Cloud Space

This piece began as a study of structure inside something that usually feels loose and fleeting. When you spend time looking at clouds, you start to notice patterns: soft volumes stacking into one another, light spreading across rounded surfaces, and shadows carving out depth.

I started by shaping the main forms and the overall silhouette, focusing on how the mass of the cloud sits in space. From there I worked in layers, gently softening the forms and adding atmosphere. Subtle grain, softened transitions, and small variations in tone help break up the clean shapes and bring back the randomness that real clouds have.

The final pass is about refinement: tightening the shadow edges, adding small pockets of light, and building the soft “pillowing” that gives clouds their sense of volume.

In the end it becomes a balance between control and softness, designing the structure while still letting the cloud feel like it belongs to the sky.

Soft things still have structure too.