story sketch: molly and hel [update: 10-22-2011]

[meeks]

This is an interlude scene from wonder_city  Stories, and features Molly, an 82-year old woman with the body of a 13-year-old girl, and Hel, the airship AI, represented by her brass speaker horn and arm. Oh, and cats. Lots of cats :)



details:




previous versions:
  
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.

Click to sponsor this sketch and support the artist!
Feedback and contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated :)

Tips received: $20.00
linkbacks: 7

Comments

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

Such delicate lines on Molly! I love the flowing cats and the complex background, too.

[fayanora]

Wow, eternally young! I wrote a flash fiction story once with a father/daughter pair of immortals, the daughter stuck at around age 12. They were both born in prehistoric India.

[(Anonymous)]

I love the art deco detailing on the interior of Hel! (Here from Wonder City)

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

This is gorgeous! Thank you so much! I love Hel's interior and the feline ubiquity! The staircase! The windows! The Captain's chair and the teacup! It's beautiful! I adore all the details you pulled from the scene!

Also, I really enjoy the somewhat cynical look on Molly's face. She doesn't have that slightly blank look that some 13-year-olds (and 16-year-olds, etc) manage (I see it on my goddaughter from time to time) -- she's thinking and calculating, which is perfect.

My one small criticism is Molly's shirt -- which is totally my fault for never mentioning it in the scene description. She's probably tossed her coat somewhere, but the shirt/outfit she'd wear under her tailcoat would probably look something like this (http://www.doversaddlery.com/the-ts-front-zip-breech-by-tailored-sportsman/p/X1-35185/cn/1/). (Her full outfit is probably related to this (http://www.doversaddlery.com/pikeur-dressage-shadbelly/p/X1-4028/cn/34/), though she wears black breeches under the green tailcoat and she's probably done away with the hat for anything but high dress occasions. :) )

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Also, would it be all right if I offered a second prompt? I thought I'd get my readers to vote on/suggest another scene.

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

Absolutely! Please invite them to come comment, too!

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I did! And I will! Thanks so much!

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

Yay! It took me a bit longer than usual to work out the composition with all the details, so I'm very glad you like it!

Sorry about the outfit...she was described as wearing jeans and a t-shirt in her first appearance, and began the interlude by casting off her outfit and declaring The Equestrian to be on leave, so I didn't think she'd be dressed 'in character.' It's easy enough to fix :)

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Oh! That makes perfect sense. It was my own fault for not describing her in the scene with Hel. I think that whenever she goes out with Maelstrom, even visiting, she dresses for the occasion. I suspect her closet is rather limited these days... :)

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

Updated! Is this outfit better?

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

OH MY GODS THIS IS BEAUTIFUL.

(and yes, the outfit is GREAT)

I am... just stunned. This is SO gorgeous. Stunning. THANK YOU.

I go to spread the word of the awesome.

[meeksp.livejournal.com]

There's a request on DW to add more steampunk-techie stuff in the background, including a bank of sound tubes for speaker horns running along the wall and out of the room. What do you think?

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

I don't think that's necessary. Hel's office was her creator's study, and I think he was a late Victorian/Edwardian gentleman who liked his comforts and probably wanted his study, at least, to look as much like a "normal" place as possible.

[robling-t.livejournal.com]

I like the suggestions of more going on in this room with all of the cropped-off objects (the wheel, the stairs, etc) -- it's a good way to imply that we're seeing a slice of a much larger space.

Wow!

[ysabetwordsmith]

This sharpened amazingly. I love the delicate scrollwork on the speaking horn.

[lilfluff]

Nice!

And got me going and and checking and after reading Wonder City Stories #1... I think I've got more WebFic that I'll be following.

[meeks]

Yay! I love knowing I helped connect a reader with a story.

[akycha]

The cleaned up sketch is stunning. The shadows and the cats and all the little period details are perfect. I love the staircase in the background, too!

[interleaper.livejournal.com]

This is looking great! I especially like Molly's expression.

It isn't crucial, but I'd kind of like to see the background a bit more cluttered up with steampunk-techie stuff. Maybe a bank of several speaking trumpets in a row, with their acoustic tubes bundled together for a short distance before running off into different walls, ceilings. and floors. Maybe a feel kind of like this picture:
http://www.worldofstock.com/stock_photos/TRB2561.php
--only not *that* cluttered, more spacious, and less electric stuff.

[kelkyag]

Oh, this is chock full of sweet details! The speaker horns, the spiral staircase, the framing of the front window.... That cup of tea seems fated to a violent end, though, perched precariously near all those cats, even without the possibility of turbulance.

So glad I peeked back at the call-for-prompts to see your link here. :)

[kelkyag]

The newer and fancier steering wheel (?) and the decorations on the speaking horn are both lovely.

[rowyn]

I love the airship detailing -- all those slim curvy lines in the background, and the graceful spiral of the staircase. Lovely!

[heavenscalyx]

Oh, the detailing is lovely! The cats are adorable. Thank you!

[aldersprig]

Wow, so crisp!

The first thing that caught my eye was the decoration on the - grammaphone? horn in the front right.

You draw awesome kitties; I want to see more of the one on the back of the chair, with the perfect kitty-smile.

And the doorway! OMG lovely!

[laffingkat.livejournal.com]

Oh, the details here are beautiful. I'd love to live in a space like that! Or perhaps be reincarnated as one of those cats. :)