On Love In the Omelas: A Junior Narrative Illustration by Samantha Levy (2018)

My story takes place in the fictional town described in the philosophical novelette The Ones Who Walked Away from the Omelas. The Omelas is a town as perfect as one could imagine. The main character, Alex, wakes up on his birthday, excited to get married to his true love, Blaine.

I started the process of creating this piece by drawing a few thumbnails of what the character should look like and what the background should look like. I used one point perspective to make the door and other furniture in the room look like they belong in and are physically inside the room. I made a rough sketch in Illustrator and added or moved things until I got the composition I wanted. From there, I added detail until both Ms. P and I were happy with the background. I originally had a much more complex background so I had to simplify some textures and limit the number of posters. I had a similar process when I created the character. I picked an “invigorating” color scheme from the book Color: Messages and Meanings. This color scheme went well with the excitement Alex would be feeling on his birthday and wedding day. My character, himself, had a penguin body since penguins mate for life and therefore represent Alex’s loving nature. Alex is very empathetic like elephants which is why he has elephant legs. On this special day Alex is very excited the way dogs are excited when their owners get home. This trait he shares with dogs is the reason he has a canine head. In the illustration, Alex is pulling on his jacket as he prepares to runs out the door of his bedroom, eager to start a day he thinks is going to be wonderful. I’m happy with my work considering the restrictions. If I had more time I’d try to shade more and add more detail to the background.