process notes for “stagnation” – wanted to document my art process for this since it’s my most detailed painting yet, which involved trying a few new methods for the first time ! this is mostly for my own record, but i thought some of you might be interested. artist statement + detailed explanation under the cut !
the concept behind “stagnation” centres around miranda’s isolation inland - detached from both flint’s pirate world and civilised society, existing in a limbo state between worlds after having been uprooted from her past life. not looking out but looking downwards, she is surrounded by an empty, lifeless house that is not a home.
“ this place, this life that we’ve been living here, it doesn’t feel like living anymore ” — black sails 1.04
the composition sits within a static one-point perspective view to convey a sense of stillness in space. miranda is intentionally placed just off the vertical third to create a tension between figure and environment, again suggesting she does not quite fit in this space.
process :
i knew from the beginning that undertaking this painting would be beyond anything i’ve ever done before so i dedicated a lot more time towards the early research & development stages. i’m not practiced in painting environments so i took this as an opportunity to learn and challenge myself ! the whole process from start to finish took about 4.5 months!!!
the initial concept was originally inspired by the works of 20th century american artists edward hopper & andrew wyeth, however further visual inspiration was also found in several hague school and dutch golden age artists.
i already had a vague idea of what i wanted the overall composition to be ( miranda sitting alone in her house ), but needed to do further studies to nail something down. so begins the ( likely unnecessary ) exercise in analysing miranda’s house from various screenshots and reconstructing the floor plan ( fun fact: i used a shot of billy standing in the doorway as a visual ruler/reference, since he’s just about 2m tall ! ). this was used to roughly model and create basic 3d views, which i then used as a base for thumbnail studies. i explored a couple different angles, but ended up settling on a front-on views as opposed to more dynamic angles since it better suited the mood i wanted to convey.
once a thumbnail composition was settled on, i created a rough sketch at full size. typically for fully-rendered pieces, i’d work from a cleaned up version of the sketch, but since this piece involved a level of detail i’ve never attempted before, i opted to do clean lineart to save me from having to refine forms too much down the line ( especially while working to the zine schedule ).
to make sure i got my values right from the beginning, i tried the greyscale to colour method (based on traditional flemish method), rendering the full painting in b/w first. i started with the base background ( house and furniture ) so i would have environmental context to accurately light everything else. the objects & figure shapes were blocked in for clipping masks, then rendered. a smooth brush was used to lay down initial values, then texture was built up with a few rougher brushes. the texture on the plaster walls was done by broadly/lightly applying texture, then haphazardly drawing random shapes with the lasso tool & painting/erasing within the selection to add more variation zones ( you can see evidence of this in the more defined edges of certain patches on the wall ).
colour overlays were applied in a similar order to the greyscale, background first then objects & figure. i used a mix of gradient maps and layers set to colour/overlay blending modes to start off with, then adjusted the curves of the base grey layers since the contrast was actually quite flat. when i was mostly happy with the colour, i flattened a few layers and started painting over, adding more definition and texture. i also used brushes set to colour/overlay blending modes. the background and object groups were still kept on separate layers to allow for further colour adjustments. some objects were changed/omitted since i thought the painting was feeling a bit too busy ( also couldn’t be bothered painting a woven basket lmao ).
most cast shadows were kept on a separate multiply layer, as i wasn’t super confident with them ( you can see the shadow direction changing a few times in the gif - tbh still not sure i did them correctly ). while i did have some crude 3d views to reference from, the rendering software i used didn’t give me accurate lighting conditions ( more ambient than anything ). i also had a screenshot of the kitchen at a similar angle but different time of day to help inform my decisions, most of it ended up being educated guesses. i had to think about how light works on different finishes ( eg metals vs ceramics ) and how they behave in relation to surrounding surfaces ( eg reflected light from the floor to the display cabinet, light from the chimney ). i suppose this is where working in the architectural industry came in handy ! the light streaming in from the window was done with a textured brush set to low opacity - i did this before the colour stage, but i kept it turned off during the colouring process as i wanted to make sure the lighting/colour behind the light rays was accurate first.
for final touches, i added small details like a rim light on miranda’s head to distinguish her dark hair from the shadowed wall, and the stray strands of hair. a few adjustment layers ( curves, gradient maps, general colour overlay, hue/saturation ) were used to tweak the overall appearance. then of course, a noise texture layer + my signature slapped on top !
reflection :
the greyscale render > colour method i found to be a lot more efficient than my usual process of blocking in colours then shading from there ( since i usually have to keep fixing tonal values while i’m colouring with the latter method due to relative colour perception ). i still had to adjust value depth in the colour stage ( more emphasising instead of repainting ), but to a much lesser degree than i would have otherwise. i’ve never really bothered to do composition thumbnails before ,since most of my drawings to date have been simple figure/ground instead of full illustrations. but having done it for this, i found it was really helpful having a visual gameplan from the beginning to guide me. definitely going to start thumbnailing for more illustrations going forward. the rough 3d views were also super handy to create compositions i’d probably not come up with otherwise !! they were created with autodesk revit + enscape since that’s what i’m familiar with. but i’m hoping to teach myself blender at some point since the lighting controls are a lil more versatile !
i really enjoyed rendering the timber/wood + the slight imperfections of the stone tiles. i also liked doing the embroidery on her stomacher. i think i struggled most with rendering the folds of the dress - just couldn’t find the right reference, so i kept having to repaint it quite a few times ! definitely need to do some clothing/fabric studies at some point. i didn’t use any perspective guidelines either - i went off the base 3d view ( which i didn’t even follow too closely ) and then eyeballed the rest. probably could have benefited from setting up some guidelines but i felt i’ve had enough experience drawing architectural perspectives that i could wing it lol.
there were also a couple things i’ll probably do differently in the future. for most of the rendering & colouring process, i kept many elements on clipping mask - these clipping masks bases fm the beginning had very sharp edges so i ended up having to go in with a textured brush after to soften the edges. i could probably stand to be a bit looser with these bases, but i think it was mostly a product of following refined lineart as opposed to something sketchier. i probably also didn’t need to use as many layers as i did. as a general rule, i try to keep layer count to a minimum, but since this particular piece was working on a set schedule, i wanted to make sure i was making allowances for quick/easy adjustments. otherwise i would have merged layers for overpaint much earlier in the process.
overall, the outcome was much better than i originally imagined - it certainly taught me quite a lot ! and thank you for reading all my silly ramblings, hope you found this as interesting as i did <3
there is something so considered and intentional in the rhythm of the monologues of black sails, especially flint’s monologues and i think in part it has to do with toby stephens being a theatre actor who has done shakespeare which is why he’s so spectacular at them but the cadence and the inflection and the rhythmic structure of so many lines and speeches are buried somewhere in my hindbrain as if they are pieces of music rather than dialogue. it’s so so so impressive to me both from a writing standpoint and an acting standpoint
@theoreticalwitchcraft god you are so right the “because there is no life here there is no joy here there is no LOVE. HERE.” is so fucking incredible. louise barnes is also absolutely amazing at this its partly why their scenes together just propel the show into the stratosphere. i also think of her final speech to peter ashe where she’s like “you DESTROYED our LIVES” that entire monologue is musical. god
As a Shakespeare actor myself, I think that this is actually something just universally common with Shakespearean monologues and scenes, having that sort of rhythm and musicality to regular lines and dialogue but also particularly in the emotional monologues. Even now, years after shows I’ve done, I’ll still recite my lines from those plays from memory, following the exact same rhythm, cadence, and emotionality as when I performed it because it’s so deeply ingrained in me as though it were a song. It’s really rare that I’ve been able to find this sort of intrinsic musicality to lines in contemporary film and theater, which speaks to just how impressive it is that Steinberg and the other Black Sails writers were able to create that same effect as in Shakespeare’s plays.
We were happy… this started off a random nib sketch, then I added Miranda another day, then decided to add Thomas… but it was kind of working/not working. So I scanned it in today bought some nib type brushes for procreate and kinda sorta made it work. After 4 years, I do a trio pic. Better late than never.
We couldn't bring the columns down We couldn't destroy a single one And history books forgot about us And the Bible didn't mention us, not even once You are my sweetest downfall I loved you first
Black Sun - Death Cab for Cutie
There is whiskey in the water And there is death upon the vine There is fear in the eyes of your father And there is "yours" and there is "mine" There is a desert veiled in pavement And there's a city of seven hills All our debris flows to the ocean To meet again, I hope it will How could something so fair be so cruel When this black sun revolved around you?
Drawn to the Blood - Sufjan Stevens
For my prayer has always been love What did I do to deserve this? With blood on my sleeve Delilah, avenge my grief
If You Need To, Keep Time On Me - Fleet Foxes
Wide oceans roar A frightened fool stokes heatless fire But if you need to, keep time on me If you need to, keep time on me How could it all fall in one day? Were we too sure of the sun?
No One’s Gonna Love You - Band Of Horses
It's looking like a limb torn off Or altogether just taken apart We're reeling through an endless fall We are the ever-living ghost of what once was But no one is ever gonna love you more than I do
Keep Your Heart - TV on the Radio
Outside ecstatic love what did we think we'd find? Over that broken road out past the land mines I'm gonna keep your heart I'm gonna keep your heart With the world all falling apart I'm gonna keep your heart
I’ll Be Yours - Placebo
Well I've seen you suffer I've seen you cry the whole night through So I'll be your water bathing you clean Liquid blue I'll be your father, I'll be your mother I'll be your lover, I'll be yours
Love Love Love - The Mountain Goats
Raskolnikov felt sick but he couldn't say why When he saw his face reflected in his victim's twinkling eye Some things you'll do for money and some you'll do for fun But the things you do for love are going to come back to you one by one
In This Hole - Cat Power
One absence of truth And one horrible thing I saw What you truly wanted to become And who you thought I was The fall, the fall Afraid to love What is deeper than the grave Goes all the way down those tracks
Mourning Air - Portishead
Have I got the strength to ask Beyond the window I feel this fear alone Until we have Total honesty If I tremble or fall I'm reaching out in this mourning air
Oleander - Mother Mother
You stood beside Me while I Was out of my mind I broke the glass And you were there To sweep it aside And if you leave me Rest assured, it would kill me
This Woman’s Work - Kate Bush
I should be crying, but I just can't let it show I should be hoping, but I can't stop thinking Of all the things we should've said that were never said All the things we should've done that we never did All the things that you needed from me All the things that you wanted for me All the things that I should've given but I didn't
Three Hits - Indigo Girls
Three hits to the heart, son And it's poetry in motion One could send you down the river Three's a strange way to be delivered Would you trade your words for freedom? That's a barter for a blind man Three hits to the heart, son And it's poetry in motion
Just One Yesterday - Fall Out Boy
If I spilled my guts The world would never look at you the same way And now I’m here to give you all of my love So I can watch your face as I take it all away If heaven’s grief brings hell’s reign Then I’d trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday (I know I’m bad news) For just one yesterday (I saved it all for you) I want to teach you a lesson in the worst kind of way
Cliquot - Beirut
Set fire to foundation and burn out the station You'll never get nothing of mine The pane of my window will flicker and billow I won't leave a stitching behind Oh, what melody will lead my lover from his bed? What melody will see him in my arms again?
Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men
You're gone, gone, gone away I watched you disappear All that's left is a ghost of you Now we're torn, torn, torn apart There's nothing we can do Just let me go, we'll meet again soon Now wait, wait, wait for me, please hang around I'll see you when I fall asleep Don't listen to a word I say The screams all sound the same Though the truth may vary This ship will carry our bodies safe to shore
The Bones of You - Elbow
And I dealt with this years ago I took a hammer to every memento But image on image like beads on a rosary Pull through my head as the music takes hold And the sickener hits: I can work 'til I break But I love the bones of you That I will never escape
A Good Man is Hard to Find - Sufjan Stevens
I once was better I put off all my grief I put off all my grief And so I go to hell, I wait for it But someone's left me creased And someone's left me creased
Eden - Talk Talk
A gilded wreath on reason The flower crushed conceives A child of fragrance so much clearer In legacy Everybody needs someone to live by Everybody will need someone Everybody will need someone to live by Rage on omnipotent
O Sacred Head, Now Wounded - Fernando Ortega
What language shall I borrow To thank Thee, dearest friend For this Thy dying sorrow Thy pity without end? O make me Thine forever And should I fainting be Lord, let me never, never Outlive my love for Thee
