Wow, I have to say I'm pretty darn proud of this one. This is for
Illustration Friday! with the theme of the week, 'Flying.' Of course I immediately thought of Icarus who flew too close to the sun, but it was his quote that really got to me: "All limits are self imposed."
My limits are as far as I make them, so I think I went nuts with this one, working for most of the entire day on this as well as yesterday. As a bonus, here's a few work-in-progress images so you can see my process (at least... the process for this particular illustration).
First I start with solid lines, I just refer to them as 'inks.' The flames are there to give me an idea of what style I may do them in, either stylized in the same fashion as the smoke, or something else.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9U-FaM7-igsZm9XT5K6TdKppZP3oMCk-i6LbI7aiMPd5Ob2Tx824ERpjP_C6fbutyKA7Wz4kzwnT_6klQkmVmbtqWf8FP0-DK4Fc0UfIdWYD2Q9BX0FMFKxpjWrb8tNAqgmlECIziFw/s320/flyingWIP.jpg)
Next comes the background and I place flats on the front elements. The smoke I tinge with a bit of color to remind myself that Hey, I'm putting fire in there somewhere.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNs3ak2Czz22v2M2qXh0Z8jVkyAvfG1pySwawHHDsVl0x_N11AJllEEdCLKkUDOK1evmW6gFUIunm2WLyTPDlDaDiCH_eBTHHSRXoWvi5kecyqaDbAe2rimRT_V8lUkGEaj8CLdaF8yw/s320/flyingWIP2.jpg)
...And then I accidentally shut that red-tinge layer off. BUT. Now we have more background elements such as clouds, the shadows under them etc. I've also started placing a shadow on the man and his broken wings, with slight color tweaks here and there.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyPf3AEljiJDTVWwWZI0Zm49M4RlPmzGDaBhiS0oICYz66qT6SKWhQkeBACU-CKmDzchqa7kRtVz7e9k7bCO3TwIRst06_cAyF7jslsFrhL8U8snzkkTmfiramt-5FF7I7Xg2MHEcUAw/s320/flyingWIP3.jpg)
Aaaaand here's the final! Textures are brought in, the flames are painted in, embers are a-flyin' and he's most assuredly falling.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeocY0dmoUxZBc1UrbziH4-CyGBnOIh8SfhYjy3io5coXFy0IWTp_vtIxb9Nx5XKzXThx9rL-TNn6OoVA7R-79hNGWoNHSEIyVDU0UQkHwDgqKElh1J9EVdVgEytwN3OkzqohLWpmuwQ/s320/flyingFinal.jpg)
Enjoy!