This was such a great class, I enjoyed every minute of it! I tried it as I wanted more experience drawing and conceptualising landscapes. This class really helped me use my imagination and not get bogged down with the finer details before you even begin. It was also great to integrate AI into your workflow even just to generate unusual ideas.

 

Horizon Sketches

For the horizon line class, I like the bottom 3 sketches the most, as they are more dynamic and offer a different perspective. I liked using simple shapes to get a feel for the composition. The second to last composition on the bottom row, uses a circus top as the horizon, with different circus characters walking to the observatory at the top. The final, portrait composition has a mythical, winged beast flying through the air, behind a craggy mountain rock. You can see how more complex and interesting ideas develop after the first few concepts.

 

 

4 different sketches with the same key features

 

 

I did use AI to generate some ideas which I would love to explore independently, however for this class I wanted to follow Yifat’s composition more closely albeit with some of my own elements. 

 

Using the AI prompts and my own imagination I brainstormed all the ideas that came up. As more and more ideas came, I started to excited at the possibilities but then also overwhelmed about whittling them down and choosing a coherent selection. I didn’t want to spend hours / days picking the best options, I wanted to make quick decisions and start making the piece.

 

I wrote all the ideas down on a separate document in no orderly fashion, closed my eyes and highlighted on a new layer, where my Apple Pencil landed. I ended up with the following:

 

1. Hot air balloons (this was already pre decided)

2. Catfish

3. Owl

4. Aurora Borealis 

5. Snake

6. Divers

7. Planets and stars

8. The sea

 

I then made 4 design iterations incorporating all the different elements, and tried to use them in a different way on each design. In the end I chose the top left design, it was the most similar to Yifat’s composition, and as mentioned earlier, I wanted to stick closely so I could follow the class. I would also like to develop the other 3 designs at later date.

 

Final Sketch Layer

Here is my final composition. I wanted to depict a world where the sea and sky was combined, where you weren’t quite sure if the viewer was under water or on an alien planet.

Final Design

I stayed true to my design as I worked through it, although I did change the scuba divers to deep sea divers and add a secondary coral reef between the snake and divers.

I was able to utilise different pattern brushes that I had previously made such as: the snake skin, star constellations and sun pattern on the red an orange hot air balloon.

 

Textures and scene snippets I love