For this project, my goal was to create an editorial photo illustration that captures a deep connection to nature, with a special focus on the Monarch butterfly and its reliance on milkweed and humans. The milkweed flowers and butterflies adorning the child's head symbolize a gentle, caring way of witnessing the caterpillar’s transformation into a butterfly. They also represent the blossoming of imagination and the nurturing of a tender relationship with the natural world, inviting viewers to see through the bright, curious eyes of childhood. I used Adobe Photoshop to compose and blend 10 separate images I found on Adobe Stock. It features the common Milkweed in the foreground and the middle ground, on the child's hair. The different stages of the butterfly are softly hinted in the background; this is to keep visual hierarchy, and also to communicate the slow, quiet miracle of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly. I used Photoshop's masking feature, and several of the healing tools, as well as the clone tool. Several of my layers are mixed using layer filters and paintbrushes. I ended up with 5 colors for my color palette; orange, black yellow, green, and purple. I derived them from the monarch caterpillar, butterfly, and the common milkweed.
