Sovereignty – The Creation of a Monochromatic Color Palette
- Apr 1
- 2 min read
Updated: Apr 6
My dark surrealist creations often encourage me to step aside and let them emerge in their own way. This is particularly true during the color stage, as the final palette is rarely the one I imagine while I'm drawing.
Sovereignty showed me this clearly – its near-monochromatic browns, reds, and oranges appeared early in the process, and as I explored alternatives, they continued to resurface.
It felt as though the art had chosen its own identity.
The Process for Choosing Color
(I've written about the pencil and ink drawing for Sovereignty in a previous post, which you can read here.)
Choosing the palette began while doing color separations in Photoshop – a process that involves outlining each figure and object and assigning it its own color.
As I filled in each form, I steadily made adjustments to hue and saturation, feeling my way closer to colors that captured the underlying emotions of the piece.
This drawing represents clarity about identity and my personal path in life – a moment of re-alignment – and it has a ceremonial, almost sacred quality to it. The warm, intense glow of the browns and reds matched the emotions I felt when the image first came to me.
The colors emerged quickly – but I resisted.
They seemed intense, almost hot, and surprisingly monochromatic. They differed from my other work, which often has strong contrast and accent colors.
For example, a predominately blue image might have areas of vivid yellow, as on Traversing Illusory Sequences.
Perhaps motivated by a desire to bring Sovereignty into closer alignment with my other work, I began incorporating purple hues to add visual contrast and cool the image off a bit.
But my attempts were repeatedly met with resistance. Each time I compared back to the original, I felt increasingly confident I'd been on the right path the first time.
So instead of trying to speak for the art, I resolved to listen. I returned to my initial attempt and fine-tuned it until it was ready for the next steps.
I ended up very close to where I began.
Where the Art Goes From Here
Choosing a palette is the most creative and feel-based part of the color process. From here, the work is more straightforward, but it's also when the art really comes to life. Next, I'll create texture, shadows, highlights, and lastly, glows and lighting effects. I'm making steady progress toward the finished piece now – I'll share it here soon.
I post process videos, sketches, and behind-the-scenes work as new art takes shape. If you'd like to see the next stages of this world as it's built, you can find me here:
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