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The Hyperrealistic
Cat project was given to me by a packaging company based
in Paris. The brief was to create the new representative cat
for a cat food company and their packaging.
There were three cat projects in total. The first two projects
were carried out by hyperrealist artists (including me), and for
the third project, the agency asked us to work on several photographs
of cats. Originally, the customer wanted a cat with lots of expressions
(a cat that could smile, of a specific breed, and that would look
like a family cat but with some independence. This sort of cat
didn't exist and therefore it was impossible to take photos. That
is the reason why we decided to make hyper-realistic illustrations.
Finally, after lots of discussions and meetings, the client, who
had never used hyper-realistic illustrations before, decided not
to use our illustrations and to work from photos instead.
Sketching
Picto 1
After a quick and rough drawing created by the agency
and approved by the client, I start to collect information to help
me drawing the cat.
I do some quick sketches then I start a more precise drawing,
knowing at that stage the type and the breed, its position and
fur. At this point I haven't yet started to work with any color.
Picto 2
I re-work my sketch with a light table to get a more accurate
drawing, improving some parts. I then scan my work and import it
to Photoshop at production resolution, on a white background.
picto
2
Coloring
I often work with Pantone CMYK, as my document will be printed.
My screens are calibrated with a probe and calibration software
that guides me to set the white point and other parameters. This
creates an ICC Profile that I can add in ColorSync and use in my
work space.
I make sure that I have plenty of documentation to help me choosing
the colors.
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picto
1
Picto 3
I rapidly put in place the general areas of color on another
layer under the production layer. I use a medium brush covering
a lot of space quickly, following the outline of my drawing. At
the same time I start getting the colors together and soften the
brushstrokes. I also use the 'water drop' tool at this stage, the
idea being to mix the shades. It can take some time...
At this stage, I create another layer, on which I draw the eyes
and the nose and follow the same method adding in the tones for
the fur to spread out and diversify the colors.
picto
3
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