Final project for the Domestika course “Editorial Illustration From Concept to Published Artwork” taught by Tim Peacock.
We had to create an editorial illustration based on the theme “Learn something about yourself.” After some brainstorming, I decided to illustrate a variation from the original theme, a literal interpretation of the concept of soul searching. I was intrigued by that idea, and after some sketches, I felt it explored the theme in a fresh and different way (at least relative to my other early ideas).
I started with the outline of a person in a cross-legged meditation pose. Within this outline, we see the person’s inner world. That inner world is illuminated by a lighthouse, which aligns with their third eye (“third eye” is a concept from some Indian religions relating to a form of insight or spiritual awareness). The lighthouse is illuminating the way for the self’s exploration in the inner world of thoughts and emotions. We don’t see what the person learns or discovers; I left that off-screen to focus more on the search rather than the discovery. So the illustration is meant to relate to psychological and therapeutic themes of self-exploration, inner healing, dreams, and so on.
I also found the “third eye” a bit challenging to portray. I considered making the lamp from the lighthouse much larger and almost like an eye-shaped lamp, but the concept felt too similar to the Eye of Sauron from the Lord of the Rings films, which therefore made it sinister and oppressive.
In terms of technique, I generally used similar techniques to what instructor Tim Peacock showed in the course. This gave the piece a very appealing ligne claire style which I hadn’t tried before, but fondly reminded me of Tintin comics I read in childhood.