It’s easy to get stuck in an artistic rut. It happens to me all the time! The blank page can be intimidating, and even scary. You can get lost out there in the void, just like the emptiness of space. Sometimes all you need is something to grab on to, something familiar yet unexpected, to help get you orientated and moving in the right direction.
In this workshop, I’ll show you how to banish creative block by making something cool out of something ordinary. I’m going to take a boring object and transform it into an epic spaceship fit for a space opera. The great thing about spaceships is that they can look like anything: a stapler, a bag clip, a pencil… even one of your shoes!
For this project, I’m starting with a sturdy pipe wrench. When designing spacecraft, I ask myself questions like, “How big is it? Where is the bridge? How is it powered? Does it have engines and/or thrusters?”
Once I’ve found an object, I take pictures of it from all angles, trying to find an interesting viewpoint that also shows off its silhouette. In terms of this pipe wrench, I like the way its jaws open to looking like a docking port, inspiring me to transform it into a space station. Here’s how I do it.
Raquel M. Varela
Raquel is inspired by magic, fantasy and fairy tales. She loves designing female characters from distant worlds. \"My greatest reference is Loish's art, thanks to her I learned to draw the movement and fluidity I like to convey.\"
Estrela Lourenço
Estrela is a children's book author and illustrator. Her work is influenced by her background in character animation and storyboards for clients such as Cartoon Network, and she channels comic strips like Calvin and Hobbes.
Daria Widermanska
Daria, also known as Anako, has been drawing for as long as she can remember. Inspired by Disney and classic anime, she loves creating new characters and often finds that a single sketch can spark a unique story.
Allen Douglas
Allen has been painting professionally since 1994 for the publishing and gaming industries. Inspired by folklore, he distorts the size, relationships and environments of animals, and calls his paintings 'unusual wildlife'.
Thaddeus Robeck
Thaddeus has been drawing from the moment he could hold a pencil, but it was the 2020 lockdowns that gave him the time to focus on honing his skills.
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