More Secret Santa fanart

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

I've been enjoying the art that's gone up recently, and I wanted to share my own. So, after consulting my giftee...

*deep breath*

here are my two pictures. I'm kind of proud of of them because they're the first real fanart I've made. :) (Not counting the long-lost Harry Potter drawing I made when I was twelve). I don't know how to make art on the computer, so they're just photos of old-school paper.

I'd love any comments or feedback. :)

Hope the image posting/lj cut works. 

Enjoy!










































"Talking to his gods"
Watercolour pencils on paper.

This is the scene in the old solarium. For some reason that room is very vivid to me.
Not totally happy with the perspective, but oh well. Click for link to embiggable version.














































Attolia
Pencil on paper

She's not perfect, but she's something like how I imagine her.
I'd still like to colour this sometime. And maybe add a garden behind her. :) Again, click for bigger version.


That's it! Thanks for looking.

Comments

[meltintall3.livejournal.com]

The first one is a stunning image. <3 It's dramatic, but you can see how alone Gen felt, and something of the majesty of those he's talking to. (Also, I love pictures with shiny reflective floors and vivid lighting.)

I like the paving stones in the second. A garden would be a great addition to the background, to round out the scene.

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Yay for reflective floors and vivid lighting! I love all those descriptions of dust motes floating in sunbeams, which MWT always seems to mention. I wish I could have captured the look of dust floating in the light, but that's beyond me!

Thank you for commenting! I'm glad you liked them and it's great to get feedback.

[genndme.livejournal.com]

Those are great! Coming from another artist who doesn't draw on computers (don't know how) and uses plain ol' paper, I know how long it must have taken. Coloring is also time-consuming. I'd love to see Attolia colored, her hair-style is just beautiful!

In 'Talking to his gods', I love how Gen is bowed over like he's in pain. It is a very vivid scene in the book and I think you caught how empty and isolated Gen felt at that time, 'abandoned' is another good discriptive word.

Keep up the good work!

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I shall try. :)

And thank you for this comment! It's great to know what people notice and/or like. :) I must admit I was thinking of Queen Amidala with the hairstyle. :P

I think 'abandoned' is a very good word for it. The gods were supposed to protect him, and they didn't - it's almost like a parent betraying you. :( And I think he is definitely in pain. At a certain point it describes him curling over his arm and all those blisters... I think it was later in the scene, but that was what I was going for. And of course it's more than that. Poor Gen.

Yeah, it's really time consuming! But probably less time consuming than trying to learn how to do it on the computer. Computer art is a definite hole in my knowledge. Like, a black hole. I don't even know where to begin! ;)

[genndme.livejournal.com]

Amidala is a good one to base Irene off of (kinda similar and kinda not).

In the words of Gen: 'Ouch'

Yeah, friends seem to know exactly what's the best technology and how to use it and I'm standing next to them going "What are you guys talking about?"

[booksrgood4u.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh, the first one is amazing!! What I love about it is that when you click the cut, all you see is the window, and as you scroll down your eye follows the beams of light down until you see Gen, all slumped over and alone.

Beautiful!

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much... :) I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's really nice to hear what people think.

[pieredaes-muse.livejournal.com]

I love love love the first piece...that candle's shadow reaching up the wall has some hint of a divine presence. Attolia's dress is beautiful! Thank you for sharing :)

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Yay, that was what I was going for with the candle. Thank you for the feedback! I'm glad you liked it. :)

[freenarnian.livejournal.com]

Lovely! I like the floor and pillar detail as the backdrop in the 2nd picture, and the colors in the 1st just seem right for the series. I could never get the hang of watercolor pencils, but you make me want to give them another try!

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

The watercolour pencils were a bit frustrating, so I can understand! But the paper I was using wouldn't have stood up to actual paint.

I like your icon! :)

[drashizu.livejournal.com]

Wow, I love the cascades of light through the solarium windows in the first picture. Very well done, both of them!

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[checkers65477.livejournal.com]

Very nice! Your Attolia reminds me a little of actress Vivian Leigh (http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2384/2464721897_ca5daca01f.jpg), who would have made a great Attolia. She was also very good at raising one eyebrow. :)

And I love the windows. That part of scene has a big impact, with the breaking glass later.

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Oooh, I haven't seen Vivian Leigh before. I can see a resemblance, though! In fact, looking at her is like looking at a distant relative of the Attolia in my head. Not quite right, but familiar. Very strange! :)

Thanks! And yes, the window glass... If I was better at action scenes, I would love to do a more actiony shot of Gen curled up in the foreground and all the glass flying everywhere...! But I think that would be hard.

[chubbyleng.livejournal.com]

I love both of them!! But I especially love the tiles in the second picture. Ah!!!

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Attolia's palace has good scope for fancy architectural things. In fact if people just drew pictures of various places in her palace, I would love it. :)

[agentmaly.livejournal.com]

That's a really flat goat.


I like your composition, especially in the first one.

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

"That's a really flat goat."

LOL I know! I thought it would muddy up the outline of the table, so... artistic licence! Anyway it was a kid, not a full grown goat. ;P

And thank you!

[lizzyazula.livejournal.com]

I know this has been said a bunch of times, but the first image is beautiful! the perspective, the angle, the candle, the shadows, everything! I just took an art class today where we learned all the basic elements of design (line, shape, value, etc). It was a boring lecture, but I can see everything we learned in your piece! I wish I could create such a powerful image.

And now that I look back at the second piece, I can see all the design elements in your second one too! You're really good at perspective and adding depth to the picture. When I draw, it's just a flat picture. But your art makes it seems like it's taken straight out of a real world. =D

[hazelwillow.livejournal.com]

Oh, sorry I didn't see your comment earlier! I really appreciate this comment, thank you. :)

I know exactly what you mean about those boring art lectures about the elements of design... SO dull in the classroom (I remember having to make examples of them all in my sketchbook.., bleargh), but then they turn out to be surprisingly useful when actually looking at or making art. I think I've internalized them enough now that I make decisions based off them without thinking about it much. I just helped out with a painting activity some kids were doing at my local church today, actually, and I had to actually articulate some of that "technical stuff" (for lack of a better world) which I'd forgotten I know. (I've never done that before, I'm no where near a teacher, so it was quite interesting!)

The fact that you just took that class and are now already seeing those elements everywhere is a compliment to you, though. It's like, the zen art of seeing. Not to be corny. But I think if you can see it, than you can do it, and half of it is training your eyes. Or that's what I tell myself... hehe. ;)