Inspiration
Nicholas Roerich
Roerich focused on landscapes, particularly mountains. He loved nature and was involved in the Russian symbolism art movement. Many of his works tend to use cooler palettes and feature mostly blue. In the works Star of the Hero and St. Francis, you can see the contrast of blue and warm tones. This makes a certain part of the piece stand out, like the figure sitting in the Star of the Hero or the halo around St. Francis' head. The viewer's eye is deliberately drawn to that point, and for St. Francis in particular, the navy sky is interesting in its stark contrast against the pale yellow. The inspiration I chose for my project is Star of the Hero, mainly because of the color palette and the way the sky is done. There's something about the teal and the bright orange-yellow that interests me, and I want to incorporate that somehow in my work. I also want to include the shooting star, as that's the focal point of the piece. What I noticed about the piece is the way the values get lighter as they get further away from the foreground. This is something I can use for my project, and to show distance effectively. For the figure in the piece, I'm not sure if I'll make it essentially a silhouette, as I want them to be affected by the lighting and have some detail. Roerich creates an interesting contrast with the figure being a solid dark color, but my work will have the person taking up more of the composition. Overall the mood given in Roerich's work is peaceful, the figure in the work staring at the shooting star, and it fits in with the theme I want to do. I want to try and emulate this feeling in my work, and have it communicated effectively. |
Star of the Hero
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St. Francis
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Planning
For the first sketch page, the general ideas I had for this piece were to focus on the feeling of comfort and possibly have the pose be of the person leaning on a porch post, looking out to the sky. To follow my inspiration more, I thought about possibly adding mountains and a shooting star. The shooting star would be important for my piece, since in Star of the Hero the white draws the viewer's eye and becomes a focal point in the piece. It adds some needed contrast against the dark blue of the sky, and the stars also balance the positive and negative space. The general perspective I was thinking of was viewing the back of the person, focusing on them and the sky. When thinking about the perspective, I thought that this idea I had could be best since the piece would allow both person and background to be seen clearly. With the other elements of the background, I thought about drawing a simple porch, and I didn't think it would be necessary for my piece to have that be detailed much and possibly take away time from other parts. With the lighting, the light would be yellow-orange to follow my inspiration, but be more subtle. The person himself could be more of a silhouette, with most of his details being defined by the light.
I drew out some composition ideas for my second and third sketch. The man was drawn to the left, and I included mountains in the distance to give a better sense of scale. I wasn't sure if having the posts off-center would be better, so I drew that idea and decided I liked he post being off-center more. While the centered composition would be more symmetrical and let me detail the porch more, it wasn't quite as interesting of a composition. With the ground, I thought that a grassy field would be best.
I drew out some composition ideas for my second and third sketch. The man was drawn to the left, and I included mountains in the distance to give a better sense of scale. I wasn't sure if having the posts off-center would be better, so I drew that idea and decided I liked he post being off-center more. While the centered composition would be more symmetrical and let me detail the porch more, it wasn't quite as interesting of a composition. With the ground, I thought that a grassy field would be best.
Process
To start my piece, I made the porch first so I knew where to place my character. I used the line tool, and after adjusting the composition, I started to sketch out the character. He was drawn several times until I was satisfied with the sketch, and the background was drawn next. After the sketch was done, I went in with the base colors, adjusting them to fit with Roerich's palette. I tried to keep the elements in the foreground the darkest, and the background the lightest. I ended up adjusting some of the contrast to see if it was better.
With the base colors done, I started rendering the piece, going for the hair first. I used a light yellow to define the shapes, and after getting the hang of it I finished the rest of the body. With the body completed, I went through it again and darkened some of the shadows to better reflect the lighting. For the porch I used an airbrush, but eventually I ended up using a brush to fix some of the edges and values. After coming back to this piece, I decided to make the lighting more visible as the one I had was too subtle to really give much contrast. I also redrew the arm since I wasn't happy with it and the way it looked. When I fixed the lighting, the piece looked better than it had before, and I noted that it better followed my inspiration.
Next, after the porch and character were done, I worked on the background and started with the mountains. For those I blocked in a slightly darker shade of teal from the sky, and I changed my idea of having two layers of mountains to three. The three layers gave more of an interesting component to the piece, and after finishing them I added some texture to the first two layers. I did this by using the teal color and brushing over the mountains to give a subtle look. Then the stars came next, and I did the shooting star first before drawing the stars. The stars I copy and pasted, mostly to save time so I could do the grass quicker. The grass was simple to do since it was just using a darker color to draw the strands, but it was also tedious. After everything in the background was done, I added some filters and adjusted the colors and contrast through that.
Next, after the porch and character were done, I worked on the background and started with the mountains. For those I blocked in a slightly darker shade of teal from the sky, and I changed my idea of having two layers of mountains to three. The three layers gave more of an interesting component to the piece, and after finishing them I added some texture to the first two layers. I did this by using the teal color and brushing over the mountains to give a subtle look. Then the stars came next, and I did the shooting star first before drawing the stars. The stars I copy and pasted, mostly to save time so I could do the grass quicker. The grass was simple to do since it was just using a darker color to draw the strands, but it was also tedious. After everything in the background was done, I added some filters and adjusted the colors and contrast through that.
Experimentation
I experimented with the values and the shades of blue to find what looked closest to my inspiration piece, and added a contrast layer so the values would express the night setting better. With the lighting, I initially thought that making it subtle would be better, and did a sort of test to figure out where to add light and the shadows. After making the lighting brighter and more saturated, I was more satisfied with the results. I had changed the arm because the pose didn't feel right, and the arm jutted out too much. While I liked the rendering on it, I changed it to something that looked more like a hand in his pocket.
With the mountains, adding 3 layers helped with giving a better sense of scale. I thought that two layers would be fine, but I decided to experiment with an additional darker layer in front. For the layers I tried to alternate the shapes and made sure that the layers weren't too similar to each other. I liked the contrast in the values, and I think it really added a more interesting component to my piece. The texture on the first two layers of the mountains was so that I wouldn't have them just be a solid color. Over the process of the piece, I tried out multiple correction layers and gradient maps to test out how the colors would look. I wanted the lighting to stay more vibrant, and have a warm hue. The color of the sky mattered as well, since I wanted it to closely match the tone of blue in Roerich's piece. Going through various gradient maps, I decided on one that made the colors more vibrant. The image to the left was one that I considered at first, but after comparing it to my inspiration piece, the color didn't fit and had more of a green hue.
Critique
Similarities
The general palettes of the works are similar, using various tones of blue and yellow. The setting is similar as well, with a starry night sky and a shooting star above mountains. The person is illuminated by yellow light, contrasting against the blue tones. As for the mood of the piece, it's meant to be calm, the work showcasing the beauty of nature and a peaceful moment. The values of the mountains vary to convey a sense of distance, and this also applies to the rest of the work with the foreground being the darkest.
Differences
The composition and scale of the pieces are different. My work focuses moreso on the person, while Roerich focuses on the mountain, scaling it so that the person is small and doesn't take up most of the work. The person is also placed to the right, while mines is on the left instead. There's more detail to my figure, and his features are visible whilst Roerich's figure is painted black with no details. For the medium of the work, I chose digital and not a traditional painting because I didn't think I would have time to complete a painting. I also wanted to be able to adjust the colors and see what looked best. The yellow in my work isn't quite as vibrant since I didn't want it to take away some of the focus on the background.
The general palettes of the works are similar, using various tones of blue and yellow. The setting is similar as well, with a starry night sky and a shooting star above mountains. The person is illuminated by yellow light, contrasting against the blue tones. As for the mood of the piece, it's meant to be calm, the work showcasing the beauty of nature and a peaceful moment. The values of the mountains vary to convey a sense of distance, and this also applies to the rest of the work with the foreground being the darkest.
Differences
The composition and scale of the pieces are different. My work focuses moreso on the person, while Roerich focuses on the mountain, scaling it so that the person is small and doesn't take up most of the work. The person is also placed to the right, while mines is on the left instead. There's more detail to my figure, and his features are visible whilst Roerich's figure is painted black with no details. For the medium of the work, I chose digital and not a traditional painting because I didn't think I would have time to complete a painting. I also wanted to be able to adjust the colors and see what looked best. The yellow in my work isn't quite as vibrant since I didn't want it to take away some of the focus on the background.
Reflection
Overall this piece was fun to do. I enjoyed doing the night sky and the mountains the most, as I thought they came out looking well and didn't need too much work. I also liked doing a work with a blue palette, and my piece looked pleasing to me with the softer colors. For the most part I think I was able to communicate the meaning of my peace, and following my inspiration closely helped with that. With the night setting, I haven't done many works with that type of lighting, so it was a good learning experience to attempt this piece and see what would happen. The part I had the most trouble with was the arm I redid, since I also attempted a new perspective of the back of someone and tried not to make the arm look off. However, once I fixed the pose, it looked better and I was happy with it.
ACT
1. Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
I wanted to follow the blue palette Roerich uses in his piece and the components of mountains and a shooting star. The mood of his piece is calm, and this was something that I wanted to express in my work.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The way Roerich includes spiritual ideas in his work is interesting, as well as his dedication to travelling and exploring the world.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Roerich valued nature for its beauty, and he desired to express that through his art and portray a sense of wonder.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central theme is comfort, a quiet moment of peace.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Music and the many things Roerich encountered on his travels influenced his pieces, and how he viewed the world. His wife was also vital to the development of his work.
I wanted to follow the blue palette Roerich uses in his piece and the components of mountains and a shooting star. The mood of his piece is calm, and this was something that I wanted to express in my work.
2. What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The way Roerich includes spiritual ideas in his work is interesting, as well as his dedication to travelling and exploring the world.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Roerich valued nature for its beauty, and he desired to express that through his art and portray a sense of wonder.
4. What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central theme is comfort, a quiet moment of peace.
5. What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
Music and the many things Roerich encountered on his travels influenced his pieces, and how he viewed the world. His wife was also vital to the development of his work.
Citations
“Nicholas Roerich Museum New York.” Nicholas Roerich Biographical Outline, https://www.roerich.org/roerich-biography.php.
“St. Francis, 1931 - Nicholas Roerich.” Www.wikiart.org, 29 July 2013, https://www.wikiart.org/en/nicholas-roerich/st-francis-1931.
“Star of the Hero, 1936 - Nicholas Roerich.” Www.wikiart.org, 18 Sept. 2021, https://www.wikiart.org/en/nicholas-roerich/star-of-the-hero-1936.
“St. Francis, 1931 - Nicholas Roerich.” Www.wikiart.org, 29 July 2013, https://www.wikiart.org/en/nicholas-roerich/st-francis-1931.
“Star of the Hero, 1936 - Nicholas Roerich.” Www.wikiart.org, 18 Sept. 2021, https://www.wikiart.org/en/nicholas-roerich/star-of-the-hero-1936.