Color is challenging for me and so a lot of the time I’ll opt for something more monochromatic and just let myself out of any color responsibility at all. I am not terrible at color theory or anything, given concrete options I am able to put together interesting palettes for say, a wedding, home decor, or some more simple levels of craft projects but sit me down in front of a blank canvas/page/screen and I am in trouble. I just don’t make interesting choices a lot of the time and thinking about it slows me down in a way I don’t like. However, one day, I saw a drawing somewhere with a color decision I did like. It was a cover for Jake Parker’s book of drawings. A vivid red orange with a sort of taupe colored figure on top. Dark outlines and variations on that taupe shade inside but otherwise a very simple color palette. With that in mind I decided I wanted to do something similar and tackle colors as simply as possible.
Turns out I already had a drawing in the wings that I had abandoned since I had lost interest in the original idea. The original drawing was supposed to be a pseudo sci fi fashionista sort of deal but I realized that it just wasn’t turning into anything interesting. Perfect place to play with some new ideas. I finished the line work and got to coloring. I used similar colors but threw in a complementary color in there as well. My goal was to keep away from “out of the tube” colors so everything here shies away from straight up primary or secondary colors. I didn’t use an orange as dark as Jake Parker’s for the main background color because I wanted things to feel a little more “pop-y”. I then decided to add background details that gave the drawing a more graphic design feel. The additions to the background are not arbitrary and refer heavily to the gestures and shapes of the original drawing. Backgrounds are also a challenge for me as I never really picture things with them and by the time i get there, nothing seems to fit. Two birds with one stone in this little series guys.
After I felt that this drawing was complete I moved on to some other color pairings. I exaggerated some proportions for interest in all three pieces but i was particularly pleased with the pose in the purple and yellow image. By the time the third image came about I think I was losing steam on the idea as she has the weakest pose and the worst relationship with the background. I am satisfied with her facial expression and the colors used however as I think they deviate farthest from how I usually work.
At any rate, although not all of the aspects of these drawings are my strongest works, I am satisfied with the boundaries that I pushed and the experimenting that I did in color, composition, and figurative work. Thanks for stopping by!
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