the illustrations need to convey a collective sense of risk and reality, and that what we're doing is audacious and bold. that's not to say they can't include some whimsy and playfulness, but the overall feeling should be one of motion, adventure, progress, chance, danger, excitement, and possibility.
with such a calculated and elegant UI, i think these pages could benefit from a grungier, more sketchy & raw illustration style, which is the way i've been leaning with earlier iterations. the compositions are still of utmost importance when trying to grasp all the concepts listed above, but style can also be a hugely important element in this pursuit. the juxtaposition of a clean interface and a less-restricted illustration style can help carry across our scrappy-but-refined, subversive ethos.
given the nature of our product and content, stylized illustrations aren't necessarily expected to be part of the experience. at the present stage of spaceship, we have a nice flow, clean and quick animations, and relatively simple displays. like i stated last week, i'm aiming to harmoniously disrupt this - with drawings that catch the user's eye but feel somewhat in place as well. i want them to subtly invite action or mirror the current situation, while filling ugly voids.
thus far, although i think i'm getting closer, i feel the illustrations i've turned out are lacking. they look fine on their own, but they still feel incongruous with the rest of spaceship as a whole, and not in a harmonious way. whether it's the style, the composition, the colors, i'm not entirely sure yet. i'm hoping for some input.
quick buzzword brain dump:
- lively
- emotive
- convey motion
- space/exploration
- danger/risk
- stars
- planets
- satellite
- rocket
- tools, maps, markers
- beer
- garage