Moving through grief
This was one of six illustrations commissioned by Autostraddle (a queer online magazine) for for their 'How to Survive A Post(?)-COVID World' series. This illustration accompanies a dreamy, emotional piece on the push-pull between grief and growth by shea wesley martin, which you can find here.
Inspiration
The illustration shows someone wading through what looks like a flooded landscape; underneath the water, weeds bind around their feet and ankles making it hard for them to walk. There is light above the surface, a sunrise maybe in the distance, and things striving to grow. The concept draws on shea’s beautiful descriptions of their dream and waking-life experiences of nature, and what it aims to show is the pull of grief below the surface; a force that the body physically strains against. The person in the illustration exists in an in-between place; they are simultaneously in the above and below worlds, where things are alive but also where the darkness pulls at them and slows their movements.
Method
The leafy branches and rippling water textures were created using scans of black ink on paper. The rest of the image was rendered digitally using Procreate and Photoshop.
Turnaround Time
Rough: within same day of receiving article text (3 hours)
Final: 8 hours