That was quick! I always find it odd to be talking about speed when completing an artwork. Whether it takes you 3 days, 3 weeks, 3 months or 3 years shouldn’t matter as long as the work looks good, right? I’ve probably been fixated on it lately because I’m trying to brush up on my Illustrator skills and being able to complete what seems like a rather complex illustration in just a few weeks is an accomplishment for me. Plus, the more work I do…the better my drawing gets…the better my aesthetic gets…the more ideas I complete…it’s a domino effect.
Let’s get to the work…it is a pretty straightforward idea…I wanted to create a crazy factory of sweets. I had drawn a sweets factory a few months ago and I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. Originally, the perspective of the drawing had you looking down on the factory. For this “updated” version, I wanted it to be similar to my other factories but less structured. So, I worked with a perspective that has you staring up from the horizon line. Then, I really stretched and bent the machines of the factory so it broke free from a straight 2-point perspective.
As for the overall treatment, I stuck with a set number of colors again. I continue to like that direction. Also, I did away with the gradients and shading I had done in some of my previous work. I wanted to give it a more graphic look so I only added a few areas of shading on the underside of objects and a handful of highlights. One other departure was the use of a non-black color for the outline. Plus, I really played with the width of the strokes to make everything pop since I could not rely on the gradients to give the work dimension. I plan on expanding on that style in some of my future work…it gives everything a nice graphic element. To see the portfolio page and a larger version, click here.
What’s next? I have an idea for a series of 5 simple Chicago illustrations…that’s right…going back to the Chicago work. Can’t get it out of my head. Although, I’d like to do another factory in order to build on the work above.
