Alright, let me tell you about this ‘moana spiral’ thing I tackled recently. It wasn’t some grand project, just something that caught my eye and I felt like, yeah, I gotta try making that.
Getting Started
So, the first thing I did was just sit down and think about it. What even is this spiral? Watched a few clips, looked at some art. It’s not just a simple swirl, right? It’s got that kinda organic, almost hand-drawn feel to it. More like something you’d see in nature, not perfectly mathematical.
I figured I’d try doing it digitally first. Seemed easiest to iterate that way. Fired up my usual graphics software – nothing fancy, just the one I mess around with most often. My first thought was, okay, basic spiral tool. Let’s see what that gives me.
The Messy Middle Part
Predictably, the basic tool just gave me… a basic spiral. Too clean, too perfect. Not the vibe at all. So, I started messing with the settings. Maybe roughen the edges? Tried that. Looked a bit like a shaky drawing, but still not quite right. The thickness was too uniform.
Next up, I thought about the line itself. In the movie stuff, the lines have weight, they change. So I tried drawing it manually with a digital brush this time. Better, but my hand isn’t that steady, and getting the spiral curve smooth enough while keeping it looking natural was tough.
- Attempt 1: Basic spiral tool. Failed. Too perfect.
- Attempt 2: Roughen filter. Failed. Just looked messy.
- Attempt 3: Manual drawing with tablet. Closer, but inconsistent.
Okay, back to the drawing board. What if I combined things? I used a very simple, almost invisible guide spiral path. Then, I tried drawing over it, focusing more on the line quality and thickness variation rather than nailing the perfect curve. I used a brush that had a bit of texture to it, not just a solid line.
Getting Somewhere
This felt better. I drew a few versions. Some were too wobbly, some too thick, some too thin. But the idea felt closer. It started to have that slightly imperfect, flowing look. I focused on making the start of the spiral, the center, a bit thicker or bolder, like a Koru fern uncurling, and letting it thin out as it expanded.
Then I played with color. Not just black and white. I grabbed that specific teal-blue, sandy beige color palette. Layered a couple of slightly different colored spirals, offset just a tiny bit. That added some depth, made it look less flat.
The Result (Sort Of)
After a fair bit of tweaking, deleting, and restarting, I got something I was pretty happy with. It wasn’t an exact replica, you know, but it captured the feeling of that Moana spiral. It looked organic, had that varying line weight, and the colors felt right. It wasn’t a perfect mathematical spiral anymore; it had a bit of life to it.
So yeah, that was the process. Lots of just poking at it, trying different tools and techniques. Nothing too technical, just figuring it out by eye and feel. Took a few hours, mainly just experimenting. Fun little exercise, though.
