Silhouettes

In total I created 51 silhouettes. My original intention was to take this development further but after recent reflection of my finished pieces I noticed that a few started to look similar and it was becoming increasingly difficult to differentiate between certain pieces. I had in mind that instead of creating standard "people" shaped silhouettes I'd focus on shapes themselves - this was due to one reason; creativity. If I was to start with a simple human shaped silhouette, I'd be afraid of getting caught in a vicious mind frame of having a character in mind before development. This would result that all my images would look incredibly similar to one another as I'd be basing my digital drawings around one solid idea in my head. So to avoid such an outcome I practised with various brushes and brush stroke techniques. I didn't want to focus on detail as that's a hurdle which comes with further development - I spent no longer than 20-40 seconds on each silhouette.

With each set of silhouettes I've given a brief explanation of my thought processes.

SET 1

My first set of images were inspired by extravagant clothing of the time, you've the standard straight Kimonos yet with large fancy collars which stand tall and flairs which blow with the wind. All aspects are designed to make the character stand tall and express their wealth through fabric.

SET 2 

Again, with this style I was following my first idea yet using a different brush. I particularly like this style even though it initially sways from tradition it'd definitely produce some unique work. 

SET 3

Seen as my last few sets of images strayed from tradition I thought I'd look more into the "straight edge" appearance, here are the results from this framework.

SET 4

Throughout the duration of the next few image sets I started to focus more on body shapes themselves and different styles which could possibly be achieved. 

SET 5

After I'd taken a look into body shapes I started to think about circumferences and whether the character would be slim or chubby.

SET 6

Happy with my progression at this point I started to relax. I wondered how my character may pose and briefly started to sketch a few standing, seated, and laying positions. 

SET 7

My final set is more randomized. These are purely shaped based and came with great inspiration as I pondered over them. I started thinking more extravagantly and outside of the box, details which may not be shown until later pieces.

Next step - the next step forward will be to select the silhouettes I'm most fond of, after this selection I will begin progressing into value studies of the chosen images.