Because the devil is in the details. No, seriously—learn to draw flowers, and trees, bushes, leaves, and grass. Learn how to get them to look right, and then make up a few of your own. Such things are in the details of book covers, internal illustrations, paintings and playing cards. You need to master them if your artwork is to be complete. This might seem obvious for pictures of outdoor scenes, but offices and lobbies tend to have pot plants, gardens grow outside urban windows, and vases of flowers can be found in hospitals, at grave sites, and on dining-room tables. Think mausoleums and funeral parlours for your zombie or vampire illustrations, that alien funeral. Draw upon plants to lend your futuristic office scene some life—regardless of whether its elves and trolls, or cyborgs and hackers who flesh out your corporate world. Think on hydroponic gardens seen through moon domes, or situated in the heart of your inter-galactic starship. Plant-life of some kind only makes your work more real.
This science fiction cover illustrates something of what I mean.
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| 'Partnership' (Orbit Books, 1994) - no artist credited |
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| Flower detail from 'Partnership' (Orbit Books 1994) |
Another of my favourite books by one of my favourite authors.
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