An Afternoon Bathing // Artist Study

Before I make a video and forget the plot again, I've decided to pen my thoughts down before I even start colouring. Like my Ode to the Colour Purple illustration (that's not what it's called, but I don't have another more appropriate name), I'm inspired to create something in another artist's homage. This time, my idol's name is Igor Shcherbakov.

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Somewhat frequently, I see Scherbakov's work all over Pinterest. More specifically, this painting, called Two on a Bridge, an oil painting depicting two subjects lounging by an overgrown pond. 

Closer to the viewer, we have a tanned masculine back rendered in blue shadows with spots of sunlight, hunched over a rickety wooden plank bridge. He gazes at a pale-skinned woman stretching, her arms featuring this pink tint that glows against the cool blue tone of her body.

Due to the angle, the painting captures a wide view of the pond. In the distance, where the sunlight shines, green and brown lilly pads float into the scene and rest along the curve of the pond, where wild grass, rendered in rough strokes, creates a loose border to encircle the subjects.

Scherbakov renders water ripples in a rather unique way that's vaguely reminiscent of impressionistic brush strokes that prioritise loose brush strokes over realism.

Bright indigo highlights swirl on the water's surface, paralleling the slight curve of the wooden plank. They're swirls of a solid colour, reflecting neither the sky above nor the water bed underneath. Considering how dark the water looks, the swirls look like oil, giving the impression that it's a slow, humid day for the subjects.

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My first mockup

Hi, YouTube! I probably did a terrible job explaining myself in my video. I'm a better writer than a talker, so may this blurb guide you towards understanding my creative vision. :)

This is the first mock-up for my illustration where Vista is bathing by a pond. I talked a little more about that in this video, but the tldr is, I wanted to portray a sense of calm and tranquillity on a blistering hot day.

In hindsight, this colour palette isn't bad! The purples mingle beautifully with orange highlights, so much so that it turned his dark brown hair to this faded purple. The greens were pleasant to look at, and so were the pops of blues. 

However, while creating this, I was just irritable and very stressed because it doesn't look right. The values didn't line up, and I was confused about where the light should come from. 

Originally, I wanted him to be in shadow while the environment shines in sunlight. Somehow, that didn't work for m,e and I couldn't give up giving him rim lighting along his face and chest. 

Additionally, Vista's warm skin tone and purple water background don't match. As much as his body should have that slight purple glow from the water, the water should also reflect his skin tone. Or, the water should have some orange because water is reflective. I worked hard on my second iteration to reflect that insight.

Second iteration

Not a bad attempt! 

It's more cohesive. The oranges and greens are not as stark of a contrast as the blues and oranges I envisioned. I like the emerald greens in the background paired with some lovely yellowish-greens. The hints of purple were a nice callback to the original idea, injecting whimsy.

I can see why I wanted to go with this. It makes sense, and the values were clearer. Plus, this version more clearly communicates daytime with its more yellowish tint, which implies sunlight, rather than the first iteration, which feels more nighttime. 

However, it lacks the whimsy of the previous iteration, so I couldn't go with it even if it felt 'easier' to execute.

Back to the drawing board!

Third iteration

Literally the following morning (today), I tried to do better and the results were... 

Well, it's a little odd. It's not the worst. I fixed the cohesiveness issue from the first iteration with an overlay layer that creates a dark, bluish-purple shadow over his person. This overlay blending mode also lets me add red highlights like the subtle hints of it found in Scherbakov's painting, so I'll keep it.

Yet, it has yet to meaningfully incorporate those warm yellows I like so much from the second. If anything, they looked out of place in the purple water. Nonetheless, it's a step closer towards the colours I'm thinking of.

Fourth and final (?) iteration

So here we are now! It's still not an afternoon scene set at noon like I promised in my video, but it's certainly passable for a late afternoon scene if I preserve this orange light.

I like the purple on the four corners framing the piece, pushing our attention towards the subject and the leaves just behind him. I think some lily pads should be purple to keep the colours unified—it doesn't have to be realistic—and add some visual interest to the overall scene so it won't just be green, green, green.

While the rest of the illustration will feature rough brush strokes in the overlay layer, I'll do away with the red dappled lights I showed earlier. I still want a clean polish to everything after all. Instead, I'll rough those in on a separate layer for more control over the textures.

Another thing I want to add is sunlight above everything, creating a hazy golden glow that makes the piece feel intimate, like we're really intruding on something. It'll also contrast nicely against the shadows, which I find too dark.

Generally, this is super pretty and has lots of room to develop. I love doing colour mockups like this because they give me a very early indication of what my vision could look like. If I pull it off here, it'll take a load off me and allow me to focus on cleaning up the lines and rendering. 

Is this a good representation of Scherbakov's work? No, far from it. However, I don't regret attempting this experiment. His artistry is beyond me. He depicts the human form with such loose, expressive strokes while imbuing substance to their bodies, and that's something to aspire towards. 

I guess that's the fun of studying others. You raise your standards as you try and chase their's.