Downloading visual data for my objects:

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 1 - student project

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 2 - student project My pages of concept sketches for the objects set of spots. I actually researched way more objects than necessary, but it was getting a bit out of hand and I felt like I'd come up with some quality ideas so stopped at a couple of pages.

My chosen objects are a tibetan sound bowl, a shrine, a bonsai tree and some soothing tea.

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 4 - student project

The first four spot illustrations for the objects brief - I already have a kind of colour scheme that I tend to use so I just leant into that a little more.

The thing I struggled with the most was having no background, but in the end it was quite freeing actually :)

Downloading visual data for my set 2 spots:

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 5 - student project

As my article idea is called "Why aren't you meditating?" based on the idea of tackling some of people's common barriers to begin meditation, I focused on some bigger themes that would likely be sub-titles throughout the article, and then the individual ideas discussed in each section:

Finding time

-Morning or evening

-Bedtime meditation

-Establish a routine

Finding space

-Any space will do

-A closed door (some provacy)

-A quiet outdoor spot

Quieting the mind

-Try a breathing technique

-A walking meditation

-Guided meditation with an app or a class

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 6 - student project

Some themes were harder to riff on than others, but in the end I think i came up with ideas I wouldn't have if I hadn't done the "visual download" step beforehand. I kind of had an idea of what i was going to do before I started, but all the ideas I've picked to move forward were ones I had in the moment, as I was scribbling concepts on the page.

My style involves creating the line-work with a brush pen:

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 7 - student project

I then tried to keep consistency with the first set, although it was tough as the first set naturally contained more detail than the second. In the end I went back in and added some extra details to the inked line work and re-scanned it.

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 8 - student project

And these are the final illustrations for the concepts! It was tempting to add extra colours or elements but I really wanted the two sets to fit together.

I also made this swipeable post for my instagram account with the spots, and I think that everything does look consistent sat side by side:

Why Aren't You Meditating? When, where & how - image 9 - student project

Abi Nottingham

Illustrator | Well-being and Wonder

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