This is the splash art I created for Krita version 5.0. It was in use up to version 5.2.2. The picture was inspired by Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol.
Krita is a free and open source digital painting application. Kiki the Cyber Squirrel (the character in this picture) is the mascot I designed for Krita. I also provided, and has been maintaining, most of Krita’s simplified Chinese translations for the application, the documentation, websites, and everything.
Krita website: https://krita.org/
In 2020, I found out that on a Hi-DPI display, Krita would show a high resolution version of the splash art. The previous splash art used a flat coloring style, so it would look empty in such a situation. The flat coloring style was a deliberate choice, because at the time I was practicing shape/color relationships. Advanced coloring techniques with smooth gradient and too much detail would interfere with my observation. For the new splash, I decided to use advanced techniques to make sure there would be enough detail under a Hi-DPI display.
In this version, I emphasized Kiki’s robotic nature for her “cyber squirrel” namesake. All her joints are now clearly visible with mechanical structures. Some of her internal frameworks were also exposed. Her hair, her flower bud ears, her tail, and her dress all used translucent, synthetic materials, to emphasize her artificial nature. Her costume design is much more detailed than the previous version, too.
I was generally satisfied with the outcome of this picture, but there was also a big issue I took from this picture. It was supposed to be a homage to Claude Monet’s Woman with a Parasol, but the original picture’s color relationship — the biggest point of the picture — was lost. I paid too much attention to enhance the details, I “saw only the leaves, but forgot about the forest”.
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