In progress:
Final Piece:
Describe:
For this project, I created an image of a leopard gecko climbing down a shelf of multi colored rocks. I used colored pencils, layering them over each other to create the effect of the shining stones. The gecko itself also contains lots of layering and blending. This helped me more accurately create the natural yellow/orange effect that the gecko's scales create. The gecko appears to be walking down a wall of rocks, but judging by the color of them, compared to a leopard gecko's natural habitat, this picture likely takes place within a gecko's terrarium.
Analyze:
I mainly tried to go for a picture that very heavily used the unique movement of a gecko as it's focus. You can almost see the lizard crawling down the rocks, especially with how it's tail is swaying as well. Another principle of design used in this piece is emphasis. The gecko is very light, and while the rocks in the background have color, they are mostly dark, which actually allowed me to use almost no lines on the outline of the gecko. You can see it's form without them because of the contrast and emphasis on the lizard. As you can see from my references, I took heavy inspiration from the one with the rocky background. Also, you may not have noticed (I doubt you are a leopard gecko expert) that the lizards in my references are not normal leopard geckos. (normal and wild geckos look like this ). They are a specific morph, or breed, of gecko. While still a leopard gecko, the morph is called "Tangerine" and is personally my favorite gecko morph.
Interpret:
This piece was created while I was setting up a leopard gecko enclosure in my house. I was very excited to soon have such a wonderful pet, and used this as inspiration for my donation piece. The piece is meant to show the unique charm and nature of this curious gecko. It stands out because it shows that a lizard, though not a traditional pet, can be cute too. I really like this aspect of it because it means a lot to me, a person who really loves reptiles.
Judgement:
I really like how this piece came out. It was extremely helpful practice for blending colored pencils, creating textures, and overall learning the anatomy of a rather strangely built animal. The biggest challenge for me was the texture and shape of the gecko itself. I wanted to give the illusion that the lizard was climbing down, towards the viewer. To do this, I needed to recreate the side to side motion of a lizard walking, and correctly build it's anatomy. I think I succeeded at both of these things. The only thing I didn't really like the look of in this project is the background. The yellow stones to be specific. They have a little too much yellow and stand out from the other, more black stones. If I did this piece again, I would not have as much yellow in the background. Overall, I was very happy with this piece.
