03-23-2016, 02:53 PM
Sorry, it's almost midnight already but anyways, here is my advice, as promised! I started doing a little thumb for myself to think myself into your design problem but then it grew and grew and grew... but now at least I've got a whole demo to talk about :D
You said that you'd also appreciate advice on the process etc. so I'll start with that. I started out by blocking in a rough set of stairs in sketchup (because drawing and designing stairs by hand is a pain and takes forever) and then started designing on top. The design needs to have a beetle in it so i started with that (he's on the banner at the top of the stairs) Then I mapped out my associations of spring into useable visuals and made a moodboard with birds, a bonsai, nouveau art metalcraft, the arch of constantine in rome (for the corinthian pillars and general details), peacock feathers and lingerie with floresque motives. All of those found their way into the design.
I like your idea with the stairs, so I used that in my demo aswell, although mine are only slightly curved. I thought these would be easier to make a composition with and they are generally easier to work with than those pesky spirals :D I saw you did your own 3d stairs already, cool! Just don't jump straight into painting with value, that's just one more ball to juggle on top of the drawing aspect and the designing, composing and storytelling...
Storytelling! You said you wanted her to descend down the stairs in a stern and gracious manner. That's a cool idea, but what else would be happening there? Just someone walking down the stairs isn't a very captivating story on it's own, but you can add to that! I remembered the painting "L'Eminence Grise' by Gérôme which already has someone on stairs in it, so I let that influence me heavily (steal like an artist, right? :D) I borrowed the poses of the bowing people to tell a similar story. The three courtiers that I added are all below her in the composition so they make her appear more powerful. Also, they all directly point at her with their bodies, which helps to center the composition on her as the most important figure. The trees and the little 'halo' are doing the same job.
You said you associated spring with an "idea of hope, new life, and something regal/honest" So that's what I tried to get across with the design of the architecture. There is no roof, so sunlight can come in all the time and the trees are growing directly next to the structure. The corinthian pillars and the nouveau art handrails help to bring the organic aesthetic from the trees to the man-made objects. Her dress is made of peacock feathers and bird wings (probably a bit hard to see, i drew pretty quickly :D) and she also has a tail that's like a big peacock feather. These elements are meant to establish her as both a figure of importance (because hey, if you look like a peacock you are the center of attention) and tie her in with the motif of spring.
I also used the golden ratio and fibonaccio quite a lot to quickly organize everything into pleasing size relationships and positions. The color palets that you chose make sense, but be careful, green is the hardest color to paint!
I hope you (and maybe some other people :D) got something out of this! I did learn a ton making this and had a lot of fun!
You said that you'd also appreciate advice on the process etc. so I'll start with that. I started out by blocking in a rough set of stairs in sketchup (because drawing and designing stairs by hand is a pain and takes forever) and then started designing on top. The design needs to have a beetle in it so i started with that (he's on the banner at the top of the stairs) Then I mapped out my associations of spring into useable visuals and made a moodboard with birds, a bonsai, nouveau art metalcraft, the arch of constantine in rome (for the corinthian pillars and general details), peacock feathers and lingerie with floresque motives. All of those found their way into the design.
I like your idea with the stairs, so I used that in my demo aswell, although mine are only slightly curved. I thought these would be easier to make a composition with and they are generally easier to work with than those pesky spirals :D I saw you did your own 3d stairs already, cool! Just don't jump straight into painting with value, that's just one more ball to juggle on top of the drawing aspect and the designing, composing and storytelling...
Storytelling! You said you wanted her to descend down the stairs in a stern and gracious manner. That's a cool idea, but what else would be happening there? Just someone walking down the stairs isn't a very captivating story on it's own, but you can add to that! I remembered the painting "L'Eminence Grise' by Gérôme which already has someone on stairs in it, so I let that influence me heavily (steal like an artist, right? :D) I borrowed the poses of the bowing people to tell a similar story. The three courtiers that I added are all below her in the composition so they make her appear more powerful. Also, they all directly point at her with their bodies, which helps to center the composition on her as the most important figure. The trees and the little 'halo' are doing the same job.
You said you associated spring with an "idea of hope, new life, and something regal/honest" So that's what I tried to get across with the design of the architecture. There is no roof, so sunlight can come in all the time and the trees are growing directly next to the structure. The corinthian pillars and the nouveau art handrails help to bring the organic aesthetic from the trees to the man-made objects. Her dress is made of peacock feathers and bird wings (probably a bit hard to see, i drew pretty quickly :D) and she also has a tail that's like a big peacock feather. These elements are meant to establish her as both a figure of importance (because hey, if you look like a peacock you are the center of attention) and tie her in with the motif of spring.
I also used the golden ratio and fibonaccio quite a lot to quickly organize everything into pleasing size relationships and positions. The color palets that you chose make sense, but be careful, green is the hardest color to paint!
I hope you (and maybe some other people :D) got something out of this! I did learn a ton making this and had a lot of fun!