Computer Arts - UK (2020-06)

buildings, sunset or random little objects that I’ve

come across with my phone.

Keeping photos is also a way of capturing

experiences and memories in a visual form.

Looking back at these images helps bring back the

moment when I pause to think of something, and

they can lead to new, exciting ideas.

IDEAS AND THEMES

A photograph contains a range of information,

not limited to the time of the day, weather and

location. We can also guess the relationships

between people and even their feelings. Using the

information that a photo provides, we can come

up with a fun story that starts with what’s already

in the picture.

For example, looking at the tall buildings of

New York City and the subway that runs between

them, I thought of an idea of how nature is being

missed among the crowded buildings and people

living a hectic city lifestyle. The smallest thing in

a photograph can ignite your creativity and bring

an interesting narrative to the illustration.

TESTING COMPOSITION

Working from photographs enables us to test out

the composition efficiently before moving on to a

sketch stage. By zooming in and out or cropping

the photo in various ways, you can find the form

that works best.

Sometimes I find it more interesting to either

focus on the corner of the photograph and

draw it from there, or to crop the sky above the

building in the photo of a cityscape to make the

composition work more effectively.

The overall composition and negative

spaces play a critical role in creating a balanced

illustration. With a good reference photo,

you can quickly figure out what composition

works best by playing around with it in the

rectangular photoframe. Once I’m happy with

the composition, I develop a sketch based on the

edited photograph.

ADDING IMAGINATIONS

Drawing the photograph in my style is always

a fun challenge, but simply by adding some

imaginary elements, the story in the illustration

can come alive.

Based on the photograph I have as a reference,

I quickly put down the sketches on an additional

layer on Photoshop. Anything that grabs my

attention or any impressions I get from the photo

could serve as inspiration for ideas.

When I worked on the piece California Dream

[above right], the big blue sky in the photograph

made me think of freedom, wild adventures and

bold challenges. To show these visually, I drew the

image of a girl reaching for the heavenly ladder

that was descending from the sky. Adding acts of

ARTIST INSIGHT

RIGHT
Photos are a great tool
to test compositions.

BELOW
A photo of a dense
cityscape sparked
an entire story.