The Four Seasons Project

The Four Seasons Project is all about me creating a different artwork every year with the theme of the four seasons in mind. I did this initially so that I can track my improvements, as in, see how much I'm improving throughout the years (if I have). I also wanted to give myself a reason to draw the seasons again and again, heehee, because I found the concept very interesting and the ideas for it seemed limitless.

Without further ado, I present to you, my artworks. Thank you for taking the time to view them. I sincerely hope that you enjoy them, as much as I did while creating them ^^.

2005 - The Faeries

For my very first set, I was highly inspired by Neil Gaiman's the Endless brothers. The concept of the seven brothers and sisters and the way that he portrayed them, were some things that I wanted to incorporate to the characters of the seasons. The idea is that the four faeries are not muses of the season, nor are they guardians or anything of that kind. Instead, they ARE the seasons themselves. If you are not familiar with the Endless siblings, I suggest you read up about them. Neil Gaiman is a genius and the concept will be better understood through his explanations.

I was at my last year in high school when I was drawing this. I remember inking it during class hours. The lineart was the main ingredient in the drawing. No fancy backgrounds, just a gradient for each box. I wanted to connect the four as well, so I had the idea of placing them all in the same tree. The end result didn't show this very much, because I don't think I was able to blend it well, but if you look closely, they're supposed to be hanging on the same tree.

The colors I used for the next years were patterned on the color scheme of this one.

2006 - Art Nouveau

The art style of Alfons Mucha was the great inspiration for these pieces. 2006 was the year I visited Europe, and from France, I brought home replicas of Alfons Mucha's paintings form the sidewalk (silly of me, but back then I didn't know it was his works; I just found the artworks very pretty). These paintings are currently still hanging on my wall directly above the framed prints of my own Art Nouveau pieces.

Unlike the first one, the Seasons this time were not depicted as anything fantastical; they were merely subjects of an Art Nouveau painting. I chose to do this style because it was very classical. I have always been a fan of the art style; admiring it for its elegance and elaboration. I love how everything is highly stylized. It was a very challenging style to incorporate to my own personal style and this was also one of the reasons why I decided to go with this for that year.

Summer gave me the most complications in terms of choosing the right colors. I wanted more pink, but couldn't make it work. Spring was a bit of a trouble too (but it was the first one I finished) because I didn't want to make it too bright. Well, achieved that. But it doesn't look too spring-ish either. Haha. More gothic, don't you think? But all the same, I enjoyed doing this series very much. I was able to test my patience and skills.

You may view my Deviant Art gallery for larger photos of the four.

2007 - The Marionettes

Beginning September, I have been worrying about thinking up of an idea for this year's Four Seasons Project. I didn't have any idea at all for this piece and I have been obsessing over the idea of thinking of an idea that I thought I'd go crazy. But I should have known better already. The best ideas come to you unexpected. And sometimes the best drawings are the drawings you only categorized as a doodle from the start.

I was bordering around the idea of using the Japanese fashion "Lolita" and the theme "Masquerades". I couldn't quite bring them together successfully though so I tried a different approach. I started doodling a random Lolita character and added strings on her hand. I liked what I did so I drew curtains, altered the outfit, added furs, boots and drew a little ornament in her head. It was then that Winter was born.

The other seasons were not drawn until about a week after, but all three were drawn on the same day. I drew them only once and that was it. Usually I would erase a whole lot and the end product would be totally different from where I begun, but not this time. What you see here is 95% the same as what I doodled originally. I don't know if it was the nice rainy weather, but something was really inspiring me that day. And whatever it was, I'm glad it did.

I'm really happy with the way this turned out. I honestly didn't think that I could do a better job than what I did last year (not meaning to say that what I did last year was so great, I only meant to say that I couldn't think up of a better idea for this year).

Marionettes are something that have always fascinated me. They remind me of carnivals and traditional carnivals are something I love. I gave each of them huge pink cheeks to make them more doll-like. As some of you probably already know, I really adore dolls. This concept was near to my heart and I think that's one of reasons why I got so into creating this and also the reason why I'm happy with the result. I was very happy while I was drawing this and that's essential for a good picture.

I plan on creating a short story, poem or any sort of literary piece for this drawing. I'll keep you guys posted.