Gritty Illusion is featured as design 68 at my Youtube channel: BeatnikBlends
This design was more challenging compared to Geometric Daze. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. Halfway, I was really struggling to get the right texture. It was hard getting to the sweet spot in the design. Something always felt missing. I try to blend as many patterns and shapes as possible in a design. The colors have to mesh as well and the pencil drawing is always the star. To combine every element was really tough and it’s getting harder and harder to do.
One reason is my own fault really… I started using kaleidoscope in designs as a background base. I think it adds more depth to the design. However, the effect becomes erratic when I try to blend it with other patterns, especially my pencil drawing. It takes hours to get the right balance and I haven’t mastered that effect. I will… just need time.
There are two versions of this design that I like but I’m on the fence about one version. I played around with gray, blue and purple a lot in this design. I thought to go down the safe route and post the design that features more purple and blue. I thought the textures looked better in that version compared to the original design. Gray is definitely not a color I work with often. I want to work with the color again and see what design I can make. (Feburary 2019 Update: The thumbnail features an alternate version of this design. The one I was on the fence about when making this in 2014.)
One thing I’m really happy about is the music video. I really love the song. Passion Overdose is a nice way to put my feelings about color and designing. I was determined to keep going until I found the right balance. If you love the song, I highly recommend you download it to hear the whole song. I cut it close to the end to fit the video.
I called this design Gritty Illusion because by the end the texture looked very gritty to me. I don’t know why but I’m kind on the fence with the texture. I don’t think I ever created anything like this before.
Tools: Pencil and Paintshop Pro
Design Time: 4+ Hours
Song in video: Passion Overdose by Grimm Limbo. You can download the song here.