october art diary #4 ★ pastels & pumpkin spice

TODAY’S MIXTAPE:

TODAY’S PROMPT: AUTUMN READ

IDEA & A PEEK INTO MY SKETCHES

I started sketching this one way back at the start of September & at that point I had no clue it would be part of the October Art Dairy, let alone be based on a prompt. So there I was, just sketching around without a clear theme in mind. What I did know was that I wanted to capture a girl outside, maybe sitting at a cozy coffee shop or hanging out at an autumn festival stall.

ELEMENTS & VISUAL INSPIRATIONS

You may know by now that when it comes to my creative process, every illustration idea I have comes from something visual first — whether it’s a photo I took, a place I visited, someone I saw or even something I’ve seen in a movie, I need that vivid mental image to get my creative juice flowing. I think it’s the photographer in me that needs a clear, real-life scene to ground the concept, haha.

That being said, for this illustration I was inspired by the fall photos I took last year, which give a whimsical apple-picking vibe.

I’m also obsessed with the cozy fall picnics and festivals visuals that keep popping up on tiktok and pinterest, scenes I would literally teleport into if I could.

So I took a mix of both for inspiration and for elements I chose to add pumpkins, coffee, leaves, iridescent whimsical lights and then, for a fun twist, I brought in some pastel tones to keep it soft and magical.

As for the character’s outfit, I kept it simple this time: hoop earrings, white boots and a cute leopard-print dress. I wanted her to have this cute-but-fancy, slightly mysterious vibe, casually drinking coffee and flipping through Sofia Coppola Archive book.

COLOR PALETTE NICKNAME: PASTEL AFTERNOON

Even though I had the overall vibe locked in my mind, this composition could’ve gone in so many different color directions, so I ended up sketching a bunch of messy drafts before I finally committed to the one I’m calling “Pastel Afternoon”.

I wanted to push myself and tackle two things I hadn’t done before: capturing that afternoon-into-night transition and an outdoor setting. It was a bit of a challenge chromatically speaking, but for a first attempt I’m actually pretty happy with how it turned out. The color palette really does the heavy lifting here, setting the mood for that perfect autumn afternoon at a local festival — the kind where there’s a bit of a chill in the air but it’s still nice enough to throw on some fancy clothes, grab an art book and sip on a coffee while taking in the cozy, festive atmosphere.

LIGHT, SHADOW, TEXTURE (& new art traits unlocked)

This illustration had major ‘let's experiment’ energy. Nothing about it was planned, I just went with the flow and that made me more relaxed than usual, which was kinda awesome tbh. I kept adding layer after layer of shadows and textures, basically trying everything that came to mind.

Aside from my classic old TV effect which you all know is basically my signature, I decided to push myself with two new techniques: chromatic aberration and gradient neons. I didn’t go overboard, but I tried to blend a bit of color fringing on the objects with a subtle neon effect on the glass, and I think that part of the illustration looks super interesting with the combo. Also, to be completely honest, I used to be kind of scared of chromatic aberration and heavy textures, mostly because my previous work was all about keeping things polished and making sure the base colors really popped. Now that I’ve gone deep into texturing, I am literally never going back, woops.

AND HERE’S THE FINAL PIECE <3

Remember how I accidentally got that sticky texture in my ‘Gilmore Girls Fall’ illustration? I don’t know how but this time I managed to give the artwork this chilly vibe that perfectly captures the feeling of a crisp autumn afternoon, the kind where the wind is just sharp enough and your fingers start to tingle when you grab a hot coffee cup. Honestly, it couldn’t have worked out better.

Have I mentioned how much I love fall? <3

Also, I might just be Sims 4 brainwashed, but, doesn’t it kinda look like she’s at the Spice Festival?