Fun in the Sun

This is an illustration that shows that Humans have a place among color changing animals. Everyone knows that chameleons can change color with mood or environmental influences, but not everyone knows that frogs, cephalopods, and sea horses also change color; most usually have a brown phase and a bright phase. I also wanted to show a group that enjoys the beach in different ways. I have the process listed below.

First is a rough sketch. I wanted to figure out the order of the animals and how they would fit together in a composition. I also started some loose character design.

Next I drew the line work with pencil. Then I redrew each character, on separate layers in PhotoShop, with my Wacom tablet. I did this so I could easily alter or switch each characters position.

Next I finished some line work and added texture. I framed everything with a oval vignette to give it an old time feel. I also made the texture and line one color so it could be screen-printed. My intention, if this went onto a t-shirt, is that the color would be UV ink that would be invisible indoors but bright and vibrant outdoors. Hence the title, Fun in the Sun. This image (above) is how it would look indoors and the top image is how it would look outside.

On a side note, the chameleon has the Hemingway book The Sun Also Rises. Also I submitted this design as part of a Threadless challenge called "Threadwars," and I was not aloud to promote it on my blog until the round was over. I am happy to report this was my highest scoring submission on Threadless to date.