Illustration Friday: Unicorn

Initial Ideas

• Magic
• Riding a unicorn
• Flying unicorn
• Uni-cone
• Unicorn blood (makes you immortal)
• Unicycle
• University
• Corn
• Corn on the cob

Thumbnails

I wanted to try and take a cartoon/comical effect on the theme of 'unicorn' by constructing a play on words. I didn't complete as many roughs as I should have done because I was pretty set on the idea of 'uni-cone', with the character of a wishful thinking horse with a make-shift horn made from an ice-cream cone. As I was rushing for time ever so slightly, I didn't really take into consideration the composition of the image, making it look like I set out for it to be quite plain/ haphazard. However if I would have included more elements e.g. a background/ other things happening in the image then it may have drawn away from the main focus and narrative of the character.

Reference imagery

I generally find horses really difficult to draw, so I gathered a few images from the internet and did some quick drawings to practice the scale and proportion of the unicorn figure. Later on I decided to just crop into the head of the unicorn but nevertheless it was good practice.

Process

I decided to challenge myself and construct this image by digitally painting on photoshop; something I have never done before. I chose a textured brush and used layers to build up the dimensions, using shading and toning to bring the unicorn to life. I struggled a lot with blending the colours together to make them look realistic, but this is something that I can practice over time.

Evaluation

My final outcome on a personal note is quite successful considering that I don't have a lot of confidence using photoshop brushes, although if I were to have used a media that I was more comfortable in working in, I would have enhanced the complexity of the image. Still, the final image portrays a humorous narrative in which an audience can relate to on a light-hearted level.