Binary Angel is one of my newest photo-manipulations, though it differs from most in the fact that I decided to combine a large number of  vector graphics in this piece. The vector wings were from Go Arsenal Media, a great resources for brushes vector graphics and templates at a reasonable price. The model is from istockphoto and the remaining elements are custom.

Inspiration

Ultimately I came up with this while trying to decide on what to do about creating my custom 404 page (still a work in progress).  I wanted something unique and different that also still demonstrated graphic design. This approach was heavily influenced by the fact I was watching the last few episodes of an Anime called “Outlaw Star” in which the characters entered the “Digital Plane” and were interacting with a “Machine Diety”. The idea of angelic presence administrating over cyberspace intrigued me and prompted me to create this image.

The Design Process

The choices in the elements and colors was fairly simple after I picked the stock image. I knew that I wanted her to be an angel and I wanted to create an interesting but “uncluttered” cyberspace environment for her. I had already had the wings for quite sometime, and incorporated them first to set the tone of the image and figure out the spacing.

After that I had to decide on the illuminated screens. At first I had thought to use website screen shots (most likely from my own site) but I decided against that as I wasn’t sure how well it was coming across, so I decided to use blank screens with lighting effects. One of the hardest things was planning the angles for this and creating just the right perspective. Next I created a custom pixel brush by defining a square as a brush and adjusting the custom brush settings for it.

When I created the light spirals around her lower body I had another chance to look at the image and remember that she was an angel and it occurred to me…”When is the last time I saw an angel with a halo?” So I decided to add one in a light blue, in a shade very close to the one I used for the screens earlier.

I have to say that I’m very happy with the way this image came out and that I think it will be one of the stronger pieces in my portfolio.