To be honest, I was very perplexed with what to do with the colors for this piece. There was absolutely no direction to go by, so I really had to play everything by ear. There was a time where I was coloring this in a blue night colored theme and had to ultimately scrap it. Absolutely, positively nothing I was applying was working out. I just did not like how it was turning out, . . . thus, the scrapping. It took some brain mashing, but finally I decided to let loose and experiment with coloring with patterns and textures in a different color scheme, . . . and this final version was the end result. It’s really sparkly and pretty. I cannot get over how wonderful this turned out. I’m such a girly girl at heart.
Key Features in L’Arc en Ciel
One of the Key features that stands out in this piece is the background, especially the crystallized moon and floating city in the clouds. It’s a fun fantasy feel that really gives off a dream like vibe to the piece . At the time that I was making this work, nothing was planned out and was off the cuff. By the time I was really getting into my stride, everything was just smoothly flowing along in a natural pace.
Wrapping Things Up
The reason why I named this illustration L’Arc en Ciel was for two reasons. Most of the time, I always name my works after completing them, but, there are instances were I have the name before I begin working. This was not one of those times. After the work was finished, I immediately thought L’Arc en Ciel because of all the colors used throughout the piece. I was challenging myself to see how many colors I could use and still make it blend seamlessly. Secondly, I was listening to Niji by L’Arc en Ciel which is a really beautiful song by an awesome band from Japan. If you ever get a chance, please listen to it. Hyde’s vocals are simply amazing.
Looking back at this illustration after so many years, I realize that there are various elements I still want to revisit many times over in my future works: the fantasy feeling of the crystallized moon, the thick clouds and the starry skies. I really want to incorporate and showcase them a lot more. Over time, I drifted away from this style and now wonder why. This styling of illustration was very calming and soothing and I really want others to experience that calming and soothing feeling as well whenever they look at my works. But the most important this in that Sanoe liked the final results so that’s what really matters right? Please look out for this and many more things from me in the future.
