Levi Austin BS Digital Media and Design
Desolation
Digital Illustrations, 2020
For my final project, I decided to tackle the topic of suicidal thoughts and depression. I really wanted to challenge myself for this project. I chose to do this series as digital illustration rather than as analog illustration. I did this because for my final project I really wanted to explore new ideas and try new ways of expressing myself. The theme, however, is one that I have done artwork on before. This is a very personal project since it is something that I have firsthand experience with.
These five images relate to one another by being about suicide and depression. Each image depicts an act of suicide or a coping mechanism for depression in a still life form. The center image is a self-portrait. I decided to include an image of me because I have struggled with these issues for many years. The style that I decided to go with after a lot of debate is a sketchy linework one. I did this because when you are suicidal, things sort of lose their refinement and become messy. For this series of images, I really dug deep into my depression and let it guide how I composed these images. How I felt mental health-wise when drawing these images impacted how they turned out.
