Helping Ophelia to Ascend

Many of you visiting here are coming from the perspective of an artist, or a lover of art. Upon embarking on this Ophelia project, I went from longtime writer and occasional artist to becoming a manager of art. In stepping up to this responsibility I use a skill set gained from my time as a teacher in South Korea. Many teachers run themselves ragged in order to present before students every necessary tool they need in order to ascend to higher levels of ability in a given subject. My effort is similar when guiding the creation of the pages of Ophelia, as you shall see.

There are so many shockingly talented people displaying their artistic creations online today. Many an image though, can be limited to the visual beauty and display of skill possible in a short-lived scene. Where the Ophelia storybook series can help each artwork to become more than what they are individually is that we get to know this demigod girl with the magic paintbrush page after page, challenge after challenge. Images transform into a personal connection after a time, if we are doing our jobs properly. These passionate people have a chance through Ophelia to have a deeper connection to those whose eyes trace the lines and absorb the beautifully layered colors.

We shall glimpse today highlights of a development process artist Nell Ro had while working with me on a two page spread of Ophelia escaping from three terrifying Cyclopes. First, each artist I work with is introduced to the project from the bottom up. A summary of the first two books is provided, along with images and a link to this website. Most recognize from the depth of story and the quality of art that this is a chance for them to be part of a richer project than is commonly seen.
I let each artist know that they need not feel like they need to adapt their style to the references they see. Every person’s personality can shine in their work, as if the tale were told by many individual perspectives, influenced by their various cultural backgrounds, biology, and life experiences (Haas & Mortensen, 2016). In the development of their page, each artist is free to share ideas with me so that the potential of the work can benefit by both of our imaginations (Hardaker & Ward, 1987). With these aspects emphasized, everyone wins: modern readers can enjoy a rich variety of long-honed art styles, and each artist can feel pride in displaying the best of what they are.

Specifically for this page with Nell Ro, after she knew the story well enough, we discussed the possibilities of how to place Ophelia and the Cyclopes on the page. In her first attempt, she created a rough sketch based on one I made while writing the script.

The result here, which is often the case with initial sketches, is that the various elements end up being placed in a way that technically expresses the plot, but not in the most visually pleasing or emotionally engaging way (Blame goes to my sketch). For this to develop in the right way, it is important for me to let artists like Nell know that experimentation is encouraged and to provide them help in the way of visual references or descriptions.

It is worthwhile to note that I emphasize quality far above making deadlines, and so it seems that Ophelia artworks benefit from this freedom in ways such as novel characters and situations, and for the most part, less stressed artists (Ogbonnaya, 2019).
In an attempt to tap from film technique, I suggested we needed another “camera angle” in order to see Ophelia’s expression up close and capture all of the Cyclopes.

Nell gave another attempt by having Ophelia leaping over a log in the foreground. This was a big improvement, and thanks to Nell’s ability to place images in a 3D scene, the effort wasn’t major.

With this next attempt, the closest Cyclops now has a great deal more interaction with Ophelia. She must run with all her strength in order to not become devoured.

The major problem is we have Ophelia at an odd angle again. As you can see from our development thus far, we must dream up all of our solutions or be left with unsatisfactory results. No matter how talented an artist is, there are often pieces to this puzzle we are attempting to solve that one person is unlikely to conceptualize on their own. To visually express the solution I happened to envision, I presented a rough sketch by using the basic photo editor on my iPhone.

Funny enough, this mess of lines accompanied with a detailed explanation via chat messages showed Nell the way to a superior solution to tell this visual story. In the last image you will see the placement of limbs and the positioning of Ophelia’s face in the sketch showed the way for Nell to develop the artwork many online have praised wholeheartedly.
The result is something to be proud of. It is also a testament of the benefits that come with a talented team working to develop ideas together. While Nell clearly has the artistic skill, other experiences in my life have enabled me to guide people like her to create better art. In the pages leading up to this, readers can begin to care for Ophelia as they observe her closeness with family and the unjust tragedy as she is left in the Valley of the Cyclops to be devoured. With all these elements brought together, it is hoped that both inspiration and meaning can come to readers taking in what we have made.

References

Haas, M., & Mortensen, M. (2016, July).  The Secrets of Great Teamwork. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://hbr.org/2016/06/the-secrets-of-great-teamwork

Hardaker, M., & Ward, B. (1987, November). How to Make a Team Work. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://hbr.org/amp/1987/11/how-to-make-a-team-work

Ogbonnaya, C. (2019, August 29). When Teamwork Is Good for Employees — and When It Isn’t. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved November 27, 2021, from https://hbr.org/amp/2019/08/when-teamwork-is-good-for-employees-and-when-it-isnt