Alex Rowe
Illustrator & Children’s Book Artist
Prompt
Choose a myth and illustrate it in a contemporary setting. Characters and elements of the story must be recognizable while being contemporary.
Supplies
Any 2D color media: watercolor, colored pencil, soft pastels, etc. A supply list for ink wash is here.
Process
1.
Choose a myth you want to illustrate (Example shows the Minotaur and Labyrinth)
2.
Research the myth.
3.
Brainstorm and sketch to make the story contemporary.
4.
Pencil in the image onto your final surface, based on a sketch.
5.
Outline the image with a Rapidograph pen.
6.
Erase pencil lines.
7.
Add ink wash tones. For tips on ink wash tones, watch this tutorial.
7.
Create a wide range of gradients. For more instruction on how to use ink wash, watch this tutorial.
Examples
Clarisse Angkasa
Project Assistant
“I chose Cerberus and I had so much fun sketching out different types of dogs. I settled with corgi because I wanted to play with the idea of portraying the watchdog of hell as something super cute.
While I’m pretty sure the three-headed dog is recognizable as Cerberus, I added the dog walker with the skull hoodie to allude to Hades.”
Elsa Hillis
Intern
“I decided to illustrate the myth of Atalanta, which I’ve always liked. Long story short, Atalanta, evades marriage by challenging all of her suitors to a footrace with the prize of marriage and the price of death. In my modern version, Atalanta is an contemporary Olympian, surprised to find a golden apple on the track and who realizes that she’s been tricked.”
Links on this page are Amazon affiliate links that Artprof.org earns from qualifying purchases.