I can see my art tending towards slightly coloured monochrome recently – and this is because when I’m creating a whole scene, to fully colour it too would turn it from a practice illustration into a whole project.
I’m pleased with this one! I drew it before I wrote about it, and I’ve written and drawn for it since, and this delightful building-on-top-of creates a clearer and more lifelike scene of the bath houses every new iteration. Inspiration drawn from some childhood swimming pools I remember, two headspace sleepcasts – namely Blue Hammam and the stone night swimming pool one. Hot tubs, cotswold stone, ancient Grecian academies with pillars. I think I subconsciously thought of the Empress Suite at work too. And several more things I’m sure are underneath the surface.
The lighting was a fab challenge. I vividly see the angle of the moonlight coming in through glass and cutting the room up sharply. It was a good chance to put Mitzi against some dark trees and create a lovely tonal key. This is especially important because she’s so filthy right from the start of our story, and this is Antonia’s first time seeing her clean – and she realises that she really does look like a princess. Soppy!!! soppy!!!!!
Antonia as a bigger challenge. For plot purposes, she chooses to undress and bathe in the furthest bath from the light, where it’s almost pitch dark. I couldn’t draw this, because her expression was key to reading the image, so I’ve lit it functionally a bit like they have to light night scenes in films. Her tonal contrast to the background is purposefully less intense, but so she doesn’t get completely lost, I’ve let the moonlight catch her hair in a reverse silhouette.
Playing with textures, painting, rendering. Balancing time against detail, economising to hit the point on the graph for best effect in the best time.
Haven’t written this bit yet so you’re spared an excerpt.
SEASIDE ILLUSTRATION 