My dad’s side of the family comes from a beautiful location called Mauritius. I drew this piece while in Mauritius, and desired for it to give off a feeling of island life and beauty. In this blog post I want to discuss first the techniques I used to illustrate this piece, then the reasons as to why this island means so much to me.
For this drawing, I played around mostly with the concept of texture and dimension. Texture-wise, I used both smooth and rough texture. The sand was created with a pencil tool that I brushed harshly to create dark shading. This technique gave the space that the subject is sitting on a rough, sand-like look. As you may notice, the subject’s skin looks incredibly slick and smooth especially in contrast with the sand underneath her. I did this by keeping her skin tone even throughout, and adding bright white highlights to make her skin look shiny. The last texture I used was an uneven wavy pattern that gives off the impression of moving water. I accomplished the texture of the water that rises up to the subject’s knees by overlapping shades of grey.
Dimension was a bigger hurdle to jump for it can be tough to make body dimensions look just right in complicated poses. This process took a lot of trial and error but ultimately, I shaded her calves and feet darker than the rest of her body to illustrate that her lower legs are folded beneath her. Shading can be tough, however the best advice I can give is to think about where the sun or source of light is located in the picture. Then, shade accordingly. Adding dimension will help you produce a realistic style.
I love Mauritius as it adds such a unique dynamic to my culture. Whenever I tell someone I’m actually African American, I always receive a surprised face and a itch to know more about my background. I love telling stories about my dad, my visits to this island, and everything I know about the location. If you’re curious to know more about my drawing or the magical land that is Mauritius, feel free to ask me through comments! I’m happy to converse.
Artword 