In this post, I will talk about a giant octopus illustration of mine titled “Haven”.
I was on a blogging hiatus when I made it, so I didn’t put much thought in writing a blog entry. More than a year later and it has now turned into one of my most liked illustrations on Instagram.
Updating my blog recently just made me want to revisit this artwork and write a post about it. The blogger in me couldn’t resist!
The Giant Octopus Concept
Like Candlefish, Haven started as an art exercise idea. Hidden Treasures I and II made me realize my love for drawing sea creatures, so I was on the lookout for the next aquatic life to inspire my art.
And then there was Inktober. I’ve always heard about it, but never thought of joining. The urge to create was just so timely.
So I pulled out my list of art ideas (not literally, but I do have a file!) and picked out what was most interesting to me at that time – the concept of an octopus tree.
I’ve never been a fan of octopuses, but the creature’s design looked challenging enough that it made me curious to study it from an artist’s perspective. Sure enough, its textures and tentacles brought on the excitement of drawing something fresh, intricate, and monstrous in that mythical way.
Unfortunately, such intricacies do not lead to a quick art activity.
So goodbye Inktober, goodbye quick art exercise, and hello time-consuming work of art.
I suppose I’ll never be the doodle type of artist because of my strong tendency to make an illustration more complicated than it should be.
But that’s not the whole story.
Things happened in life. And although everything was fine on the surface, I was very upset on the inside because some issues were getting in the way again. Nobody berated me for it, but I was brimming with self-hate.
Alone at home filled with dark thoughts, a random drawing for Inktober was not on top of the things that I wanted to accomplish.
But I needed to release the negative energy, and being alone – as much as I hated it at that time – meant I can drown in my thoughts and unleash my creativity without interruption.
So I decided to just go with it and concentrate all my efforts on drawing my giant octopus.
I may not be in the mood to participate in an online challenge, but I’m definitely in the mood to bring my tortured feelings to life.
If I have to get this frustration out of me, then let it be in the form of good art.
That’s when “Haven” truly began.
From a mere fantasy-like image, I made the giant octopus tree a collection of my inner conflicts.
Instead of going with a literal tree, I’ve only focused on the bark-like texture. Then I had plants grow out of the ‘octopus’ and other life forms surround the area. I was trying to convey that feeling of being alone in a crowded place.
In my mind, the octopus lived there during another time. A time that was long forgotten but not completely erased from existence. Done with its life, its essence remained to nurture the living that takes shelter in it at present-day.
So the octopus represents both old/death and new life.
The life that was over and the new ones that are still trying to make it.
Among these life forms are the girl and her dog, the mushrooms (I just love drawing them), and the fishes feeding and dwelling on the octopus’ suckers.
The girl on a swing represents my solitude, though I wanted it to be a conceptual image and not an illustration about me, so I purposely blacked out the girl’s features in order to take the focus away from her identity.
The dog in my drawing is actually our family dog in real life. He’s been a good doggy, so here’s a special mention and a publish date that’s set on his 3rd birthday (July 11). I put him beside the girl to show that being alone is not the same as feeling lonely. 🙂
The small, round octopus was more of a cameo. My nephew and I once watched an online video of a “shy octopus”, and I thought it’d be cute to include – to illustrate the size difference of the old and the new forms of an octopus.
Execution and Haven as Title
In terms of execution, the most difficult part would have to be the inking.
On one hand, it was a relief to finalize the concept; But on the other hand, it was a whole new level of stress because inking an image as detailed as this one was no easy task.
One, there was no room for mistakes when drawing line art traditionally. As a digital artist, I am not used to the unintentional blotting of ink! Whenever this happens, I had to figure out how to make it work, quick.
And two, I did not trust myself to draw on the spot. A detailed pencil drawing had to come first. So, with so many lines drawn in pencil, it was getting hard to follow and make sure that I was not inking something that I shouldn’t.
You’d think one just needs to repeat the line work, but no.
As you can see in this animated gif, I documented my progress as often as I can. So many times I wanted to hit undo, only to realize that there is no button for me to revert back to previous action. It can be really unsettling when you’re so used to doing things digitally.
The days of October came and went. I’ve thought of rushing it, but it didn’t feel right after all the emotional investment.
I realized I care more about the concept than the idea of rushing art to become trendy.
Besides, drawing – and finishing – it was therapeutic. I gained better control over my emotions, and I had something visually stimulating to occupy myself with until I have calmed down from all my troubles.
It didn’t help my goal to become faster at drawing, but it was reassuring to know that each of my works can have a personality of its own because I always draw from the heart.
So, as a way to acknowledge how this piece portrayed a place of comfort, I stopped calling it “giant octopus” or “octopus tree” and named it “Haven” instead. It did serve as my haven, after all.
Final Illustration and Flatlays
I have both scans and photos of the final artwork. Scanning it is a must because taking care of papers – like the original artwork – has never been my strong point.
Haven, Ink on paper
I have to admit, though, I find the photos to be more endearing to look at. Physically arranging the sketchpad and styling objects around it was so much fun to do, and it brought more life to the 2D drawing.
A part of me also celebrated the fact that I’ve drawn it with my own hand using a legit pen and paper. It was good – awesome, even – to be reminded that my art and my skills are not dependent on a computer app.
What do you think of Haven? What kind of vibe or message did you get from the illustration?
Share your thoughts on the comments below. I love learning how other people interpret my works!