Kolyma Tales Book Cover

 

Mock up for a book cover, full image below. 

Varlam Shalamov's Kolyma Tales was rereleased sometime around the end of last year. New publisher, new book cover. But I liked the old Penguin Books design with the photo of two prisoners working at what looks like a gold mining operation. So, I combined the two designs, used a couple of filters, etc. 

Was kind of bored with just that, so I added an additional layer of art and commentary. Hence the wily prisoner contemplating philosophical about the nature of Gulag, just before he suggests to the viewer that survival comes at any price, to avoid general labor, to get yourself set up with a cushy administrative or storeroom job, to grab whatever scraps of food that you can, and to stay out of the way of both bosses and criminals. You know, like the modern corporate workplace.

~ Novy Mirlag... ~ 

"Someday the Russian stage will yet see this sight! And the Russian cinema screen! The pea jackets one color and their sleeves another. Or so many patches on the pea jacket that its original cloth is totally invisible. Or a flaming pea jacket - with tatters on it like tongues of flame. Or patches on britches made from the wrappings of someone's food parcel from home, and for a long while to come one can still read the address written in the corner with an indelible pencil. And on their feet the tried and true Russian "lapti" - bast sandals - except that they had no decent "onuchi" - footcloths - to go with them. Or else they might have a piece of old automobile tire, tied right on the bare foot with a wire, an electric cord. (Grief has its own inventiveness...)

 "And then, in addition, bronze-gray camp faces will appear on the screen. Eyes oozing with tears, red eyelids. White cracked lips, covered with sores. Skewbald, unshaven bristles on the faces. In winter... a summer cap with earflaps sewn on.

I recognize you! It is you, the inhabitants of my Archipelago!"

-Solzhenitsyn; Gulag Archipelago, Vol 2


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~ Ex Post Facto... ~

...Since anything I post has to necessarily come well after I've drawn it. One of the many great mysteries of the time/space continuum.

 

Another mystery is why I'm having such a difficult time hitting female facial proportions and placement on the first pass.  

Actually, no mystery. Besides forcing myself to draw larger more often, I think a good part of it would be to simply not worry about constructing the individual features, the rendering therein, and just simplifying the shapes, drawing everything with a quick, decisive line; any construction lines, feature placement, or expressions especially. Should probably be the same approach as to doing mech design: Quick outer frame sketch first to establish dynamic shapes, then going in with whatever detail afterwards. Otherwise, it'll more than likely look too contained and indecisive once one starts fussing with rendering out where specific features go rather than how balanced the overall thing looks from a quick glance.

Pencil gives the leeway to not have to be married to the first line - which is its grace as well as its curse. Cintiq's much the same way with the Ctrl+Z undo and eraser being literally one click away (with the added disadvantage of feeling like a blunt China Marker on ice). Colerase have done a good job breaking me out of the habit of erasing, although I haven't completely kicked the jones to do so.

I think Shiyoon, Gennady, and Claire Wendling have the right idea:  Forget erasing, just restart. Redraw the hell out of it, over and over, until you've not only loosened up with your drawing in general, but also are able to hone in on what shapes, perspective, and composition looks best after having hashed the same thing out several dozen times over. This helps with technical proficiency, as well as breaking one out of their shape/design/posing comfort zone.