Environmental Storytelling - Park in winter in 5 drawings

After being so intrigued and interested in the moss growing on a garden shed that resembled an alien world;

I wanted to reflect this in one of my drawings;

Using gouache and acrylics I re-created this alien world using strong vivid greens to create this mystical feel. To further enhance this I layered over some acetate where I painted on some light orbs, inspired by the way Song of the Sea and Brave applies light enhance this magical aura. The layer of acetate also adds another dimension to the piece and is something commonly used in background cells for traditional hand-drawn animation. I feel I have done well here in creating a mystical set for a piece of animation, I can just imagine a small character jumping around the moss and grass, having fun.

For my next one I took a more ghostly approach;

 The charcoals and pencil makes this grim atmosphere, like the animation that would be going on here would be quite macabre. I love the style of the charcoal in creating this dark tone, the tonal look also enhances this feel. It is very dramatic. To create tone I used a rubber to make highlights and create this 3D depth, I also experimented with holding the charcoal stick differently to create tree leaf texture. This feel really reflects my feelings whilst there, with it being a seriously cold day, slightly foggy too.

After examining and sketching the trees I became interested in how they have a sinister appeal, so decided next to reflect this in a drawing;

Using the path in golden acre as a separator I showed the contrast between the sinister look of deciduous trees in winter to the full of life look of the flowers in summer. When drawing my flowers I used my dying winter flowers as reference, and made them look more alive in my environment.

This could bring an interesting effect to an animation. How one side could represent death, and the other, life. A character can be happily skipping down the path and then stop to realise the contrast...

Whilst at the park I was also inspired by the life below the surface of the water, which I found in the greenhouse, so I reflected this in a drawing;

Where I used the picture I took of the bubbles as reference;

 to create these cartoony realistic bubbles that are created from the waterfall. This setting is perfect to show some fish or other underwater creatures going about their lives. Using watercolours, I created a water texture in my piece which adds a nice dimension. If this background was used in an animation, this texture would move fluidly like it was water.

For my final drawing, I wanted to sketch the texture of the moss on the brick wall here;

Which I found really interesting;

I decided to contrast this dirty looking moss to the beautiful fiery root plants I came across;

I feel I have achieved the texture of the bricks really well, in contrast to the long spindly nature of the plant which I also captured well. You can picture a character stepping over the dip in the brick wall and getting lost in the forest of fiery plants. I feel this is a nice background for possible animation for that reason.

This is also an A3 expressive ink one that I created. It has that raw feeling because of how I have applied the ink (With a piece of cardboard). It is interesting how what you use to apply the medium can add this extra level of vigor and feeling. You can image this setting in a very dark animation. A person on a boat sailing along.

To tie all my scenes together seen as they look very different from each other, I created these extra 3 tiles;

In each tile I have digitally applied the paint in a different way, using slightly different colour palette etc. But they all have a running theme throughout, that cloudy feel, the paint isn't sharply applied and is very sketchy. The reason why I chose to apply the paint like this, is to represent the delicate feel to the nature I was surrounded with, it exposes its fragility and beauty. My feelings when I was in the park surrounded by nature.

These 3 can also be combined to create a panning scene;

Leading you on the different segments of the park that I have focussed on in my other drawings.  The wall, the lake in the far far background, the pond where I painted what I envisage under the water. To add to the perspective I gradually blurred to add that far away feel.