Portraits

In illustration as the first assignment of the semester, we had to create two portraits. One had to be of a person in history who had been dead for more than a hundred years and another more contemporary one. They had to have some sort of link, be it in appearance, what they were known for or even sharing the same birthday. This was difficult and honestly I probably spent way too much time thinking it over and researching. Finally I settled on two: Aesop and Jim Henson. Both created well known allegorical stories using animals and both are still very well loved today (especially by children). There was also a certain amount of Henson mania running through my head at the time due to the upcoming Muppet movie (which is wonderful and everyone should go see).  Anyway, I wanted to showcase both portraits with the characters they were known for, as they are just as important as the individuals themselves. Here is what I cam up with for sketches:

 As no one really knows what Aesop looked like, I opted for something very typically roman figuring that that characters around him would be enough of a cue. I did some research on his fables and tried to pick the more iconic stories and place those animals next to each other. And as for mister Henson…that was just all around fun to draw. And for the final pieces….

                                    

 

I wanted them to both be lose and fun but Henson I made with much brighter colors because, well, why wouldn’t you? It just makes sense. Aesop was a much more muted partly to show that his stories were much older, antique, and partly to show that there was not as much of a concrete component to his stories. You read them or hear them and create them in your head.

So there it is! First project of the semester! A little rushed but I’m happy with it.