Quarter 1 SI Investigation Piece

Sacrificial Rabbit

Digital Artwork created with the Procreate program

Planning & Thumbnails

Initial planning

I went with animal testing since it was the first idea that came to mind, and if I spent too long lingering on multiple ideas, I'd never get a full piece done. I started with a value study of an animal in a similar position. Then, I wanted to utilize the golden ratio, so I defined it and found a reference that would fit it to some extent. I then re-arranged the original reference to fit better into the golden ratio.

References are attributed to Pinterest.

Refined Sketch

This was the 'final' sketch I had set on using before working on the canvas. The only thing I couldn't nail down was the clothing of the surgical fabric. I attempted to add more contrast and utilize the sacrificial lamb look for the rabbit.

A change of plans and revision

I switched to working fully digital and realized many changes were needed. This photo isn't the final version, but I decided to change the color because red didn’t suit the scene. His cap wasn’t on correctly, so I looked up references to resize and redraw the surgical cap. I also adjusted the lighting to be more dramatic, drawing inspiration from Agnus Dei by Francisco de Zurbarán.

References and Commentary

Agnus Dei (Zurbarán)

I wanted to recreate the look of the sacrificial lamb, as I believe it aligns well with the concept of animal testing, where animals are sacrificed for the purposes of scientific research or product testing.

Artist Inspiration

I mentioned @sunshineofmylove111 in my initial investigation submission, but I was mainly inspired by the religious motifs in her portfolio and her use of Chiaroscuro.

I know I directly mentioned this piece would be traditional and even started working on a canvas in class to turn it into an actual painting. However, I got quite sick early in the process and was too exhausted to continue painting, so I switched to digital to meet the deadline. Despite that, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out.

In my little self-reflection and personal critique, I’ve noticed areas for improvement, particularly with the clothing folds and anatomy. I’m still learning how to render clothes and techniques like foreshortening, so those are things I plan to improve when I revise this piece.

That revision will likely involve attempting to paint this on the canvas. I left the background and table completely clear to give it more of a classical painting feel, but it seems a bit too bare. I might add more elements to emphasize animal testing, like including a makeup palette or transforming the background into more of a lab setting.

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