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:
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.