Recreating Earth

Entry for the Kick Your Own @ss!!! Contest. [link]

Subcategory: 1. Digital Art (Vector)

Old Deviation: [link] created in Flash with a mouse
New Deviation: [link] created in Flash with an Intuos 3 tablet

As with the Fire design, I created the old mandala in October of 2007 (give or take a month). This was among the first mandalas that I created digitally, and part of my real push into art as more than a hobby. At this point I still didn't even know that the designs I created were mandalas, and I was working completely with a mouse. Though when I created this originally I created a circle and square version of the design, I decided only to focus on the circular design for the update.

The new one was finished few days ago, and was part of the revamp that I decided to do for my entire elements series.

Between the two versions, I kept the rose-like design in the middle and at least part of two other layers. In the new one, I kept the trellis-like weave and added a vine to it to enhance the nature association, and I kept the leaves in part, while adding in some maple leaves as well to give the layer something extra. The overlapping wavy lines, the bamboo, and the vine around the branch are all new and intended to enhance the earth feel through the actual visuals versus just the colors, as happened most in the old. Also, instead of each design being pretty much completely enclosed in it's own layer, I allowed for a bit of interaction and overlap to provide a bit more depth and visual interest.

As an extra touch, I've continued with keeping the inner-most and outer-most circles the same through the set. In the old version, all of elements had the rose-like design on the inside and the chain on the outside. For the revamped elements I've used the rose-like design for the inside (with some touches that should make it a more interesting centerpiece) and the false gradient design on the outside. These similarities within the series are intended to show the connection between the elements.