story sketch: unfolding wings [update: 04-15-2011]

[meeks]

This sketch is based on "unfolding wings," the first in a series of beautiful poems by ysabetwordsmith about the Origami Mage, an Eastern style hero from an asian inspired fantasy world. Please visit Penultimate Productions for more of the Origami Mage and her rival the Kirigami Mage (along with some other fantastic poetry series!)

cleaned-up sketch:


detail:


rough sketch:

This picture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License, and may be freely used under the terms of that license with a link back to mikaspace.net Please see terms of use for details.

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Feedback and contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated :)

Tips received: $10.00
linkbacks: 9

Comments

SQUEE!!

[ysabetwordsmith]

This is so cute! I love the two-part framing, with the long view and the closeup. That is really clever. And somehow you just nailed the setting. I'm not sure what it is that makes it feel like that particular world, rather than Japan or China or whatnot, but there it is. *happy dance* Now I must go tell my audience to come see!

Many thanks.

[(Anonymous)]

I love the pose of her hands in the clean version, that's such a tricky angle and so perfectly done!

~Rey

[aldersprig.livejournal.com]

*grins* That absolutely fits with my mental image of that poem. Wonderful!

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, beautiful!! I love her expression!

[my-partner-doug.livejournal.com]

Lovely work, but I have one bit of criticism to offer: to my eyes, at least, the close-up image on the right seems to depict an older, more mature individual than the child in the left-hand segment. Looking at the left-hand close up in isolation, I'd interpret that as being a drawing of a late teen or young adult rather than the "little girl" of the poem. Sorry that I'm not enough of an art critic to be able to clarify what precisely gives me that impression -- hope this is useful to you even without that detail.

[eseme]

Oh, that is a wonderful moment! I really liked that poem, and it is so nice to see it brought to life so well. I particularly like the asian details in the clothing and the houses, and the mother's profile conveys visually the idea that her child has wandered off.

[robling-t.livejournal.com]

I like the composition here with the scene/detail contrast in the two panels. It makes me think of it as an excerpt from a larger manga-like treatment of the poems...

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith.livejournal.com]

The updated sketch is terrific! She looks younger in the closeup now. The buildings framed up nicely too. Is that a tori gate in the background, on the left edge?

[marina-bonomi.livejournal.com]

The refined sketch is lovely, great job!

[eseme]

Wow, the refined sketch is lovely. The look of wonder on her face is just perfect.

[my-partner-doug.livejournal.com]

Wow! I'm grateful to everyone who's posted on this thread for making the sketch upgrade possible -- the cleaned-up sketch is a vast improvement over the original. The added architectural detail creates a much stronger sense of 'place' to the drawing, but what I find most impressive is that you were able to keep that same degree of wonder in her expression while taking years off of her face. I think you'd be an excellent choice of artist for the book, if/when that comes together; good luck!

Ooo...

[ysabetwordsmith]

I just realized that you're tallying donations-per-sketch as well as overall. That's a great idea. Once you build up enough data, you should be able to figure out what people tend to favor. And I'm thrilled that a sketch of my inspiration earned you some money. Crowdfunding makes the world go 'round, yay!

[ariestess]

Oh wow! This is gorgeous! I really like the details.

[laffingkat.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I love the cleaned-up sketch, but I think you have a great style in general. Looking at your art makes me smile! I hope we eventually get to see an Origami Mage book with your illustrations.

[kc_obrien]

My god, that's gorgeous.