Vagina Dentata Zine Illustrations Stages of the progress and development of my 4 sci-fi feminist illustrations for Smin Smith, Editor in Chief of Vagina Dentata Zine (Coming 2016)
PROCESS
In all of these works I started off with reference images of the cult characters. I then created detailed pencil illustrations of each one but adapted and changed them a lot. I wanted to make them slightly cartoony and surreal to fit with the fashion/sci-fi theme. The colour schemes for my mood boards were based on the Vagina Dentata Zine’s Instagram feed and consisted of a lot of pastel tones, so the colour palettes for the digital illustrations followed this trend. I used Adobe Photoshop to add colour and lot’s of detail to the work once it had been scanned in and as a last step I removed most, if not all, of the original pencil drawing. I used the photo references only for ideas of shadowing and a few details that the pencil drawing may have missed. But on the most part I did not use the photo references for the digital steps of creating the illustration. I wanted to be creative in colours and details for this. Overall I am really happy with them and I am so glad I have managed to complete them to a standard I am proud of. I think the Ellen Ripley one works best as it is so simple and has a white background, yet the detail and care in the illustration itself is still so concentrated. The cat, (which I made slightly larger and fluffier!) also gives it a bit more emotional value. If I were to change anything it would be to add some more meaning and symbolism in the illustration in the beginning pencil stages as I feel maybe the work is missing some feminist messages that it could have pushed forward a bit more so.
BARBARELLA 'The main thing about this role is to keep her innocent. You see, Barbarella is not a vamp and her sexuality is not measured by the rules of our society. She is not being promiscuous, but she follows the natural reaction of another type of upbringing. She is not a so-called 'sexually liberated woman' either. That would mean rebellion against something. She is different. She was born free.'
Hair Shading, Highlights and Shadows
Finals – CMYK (for print) RGB (for online)
PRINCESS LEIA
Leia has been called a 1980s icon, a feminist hero and model for other adventure heroines. Anthony Breznican of Entertainment Weekly describes Leia as a 'diplomat, spy, warrior, undercover agent.' Mark Edlitz calls her 'a smart, feisty, brave diplomat and warrior' in The Huffington Post. Fisher told Rolling Stone in 1983: 'There are a lot of people who don't like my character in these movies; they think I'm some kind of space bitch. She has no friends, no family; her planet was blown up in seconds ... so all she has is a cause. From the first film [Star Wars], she was just a soldier, front line and center. The only way they knew to make the character strong was to make her angry. In Return of the Jedi, she gets to be more feminine, more supportive, more affectionate.'
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WONDER WOMAN
In a 1943 issue of The American Scholar, Marston wrote: 'Not even girls want to be girls so long as our feminine archetype lacks force, strength, and power. Not wanting to be girls, they don't want to be tender, submissive, peace-loving as good women are. Women's strong qualities have become despised because of their weakness. The obvious remedy is to create a feminine character with all the strength of Superman plus all the allure of a good and beautiful woman.'
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ELLEN RIPLEY 'She’s not a sidekick, arm candy, or a damsel to be rescued. Starting with Alien, Ripley was a fully competent member of a crew or ensemble — not always liked and sometimes disrespected, but doing her job all the same. As each film progresses, she comes to the fore and faces challenges head-on — she’s the hero of the piece, in other words... Ripley isn’t a fantasy version of a woman. Science fiction film is filled with hot kickass women doing impossible things with guns and melee weapons while they spin about like a gymnast in a dryer. As fun as that is to watch, at the end of the day it’s still giving women short shrift, since what they are then are idealized killer fembots rather than actual human beings. Ripley, on the other hand, is pushy, aggressive, rude, injured, suffering from post-traumatic syndrome, not wearing makeup, tired, smart, maternal, angry, empathetic, and determined to save others, even at great cost to herself. All without being a spinny killbot.'
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