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This year, I didn't have any holidays around Christmas and New Year, and I felt it! I rarely manage to look at and comment on all [livejournal.com profile] hoggywartyxmas entries before the reveals, but this year it was worse than ever. I didn't even manage to finish my gift knitting on time (that's another story). So today is January 12 and I still have ... half? ... of this year's entries to read and comment on.

Of the gifts I have perused so far, these are my particular favourites:

Endings and Beginnings by [livejournal.com profile] delphipsmith
Characters:Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Augusta Longbottom, Madam Pince, Portrait!Dobby, OC's
Wordcount: 9000
Rating: Gen
Summary: An ancient mystery and a modern one: do they hold one another's answers?

I particularly love how this tale tackles the thorny questions surrounding House Elves and their serfdom. It's interesting, clever, fairytale-like and, to top it all off, fun to read. Headcanon fully accepted!

Only Technically Dead by [livejournal.com profile] themightyflynn
Characters: Severus, Minerva, Rosmerta, Kingsley, Filius
Wordcount: 6368
Rating: PG
Summary: A mishap with the Ministry filing system may turn into something more than just an annoyance for Severus. Especially if Minerva has anything to say about it.

Okay - the starting point of this story is absolutely brilliant, and the story lives up to the thing something wonderful. It has a great Snape (with many racing thoughts), a truly redoubtable Minerva and a delightful Kingsley Shacklebolt. I don't know how often I laughed out loud while reading this, but when I wasn't laughing, I was grinning.

The Headmaster's Closet by [livejournal.com profile] cabepfir
Characters: Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore, Wispy
Art
Wordcount: 342
Rating: G
Summary: Professor Snape owns everything he needs.

MY GIIIIIIIIFT! I adore it 1000%! It ticks all my boxes!

I'm going to try and read some more tomorrow, and keep my fingers crossed that RL in the form of cats vomiting ALL OVER my bed (damage: washing, cleaning, having to take the duvet to a laundrette because it's too big to fit inside my machine) or my printer yielding up the ghost (damage: having to drag an MFC across the city by public transport, within remarkably restricted opening hours) stops interfering with my plans.

My own entry was this illustration in the aftermath of [livejournal.com profile] dreamy_dragon73's story The Longest Night - which happened to be my Hoggywarty gift last year!



Read more... )
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Hahaha everything went so wrong! I made a complete and utter mess of the watercolours on this piece, and that's after I had drawn another birthday picture that had a glaring mistake in the lettering! I had to try and save this one in Photoshop and ended up finishing it on January 10 -_-.

Ah well.



Happy birthday, Professor Snape! And who knows, maybe I'll get back to my Comic of Doom someday and explain all about Brynhild Bromley.
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I have only just recently realised - I'm officially 40+ now, so it was about time - that I challenge myself constantly. I didn't really understand that before, but I push myself all the time. I'm a creature of habit and I'm not at all adventurous. But when it comes to skills, I always want to grow and get better. On the one hand, it means I put myself under pressure (which sometimes crosses over into stress, self-doubt and performance anxiety), but on the other hand, I get bored when things are too easy. It's my own modest version of "My mind rebels at stagnation" ;).

I tend to push myself for Hoggywarty. A Hoggywarty piece is always a gift for someone, and nobody wants to gift someone with a dud. It's also become, with [livejournal.com profile] snapecase, my Snapey Outing of the Year, so I have to make it count. I've also noticed that making fan things I feel freer somehow than when making, say, my Gawain comic. Fandom is less 'for real', if you like. It's playful because the thing you are making does not entirely belong to you. I dare to be more silly and more creative in fan art, I think. I take more risks. As a result, my Hoggywarty pieces are often things I am genuinely proud of (though I am invariably very worried that their recipient won't like them).

This year, because I was in an existential crisis, my first thought was to go easy on myself and do a pretty portrait or something. Or two portraits with a narrative link, because I didn't want to look like a slacker. But soon enough I realised that I didn't really want to go easy. I wanted to make a silly comic that would make people laugh after the awful year we've had. Of course, the trouble is that I'm notoriously slow, and comics, however simple they may look, are not easy to make. For one thing, you need a story, and then you need to figure out how to tell it, and how to render it. Fortunately, and idea presented itself in October. (Just the one! I don't seem to have head space for more than one idea at any given time?!)





Opening The Gift )


The Next Step?


Around this time last year, I mentioned a Secret Snape Project for 2020. Well, it didn't materialise for plenty of good reasons, most of which have to do with 2020 being what it was.

Here is what I'd planned to do: I wanted to make a sort of Snape Zine, bundling my Snape comics and some extra material. I feel less annoyed by not having made the zine in 2020 now that I've made another comic to add to it.

So, the zine would contain:I don't know how much interest there would be in such a bundle, but I'll put some feelers out. If someone has any experience with producing actual books and selling and shipping them to people, and would be inclined to offer counsel or help, the undersigned, having no business sense, would be most grateful to hear from you :).
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So! I don't think that a lot of us had a great 2020, most of us for obvious pandemic reasons. Personally, I ran into my own limitations (I still have the bruises) and I learnt a lot about myself. I haven't been in a good place, and not being able to meet people who are dear to me hasn't helped. It was therefore great to see at least one familiar event return in the shape of [livejournal.com profile] hoggywartyxmas - a fest that has been going on for 11 years now and is as much part of my Christmas traditions as the Christmas tree and what should have been the family dinner. I think that for many of us, the fest had even more significance this year and the sense of community was even stronger. My heartfelt thanks to [livejournal.com profile] therealsnape and [livejournal.com profile] kellychambliss for giving us this ♥.

I still have some catching-up to do, but here are a set of entries I much enjoyed and recommend:

By the Fireside by [livejournal.com profile] cabepfir
Rating: G
Characters and/or Pairings: Minerva/Severus
Summary: A quiet afternoon together
Warnings: None
(It's difficult not to rec a cabepfir piece, because her sense of colour and atmosphere are brilliant and she is the Queen of All Watercolour. Also: her Snape. Plus cutiepie cat.)

What Minerva Did Next by [livejournal.com profile] hiddenhibernian
Rating: PG
Word Count: 2,100
Characters and/or Pairings: Minerva McGonagall, Augusta Longbottom
Summary: Of magic, witches and whisky, and why there are no female Dark Lords (that you know of, anyway).
Warnings: None
(This was my gift, right up my alley - I find it almost philosophical :). Minerva's understanding of magic grows, and with it her dissatisfaction with the magical community as it is. She begins to consider taking action, and talks it over with Augusta Longbottom. Don't expect flashy action, but enjoy the musings of two sharp witches.)

To All a Good Night by [livejournal.com profile] delphipsmith
Rating: G
Word Count: ~5500
Characters and/or Pairings: Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Wilhelmina Grubbly-Plank, Poppy Pomfrey, Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, Madam Malkin; brief appearance by Hagrid and mention of Malfoys
Summary: Just when things seem dark as a crow's wing, life takes a lucky turn.
Warnings: None
(I'm going to let you discover Delphi's puns for yourself. This story made me laugh out loud every few lines. Basically this is "magical covid takes the Wizarding World". Having lived through this non-magical covid year, I wasn't sure that I would be able to laugh at it, but - I was. I hope you are too.)

Death and Love and Other Yuletide Mysteries: A Hogwarts Castle Story by [livejournal.com profile] milotzi
Rating: G
Word Count: 7244
Characters and/or Pairings: Minerva McGonagall and an assorted cast of Hogwarts staff and friends
Summary: Hogwarts Castle as Blandings meets snowbound country house mystery.
Warnings: It’s a Yuletide tale, yet you may discover an easter egg or two or three if you like reading crime mysteries.
(I have a weakness for pastiche. I couldn't write one to save my life, but I so enjoy it when other people prove they can. This was a good one, and I just adore this ironic, knowing 30s style of writing.)

Within a Forest Dark by [livejournal.com profile] squibstress
Rating: soft R
Word Count: 9,725
Characters and/or Pairings: Severus Snape/Minerva McGonagall
Summary: Severus expects his journey at Hogwarts to be dark and lonely. He’s right. Mostly.
Warnings: None.
(Squibstress promises 'snark' and 'bitching'. What else can one want from a Severus/Minerva story? ;P An excellent tale with great characterisation and strong dialogue to entertain you even if you don't ship SnacGonagall.)

The Unofficial Minutes of the Hogwarts Knitting Society by [livejournal.com profile] therealsnape
Rating: G
Word Count: 14K
Characters and/or Pairings: Irma Pince with a supporting cast of Hogwarts Staff Members. Also, the owner of a knitting shop.
Summary: When Gilderoy Lockhart announces his plan for motivational lectures that will bring the fun back into teaching, his colleagues have to do something. But who would have thought it would involve needles and yarn?
Warnings: None.
(I have two words for you: WITCHES and KNITTING. Truly a magical combination?! Well, it was for me. Minerva McGonagall sets up a knitting club that must save its members from attending lectures by Gilderoy Lockhart. This leads to Ravelry Revelations. Don't be scared of the word count: this story doesn't at all *feel* like 14K, it's that good a read.)

Season’s Greetings from Hogwarts! by [livejournal.com profile] mywitch
Rating: PG
Characters and/or Pairings: Pomona Sprout, Filius Flitwick, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom and Irma Pince
Summary: The Hogwarts Faculty tries to keep it together for the annual Yule card photo.
Warnings: Tiny bit of full frontal nudity ;)
(mywitch is one of these people who can't hide their identity in an anonymous fest because they just ... are who they are? She is amazingly versatile and can, I think, do just about anything. But even though she uses a variety of styles and media, you can always tell it's her because of the unique combination of technical brilliance, creativity and mischief in her entries. Treat yourself to this animated postcard. Do not consume beverages while watching.)

Here endeth the reccing!

So, as we've had the reveal last Saturday, I can quite openly claim authorship of The Gift, a very silly 5-page comic:

The Gift
Rating: Ummm... PG for a word you don't want your child to repeat?
Word Count: 168
Characters and/or Pairings: Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore
Summary: The year is 1993, and the presence of one Mr Remus Lupin at Hogwarts means that this isn't the Potions Master's favourite Christmas ever. Maybe, just maybe, Minerva McGonagall can lift his gloom.
Warnings: Rude language

I want to share some behind-the-scenes information about this little comic because it's special for me. If you're interested, I'd advise you to read the story first and then come back for the making-of, which I'll put in a separate entry.

Snape Big Bang 2019...

Thursday, 30 April 2020 11:01 pm
sigune: (Default)
Posting now, after a turbulent trajectory ;)!


Title: (i imagine death so much it feels) more like a memory
Author: Humanveil (a.k.a. [livejournal.com profile] snax0)
Rating: M.
Pairings: Gen.
Trigger Warnings: Family violence, bullying, self-mutilation, grooming, graphic violence, non-graphic references to animal abuse for experimental purposes
Tags: Character study, first war with Voldemort, pre-canon, the Werewolf Prank.
Summary: Severus Snape, from first curse to first kill. Or: The making of a Death Eater.
Gif animation by Cosmic Nyx
Illustration by me :)

The Tree of Knowledge


I'm really pleased with this, even though it shows all of my typical shortcomings (I don't *really* know where I ought to be putting shades, everything sort of floats and I have serious problems with creating depth of any kind - I circumvented perspective a bit so that's less of a problem here). I can't do anything complex in digital colouring, but I do like where these simple colours get me. This is probably the best level I'm capable of with digital colouring, mind - but I like it. I'm thinking I should probably switch to digital for the shading in my comic, because it would look sort of neat and I could correct mistakes. But it would take me more time to finish my pages, and i'm already amazingly slow, so I guess I should have a think on that ;). 
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Severus Snape is 60 years old today!
Yes, he is sporting a beard and very long hair these days, and he has mostly moved past wand magic so he habitually wears his wand in his hair. I would have drawn a family picture but life would have none of it. I do have a Secret Snape Project this year, which I would dearly like to carry out, time permitting. More about that later, I hope...
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Happy 59th to my greasy muse!




Easter Eggs

Sunday, 1 April 2018 09:20 pm
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Eileen watches as Severus hunts for Easter eggs



This little painting was made specifically for everyone to whose kind comments I failed to reply in a timely manner in ... January. All through November, December and January, I worked very hard on a specific project at the office that took up most of my time and energy. But other people were busy too, and they replied to their fest comments. So it's me. I am unforgivably disorganised, and at the end of last year and the beginning of this one, it was worse than ever. 


I didn't get round to replying, and as the weeks stretched into months, the situation became more and more embarrassing and ridiculous. But the matter never sat well with me — not least because of how much these comments mean to me. So I wanted to apologise with a small gift, on the next gift-giving occasion. 


Please, dear reviewer, accept my sincere apology and this Easter egg. I hope you can forgive me for having been such a rubbish fest participant.

Easter Eggs

Sunday, 1 April 2018 01:11 am
sigune: (Default)



Eileen watches as Severus hunts for Easter eggs

Eileen watches as Severus hunts for Easter eggs


This little painting was made specifically for everyone to whose kind comments I failed to reply in a timely manner in ... January. All through November, December and January, I worked very hard on a specific project at the office that took up most of my time and energy. But other people were busy too, and they replied to their fest comments. So it's me. I am unforgivably disorganised, and at the end of last year and the beginning of this one, it was worse than ever. 


I didn't get round to replying, and as the weeks stretched into months, the situation became more and more embarrassing and ridiculous. But the matter never sat well with me — not least because of how much these comments mean to me. So I wanted to apologise with a small gift, on the next gift-giving occasion. 


Please, dear reviewer, accept my sincere apology and this Easter egg. I hope you can forgive me for having been such a rubbish fest participant.

sigune: (Young Severus)
Hello hello, happy new year everybody!

I do wish my first post of the year could be one with new drawings, but the thing is, though I have been very productive in December, I don't have anything to show for it as everything is tied up in fests. I did a Big Thing for Hoggywarty and two pictures for Snapecase - in fact I have committed to do a third as a pinch-hit. I do have a few sketches to share (and again, lots more that I can't, because they concern my fest entries).

Hoggywarty Christmas is still at full swing over at [community profile] hoggywartyxmas, so I have come bearings some recs; these are my favourites so far.

So Bracing (PG-13, 9225 words), by Anonymous, is the tale of how Tom, landlord of the Leaky Cauldron, uses his wisdom and extensive experience as a barman to fix the lives of the Hogwarts Headmistress and a fellow barman in Skegness. Delightful, beautifully crafted, clever and wise. Don't miss the conversation with the mirror.

Friends, Teachers, Countrymen (R, 3700 words), by Anonymous, is the achingly perfect tale of Severus Snape's staff Christmas party during his year as Headmaster. It is very Snape (the worst and the best of him), therefore it made me cry.

Hiring Defense Against the Dark Arts Teachers and Other Unforgivable Acts (PG, 3630 words) by Anonymous. I may be a bit biased here because this is my gift, based on a prompt that I'd wanted to read for a long time :D. We finally get to see what went on behind closed doors, when a new DADA teacher must be found. The story is delightfully understated, with a perfect Dumbledore, Snape and McGonagall, and an ending that - well, I shouldn't give that away.

Love Hides in Familiar Faces (G, 4300 words), by Anonymous, is a beautifully-crafted fairytale in which Minerva McGonagall, Filius Flitwick, Severus Snape and Horace Slughorn receive a helping ... hand ... from an unexpected party. Lovely and heart-warming.

Exploding Crackers (G) is, very simply, an exquisite (animated!) Christmas picture by an artist whose anonymity I must uphold even though I'd know them anywhere :P. Enjoy!

Finally, have some Snapes on a train...

 photo snapes_on_a_train_web_zpsolikgmxh.jpg
[The children, from left to right, are Morgana (6), Magnus (10), Alexander (15) and Alba (19)]


...and Snape in a cardie. (Don't ask.)

 photo cardie_web_zpsy0f1lzc0.jpg

The Smock

Sunday, 25 September 2016 08:57 pm
sigune: (Dungeon King)
It's funny - I used to be really annoyed with the whole Snape-and-Lily thing. I still feel that the whole 'ugly, unpopular boy loses pretty, popular girl to handsome, popular boy who is of course his arch enemy' plot is a big old cliché. But I think that, x years later, I get the dynamic between Severus and Lily better. I don't think Lily was the friend that Severus thought her to be, and I don't buy JKR's comment that 'she could have been interested in him romantically if he hadn't been into Dark Arts'. I think Lily and Severus got on like a house on fire *before Hogwarts*. They clung to each other because they were the only magical children around. For Severus, Lily remains 'the One and Only', but Lily's focus is much less narrow.

That said, I'm having fun imagining them together as children, also because I think Lily must have seen a Severus that nobody else ever saw.

The Smock photo blouse_zpsvu7exzax.jpg


(This is from the notebook I keep for the Snapefic of Doom.)
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Oooh, what an exciting time to be back in fandom! Having signed up for [livejournal.com profile] hoggywartyxmas, I saw that [livejournal.com profile] snapecase is making a return too! Squee! I wish the sign-ups were open already! *dances*

Snape Showcase
[info]snapecase: Celebrating Severus Snape throughout his ages!


Meanwhile, have a piccy. As you can see, no pencils were harmed in the making of this, because it was drawn directly with ballpoint pen in my notebook, hence the wonky chair and - all the other wonkiness. I hope to post some stuff from art school to show how I have been getting on - you'll see we haven't been doing perspective yet ;).

 photo founders_texture_zpslehd31bu.jpg


This is where I am with my imagining Snape's life after the Battle of Hogwarts. He has spent 20 years visiting all known (and some unknown) wizarding schools and has been studying magic intensively. Now he is ready to carry out his masterplan of founding a wizarding university. Desmond Avery has been using his network to raise funds, and Brynhild has been concentrating on drawing up the statutes and looking into the legal and organisational side of things.
sigune: (Dungeon King)
Hello!

Yes, I still exist! And I'm back!

There is good news and bad. The good news is, I have come carrying sketches. The bad news is, they are fan art. Or maybe that is good news to some?

Here is what happened: I read Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and I went to the Harry Potter Exhibition that was on show in Brussels this summer, and - well, I'm in full-steam Potterhead mode again :/. I want to draw Snape! (Okay, basically I never stopped drawing Snape, he's just too much fun - but still! I want to draw more Snape!) I even want to write Snape again! I am seriously thinking of picking up my Epic Snapefic of Doom again.

I'm just over halfway in Prisoner of Azkaban, because yes, I need a serious canon refresh if I'm to write HP fic once more. I'm pleasantly surprised by how entertaining I find the books again; I do hope it lasts all the way until the end... My disappointment with Deathly Hallows was fairly monumental. But there are indications that I may have matured in my fandom: I am even getting to terms with Snape not being a Yorkshireman :P.

Anyway, for those who want to know what my Snape looks like these days: have a few outtakes from my sketchbook. First some old stuff...

This is the first elaborate Snape picture I have drawn in a while:

 photo snape_tea_blossoms_web_zpsllfbq3zx.jpg


This was well before my reading Cursed Child. I don't know, I just had to draw Snape with a cup of tea and cherry blossoms... Below are a few studies I did for the same picture. There is more, and recent stuff too! )

In other news, I passed my exam a few months ago, and I'm back at art school for my third year. It looks like it's going to be ... intense? I'm getting to continue work on my comic, so there will be more of that soon :).
sigune: (Dungeon King)
Here's a happy birthday to the Man Who Undoubtedly Lived!

Let's celebrate with some recs from [community profile] hoggywartyxmas - starting with my fabulous gift! It was written, compiled and provided with selected illustrations by [profile] shiv5468 who, let's be honest, spoiled me rotten. Therefore -

Get thee to Hoggywarty to read The Sweet Smell of Success (G, 2500 words), a tale of perfume, poetry and plenty of Aubrey Beardsley.

Shiv did not only gift me with a story; she also included the entire, illustrated catalogue to which the story makes reference. I don't know what I did to deserve that XD. It's such a fabulous mix of the Hogwarts Ladies; an absent but perfect Snape; one of my very favourite artists; and a number of my favourite poets. Just- just SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEE is what I say.

Now, despite the utter perfection of my gift, I didn't close my eyes to other goings-on at The Hoggywarty, and I'd like to share a few more titles I have enjoyed very much:

[personal profile] cabepfir's Big Great Hogwarts Quiz (G, art and, well, a quiz of course): go and have a look to see how well you do ;).

I have limitless admiration for people with a capacity to write comical verse. I miss [profile] _vocalion_'s and [profile] _grainne_'s jocular virtuosity, and was delighted when I came across [profile] atdelphi's A Midwinter Night's Revel (Teen, 500 words). It's just ... ahahahahahaaaa!

[personal profile] therealsnape's Case of the Cat Show Corruption (PG-13, 9700 words, no warnings), in which Spinster Detective Minerva McGonagall cracks a case for Mr Filch. I am a sucker for Hogwarts detective stories - I have always dreamed of writing one, but I couldn't write a mystery to save my life - and there are so few of them around. This one is, in one word, excellent. It is so completely in character that I suspect TRS found McGonagall's diary and passed it off as her own ;-).

I usually steer clear of anything rated over PG-13 and carrying warnings like "voyeurism", but this time round I gave in to my own inner voyeur (ahem) and went to read [profile] kellychambliss's Look Not at the Things (R, 10,600 words, voyeurism). It's a sharp and unvarnished look at Snape as a recent ex-Death Eater - an astute portrait of a disillusioned, desperately lonely and cynical young man who finds himself quite lost in an environment with, well, rather more emotionally balanced people. This story really packs a punch. It hurts. But in the end there is hope.

My gift for [personal profile] albalark is this picture to accompany her Snape birthday story, Saturday's Child, so I think I can safely post it here in celebration of the one and only Potions Master (sorry, Professor Slughorn).


 photo saturdays_child_web_zps4fa16636.jpg



It's Reeves acrylic paint on cardboard, because yes, I'm going to art school now ;-)! [personal profile] cabepfir kindly lent me a hand and beta'ed the painting. The flaws are now beginning to jump out at me, but I'm still kind of proud of it as one of my first steps in a new medium and an approach that is, quite frankly, the complete opposite of everything I have been doing in art (such as it is) so far.
sigune: (Ned & Cat)
 photo arya_stark_miniportrait_realsize_zps0ed5d01d.jpg ***  photo jon_snow_miniportrait_realsize_zpsc081ecd7.jpg

Two tiny portraits (8 x 10,5 cm) on Hahnemühle Bamboo, which I had to try sooner or later after all the times [personal profile] cabepfir has been singing its praises :). And yes, it's a very nice paper and fun to work with! May have to get a larger block...

I just love doing little portraits... I'll have to do a new Elrond too :P.

There will be more ASoIaF fanart ahead. It's just too much fun.

Art: Nenya (G)

Monday, 1 April 2013 01:34 pm
sigune: (Default)
I adore my Moleskine sketchbooks. There is just one frustration: I draw so badly in them. When you have a nice little sketchbook, it ought to be filled with nice art, you know? And my Moleskines are full of junk. Really. Seriously bad art. It is very embarrassing.

The fun thing about sketchbooks, and the reason why I use them, really, is that they keep sketches together. That means you can present them together, like a kind of portfolio that shows an evolution, and that when you have a good idea, you don't have to fear that it may get mislaid (which tends to happen to me :p). BUT if the contents of your sketchbooks are rubbish, well, that kind of defeats the purpose.

My latest mission, therefor, is to fill the remaining pages (and the backs of pages, haha) of my sketchbooks with Better Art, and/or with sketches that have some actual study value. This image should be seen in that context :).

Still Lord of the Ring-inspired: Galadriel wearing Nenya. Galadriel is easily my favourite Elf.

 photo nenya_s_zps961a448f.jpg


Lines were done with Faber-Castell PITT brush pens in four colours: Cinnamon 189, Raw Umber 180, Caput Mortuum 169 and Cold grey III 232. Watercolours used are Blockx (Lemon Yellow, Naples Yellow, Gamboge Yellow, Rose Madder, Rose Madder Deep, Cyanine Blue, Terre Verte, Hooker's Green), Winsor & Newton (Winsor Green, Raw Sienna, Cerulean Blue, Cadmium Orange) and Cotman (Sap green).

Size: 13 x 21 cm. The notebook paper has a weight of 200 g/m² and is made of 25% cotton. The notebook itself is actually one of the resons why projects can easily go wrong (for me): the book form does not allow me to use a light table, and after a few retries, the paper goes wonky. Which is totally normal, but it is also the reason why I use a light table for my 'free-standing' watercolour paintings.

NB: Crossposting from my DW account hasn't been working for ages. Bah.

Art: Nenya (G)

Monday, 1 April 2013 12:31 pm
sigune: (Default)
I adore my Moleskine sketchbooks. There is just one frustration: I draw so badly in them. When you have a nice little sketchbook, it ought to be filled with nice art, you know? And my Moleskines are full of junk. Really. Seriously bad art. It is very embarrassing.

The fun thing about sketchbooks, and the reason why I use them, really, is that they keep sketches together. That means you can present them together, like a kind of portfolio that shows an evolution, and that when you have a good idea, you don't have to fear that it may get mislaid (which tends to happen to me :p). BUT if the contents of your sketchbooks are rubbish, well, that kind of defeats the purpose.

My latest mission, therefor, is to fill the remaining pages (and the backs of pages, haha) of my sketchbooks with Better Art, and/or with sketches that have some actual study value. This image should be seen in that context :).

Still Lord of the Ring-inspired: Galadriel wearing Nenya. Galadriel is easily my favourite Elf.

 photo nenya_s_zps961a448f.jpg


Lines were done with Faber-Castell PITT brush pens in four colours: Cinnamon 189, Raw Umber 180, Caput Mortuum 169 and Cold grey III 232. Watercolours used are Blockx (Lemon Yellow, Naples Yellow, Gamboge Yellow, Rose Madder, Rose Madder Deep, Cyanine Blue, Terre Verte, Hooker's Green), Winsor & Newton (Winsor Green, Raw Sienna, Cerulean Blue, Cadmium Orange) and Cotman (Sap green).

Size: 13 x 21 cm. The notebook paper has a weight of 200 g/m² and is made of 25% cotton. The notebook itself is actually one of the resons why projects can easily go wrong (for me): the book form does not allow me to use a light table, and after a few retries, the paper goes wonky. Which is totally normal, but it is also the reason why I use a light table for my 'free-standing' watercolour paintings.
sigune: (Dungeon King)
A happy birthday to my old buddy...

The reveals at [community profile] hoggywartyxmas are up, so I can post this. The Rug was a gift for [profile] shiv5468. Oh and that rug is Remus Lupin, in case you were wondering.

Photobucket
sigune: (Default)
A happy birthday to my old buddy...

The reveals at [livejournal.com profile] hoggywartyxmas are up, so I can post this. The Rug was a gift for [livejournal.com profile] shiv5468. Oh and that rug is Remus Lupin, in case you were wondering.

Photobucket

March 2022

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