Town Illustration
I wanted to add some more imagery to my 'about me' page, I already had the standard photo of myself but it looked a little blank. I had the idea of surrounding the image with some drawings, and originally I thought about drawing things related to me. For example, I drew landmarks from places I've lived, items related to hobbies etc. After doing so I thought it looked a little odd and cliched. I remembered I had done a drawing a while ago for my boyfriend of the city we live in. I thought maybe I could use this image instead. It says more about me, but not in a predictable way.
I drew the original image using Uni Posca pens. These pens are great because they have an opaque finish like paint, so you can layer them up if you need to, or just use them to make solid blocks of colour. I originally drew the illustration in my sketchbook, so I ripped it out to give to my boyfriend. Unfortunately one of us spilled a drink on it before I had bought a frame, so the original was a little water damaged.
When I decided to use the image for my 'about me' page, I scanned it in and retouched it to get rid of the water damage. I also changed the colours to match my brand colours and used the stamp tool to place them around my image. I wanted to have elements of the image overlapping the picture, like the road and houses, so I changed these to a multiply transparency so they encase the image.
I am pleased with the result, it adds character and a bit of background to what was a boring photo. It's nice that I was able to use a drawing I had already made and already meant something to me.