Throughout my time in college this group of illustrations has been my favorite to work on and see come together as a whole. These four illustrations are based on Steven Millhauser’s “Cathay”, a series of short, descriptive excerpts taking place in Imperial China.
Working in such a small aspect ratio did prove to be a challenge at first, but after settling on a set color palette and focusing on the most important elements of these descriptive pieces, I was able to decide what kind of subject matter I wanted to focus on.
Many of Millhauser’s excerpts would speak of these beautiful concubines, so I decided to focus on the different descriptions of these seemingly mysterious. yet beautiful women. I hope to revisit Millhauser’s work in the future in order to challenge my skills once more, as it is a worthy challenge/
![A close up of a woman's eye with very intricate eye makeup of a bird and white flowers.](https://i0.wp.com/katayman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cathay.jpg2_.jpeg?resize=600%2C900&ssl=1)
![An illustration of a woman with black hair trapped inside an hourglass. The woman is wearing a red silk dress.](https://i0.wp.com/katayman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cathay.jpg1_.jpeg?resize=600%2C900&ssl=1)
![A woman with black hair covered with a sheer piece of red fabric looking seductively into a golden mirror.](https://i0.wp.com/katayman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cathay.jpg.jpeg?resize=600%2C900&ssl=1)
![A playing card style illustration with a woman with slick black hair looking blissfully downward on the top and an ugly woman with chopped back hair and a unibrow on the bottom.](https://i0.wp.com/katayman.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Cathay.jpg3_.jpeg?resize=600%2C900&ssl=1)