Comic Artist - Volume 3 2016

8

TAKE NOTE OF ANOMALIES

Is there something you observe that seems like a misfit? Okay,

to tease your grey cells, imagine a pistol in the bedroom of a 15-year-

old. Now, that’s wrong and highly unlikely, but maybe you’ll come

across something less dramatic, such as someone using a first-

generation Nokia phone, or a Rubik’s cube in the hands of a four-

year-old. While you can cook these up from memory for your next

project, you’ll still need a rich visual library to trigger ideas at the

right time! So, be on the lookout for the stranger things in life.

4

1

Contrasting elements

The brief is about a well-educated psychopath

who kills people out of boredom. Her contrasting nature

reminds me of the opposing forces of yin and yang,

which in turn guides my composition. I’m particularly

careful about the nature of clothes – how the folds in

jeans would behave different from those in cotton.

2

Capture the emotion

For my values, I follow up on my thumbnail. The

cultural aspect is reflected in the woman’s clothing and

personal style. The driving emotion is callousness, which

I try to depict through the woman’s irreverent attitude –

checking her phone. The bowl of potato chips initially

seems a total misfit, but actually adds to the irreverence.

3

Colour plays its part

I want the colours in the composition to be

eccentric and choose to stay away from realism. Since

the bottle of wine (originally bottom right) isn’t adding a

secondary story, I decide to replace it with a provocative

magazine, but tone it down so that it doesn’t grab

attention away from the main story.

HOW IT ALL COMES TOGETHER

9

SECONDARY STORY

Can you see a story evolve in front of

you? Perhaps it’s something as mundane as

the struggle of someone holding a mug of hot

coffee (conflict), then using a tissue to blanket

the mug, and holding it more comfortably

(resolution). Even if it’s not the intended story,

these little beats can help add a secondary

level of narration to your artwork.

Somnath explains how his observational techniques enable him to create a composition that speaks volumes

Artist insight | Learning through observation