I wanted to create a character based on an animal I draw a lot; the frog. Frogs are special to me, and I want them to be more incorporated in the Philbert Project. I made the background a bit Jungle-esque, because I wanted to incorporate the heart shaped leaves found on some of the plants. These are simply to help show Philberts facination with this small frog he found.
I used the same grainy pencil I used on my last few illustrations, and I do like the look it gives. Especially the shadow and light really pop in a different way with the small grains.
The best thing about this piece is the light and shadows, and their texture. They give the piece a very different look, which you can compare below when you see my process. The light is done in a new way, layering and stacking the light in different colours. I do enjoy this and will continue to use this technique.
A flaw in this piece can be that Philberts eyes can we read as looking above the frog, which can be interpreted as Philbert not being interested in the frog afterall. However, I did do this on purpose. I wanted this frame to be the frame after he looks at the frog, and then looks up, as to have a realization. He realizes that this frog can be his friend. This could have been done better, perhaps, and I could have taken more time on the piece to avoid this confusion. Drawing in the style of frame stills can have ups and downs, and I should be more careful about which frame I choose since the estranged viewer will not be as familiar with this as I am.
If I did this piece again I would perhaps change the frame to the frame where he first meets the frog. In that frame, there would be no confusion. I will take this into consideration in my next work.
My biggest challenge in this piece was probably conveying Philberts true emotion. I want him to be amazed, and have added a few elements to help accomplish this look, but I am still unsure if I truly did it. Next time I try something similar, I will either pick a slightly different still, or work harder on conveying the true emotion better. The most tedious about this piece was probably the background, but I am very happy with the end result. I tried to create this wall of flora, which ended up being a great texture for this piece. It took me a long time, but I did not sketch it. I just started the lines (with the heart shaped monstera plant), and added more and more as time went on. Sometimes backgrounds take a lot of time, but the end result is very crucial for my kind of style. If you look at the process picture, you can imagine how boring the piece would be with no background, or a simpler background.
Below you can see my progress on this piece. The starting sketch had these "intensity lines" that I decided to cut, but I kind of liked the idea of them. But I think they fit better in another drawing series than the Philbert project. I am trying to keep the style of Philbert consitant enough, but it can be hard when you discover a new way to do things. Therefore I carefully have to decide what is worth changing and what is worth keeping.
Inspirations for this piece:
I think my biggest inspiration for how I want the backgrounds to look, and how I imagine the style for this series, comes from Steven Universe and Over the Garden Wall. Both shows have inspired me a lot, by having beautiful animation and backgrounds, as well as a great storyline. Over the Garden Wall is a bit more Slice of Life, which I, as you know, adore. It's simply about two brothers going from A to B, trying to get home after getting lost in a mysterious forest. Steven Universe also has very relaxed episodes, with slice of life themes, but over all has a lot more plotlines and dramatic stories.
Images below is from Episode 6 of Over the Garden Wall, Lullaby in Frogland.
The show features a frog who switches name all the time, and in episode 6 they take a ferry full of personifised frogs. They act and walk like humans, unlike the frog the main characters know. These frogs are great, and if you want to know any more of my love for frogs, I recommend watching that episode. That probably covers it.
Above is some images of background art from Steven Universe. This show has inspired me a lot art wise, especially if you look at the light and shadow.
So generally, I'll conclude with Over the Garden Wall being a great inspiration for character design and story, while Steven Universe is a great inspiration for art and style.
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