Illustration: Elements of Life by Tres Mechante
Art by Zelempa, to illustrate Elements of Life by Tres Mechante for Due South/Canadian 6 Degrees Big Bang 2011.
Art Notes: The central metaphor and organizing principle of the story is the elements, so I decided to do an illustration for each element limiting myself to an ink color appropriate to each one. Also, because the story is dark in tone, I wanted to use the stark black and white noir style I'm attempting to develop. The final "element," Spirit, is a departure from both rules, using a softer, blended style to show how the experiences of the previous chapters contribute to the resolution. I used all of and only the colors that had been used in previous drawings (black, red, yellow, green, blue); this was easy to ensure because those are the only colors that I have.
Fire
Earth
Air
Water
Spirit