Illustrating a puzzle
Hello everyone,
Today I would like to share with you some process behind a lovely collaboration with Calie from Callisto puzzle.
Calie contacted me at the start of the year and I was really enthusiastic about her proposition. I had never made an illustration for a puzzle before and I was really fond of the theme which was “Myths and Legends” .
I had previously joined the Instagram drawing challenge “Folktale week” (see here) and was excited to work on something similar. It also gave me the freedom and opportunity to work on a different topic and aesthetic compare to my usual animals and plants.
After some research and thoughts my choice came down to two legends: an Irish tale called “The children of Lir (the story of four children who turned into swans after their jealous stepmother put them under a spell). The second one being the tale of the Selkie (a variation on the mermaid concept in Scottish, Irish, Icelandic and Faroese folklore), a mythological creature that can shapeshift between seal and human form by removing or putting on it’s seal skin.
My preference went to the Selkie, as it felt closer to home (since I live in Scotland) and I’ve always felt fascinated by this tale.
Kopakonan (The Seal Wife) in Mikladalur on Kalsoy, Faroe Islands
There are a few variations of the tale, the one I picked is probably the most famous: the Selkie wife. It tells the story of a fisherman who steals a female selkie's skin, finds her naked on the sea shore, and forces her to become his wife. But the wife will spend her time in captivity longing for the sea, her true home, and will often be seen gazing longingly at the ocean. One day she finds her skin that had been hidden, returns to the sea ans abandons her family behind (she had children with the fisherman).
In one version, the selkie was never seen again (at least in human form) by the family, but the children would witness a large seal approach them and "greet" them plaintively.
I find this tale really appealing, even though it starts with a cruel kidnapping. The Selkie wife loved her children but the call of her home was stronger. I like to imagine that she sometimes came back near the shore, as a human or a seal, and thinks of her children with love and melancholy. That’s the picture I had in mind when thinking of an illustration representing the tale. I was also excited at the idea of painting a large seascape with a moody sky!
Now that I had a vague idea about the aesthetic I wanted it was time to start sketching and oh boy! This part gave me a hard time!
Obviously the biggest challenge for me was to draw a human figure, which is something I’m really not use to. The fact that it would be a half naked woman wearing a seal skin really was making it even more difficult…
A Mermaid. Painting by John William Waterhouse
I started doing some research on Pinterest and quickly stumbled upon this beautiful painting by Waterhouse, which I was so obsessed with years ago (I had a passion for mermaid and sea related Art when I was younger). I love everything about this painting: the languorous pose, the texture of the hair, the shininess of the fish scales, the colour of the sea etc.
The Siren. Painting by John William Waterhouse
The first sketches
The main difficulty was to decide how to draw the Selkie. I realised there are many many ways to draw a human figure, it quickly felt a bit overwhelming as I’ve had very little experience when it comes to this. Should I try to draw her in a realistic way or a more cartoonish, stylish way?
I started by sketching a few human figures, trying to figure out the pose and attitude I wanted for the character. I imagined a melancholic scene by the sea, and I pictured the Selkie holding a lantern (I gave up on this idea afterwards). I was so unhappy with all the ideas and sketches I made that I quickly started to doubt the process. Nothing felt right, and after several days of failed attempts I was feeling discouraged and clueless!
After stepping away for a while I decided to let go of my desire to get the “prefect” Selkie. She was part of a bigger picture, did it matter that much how I drew her eyes or painted her hair?
I put the Selkie character on hold to focus on the seals (oh joy to be back to animals!), which felt more like home as I had previously sketched and painted some of these lovely creatures earlier this year (see my blog article).
A charming seal spotted during one of my coastal walks.
Afterwards it was time to focus on the larger picture and try different narratives and compositions.
I ended up with two ideas. The left one being an underwater scene, with a few seals gracefully swimming around the Selkie. My heart went for the one on the right, as I was feeling particularly inspired to paint a moody sky and a larger seascape.
Colour and movement
As soon as I started working on this project, I immediately visualised a tormented sky with plenty of lines and movement. I’ve always felt very inspired by the moody atmospheres of the seaside and wanted to capture the strong energy of the wind, waves and clouds.
The Starry Night. Painting by Vincent van Gogh
Van Gogh’s paintings immediately came to my mind. I went to the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam 15 years ago but sill remember vividly the effect it had on me. Seeing his paintings in person, the intensity of the colours, the boldness of the lines and the incredible energy that emanates from his technique, was truly a unique experience!
Wheat Field with Cypresses
I decided it was enough planning ahead, after a quick digital colour test I was ready to dive in. I wanted to go with the flow and keep the process as intuitive as possible.
I wanted to depict a stormy sky, threatening clouds and heavy rain but a bit of light too, lots of energy and movement (similar to the type of skies we often have here in Scotland!)
And here is the finished piece! Despite the initial rough start I truly enjoyed the process and feel I’ve learnt a few things along the way. It was really refreshing to be working on something different and I would be happy to have more opportunities to work more on landscapes in the future!
I’m quite happy with the result (especially the sky!) and excited to bring a bit of Scottish folklore to a made in France puzzle company.
There’s always something quite satisfying about seeing an illustration being turned into a product!
Last note about the puzzles: they are made in France, composed of 1000 pieces and measure 690 x 490 mm. More information on the Callisto website.
This article is now coming to an end, thank you for reading me! I hope you enjoyed having a little peek at the process behind this lovely collaboration and you found it interesting! This was such an instructive and fun project to work on, a reminder how important it is to sometimes keep pushing through a rough process! Be creative and don’t be scared to make mistakes!
That’s it for today my dears, I wish you all the loveliest Autumn!
Cécile
