Hi Olimpia!

My name is Arianna and I'm an italian illustrator and graphic designer. Your class has been very inspiring! I really enjoyed having the chance to see what your workflow was like and it has been really interesting to listen to all the reasons and meanings of each choice during the whole process of your illustration!

 

I've always liked symmetry and the concept of "the double" since there are a million shades of myself that I feel like I want to express, not just one. I've also been inspired by Frida Kahlo's works, and by the fascination that she also had for her double-self, and mirrors and stuff like that. So I thought to borrow from you this theme as starting point :D 

 

I wanted to play with the origin of my name, Arianna; I've always liked mythology, ancient Greece paintings, the drawings of the characters and by representing me in one of my usual poses during my everyday life (when I'm preparing for the gym), I saw a connection to a greek figure that could've been represented on an ancient vase or something like that.

 

The initial sketch was so distant from this one of course, and the color palette too (I always start with primary colors as a safe choice too) but as I moved on with the illustration, the color palette shifted to something more in line with the message I wanted to convey. I still feel it could be improved more, but your lesson gave me the input to work longer and refine edges and details so I think this will be, as you say, one of many more self-portraits :)

 

Hope to hear from you soon (and hopefully I will have the chance to attend your next workshop in Turin - can't wait)!

 

Many thanks,

Arianna.