A Show to Remember!
It's been three months since I posted my last piece... where did the time go?!
Long story short, I've been busy this year and I've had less time to draw as a result. I've been keeping a notebook around so I can write down ideas I have, and while it's helped me remember ideas I would've forgotten about, the main issues with my art output were time and motivation. Personal art was a low priority during school, as most of the art I made at the time was for projects that I can't post here. When I made enough progress on those projects and the rest of my schoolwork, I was so burned out that art for the archive was out of the question for me.
I always tell myself that artists aren't machines and that I should be patient, but I don't apply that to myself as much as I should; I get anxious when I go too long without drawing something new, which isn't healthy. I'm gradually working out of that mindset by taking up healthier habits, but it will be a while until I can lift that weight off my shoulders.
That's enough rambling, I need to talk about the creative process for this piece. In my notes for Aqua, she works in a dance group called "Ocean Rising" alongside Rayne, Glacia, Delta, and River. I didn't have concept sketches for anyone besides Aqua prior to this piece, so I had to wing it when designing them. The hardest characters for me to design were Glacia and Delta, as their outfits would carry over to the others and they were closest to Aqua in the center. Fortunately, designing them made Rayne and River much easier to design later, so I wouldn't be surprised if I redesigned those two later.
I wanted the group to look synchronized while giving them their own individual quirks so they wouldn't be carbon copies of one another; from the accents on the clothes to the ruffles on the ties and patterns on the skirts, I went a little nuts. I based the outfits of the girls on those worn by the cast of Zombieland Saga, while the guys wear suits based on Stolas's outfit from episode 7 of Helluva Boss. It took a while to get right, but I'm happy with how everyone turned out.
The spotlights and stage took a while to get right. I hadn't done any complex lighting before this piece, so working with five light sources slowed down the shading process, but I feel like it gave better results, as I saw where each spotlight hit the character and how they would look after shading. The giant star behind Aqua tries out a few glow techniques I learned about (in addition to what I already knew) and I had to map out the shadows for everyone. The crowd was drawn before I finished mapping out the stage, and the smaller stars on stage were the final details added to the piece. This was also the first piece where I gave Aqua a ponytail, which I wanted to do for MONTHS!
With how much I've had to say, it seems like this was in development hell since March, but in reality, I started this in May. That was when my drawings for projects were done and summer began, but other responsibilities limited the time I contributed to this. I'm glad I could finish this, and I can't wait to start something new!