Sketchdump

[sigune]

I really don't like not being busy creating :/. But the story just isn't ready yet. I need a new beginning and a clear focus. Because drawing tends to get me there, I have been sketching. The results are below the cut.





Young Gawain, and an attempt at drawing a horse without reference :P.




Young Gawain and Sister Conchobarre

I happen to like Sister Conchobarre. You can't like her much yet because you have barely met her. That is supposed to change - hopefully soon :-).




*wants movement*

Ideally, I should like to give Gawain a very mobile fighting style. He's not particularly tall and not very muscular, but he is fast and agile. Unfortunately I don't know anything about martial arts - only about fencing, which is not very useful in a pre-1600s context :/. So I am a bit nervous about any fighting scenes to come. For the time being, I am working on putting that agility on paper. I am used to drawing stiff Snapes, so this requires some adapting.




Most sketches on this page are attempts to define King Arthur. There is an older Gawain at the left. The woman's identity is ... a secret :-).




Arthur, Morgwen, Gawain

I like this Arthur. He's probably not going to change much from here.
I like my Gawain elegant. Maybe a little too much so. As for the costume I have given him here, that is a long way away from the kind of clothing you have seen (however sketchily) in the Prologue. I have pretty much settled for huge changes in setting and period as the story rolls along. The idea is to start in the fifth century - when Arthur and his knights would supposedly have lived - and move all the way to the Renaissance for the story's end. That sort of covers the rise and fall of knighthood. I'm not sure if it is going to work, but I certainly intend to try it :-).




...And this is what you get when I try to draw a harness without reference. For a knight with very long arms ;-).

Comments

[the-bitter-word.livejournal.com]

You do realize these sketches are as polished as what most people produce as finished work.

Gawain's movement is truly balletic. Sister Conchobarre seems satisfied with the results, but the curly-haired girl is... laughing? That's what he gets for being trained by nuns, I guess.

The story continues to intrigue. I'm glad you're working on this.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

I'll feel happier when I am drawing panels again :-). I think I'm slowly getting somewhere though...

Yes, poor Gawain - what am I doing to him? I don't think a lot of girls will laugh at him, but his fellow knights may be another matter. *g*
My idea for his style of fighting actually comes from the old Irish epics of the Ulster Cycle. Cúchuláin learns his fighting skills from a Scottish woman called Scathach. She teaches him things with names like "the Salmon Leap", which somehow led me to imagine ninja-ish manoeuvres :-).

Thanks!

[blue-nadir.livejournal.com]

Arthur looks like a lion! Keep him like that! :D

[sigune.livejournal.com]

I knew his hairdo reminded me of something! I just couldn't put my finger on it :P. But yes, now I must definitely keep him like that :-).

Thanks!

[death-ofme.livejournal.com]

Haha, Arthur's profile really does make him look like a lion!

I love the action poses for Gaiwan, so very dynamic. And also the little portrait of him older in the lefthand corner of one of your dumps.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

Isn't it funny? Nobody would associate my stuff with dynamism, but when I doodle I actually draw quite a few action poses. The thing is that I never feel secure enough about the anatomical correctness of such poses to use them in independent pictures. Hm.

Please do like Gawain ;-). He should be quite adorable *g*. (Question is, can I make him that?)

[death-ofme.livejournal.com]

We like to call big sweaty men with long pointy sticks brutes, but the truth is that deep down we find them impossibly adorable.

[authoress-susan.livejournal.com]

It's been so long since I've seen Sigune-drawings!

Fourth picture down, lower left corner---wow! I love him!

I miss you! *hugs*

[sigune.livejournal.com]

*hugs back*

Susaaaaaaaaan! Long time no see! How is the writing going?

I know, I haven't been around LJ much, all of last year - but I'm improving. I try to post every Saturday now. The trouble is that I have little time to keep track of what everyone is up to, mostly because I rarely get to go on the Net on weekdays (because of work and the fact that I get home so late), and in the weekends I have to do everything for which I didn't have time during the week. I miss the good old days of fandom and RomTheWiz... ;_;

Hee! I'm really happy you like Gawain. If he gets a "wow" from you, I've done my job properly :D.

[authoress-susan.livejournal.com]

I just happened to browse my f-list today (first time in months), and I saw your post! Gawain is fantastic!

No fandom for me these days. It's all Emergence. I signed up for an intensive 5-day workshop in September, and I must have my novel in good shape for it. (Yes, I'm frightened!) Fortunately, I had an epiphany earlier, so the plot thickens.

[sigune.livejournal.com]

That sounds great! :D

I think workshops are scary, but if they are good, they can help you a great deal. Criticism, provided it comes from a good source, can be very inspiring. On the other hand, I don't think it is useful to go by the book. You have to distill your own method from what you are taught - but I have no doubt that you will :).

Isn't it wonderful to be working on something original? It is much, much easier to find an audience for fan stuff, but knowing that the original thing is your own and you can do with it as you please - that's worth something.

[authoress-susan.livejournal.com]

Fan fiction was a great way to get started, but original story telling is infinitely more satisfying.

The workshop is about taking your writing to the next level. I think it will be a good experience for me.