When in a creative field, it is very important to not be bound by structure; to instead let the thoughts be fluid and free. However, professional commitments demand a sense of organisation for designers to be able to produce new designs within a time period. Every designer adopts a unique approach to their craft which gives them the freedom to think openly and helps them develop their style with great productivity.
Here, Lovely Kukreja gives an insight to his creative process with the help of the 3Ms – Meditation, Motivation and Manifestation. He takes us on a detailed step-by- step process of refining a rough sketch to a complete composition by adding depth in the narrative with intricate detailing from background elements.
Meditation | Nowhere related to the spiritual practice, meditation, here is the thought process/ creative thinking before starting any project.
Great ideas start as random scribbles (thumbnails, rough drawings and armatures). This will help in deciding the posture angle and composition. While doing these initial sketches, it’s important to mull over the subject aka meditate to set the mood; the vital areas to focus on to bring in freshness.
Once satisfied with the sketch, start blocking tones in gray-scale mode with basic air-brush. You don’t really have to go fancy by trying several textured brushes. Just do the basic block-in while keeping the area to be focused well-lit.
Convert your painting to RGB mode and start adding colours on a layer overlaid on it. Choose colour palette as per the theme. For the painting here, I chose the unsaturated soft shades. Close your eyes and try to see the picture you have in your thoughts.
Motivation | Never search for style, but study. This is where research comes into picture; the motivation gained from creative intuition, studies and reference materials. At this stage, it is important to collect facts about the subject of creation.
Once the basic look and the feel of the painting is established, bringing the volume on each object can begin with the direction of light decided in the very beginning. At this stage, it is important to collect facts about the subject of creation.
Detailing the elements e.g. water, foliage, trees and grass. Motivation is the key, to paint better with each stroke passing.
Now it’s time to break the barriers and go beyond the sketch. After deciding the intricate details (cloth texture, ornaments, fur and hair), paint over the sketch on a new layer with free-hand for each subject.
The working area is closed and fine details are added to each object after thorough research.
Manifestation | It finally boils down to manifesting all the effort, knowledge and studies into strokes of brush applied. This is when you bring ideas to life. Those final touches, elaborating it with all those tiny details is vital to make it your personal piece of work.
Tonal values, sharpness and colour balance is adjusted.
Adding foreground elements gives a sense of depth to the scene. Elements like foliage, leaves and any life-full character creates liveliness.
