HISTORICAL
For the historical illustrations, I chose to go with Aragorn from Lord of the Rings. The artifact I wanted to focus on was the king's sword. I used the sword as a symbol of hope. To begin these illustrations I wanted the king's sword to be leaned up against the inside of the Prancing Pony Inn as a symbol of how he hasn’t discovered his true potential and the legacy left for him to regain. Having the sword partially in shadow gives the story a symbol of disguise. For the second illustration (the exterior environment), to further symbolize hope within the piece I have situated the sword on a subtle angle placed in an upright position in front of Minas Thirith (where the king of Gondor rules). To emphasize the hopefulness and importance of the sword I drew in god-like rays of sunshine from above, reflecting bits of light from the sword's hilt.
RE-IMAGINED
For the re-imagined illustrations, I went with a post-apocalyptic setting and used inspiration from the movie Wall-E. I chose to use a flower, more specifically a gladiolus, to represent the sword from the previous illustrations. For the interior setting I have placed the budding gladiolus next to an old rusted oil heater with a few additions of house keys and an old newspaper next to it, reading “NEWS! Earth no longer habitable!”. In doing this, the story becomes about how humans have left earth in search of a new home, but in their absence hope has sprouted from the ground up. Adding bits of light and dust particles the piece becomes dense yet airy, further emphasizing the abandoned industrial setting. Lastly, for the exterior environment, I wanted to contrast the flower with an industrial city far in the background. Once again I’ve added bits of dust and light rays shining in from above, highlighting one of the gladiolus’s buds as a sign of resilience and hope for a better brighter future.
March 2022
