Week 6: Illustration - Revision

The following illustration is a trace of a photo, taken of the processional crucifix from our chapel here at the friary. The original wood sculpture was designed by Fr. Mark-Joseph Costello, OFM Cap.; Mark-Joseph is a student of the Chicago Art Institute and is a consultant for worship spaces all over the world...including McDonnell Chapel at Saint Xavier University. The crucifix, along with the specific lighting to project shadow onto the wall, were all designed by Mark Joseph. Because of the various ways that his crucifix embodied the areas of focus for this project, I chose this image as the piece to work on.

The image is a photo trace done with Adobe Illustrator CS5. The original image, taken at an angle below and to the right of the object, was taken with the daylight shining through the windows and with the spotlight designed for this particular piece. The image was then imported into Illustrator, where it served as a base for outlining. It is similar to a process, used when I was a kid, of placing an image against the window pane and placing a blank piece of paper on top...albeit much less technical.

Due to the nature of the actual carving, the trace had to be composed in a specific way. First and foremost, the wood carving did not have many smooth areas. The edges were sharp and drastic from the tool used to create the image. Second, the wood is porous and reflects light in a unique, non-uniform fashion. Various greens, browns, reds, magentas, and shades of grey can compose a small area of this image. Third, the image captures an image of depth; a 3-dimensional object is casting a 2-dimensional shadow onto a flat surface. All of these considerations were made before even starting on the actual piece.

The cross was the smoothest part of the image, and that was drawn first. The cross also has the most light reflected onto it's surface...again because it is the smoothest part of the object. This would also serve as the initial point for the viewer's eyes, After the cross was rendered, the reconstruction of the corpus was done from the bottom to the top. Starting with the toes, the actual trace became a mosaic of values and saturations, attempting to properly render reality for that area. Because of the way light reflects on wood, much of the work was done at a highly magnified scale. Some of the work cannot be seen by the naked eye, but creates a visual effect of shading and gradient as the different hues merge together in this image.

Right foot at 6400%

Trace of image at same magnification.

In a similar way, the process was repeated for each aspect of the body. This method, connecting colors like a puzzle rather than building layers on layers, required over 1000 layers and over 30 hours of composition.

As I continued to draw and compare the trace with the original picture, I was aware of a desire to render as realistic an image as possible. It was not necessarily because of the picture, but because of the theological importance that the image represented, and that the trace would also represent. Reminded of the European artists who painted images of the Bible, their works were used to instruct and to provide a visual connection with their viewer's faith. At this point, I realized that the overall concept of the piece would be theological in nature, and one that would be emphasized with a composition that best rendered reality.

The construction of the head of the corpus was the most exhaustive process. Countless shapes and hues were used to render an overall image that was as real as the original. The shape was traced against the original, then a proper hue was selected to best represent that area. Sometimes the decision of the color value was as exhaustive as the drawing of the actual shape. And since much of the work was done up close, I was forced to zoom in and out to see how the viewer would eventually see the artwork.

Face of "Eccolo" at 2400%.

The background of the piece is a huge part of the piece in that it frames the shadow of the crucifix against a believable backdrop. I grabbed a color from the original picture, then used a transparent radial gradient to transfer from the background color to the white that would represent the light source. I adjusted the opacity of the gradient as well as of the shadow in hopes of meshing the two together.

Another important part of the background is the actual title and information required of the piece. The word "Eccolo" is Italian for "Behold Him," a Christological understanding that was started with Saint Clare of Assisi. "Behold him, consider him, contemplate him...and desire to imitate him" is the entire quote. Wanting a title that would both set the concept of this piece while still convincing the viewer of the 3-dimensional nature of the image, the title became part of the image. The text was rendered using the 3-D Object tool in Illustrator, then matched to align with the overall angle of the image. The text works to convince the viewer that they are seeing this object from a specific angle, that they are viewing the object near a flat surface, and the depth of the overall piece is real.

It is my hope that this image, created only as a realistic rendering of a reality, is a tool or device by which people are able to enter into an internal discussion of their Christological faith.

As always, a picture of the work from my MacBookPro at home.