Understanding the Unknown: A Junior Narrative Illustration by Hasmik Galstyan (2018)

I created this drawing this image based on my flash fiction story. It takes place in the 1800s, and it’s about an old man named Mr. Finn who is trying to figure out how time works. However, he cannot seem to get anywhere and is losing business in his clock shop. One day, he tosses one of his clocks out onto the street in frustration, and the clock ends up almost breaking. Later in the day, when he goes to retrieve the object, he steps into the street unknowingly and loses his life when a vehicle hits him. It was only then that the broken clock stops ticking to signal the end of the clock-maker’s life.

The process of making this drawing began with me selecting three animals that matched up with my main character’s personality. The main body is that of a leopard, because leopards are known for being solitary animals, especially as they mature. On the back of the leopard is the shell of a tortoise to represent him being a hermit and locking himself away from his world to focus on his work. The final animal I chose was an owl, adding its wings to the main body and the beak in place of the mouth. Owls are thought to be very intelligent creatures, just like Mr. Finn. I gave my character a monocle, bowtie, and pipe to give off the feeling that he was old and sophisticated. I set my character in the background of a library, because of his desire to learn more about time, and a library is a place of knowledge. This allowed me to use linear perspective on the bookshelf to make the drawing appear less flat. The most difficult part of the process was adjusting the shell and wings on the animal so that they matched the leopard’s position. I am quite pleased with the finishing result of my work, although if I could fix something, it would be the spots on the leopard to be more realistic.