Exploring New Color Horizons 'Fishing' Process + File

Hey everyone

Here is the process video, file, and brief insights of FISHING, my latest illustration. These kinds of articles are often split into two parts: the concept, where I share the idea behind the piece, and the execution, where I explain the technical aspects like shapes, colors, and value choices. I hope you find this useful; have a great read.

Concept: From Asparagus to Salmon

This illustration was supposed to be an asparagus-inspired theme, in which a little child was buying some food in a grocery store, and three store employees (as asparagus) were helping; one of them was a butcher or fishermonger. While exploring this idea, a vision of the fishmonger holding a huge fish in the back struck me. It was simpler and more interesting, so I decided to replace the asparagus reference with a salmon. Salmon had a great combination of warm tones with desaturated gradients. Eventually, I replaced the little child I had at the beginning with an older girl, shy and having a crush on the fishmonger character who bragged about his strength.

The list of points looked like this:

• Color: Orange, white, grey (a bit blue)
• Reference: Salmon
• Action: Fishmonger flirting with customer
• Costume: Fishmonger outfit, casual dress with boots. Market store and objects

Execution: Small Gesture and Color

This process did not start with big brush strokes, but instead with lines and gesture. The idea of the fishmonger relaxed, balancing his weight on the counter while holding the fish, was in my mind before touching the pencil. I was lucky to get it through lines relatively quickly, while for the girl, the only thing I had in mind was her not making eye contact, with one hand holding her bag.

While cleaning the line, I decided to make a little tweak in her gesture by making her hand tuck her hair behind her ear. This gesture can convey various things depending on the context, such as a casual way to clear hair from the face or a subconscious action that might indicate nervousness or interest. 

Tip!

Details like this bring so much life into the character. The way you can approach this method is by simply thinking about what the narrative or story behind this pick is and how the characters feel about it. Something I did early in the process but is often the case that these ideas pop up during the execution. Sometimes it feels like the whole process is a living, breathing entity, constantly changing, evolving, and coming up with fresh ideas. It's so easy to lose track but so fun and unpredictable.

Colors were particularly important in this piece. Lately, I've been craving a particular feeling I cannot describe, presumed to be caused by vibrant colors and bright values. I applied this logic by focusing on the orange characteristic of the salmon flesh and the bluish kind of purple theme I often found while looking at fishmongers' markets. Notice how I did not make every color saturated. I often balance these compositions by also integrating desaturated versions of the complementary colors, something the reference to the salmon helped me to figure out quickly. This balance between saturation and desaturation creates an interesting harmony between colors and values.

I've noticed this pleasant feeling when looking at scenes from movies where the overall background is white and the tones are either subtle watercolor style or vibrant saturated ones. 

Movies showed on top are Summer Wars and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya. This the mood I'm currently trying to capture, and I hope to share my thoughts with you once I understand it.

Conclusion

I'm currently looking for ways to make my process a bit simpler, yet end with compelling pieces. This is a goal that has haunted me for months, and somehow, I fail to accomplish it. The more time I have, the more I spend. I guess I'm still not as good as I think at managing my time. Wish me luck!

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