“Forest Nights”

“Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night.” 

― Edgar Allan Poe, Eleonora

The original sketch

This artwork is inspired by a work by @Visualpotions I saw on Instagram. I am quite often inspired by the works of other artists on the internet. I love how Nathalie Huijbers can play with colors and light in her artworks. My plan was to create a forest at night where the moon tries to hide. It should cast long shadows on the viewer, as it would be right there, behind the trees. The fawn was not planned at all in the beginning. This was added later in the editing process.

Matching pictures

At the beginning, as always, is the picture search. I found the forest picture very quickly. I paid special attention to the right shadows in the direction of the observer. I was not sure whether I should take a moon out of a picture or just draw it myself. When I couldn't find a suitable picture of a moon that was bright enough for me, I simply created the moon myself. I worked with shapes and was able to put the moon behind the trees pretty quickly. I was quite happy with that.

Colors and atmosphere

Then it was a case of matching the pictures to each other and creating a magical atmosphere. I gave the moon an extra shine and a few rays of light. I wonder which light it reflects? Then I gave the fawn a bright border to make it look more realistic and created some reflecting particles in the air to give the digital artwork an even more magical and surreal atmosphere. Finally I made the shadows in the picture a bit brighter and then I was satisfied with the result.