May 14, 2011

Illustrating the Hobbit: Leaving Mirkwood

Bilbo estaba ahora en un túnel oscuro, flotando en el agua helada, completamente solo
He was in the dark tunnel, floating in icy water, all alone

There we go, skipping Mirkwood without mercy. The dwarfs and Bilbo finally get out of the forest, but poor Bilbo didn't notice an important detail missing in his plan :)

"He was in the dark tunnel, floating in icy water, all alone - for you cannot count friends that are all packed up in barrels. Very soon a grey patch came up in the darkness ahead. He heard the creak of the water-gate being hauled up, and he found that he was in the midst of a bobbling and bumping mass of casks and tubs all pressing together to pass under the arch and get out into the open stream"

These are the 2 roughs I'm pondering:

This one is truer to the text and does have a confinement feel to it but I'm worried about it getting too busy, I didn't even add the barrels and Bilbo in it, on the other hand for this scene I kind of favor a long format vs. my usually loved squared formats.

This other one feels better in my eyes, it has more interesting shapes, some areas to rest the eyes and overall more possibilities, but it will only work the way I want if I manage to accentuate more the perspective and put Bilbo in the very foreground, the key will be in being able to lower the horizon line enough to make the viewer feel like floating in the water right there behind Bilbo *I think*. The only thing that I'm not sure about this one is the format, I usually love square formats but for this illo maybe a long format would be better....

I'll start playing with some line drawings tomorrow and then decide.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

What do you think of doing a "point- of view" shot from Bilbo's perspective?

Teresa Palomar Lois said...

I think it's a great idea Ben, from the begining I've wated to have the viewer feeling like he' s there floating in the water, I made indeed a rough from Bilbo's point of view but somehow I got the barrel all over the place and I discarded it, that's why I went for the same feeling but one step back. How do you know when I'm chickening out? gotta tingling sense or something? Maybe today with fresher eyes and mind I can try to play with that idea too, if there's room for 2 there's room for 3, right? Thanks for the push Ben, you always motivate me to aim higher *tighthug*

Pat said...

ooh, maybe a third version? Can't wait to see that one also ! xx

irinapictures said...

So interesting to see the work of illustrator in progress!
I am not big help here, but I know that 20min outdoor walk for no purpose brings much more fresh ideas then indoors roaming in my head. Maybe it helps in illustration too).

RH Carpenter said...

I think the square format works to give one a feeling of pressure on all side that could be the barrels pushing in. I know you'll make this work - I enjoy reading your thoughts and how these come about.

Teresa Palomar Lois said...

Pat, Irina, Rhonda, thanks for the encouragement, it'll work, this illo doesn't know yet how stubborn I can be :)

Sadami said...

Dear Teresa,
You've been doing very well.
Honest, I speak nothing about the roughs. When I look at your struggle and the roughs, my chest becomes so heavy and the heart is at a top beat.(Illo puts me into HIGH tension!) Hang in there, Teresa and take care.
Best wishes,Sadami

Teresa Palomar Lois said...

Doki doki Sadami? I don't know how to write it in japanese :P
Hope it's in an exciting way rather than unsettling nervousness lol because I'm really having a lot of fun with these illos, I enjoy problem solving and decission making to no end, they are some of the most exciting and interesting parts of the creative process for me, it's fun! ain't it? :D