Creating Butterfly Skies

Hello all~

This post isn't about animation. I've recently finished a collage piece that is inspired by my animated short, The Elusive Green Elephant. I'm sharing my process for making this type of collage.

First, I start with a sketch. The Elusive Green Elephant, especially the purple flower field, is on my mind a lot. So, I sketched out a scene in my reMarkable. The composition looked strong, so I did a color study.

When I make a collage, the color study is a loose suggestion. I use the study to find the relationship that the colors should have with each other. Once that is done, I start looking for the papers. I prefer patterned and/or textured papers. I've had this sketch for nearly a year but was uninspired by the papers I had at my disposal. A few months ago, I found a paper store local to me called Passport Paper. I found the most beautiful deep blue paper.

Now, you may have noticed the sky was purple in the color study. I decided to shift other colors to play off the blue sky. The flowers were created with 4 different patterns within the same color range. In real life, all flowers are different, and so are these. The first 2 smaller rows in the back are connected. By the 3rd row, the flowers are cut out individually with 2 layers. A different pattern on each layer.

In the end, it gives the field a layered, textured look. [pic] Now, the butterflies. The sky is blue, and butterflies are blue, but they still need to stand out. I found a beautiful, textured, light blue paper to be the base. I found some high-quality crayons (also from Passenger Paper) to draw the patterns on the wings. Finally, I used purple washi paper thread for the body and antenna.

Voila! Done!

I'm happy with the final piece. I'll be selling both the original and prints in my shop.