The Tree of Knowledge

[Socar MYLES]

Next one won't be a tree, OK? I swear. Really.

Anyway, this was commissioned as a preliminary sketch for a tattoo design. Originally, the guy wanted me to design his tattoo outright, but I told him I don't know enough about tattooing to be sure of my ability to draw something practical, and he agreed to just get the idea off me, and have an actual tattoo artist adapt it for his purposes. The concept was "a tree which is normal at the top, but turning into technological stuff at the bottom". The tattoo is going up the guy's spine, so it also had to be of suitable proportions and composition to fit there.

Anyhow. The original drawing is about 18" long, so a bunch 'o' detail is totally missing. I'm including a link to a larger version, so that anyone who wants a good look can get one.

Also, the title shouldn't be taken to imply anything religious. I'm not Christian. This is a DIFFERENT tree of knowledge, and it's OK to eat fruit off it.

http://www.gorblimey.com/images/knowledge.jpg

Details:

http://www.gorblimey.com/images/knowledgedetail1.jpg
(This detail is RIGHT on the scanline, unfortunately. Distortion & blurring isn't part of the original. Sorry!)

http://www.gorblimey.com/images/knowledgedetail2.jpg

Big ol' version: http://www.gorblimey.com/images/knowledgelarge.jpg

[the_allejo05]

wow..awesome..your knowledge of trees ..hehe..is excellent..did you study botany? have you drawn a lot of trees from life? this image is so convincing..even tought is imaginative..i like the way the limbs grow so naturally..now you make me feel bad..trees/plants are not easy to draw...

[andreasrocha]

Wonderful detail. Very nice.

[cthomp]

sweet man. you really got to look at the full version to pic up on all the detial. you got some awsome ink skills. have a question do you just start right away with the ink or do you do a pencil drawing first? also you gotta post what this looks like when it is tattoed on his back.

[Phuzion]

That's killer. I know what you mean about not knowing tattooing. My friend just asked me to design a tattoo for him that will start on his lower leg and go all the way up to his back... :x

Anyway, the detail in it is awesome. I wouldn't really call this a prelim "sketch". Rockin' rockin' job! Mad props to you.

Peace,
-Daniel

[Boudicca]

I'm lost in your details - awesome, it tells so much stories!

[Dragonspit]

Very Nice Socar. been quite some time since I saw anything new from you. I remembered seeing you work a handful of years back in the Lothlorien site, even before you moved over seas. I followed you work for a while but it seemed to have gotten quiet. Nice to see you posting again (you probably have been, I have just been missing it), as I always have enjoyed your work.

[Smeagol71]

Just top-notch work Socar. I absolutely love it. You gotta' be a fan of J. Clement Coll's work, perhaps even Charles Vess? Your work definitely reminds me of them and that's about as good a compliment as anyone could get I think, eh? :}

[Socar MYLES]

Smeagol71 - Thanks! I just discovered Charles Vess recently, in fact, after a couple of folks mentioned that my work reminded them of his. Very cool stuff. I'll have to check out J. Clement Coll, too--this is the first I've heard about him.

Dragonspit - Yeah, my posts aren't all that frequent. I've been making an effort to post more lately, though. I have a few things currently under NDA that I'm hoping to post some times soon, as well.

Boudicca - Thanks very much!

Phuzion - Thanks! One thing I do know about tattooing is that lines which are too close together just turn into big black blobs, so all shading needs to be done with gradations of ink colour, rather than hatching. So whoever ends up tattooing this...well, it's going to be a huge pain in the ass for them to convert it.

cthomp - I pretty much always do a pencil drawing first. No amount of nice rendering and intricate detail can turn a shitty drawing into a good one, so I like to get all the composition and areas of light and dark worked out before I start in with the ink.

andreasrocha - Thanks! :D

the_allejo05 - I did not study botany, no, but I've seen (and drawn) a lot of plants. Plants are like cloth: although the folds/limbs are never the same twice, the general structure is predictable once you've practiced enough. Don't feel bad--anyone at all can learn to draw a plant. I'm still learning stuff about plants (specific ones and general structure), too.

[bat]

As a former tattoo artist, I wouldn't want to tackle that, it is too detailed for skin, but an awesome job on paper. By the way, Christians have the Tree of Life, the Tree of Knowledge is closer to the World Tree, Ygdrasil, of Norse mythology, the one which Odin was impaled upon to gain knowledge.

[StreetRat]

the design is full of random beauty
i am hunger for watching your plant artwork or doodle
i am always in trouble when i have to treat plant

[ambidextros]

am i right to se a human in the tree?

like a wood person?

[StreetRat]

yeah, i can not help thinking that is really like a pregnant woman on the top side

[ryanwh]

Its really really good, but you were right about practicality. Unless this was made large enough to take up the entire span of the back, this wouldnt really work as a tattoo. As is, the finer details which make this a marvel to look at, (and considering its hard to tell what it is even with these details) when they blur together on the skin it will be a mess.The only thing I can reccomend to make it practical would be this, but it would perhaps comprimise perhaps the meaning of the peice:
most of this could work when simplified but the root system is just too complicated, if you could somehow seemlessly connect the thick bottom root directly the the stump and remove the clumped root system completely(which I love, no doubt, but it just isnt workable as a tattoo because it cant be simplified)
Now the guy you're giving this to will love it, right up until he talks to his artist and realizes how many changes will need to be made. If you leave it in the tattoo artist will get rid of all the tiney roots at the bottom, leaving the thick ones and the donut hole will be more noticeable(which I suppose could work from a design perspective) The tattoo guy will prolly make the fairy around 3 times larger as well if he wants to keep it in. Just in case your client is going to an artist who is so used to directly copying that they wouldnt know how to simplify this correctly, Id reccomend sharing this method with the client to pass on to the tattoo guy.
If the tattoo guy still says he cant do it, he's not talented enough. They're rare but there are people who could transfer this successfully.

[thebluepuppy]

i always admired your work a lot. keep up the good job.always loved the ink technique :D

[THUNDERCOCK]

WICKED!!! fantastic job....

[Fipse]

Hi Socar,

you know I really like this technique of your´s and this new one is no exception.

One technical question: Did you use such a structured (and coloured) paper or did you just added it in PS or Painter. In my experience I prefered always a more smooth paper when working with a dip pen (is this the right word?).

Anyway nice to see you posting more often here.

Fipse

[Socar MYLES]

Fipse - Thanks! The paper is Canson Mi-Teintes in Sand colour. It doesn't have QUITE as heavy a tooth as it appears in the scan--my scanner is a very old model, and makes a real mess of things. A smooth-surfaced paper is better from the point of view of, well, not running through nibs quite so fast, but I like the end result with this paper.

THUNDERCOCK - Thanks...and, er, nice username, there. Ha ha.

thebluepuppy - Thank you very much!

ryanwh - Well, the original's about 18" long, designed to occupy the entire back (neck to bum, sort of thing). I think some of the smaller details are still going to be impossible to reproduce, though. I'll definitely pass along your advice to the client.

Street Rat, ambidextros - Yeah, there's an implied human figure in there. I read somewhere that people relate better to artwork when there's at least an implication of a human being somewhere in the piece, so I snuck one in there.

bat - Really? I thought the Tree of Knowledge was what Adam and Eve ate from, to get kicked out of Eden. Haven't looked at the bible in ages, though, so I could certainly be wrong. Glad you like the drawing, anyway!

[GunTrouver]

WOW, I love it! Great work and nice details:)

[DavePalumbo]

is that a little light bulb at the very bottom tip?

[THUNDERCOCK]

ThankS!!!.....it's the name me Mudder give me when I came swinging it out of the womb....ha ha ha....but seriously nice drawing....keep it up

[The BENevolent]

whoa! that's a lot of detail, i like all the little things you put in, it really makes it great.

[Andyhep]

Beautifully intricate work, Socar. I wish the Scanning process and screen resolution would let us see this in it's intended glory. Thanks for posting!

Andy

[Niten]

I love your inking and style, just beautiful!

[wojtek]

good one,great work on details.