Okay, so check it out, I’m gonna walk you through this little project I messed around with called “april and alessa youth.” It was kinda cool, kinda messy, but hey, that’s how we learn, right?
First off, I had this idea bouncing around in my head about capturing, like, a really raw, almost documentary-style vibe for these two fictional characters, April and Alessa. I wanted to show them as young, maybe a little rebellious, and definitely full of that youthful energy. So, I started by just brainstorming a ton of ideas. I wrote down all sorts of random stuff – places they might hang out, things they might do, the kind of clothes they might wear.
Then, I moved on to gathering references. Pinterest became my best friend. I spent hours scrolling through photos of edgy teens, street style, and gritty urban landscapes. I was looking for anything that resonated with the image I had in my head. I saved everything – color palettes, poses, even specific textures I wanted to try and recreate.
Next up? The actual “doing” part. I decided to try a mix of digital painting and photo manipulation. I found some free stock photos online (yeah, I’m a cheapskate, sue me) that had the general look I was going for. Then, I imported them into my image editing software.
Here’s where things got a little hairy. I started painting over the stock photos, adding details, exaggerating certain features, and basically just trying to make them look less…stock-y. I messed around with different brushes, blending modes, and color adjustments. It was a lot of trial and error, I won’t lie. There were definitely moments where I wanted to throw my computer out the window.
One of the biggest challenges was getting the lighting right. I wanted it to feel natural, but also dramatic. I ended up spending a lot of time studying how light interacts with different surfaces in real life. I tried to mimic that in my digital paintings, using highlights and shadows to create depth and dimension.
After I was somewhat happy with the overall look, I started adding in some extra details. Things like graffiti, stickers, and little bits of grunge to give it that authentic, lived-in feel. I also played around with adding some subtle texture overlays to give it a bit more visual interest.
Finally, I spent some time color grading the image. I wanted to give it a slightly desaturated, almost vintage look. I used a combination of color curves and selective color adjustments to achieve the desired effect.
Was it perfect? Hell no. There are definitely things I would do differently if I were to do it again. But, you know what? I learned a ton in the process. I got more comfortable with my digital painting skills, and I discovered some new techniques that I can use in future projects.
Here’s a quick rundown of the tools I used:
- Image editing software (the usual stuff)
- Pinterest (for inspiration, duh)
- Stock photos (the free kind!)
And that’s pretty much it. “april and alessa youth” wasn’t some masterpiece, but it was a fun little experiment that helped me push my creative boundaries. And that’s what it’s all about, right?
