story sketch: shine on [update: 07-18-2011]

[meeks]

This sketch is based on ysabetwordsmith's poem shine on about Shahana, the world-weary paladin, and Ari, the peasant girl who became her apprentice and travelling companion when a raid on her village left her with no better options. Shahana has found a fallen star and speaks of her goddess Gailah, weakened in an attack by priests of a rival god, but does not concede defeat, using the light of the star as a symbol of the resolute faith by which Gailah's followers will one day prevail.

cleaned up sketch:


rough sketch:

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linkbacks: 11

Comments

[ariestess]

This is gorgeous. I really like the texture of the woods, how they look slightly out of focus when compared to the two figures in the center. This is really nicely done.

Ooo...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I see what you mean by the focus. Part of that is doubtless the stage of the sketch, but I think it does support the effect of sharp lighting in the center and increasing dimness toward the edges.

Re: Ooo...

[ariestess]

*nods* Oh, I'm sure part of that is the stage of the sketch, but it really spoke to me...

[mdlbear]

Lovely!

Here via ysabetwordsmith; I've been enjoying your work for a while.

[kc_obrien]

My word...

That is a gorgeous image.

[yoshitsune]

i really like this. the texture and the light looks so good in b&w.

[catsittingstill]

I like what you've done with the star-as-light-source.

[aldersprig]

I love the way you played with darkness and light here; Ysabet was right to choose an image with light-play here.

The ferns in the front are awesome, and a little bit ominous, and I like the way the whole forest seems to be leaning towards them a bit.

[clare_dragonfly]

That's a sketch?! Wow, that is gorgeous. The lighting is just amazing. Your sketches are always awesome but this one blows me away.

Yes...

[ysabetwordsmith]

That's a sketch,

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That's a sketch, <user-name="meeks">-style. The before-and-after images often blow me away too. "Without Fail" went from wowcool to ZOMG-WOW.

[meeks]

Thank you! I admit I did a bit more with the values than I usually do at this stage, but really, it's mostly scribbling...

[reymonkey.livejournal.com]

Absolutely love the lighting in this one! Sorry it still won't come up for me on the FB page though...

Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I love this! The lighting is very much as I envisioned it. I love the circular effect you're getting with the trees, and the way the starlight shines up in little beams.

I have linked to this from my LJ and DW blogs, and on the Crowdfunding community for both services.

Re: Yay!

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you're pleased with it :) I did a bit more shading than I usually do at this stage, but that's kind of the point of the picture, and I had fun with all the scribbly foliage *g*

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>> I did a bit more shading than I usually do at this stage,<<

Yes, I thought so. Thank you very much for the extra work! I will send you all the attention that I can.

>> but that's kind of the point of the picture, and I had fun with all the scribbly foliage *g* <<

... much like getting sucked into the golem, and that was one of the main inspiration pictures that had me choosing this scene. But I love the foliage. (Is there a critter near the boulder, sort of left-of-center? It kind of looks like a face in the brush.) The leaves look so diverse, the way a forest does, and glossy where they catch the light.

I am also reminded of what Moonvoice is doing with "Katt's Forest" which involves a truly insane amount of detail with ink pen. It's the texture of the fronds and leaves that puts me in mind, I think, that sort of coiled and layered effect.

Re: Yay!

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

(Is there a critter near the boulder, sort of left-of-center? It kind of looks like a face in the brush.)
I hadn't really thought of it..but there could be! Something to keep in mind when I go back to work on it...

Moonvoice's art is impressive; I'm as much in awe of her patience as her skill.

Re: Yay!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

>>I hadn't really thought of it..but there could be! Something to keep in mind when I go back to work on it...<<

Hee!

>> Moonvoice's art is impressive; I'm as much in awe of her patience as her skill. <<

Patience, dexterity, and speed. This project is taking forever because, well, there are a million stipples in it. But I've seen her post a sketch one day, ink outline the next, and completed watercolor the third. And she can effectively use color combinations that normally work only for, say, God in sunsets.

Re: Yay!

[zeeth_kyrah]

This picture and re-reading the associated poem have inspired me to a story of my own.

[minor-architect.livejournal.com]

This sketch is very nice! I think the light of the star reflected on the tree trunks is my favorite effect. They just seem so...shiny.

This may be because you haven't really filled in the faces yet, but Shahana looks a lot younger than I would have thought. Sort of elfin, too. I think it's the almost-point of her one ear we can see. ;)

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I see what you mean about that ear. It's probably easy enough to fix by bringing that highlight up along the curve.

Showing age in the face may be more challenging, given the proportion of human figures to forest (which I like) and the lighting (which everyone seems to love). I can't think of an easy fix for this one. We'll see how it plays out, though.

[rix_scaedu]

Can I just be all gushy and say that this is really good?

[eseme]

That is so pretty! The light!

It's a very powerful moment, and I think the deep contrasts in this image are needed.

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

The changes are subtle but in certain places they really pop. I think my favorite detail is that front in the lower left where just the tip turns white as it bends forward. Sometimes a drawing has a hard time conveying depth but the lighting makes this one of the most 3D images I've seen in a while. I also like the razor-sharp lines at the front of Shahana's armor. The critters are cute too.

[the-vulture.livejournal.com]

I really like how you manipulated the tone to give the sense of a singular, intense light source. Nicely done!

This effect could be magnified by extensively extending the shadows of the characters, which would provide a very pronounced break in the light, given their proximity to the light source.

Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

I think you're right about extending the character shadows. That's a good detail to keep in mind if this picture gets another round of revision someday.

Re: Hmm...

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's a good suggestion. With the number of people who have shown interest in this piece, I wouldn't be surprised if I do get a chance to work on it more!

Re: Hmm...

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

Yay! That would be so awesome.

Looking at the discussions over on crowdfunding and then thinking about your project, I realize that this is another advantage. You often get comments that tell you what part of a picture works the best, and people give ideas on improvements or elaborations. That shows up in the refined sketches, and sometimes even in the source writing.

[eseme]

I love the little critters watching from the foliage! Such a lovely little detail, and I can picture them moving closer to the light from the fallen star.

[zeeth_kyrah]

Hope is a flash of light.