Sketchdaily theme from November was “Space Travel”. Once I tried to paint a space theme in watercolor. It was incredibly hard to get a real sense of the enormous debt in space when working in that media.
This time I went for a digital drawing to get that necessary multi layered effect and complete darkness. I used a couple of Hubble Telescope images as reference and inspiration. I am happy how that turned out. I love the soft, cloudy feel of the nebula and the almost sprinkled, sparkly shine of the many stars.
I have very little experience in drawing space crafts. In this example I wanted the space craft to look metallic, but still have a soft, organic, almost animal touch. As if it was a creature moving through space with a mind of its own.
The little space craft turned out a tough learning experience. It was partly frustrating, partly very interesting to make. I added a bit of reflected light over its upper rim in the end, and I think that worked. The space craft floating in the foreground of the scene very much enhanced the debt in the image.
Larger resolution
Creating machinery that looks like it’s actually working is a challenge I should look more into. I have a stash of my own reference photos of different machines and machine parts, collected for this exact purpose. I have a hunch it might be a lot of fun to play with, since rusty old metal parts are always interesting. The Danish artist Storm P. would be an excellent source of inspiration too.
