lack of better words. It's supposed to be off-putting in all ways possible. I wanted to use a strong light to help highlight the character, and I always find that adding a harsh, saturated light helps instill feelings of unease in the viewer. I think the color palette for this piece is one of my most successful ones. There's something about hot pink and navy that I will definitely be exploring in future illustrations. Originally, I wanted this piece to be way more impactful, but my skill level was just not there during the time (October 2020). As a result it does feel a bit static.
In the future I want to explore this concept again, but I want it to be grittier, and likely gorier. Something I really enjoy capturing in my art is intensity, and I want to find new ways to convey it in the future (perspective, color palette, lighting, posing, etc.). I want my work to have a high impact.
In the future I want to explore this concept again, but I want it to be grittier, and likely gorier. Something I really enjoy capturing in my art is intensity, and I want to find new ways to convey it in the future (perspective, color palette, lighting, posing, etc.). I want my work to have a high impact.
Piece 9: Manifest
This portrait is of my character, Leon. Ever since I designed this character I knew I wanted to do a piece to emphasize his facial expressions. The crazed look is the goal of this piece. I'm continuing on my string motif in this piece, symbolizing the lack of control this character has. He's a puppet to the divine sun goddess, essentially; that's what the strings are meant to reveal about him. I was worried that would not be enough visual evidence, so I added the goddess's hands, grabbing onto his shirt as if to say "this is my possession". The sun goddess is a very cruel character, far more vain and hubristic than any other god featured in the story. I'm disappointed that I did not have enough piece slots to further develop her character, as her only appearance is in piece 1.
Piece 10: Slave to the Sun
I had to compress it so the quality is kind of bad :(
So this piece is kind of a big deal for me because it was the first time I really experimented with colors. I tried to avoid thinking too much about how the lighting would be in a realistic setting and just went with how I wanted it to be. The more I study other artists, the more I realize that the most 'successful' art tends to take some liberty with fundamentals. I did this piece in August.
So this piece is kind of a big deal for me because it was the first time I really experimented with colors. I tried to avoid thinking too much about how the lighting would be in a realistic setting and just went with how I wanted it to be. The more I study other artists, the more I realize that the most 'successful' art tends to take some liberty with fundamentals. I did this piece in August.
Piece 11: Ultraviolet
I wanted to mess around with colors for this piece; it's hard to explain, but I had this idea of "sickeningly saturated" stuck in my brain while I was working. I wanted the colors to be rather harsh and almost hard to look at to further the feeling of unease in this piece.
When I had my portfolio review back in November, the main concern with my work was a lack of stylization. Realism was not the move for art school, so with this piece I decided to throw my fundamentals out the window and try something new. For one, I kind of elongated their bodies to try and force the perspective a bit. I wanted the skewed perspective to kind of push the mood of the piece as well. Overall I think the appearance of the male figure is successful, but the female figure doesn't quite match the perspective. If I had more time, I would try and fix that. I also wish I added some more detail to the background/floor.
I did this piece in December. I really enjoy the improvement I've made compared to the piece above! With every piece I feel like I'm getting closer to how I want my style to be.
When I had my portfolio review back in November, the main concern with my work was a lack of stylization. Realism was not the move for art school, so with this piece I decided to throw my fundamentals out the window and try something new. For one, I kind of elongated their bodies to try and force the perspective a bit. I wanted the skewed perspective to kind of push the mood of the piece as well. Overall I think the appearance of the male figure is successful, but the female figure doesn't quite match the perspective. If I had more time, I would try and fix that. I also wish I added some more detail to the background/floor.
I did this piece in December. I really enjoy the improvement I've made compared to the piece above! With every piece I feel like I'm getting closer to how I want my style to be.
Piece 12: Ascension
Piece 14: Vena
Piece 15: Lilith
I completed this piece back in August 2020 (I believe); it was intended to be for my college application portfolio, but I enjoy this piece so much I am bringing it over to here. The meaning behind this piece is probably not very obvious to the viewer, as there is little context. That was the goal. I wanted this piece to feel mysterious but breathtaking, in a sense. Originally, this piece had a very bleak and monochromatic background; It was meant to represent complete and utter despair. However, as I worked on it, I realized I wanted to parallel Lilith's beauty with a background that fits her character (she is inspired by various Asian cultures, so I tried to respectfully incorporate those details into the architecture, lanterns, color palette, and so forth). The choice to switch the mood of the piece also helps contrast the emotions of the character. The landscape is beautiful, but it's clear that something is amiss.
Side note: My favorite color is orange, and I was trying to use different color palettes for every piece in my portfolio. I wanted to challenge myself by working with this unfamiliar palette.
Side note: My favorite color is orange, and I was trying to use different color palettes for every piece in my portfolio. I wanted to challenge myself by working with this unfamiliar palette.