Under Wonderland
12in x 18in digital image
Overview
Under Wonderland is a digital art piece featured within my Fairytale Portfolio. A consistent theme of my Fairytale Portfolio is taking characters and themes from popular fairytales and mythos and applying them to modern society with a darker twist. This piece explores the effects of drug usage on people through a reinterpretation of Lewis Carol’s Alice in Wonderland. As the story has often been noted for its similarities to LSD, it was easy to draw a connection between drug use and Alice. This portrays the distortion of reality that comes with drug use. Not just the literal distortion, such as hallucinations, but also the denial a person suffering from addiction faces to accurately view their situation with the gravity it requires. For some, it may even become an escape, just like Wonderland was for Alice.
Process
I first sketched out what I envisioned the final product to look like: I knew I wanted it to look like smoke was billowing from her lips, and that she was sitting on an oversized toadstool. Keeping this image in mind, I held a photoshoot with the model in the photo. Together, we compiled a wardrobe that I found suitable for the aesthetic I was attempting to achieve: a mix of mismatched yet cohesive clothing that somewhat reflects the blue attire of Alice to create the oddity presented. After reviewing the photos, I picked one and entered it into a drawing app, where I began to digitally redraw the scene.
Tools Used
- Canon EOS Rebel T3i
- Procreate