La Grand-Messe was the theme of the Choeur du Brouhaha concert for which I had the opportunity to create an illustration. I chose to use birds to represent song and to interpret the idea of a grand-messe as a great reunion. I presented two concepts to the organizers which included a thumbnail sketch of the composition and a sample of the final rendering style.
As the concert was a celebration of religious choirs, my first concept was a work of stained glass, a medium that is often associated with church windows. The piece featured a luminescent tree hosting a gathering of birds.
My second concept, which focused more on the musical nature of the choir, was a piece of sheet music on which different birds were drawn.
Once the first concept was revealed to be the chosen one, I got started on a more detailed sketch. I made sure that the composition would work nicely with all the different formats at which the piece could be reproduced. For the final render to look convincing, I photographed parts of stained glass and used their texture in the illustration.
