Case studies-a deeper dive
Some of my work had a larger development process with multiple layers of design. This page highlights those projects along with the often unseen development process. As I worked through these projects, I documented the sketches, ideation and research all of which are featured here with the final results showcased at the end.
The Nokna Mori
A three stage process
Sketch & Thumbnail
I needed to create something that looked as if it had emerged from the pit of the darkest nightmare. The challenging part was conceptualizing something that did not resemble a clip-art monster. None of my sketches were satisfying me. Randomly, I was watching a YouTube video where an effect was used that distorted the face of a person and I immediately drew inspiration from the visual effect. This became the first sketch of the creature as a melted, distorted humanoid with its mouth agape. I then did a pastel thumbnail sketch of potential colors for it
Finalizing
The Nokna Mori Nightmare – Illustration (18×24”, Pastel on paper, April 2023)
After the thumbnail sketch, I translated the creature over to my final medium of an 18×24” drawing paper. I used pastel and embraced the expressionism art style to encapsulate the idea of a nightmare given the loser qualities of the medium and style. I changed the color from yellow to blue to better contrast against a fiery, hellish background. I used tape to create a physical border for the final illustration. At this stage, the creature was ambiguous. Questions pertaining to the origins of this creature would remain unanswered until later.
A Lesson in Anatomy
with the pastel illustration, and it needed to be expanded upon. I began with quick sketches for what the anatomical structure of the monster would look like as well as in other angles and facial expressions. It was important to keep the grotesque qualities of the pastel drawing, but add reasoning behind why it looks they way that it does. Some of the stylization of expressionism had to be toned down. The best way to explain the oozy nature of the creature was via a viscous material that oozes forth from fissures in its solid body, namely the torso.
Drawing the Body
I physically drew a complete turn around of the creature. I took inspiration from the appearance of great apes and monkeys with their powerful upper body strength and long arms to give the creature an even more unusual appearance. The proportions at first were based on the creature’s head. Later, when I digitized the drawing, I changed the proportions to be based on the torso given that the head was different from traditional characters.
It Lives
The Nokna Mori – Model Sheet (11 x 17”, Pencil to digital illustration, October 2023)
Once I scanned the drawing, I redrew its body in basic vector shapes, finalized colors, and develop the lore. The creature would finally be named the Nokna Mori; a combination of the Slavic word for “nightmare” and the Latin word for “to die.” It is an entity that dwells in the realm of the unconscious mind.
Wire & Bulk
This would be new territory for me, creating a fully realized character as a physical model. Luckily, the Nokna Mori’s appearance was dictated by the model sheet. I found the entire model making process to be fun and flowed with ease. I began by first creating a skeletal wire frame. Next, I bulked the body frame with aluminum so as to reduce excess weight and spare as much polymer clay as possible.
Refinement & Finalizing
Clay was continuously added and layered with details coming into light over the duration of the process. I used plastic sculpting tools to achieve the finer details like the mouth, teeth, eye sockets, etc. Once sculpting was done, I baked the sculpture in an oven to solidify the clay. This would allow me to paint the body of the Nokna Mori with a few layers of acrylic paint.
Lights, Camera, Action
Documenting the Nokia Mori was the final and most important part. The photo shoot was done in my garage. A dirty and grimy workbench served to add to the creature’s environment. I also used a four light set up with lamps lying around the house, and an orange flashlight.
The Ultimate Result
The Nokna Mori – Figure (4 x 10”, Acrylic on polymer clay, photographs, December 2023)
The overall development of the Nokna Mori was a success. What originally started as unnamed, evolved into a fully realized creature with a story to it. I aspire to continually develop the Nokna Mori into other mediums going into the future.
