Atalanta and Hippomenes

Part 1: Myth Illustration

The brief asked us to pick a scene from one of the Greek Myths and create an illustration for that scene using at least 2 human figures in action poses, and employing principles of perspective.

I have selected a scene from the story of Atalanta and Hippomenes. The illustration portraits the race between Atalanta and Hipomenes, which decides whether Hipomenes lives or dies, and whether Atalanta gets to know the taste of intimacy. The viewer is positioned in front of the running figures with the road fading into the distance. I felt that this position makes the biggest impact on the viewer, and conveys the intensity and swiftness of the race.

pencil modello

When producing the illustration, my main challenges included deciding on the postures and composition, and then actually getting the figures on paper. Since my composition includes figures running forward, the drawing involved foreshortening and overlapping of masses, which seemed unnatural during sketching, but after stepping away looked realistic. It was also challenging to use the black pen, since the only mark you get from it is black or white, no grey.

Atalanta and Hippomenes illustration (black pen)

The biggest aid in producing the illustration was the use of reference photos. After creating a rough composition, I found numerous images of the items I wanted to depict. I have combined them one by one in the pencil modello, studying each portion in detail. When the time came to doing the final illustration, it was a relatively straightforward process of transferring the shapes and tone from modello to the pen illustration.

Part 2: Written assignment

Relevance Of Traditional Image Creation Techniques On Contemporary Multimedia And Graphic Design

Before an artist can fly, he or she needs to master the skill of walking. Learning the fundamental techniques of image creation is now more important than ever to the digital artists, since it allows them to apply this knowledge to the world of pixels.

The rise of modern technology had caused many young artists to explore the realms of digital image creation. Programs, such as Photoshop and Corel Painter, made it possible to produce dazzling on-screen artworks, with quickness and precision of the computer, yet with human touch of the creator. There are also many online communities, for example Deviant Art, where aspiring artists share their digital works with the world, and stand a chance at being noticed.

In order to shine among the many, these upcoming artists need to solidify their core drawing and image creations skills. They now realize that the best place to learn is from the people who have done this many times, before the computers entered the scene. All of a sudden, Andrew Loomis has become popular and necessary again, and the traditional knowledge base has mixed with the present.

Semester 1: Design Culture and Theory, taught by David Briggs