Case study:

The goal of this project was to create an illustration for a magazine focusing on wellness and balanced living. The image was inspired by a man I once saw sitting at a nearby table. He had a warm voice and shrugged off a brown leather jacket. A bead necklace, keys, and wire headphones made him distinctive. But his eyes struck me the most. He seemed lonely and sad, even when he smiled. I quickly took out my sketchbook and began sketching.

the modern struggle of loneliness

To create tension, I combined the character’s expression with a tempting dessert of champagne, strawberries, and almond apple pie in warm colors.

The result was a work that captured the unspoken isolation felt by many, despite their lives appearing outwardly successful and fulfilling.

the process

I imported the sketch into Fresco and completed the illustration mostly from memory.

I used online images for details of the champagne flute, headphones, and strawberries.

The restaurant’s tablecloths were originally a blue and white checkered pattern, which I kept initially, pairing it with a green t-shirt for the character. However, to evoke a sense of hope in the environment, I decided to change the tablecloth to green and swapped the green t-shirt for the color of the jacket the man had been wearing.