Joan of Arc - Brief 4, Book Illustrations
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Joan of Arc was a French heroine during the Hundred Years' War in 1429. She believed that she had been gifted with divine guidance, convincing Charles VII that she could lead French army to victory. A year later she was captured and put on trial by the English, who soon after burnt the girl at stake at only 19 years old. Over the centuries Joan of Arc has become an iconic historical figure, being referenced in different types of media to this day.
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Videos
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Articles
Influences
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Nick Marinkovich
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Cocorrina
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Amrit Brar
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At the start of my research I spent some time looking into tarot cards, a lot of artwork of Joan of Arc reminded me of similar poses I’d seen in these. I thought about using them as references when it comes to making some final pieces.
I then looked into some comic artists when I had the idea to do the book illustration as a modern comic book cover.
I then looked into some comic artists when I had the idea to do the book illustration as a modern comic book cover.
Jorge Jimenez
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Dan Mora
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Belén Ortega
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Anato Finnstark
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Single Front Cover ideas
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When it came to creating the mockups, my goal was to portray Joan as a feminist hero, someone who earned the respect for those around her. I also wanted to make her presented as a warrior, so most ideas include her with her sword or flag in hand.
Double Page Spread inspiration
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When looking for inspiration on double spread pages in comics, I specially searched for ones that had a spider web like split between them since I wanted to incorporate that heavenly light that’s depicted a lot in art behind someone.
Bilquis Evely
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Quick design
Double Page Spread Ideas
For most of my quick ideas I went more towards how Joan of Arc was a hero. Ones where she holds her sword in one hand and the flag in another felt like the most dramatic approach that I wanted to go for.
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Cover?
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Double Page Spread (first)
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Final outcome
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After having feedback, i think it would be ideal to include an army in the background. While the raising of the flag and sword can indicate her victory over the way, i believe some more context clues would be useful.
Altered colour palette to match the French flag
Single Front Cover
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During the development of the front cover, following a similar approach to my first mockups, i tried giving the spotlight to Joan. Being in a male only field I wanted to keep males out of any illustrations to give focus to her and her achievements. However i think i could improve on the pose to make it more obvious she's on her knees, and change her expression to look less in pain.
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Final outcome
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Altered colour palette to match French flag
Double Page Spread (second)
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When it came to designing the double page spread, i had in mind to include flames referencing her death of being burned. While i'm happy with the skills of the illustration, i feel i lost the look of pain and anguish she would of felt at the time. Instead the emotion i gave was more towards anger.
If I redid this piece, i would like to spend more time on the design to achieve a more graphic novel style for the illustration.