Redux: Where to Go from Here
What you see above is the original version of my artwork concept “Where to Go from Here” from 2011. When I came up with this concept, I was feeling so very lost. I didn’t know in what direction to take my life and, to be perfectly honest, I still don’t.
Read on to see exactly how this artwork has evolved over the years as I tried to perfect it. To see the most recent and/or final redux of this artwork, see here: Where to Go from Here
Here is what I wrote about the original “Where to Go from Here” back on November 27, 2011:
A desolate wasteland of dead tress and brush with a sign that gives no clues and a raven of death. What path should she take and does it really matter? How long will she remain in this dreary limbo?
Everyone reaches a point in their life where they don’t know where to go, which path to take. I’ve been at that point for almost ten years now… and it doesn’t look like I’ll be moving on from that point anytime soon.
Below you can see my first attempt at this concept from late 2011 and my second try from not much later in early 2012. Although I liked the concept, I didn’t much care for my original try at visualizing said concept so I was eager to try again.
I had the elements correct: dead trees and brush, a raven, a directionless sign, a fork in the road, and a desolate landscape. That was about all I had correct in my original and my 2012 follow-up. Her makeup is so dark in the original and the lighting so pale. I added more detail for the first redux and crafted a much better, more desperate pose. I’m glad I tried again and I am even happier that I tried yet again later on.
My 2012 redux was okay but it stood the test of time mainly because I couldn’t quite figure out how best to improve it. All my following redux attempts looked about the same or worse. That is, until 2019…
Below you can see a comparison of the 2012 version and the “final” redux of 2019. It took me long enough but I finally figured out how best to improve the overall artwork to be better than it had ever been and more fully encapsulate my original concept.
I started over from scratch by building a brand new scene. I created a far more detailed environment with considerably better lighting. I took a little emphasis off the central figure by pulling the camera back a ways from her. I also added an approaching storm to add the additional concept of “time is running out to choose a path”.
What path should she take and is one path better than the other or do they all lead to the same destination? How long will she remain in this dreary limbo? Time is running out!
I’m finally almost completely satisfied with this artwork. The one and only thing I can think that I’d honestly improve is the directionless sign. I had to use the same prop as the 2012 version because I just couldn’t find anything better in my models library. If I ever do that, there may be another redux, but until then, this is the “final” redux.
To see the artwork page for “Where to Go from Here”, click here. You can also purchase prints of the current redux of this artwork from that page.
