Two Queens

[jindal.livejournal.com]

...I come bearing fanart.  ><

These have been my pet project the past two weeks during school.  (So much more interesting than economics, if you can believe it.)  I've attempted to draw Irene multiple times in the past and finally managed that now, and upon showing my mother, who is inching her way through King right now, I was encouraged to draw Helen.  (By which I mean that she encouraged me.)

I drew Irene first.  Honestly the more I look at it the less I like it... I tried to make her raising one eyebrow and wound up with her face looking skewed. DX Or maybe it just is skewed and the eyebrow makes it worse... Meh.  My first time doing a detailed realism-ish thing in a while, and my first time ever drawing realistic gold and rubies.

SHE REFUSED TO BE NOT-PRETTY.  Really. I gave her several stern talking-to's in which I told her that she was not allowed to be pretty but she stayed rather pretty anyway.  She's sort of smiling, if that can be any excuse... yeah, I'm not convinced either.  Sorry.  I do not like curls... and I suppose they turned out more like waves than anything else because of my impatience.

Theyr'e both a bit... unbalanced.  But anyway I had fun drawing them...

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll get back to planning my 50k-word novel... don't expect to see me at all next month, because I'll be busy.  (But I'm bribing myself with King of Attolia in Japanese if I succeed, so I must complete those 50k words at all costs!)

Comments

[fabricalchemist.livejournal.com]

I LOVE Irene's hair. You've put so much detail into it -- hair and braids are always too complicated for me to draw ^^; And Eddis looks very down-to-earth =) I like her tan skin and her chin.

Good luck with your novel! I hope you bring more fanart around when you're free again!

[jindal.livejournal.com]

It's the first time I've done braids that detailed-ly, actually. It was tiring, and when I darkened the rest of her hair I felt a sense of foreboding... I had to go over the braids again! Ahh well.

Thank you! Once I finish I hope to present a picture of Gen but there are even fewer descriptions of him than of the queens, so no promises. *falls over*

[sandtree.livejournal.com]

Oh, those are awesome! I always love seeing how other people picture the characters (even if it is so hard to accurately portray, whether it's through drawing or writing), and you did a really good job.

As for the 50k words, NaNoWriMo, I presume? :D

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks! Since I'm a long-time manga fan, not knowing exactly what the characters look like freaked me out a little bit, but I'm glad you liked them. :D

Yup, NaNoWriMo indeed. It should be fun. I think. XD

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Annnnnnnd that's me, forgetting to log in.

[karwei.livejournal.com]

Ahhh! So nice :D Great job.

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :3

[avian-xj.livejournal.com]

I love Attolia's earrings, all of her detail really. And Eddis still looks boyish even if she isn't ugly. very purty :)

Much luck on the 50k!

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thank you! The earrings (and the headband) were originally going to be a teensy bit more detailed but I decided against that. XD;
Making Eddis boyish was all I could think of to do, so I'm glad that at least came through.

[rosaleeluann.livejournal.com]

I am also a fan of Irene's hair. Very nice!

I still haven't decided whether to do NaNoWriMo this year. I'd better decide pretty soon though.

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thanks!

Yes, soon would probably be good. xD

[bluestalking.livejournal.com]

Ah! They are lovely! <3 Queen!fanart: definitely a better use of your time than economics.

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thank you, and I absolutely agree.

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

Beautifully done! Attolia looks just a bit sad, or maybe just a bit not happy. Eddis looks like someone who has been loved all of her life. The eyes are gorgeous.

Do you already have Thief and Queen in Japanese, or read them?

Megan had asked for people who have read both (English and Japanese) to comment on the translations. We've agreed the Japanese editions are considerably more beautiful and well made than the US ones.

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thank you, thank you!

I haven't read either; I just like King best. When I'm done I'll certainly comment on the translations! (eep!)

[savvywriter.livejournal.com]

Wow! I really like Irene's crown. =D

[(Anonymous)]

Bravo! (I too like Irene's hair.)

Good luck with NaNoWriMo!

~Feir Dearig

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thank you to both! :D

[boxofpencils.livejournal.com]

WOW. i had not expected such beautiful and lifelike drawings underneath the lj-cut. not that i had assumed that you would be a bad artist. haha. but it's just that as a reader i've always found it difficult to picture the face of a character, and i marvel that you can do it so well.. *am in awe*

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And actually drawing is the best way I can force a picture form in my mind. Generally I have the same issue as you do. :3

[aspectabund.livejournal.com]

Ooh, excellent job! As others have mentioned, the braids are indeed lovely on Attolia. But, allow me to be pretentious enough to give you a redline for her:

Click for redline! (http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa253/noodlenoggen/attolia_redline.png)

Just want to help you make your drawings even prettier. :D

[jindal.livejournal.com]

I had crosshairs in there originally, but I must have moved things around a bit after I erased them. >< And it's too late to change anything now, with the everything so dark in pencil. *gonk*

[aspectabund.livejournal.com]

Lol, I think that happens to all of us. XD I went through a month-long crooked eye phase once - NOT fun. :T

Good luck with NaNoWriMo! I was thinking of doing that myself, except I may have to squinch it all in at the end of the month, since I'm rather busy the first week or so into November.

[peggy-2.livejournal.com]

The braids under the extra magnification, and the jewels in her headpiece ...

Wow. Excellently done! Wow.

[hikari-cyhan.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I especially like Helen, and I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees Irene's headband going across her hair instead of her forehead.

Does the Japanese version of KoA have illustration inserts? If so, ifwhen you get it, could you scan them in?

And good luck on NaNo! I'm doing it this year, too--my first year!

[jindal.livejournal.com]

*Hands up in celebration* Yay, I'm not the only one either! I mean... how is a headband that goes across her forehead supposed to hold her hair back, exactly...? Also, thank you!

*jaw drops* I didn't even think of illustration inserts. That is so thoroughly possible. Oh my gosh. Yes, they'll be scanned in at once(-ish. Once I've finished squeeing etc)

Oooh, it's my first year as well! Sorta. I signed up last year but made excuses.

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

Helen is my favourite.

You do beautiful shading. :-)

[jindal.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Shading is very fun, except when the side of my hand starts turning gray.

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

Hm...not quite my mental images (I'm incredibly picky about such things), but that doesn't diminish the beauty of these pictures. Please allow me to echo all the praise of the detail, the marvelous shading, and the especially excellent hairdo you gave Attolia. Really, really beautiful pictures.

Good luck with NaNo! *is embarking upon it herself* *g*

[jindal.livejournal.com]

When you say you're incredibly picky, do you mean that you just prefer things to be the way you think of them, or that I missed some of the details of their descriptions? I'm not saying this in offense, but if I missed some details I'd prefer to integrate them into my own mental pictures. I like to be picky about such things too. xD

Thank you! Good luck to you too!

[jade-sabre-301.livejournal.com]

I prefer things to be the way I think of them, I guess? I actually know someone who I think looks A LOT like Eddis (my godmother, actually--she has kind of tannish skin and dark eyes and her hair is short and black and wildly curly) and while the shape of your Eddis's face mostly matches mine (actually, it really does, when I go back and just look at it without paying attention to everything else), but the hair did turn out more wavy than curly. And my Attolia has a long face, and I don't know what her eyes look like...my mental picture of her is very indistinct because I've never met someone who looks like her, but when I see it I know and

OOH. "Her hair was held away from her face by the ruby and gold headband that crossed her forehead just above her dark brows." (QoA, ch. 2). I knew there was a reason I didn't think her headband was in her hair. Anyway, the one you drew was very pretty.

Hope that helps! :-)