The Idea
The Concept
I wanted to portray the feeling of uneasy calm within a single style frame without the use of text. A feeling where the allure of a digital paradise is pulling you in, yet the world beyond is just slightly too present. Where memories of the physical rot and leave way for the digital.
For the concept I referenced an more recent internet aesthetic named weirdcore for it's unusual and unease inducing imagery and liminal spaces to create a scene that feels familiar yet distant.
The Sketch
While this sketch was very rough and had no value, it became my guide for the overall composition and the main elements I wanted to include in the piece. Some elements like the path and the picket fence would be removed in favor for simplicity and clarity.
The Proposed Composition sketch.
Iterations Upon Iterations
The First Pass
I found very quickly that the photo-realistic house and endless blue sky were much too peaceful to convey unease. With this newfound knowledge, I began to concept for a night render instead of a day render.
I quickly realized that I could achieve the mood I was looking for by hand illustrating elements in Procreate.
The Procreate Process
This is a short time-lapse of the iteration process inside of procreate. I tested a lot of different soft glow effects similar to some of my moodboard references, but I found that simplifying the focal point and leaving the composition with more negative space gave the piece a greater sense of unease.
After I was satisfied with most of the render, I went back into Adobe Photoshop for final compositing.
Final Composite and Takeaways
Textures And Final Edits
Any lighting and compositing issues were resolved and I began to add some texture and visual snow, to bring home the idea of a memory of the real world being lost to time as the digital realm becomes more prevalent. Small edits like brightness and contrast were shifted to increase clarity.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I found exploring this unfamiliar design style to be a very rewarding process. The iteration process allowed me to bring in elements of illustration and combine them with photos to create a piece that is both comforting yet unsettling. I would love to explore these ideas further in a larger series.
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Thank you!
