- The Calm After the Storm -
by Tora Anne Thompson

A LITTLE BACKSTORY

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Why umbrellas?

I have been in a creative low lately. No inspiration and little determination to find some. When I am in this state I turn to education. Color theory, lighting, editing, etc… Around 1:00 am I was listening to audio of artist Brooke Shaden describing umbrellas as a universal symbol. I was immediately flooded with ideas that included an umbrella. It is definitely not an object I have ever thought about using in a concept but I decided to go with it.

THE CONCEPT

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I wanted to capture a sense of darkness and light within the same image. The words that came to my mind when were despair and hope. Building upon those two words, an image began to appear.

THE PROCESS

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As an artist, you quickly learn that sometimes the concept you see in your mind isn’t what will unfold when you begin to assemble the pieces. Learning to go with the changes is incredibly hard but essential for success. If you cannot let go, you will lose it all.

This concept did not end the way I had planned but I love the results nonetheless. You will notice that in the time-lapse I do not show the first umbrellas being placed. The original concept involved multiple implied nude figures holding the sea of umbrellas but I did not care for what I seen so the concept was modified.

(Video Note: I do not go into detail for every move or layer. This post is meant to simply show the process I took when creating the image.)

Detail Crops