This was the final image for this week’s Illustrator Friday Challenge. The word we were given was ‘Pet’.
Artist Statement
The word pet can be used in a dehumanizing and degrading context. To invoke this connotation I created a digital painting of a woman in a short kimono. Her shoulder is tattooed with the kanji for dog as a way to show she is thought of as little more than an animal, a pet.
The lighting of the scene focuses on the tattoo, as I feel this is the most important element in the story. The bare skin of the woman’s shoulder is the next thing the eye should be caught by, as it is the brightest area in the composition, which emphasizes her state of undress.
The composition is relatively dark to instill a more ominous feeling. I wanted there to be a sense of vulnerability, as if something bad were lurking in the shadows.
