A Morbig Longing for the Picturesque at All Costs
Date: 05/31/23
Tags:
#the secret history
,
#books
I finished this piece up just in time for Halftone ZineFest in May. This illustration sat in my drafts for a long time. I sketched and inked it traditionally, then scanned it and did final edits before digitally coloring it. I honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to approach coloring the piece. I wanted to incorporate screen tones at first, but then ended up going for my more usual digital coloring approach. There are still many things that I think I could have worked on more, but it had already been sitting for so long I decided it just needed to be finished.
The piece is inspired by Donna Tartt’s novel The Secret History. Not exactly a timely reference anymore, but the book is enjoying continued popularity so I think it’s relevant. I wanted to keep all of the characters faces obscured to keep the illustration feeling quiet and mysterious. The gang is on a summer picnic, drunk in the shade of an old tree, one of the moments that Richard would have liked to hold on to. Before the murder. I hope it’s relatively clear who certain characters are to those who have read the books.
I did previously post some sketches of the characters in the novel which you can see here.
See the linework before and after digital editing under the read more.
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