Welcome back, I am so happy you are here.

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Table of Contents

1. Let’s Draw! About Cecilia & Cecilia in The Woods | Illustration/Process

2. Bi-Weekly Recommendations | Closing Thoughts

Let’s Draw!

Today, I want to try something new! I thought it might be fun for us to walk through an illustration from concept to final print, so I can show a bit of the process and share what is going through my mind each step of the way. Read on, and let’s create an original piece together!

(Don’t forget to check out the complete time-lapse video at the end of this newsletter!)

About Cecilia

When I set out to create a new illustration, or anything that I know will require longer than a couple hours to finish, I always try to go in with a purpose. Maybe it’s to practice things like background, lighting, effects, expression. Discover new characters, tell a story, expand on an idea. This is probably par for the course for most artists, but I’ve found setting my expectations early gives me a solid base to fall back on when my illustration inevitably goes through an ugly phase, or if I feel like I’m struggling to get to the finish line. A lot of the fully rendered art that I produce takes anywhere from 1-10+ hours of work, so if I’m going to commit, I want my experience to hold meaning and an element of growth (even if that growth is some sort of failure).

Today, I really felt like visiting a character who has captivated me recently. Not only are they a fun character to draw, but the world they inhabit excites me a lot. If you read my initial newsletter, you will already be familiar with her!

Meet Cecilia (or Cece).

A character who is equal parts brave, calming, and mysterious to me. Initially, I drew this piece as a way to test out a new brush set, leaning into muted colors and a darker overall tone. As much fun as it was to create, the artwork was a reflection of how I felt at the time, and though I will leave interpretation up to the viewer, Cecilia stuck out to me as a bit of a shining light. A character who was experiencing the same things that I was, but doing so with deep-rooted strength.

After finishing the piece, I felt like the expression had loosened something deep down. I knew it wouldn’t be the last time Cecilia made an appearance, and a few weeks later she reappeared!

The piece was a bit more refined this time. Another depiction of my mind, my world, and there was Cecilia again. A calm in the storm, a character that felt fear, but did not let it control her.

It’s safe to say that Cece has been an inspiration of mine recently, and I felt like it was the perfect reason to continue refining her character. She clearly means a lot to me already, but I feel like there is so much left to discover, and we also have yet to see her face!

Aside from emotional connection, this world feels very easy to explore stylistically. When I draw reoccurring characters, one thing I like to do is attempt a few consecutive pieces with common thru-lines. It could be a background element, the time of day, a brush set, lighting queue, a simple vibe. Just something that allows for some cohesion without doing the same thing over and over again.

As a quick visual breakdown, here is a collection of photos that highlight some of those thru-lines, and give us a loose framework for our upcoming artwork. To start, object relation and scale are an important aspect Cece’s story.

So much of Cecilia’s world is tied to emotion, which is why I often depict her in relation to something large, vast, or farther away. The things I feel may be scary, overwhelming, unknown, or threatening, so I try to reflect that by making the environment as much of a character as Cece.

Because the background becomes such a focus it gives me a lot of leeway to play with light, leading lines, and direction. One thing I don’t want to happen, is for Cecilia to be lost or swallowed by an unintentional background. Below, I have marked several paths that were drawn to lead the eye through the piece, to an important element, or to Cece herself.

Direction is important. Adhering to the rule of thirds, creating leading lines, and knowing how to bend those rules are all principals of photography and filmmaking that are just as vital in artwork. Even things like wind, rain, and clouds, can be organic ways to lead the eye, which was a goal in the second artwork specifically.

One final thing I like to do in these pieces is to create a subtle spiral to create some movement and depth. It’s not a technique that I necessarily include in other artwork, but something about Cece’s world seems to demand it. It’s very soft, but see if you can spot it in these pictures!

So, with all of those elements in mind, let’s draw something new and keep an eye out for each of them!

“Cecilia in the Woods”

First things first, let’s establish our outline with the previous principles in mind. Some artists create a very detailed starting point and I am not one of those artists. I tend to throw down some of my biggest shapes, and get a rough understanding of scale/action. From there, I like to think of it as pushing and pulling, building on top of the artwork and eventually throwing so many layers on top of one another, that you are happy with the outcome.

Next up, let’s establish our colors and background! I find that coming up with a very basic palette early on creates more comprehensive artwork for me. Some people are better at controlling their colors, but I have a tendency to throw in way too many opposing shades, so it’s easier to set a standard, and then deviate from the center throughout my piece. Know thyself, as they say.

As a rule, I always focus on the background first. If I get too bogged down with the character from the start, I find that I ignore the environment and ultimately my work suffers because of it. I usually establish mood, set up the background, refine it partially, move to the character, and then tie the two together.

And here we have it, our final image! This one took a while to find it’s personality, and we were pretty maxed out on layers for the last couple hours of work, but I am so happy with the result. Our first time seeing Cecilia in detail, too. Although her features are simple, I feel like I spent so long trying to find something that felt right. Overall, this drawing is on the darker side, like the others featuring Cece. Something about her makes me feel more brave, and I hope she does the same for you. What are you thoughts on the result and how does it make you feel?

Thank you all for being part of my illustration today, all in, I think this took somewhere in the realm of 6-8 hours to finish (I forgot to keep track). That is a usual amount of time for a fully rendered children’s book page, personally, but two or three times longer than say a weekly sketch, or an illustration with characters I draw often. I would love to hear what you think of this segment, and if you would like to see it come back in the future!

If you want to see the image next to a full time-lapse video of the process, check it out here!: cdjouzdani.com/featured-image

Bi-Weekly Recommendations

• Be kind to yourself, be kind to someone you know, be kind to someone you don’t.

• A few songs for a quiet drive home:

  • “Death, Hello” by Run River North

  • “Hallelujah (Acoustic)” by Oh Wonder

  • “Fear of Fear” by Passenger

Support My Work!

If you enjoy what I do, please consider a donation! Not only does it support the time and effort I put into my work, but it also allows me to create more. Anything is greatly appreciated!

Thank you for being here.

You can find every previous edition on my website!