Sketchy

[tealin]

Life Drawing is the Magic Pill.



I seem to be incredibly rambly today. Please bear with me.

My brain is still stuck in Small Gods, and I might even read it again (so soon!) after Christmas (or during...?) to keep the images fresh.

I keep trying to draw this scene ... my life drawing pad has at least three versions of it. This one's my favourite so far, but it's still not there. This is when Brutha finds himself momentarily in the desert of black sand and turns to look back at Death – there should be hordes of people out there but I'm not going to invest that much energy in the background until I get the foreground right.


Finally a Vorbis design that is kind of getting there ... I was surprised, reading through Small Gods again, how often he's referred to as 'young.' Granted, this is mostly by elderly clergymen, but I tried to stay away from the skull-with-wrinkles look nonetheless. I also didn't want him to look as evil as he is – I wanted to keep some of the eagleness but also make him look like he could be nice, or look nice enough to disarm people anyway. He does put on that Comforting Guardian act, and if people took one look at him then ran away because he looked evil to the core he wouldn't get away with it. I know that in the book he's supposed to have eyes that are nearly entirely black so that you can't quite tell where he's looking, but while this works well in print it doesn't in animation. I had to sacrifice a little of that bit of canon. Anyway, this isn't quite there yet but it's the first one worthy of posting.


A couple stabs at Sgt Simony (I like the first one best). The guy at the desk next to my sister's was drawing someone with this general idea for facial structure (but much more willowy) and I went AHA! That would work for Simony! I'd done something kind of approaching this with the nose but the bottom jaw thing was a revelation. Anyway, he's still got a way to go, but he's on his way.


Must do ... more research ... on tortoises! Om is posessive.* This book has forever put another layer on a particular hymn at church ... heh. Anyway. Yeah.


I really liked the way Brutha looked in that quick little doodle I'd done a while back, and I thought maybe it was the button eyes that did it. I tried that as a starting place with this one ... turned out okay, but I go the hair wrong. Brutha and Neville look very similar in my mind, but I'd rather change Neville.


*Actually Om's is posessive ... ha aha ha hahaa.

Comments

Re: Squee!

[ianfinerty.livejournal.com]

These drawins are exceptional as always, you're manging to capture the innocence of Brutha magnificiently. It's odd, i like your Vorbis but i almost think he looks too nice. Its a matter of interpretation of course but i always imagined him like he is drawn in the Paul Kirby front cover to the book, looking really evil- i imagined Brutha merely ignoring this because he is so innocent and unwilling to believe that anyone so religous could be cruel. Everyone else seems to see it though. Even saying that, your Vorbis is soo much closer to catching him than i have ever got to. :)

Squee Indeed!

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

THERE'S A PAUL KIDBY FRONT COVER?? Where does one find this thing of glory?

Re: Squee Indeed!

[ianfinerty.livejournal.com]

Forgive my spelling i meant Kirby (cowers in fright from forthcoming righteous anger)

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Oh. Nevermind then. You did spell it right. Just the wrong first name. The 'Paul' made me think the surname was 'Kidby' ... aheh. Confound these oh-too-similar names.

[ianfinerty.livejournal.com]

Judging by your reaction you enjoy Mr. Kidby's work? Have you got the Art of Discworld compilation- it's made up completely of his work categorised by area and character with comments from both the artist and Mr Pratchett himself.

[twirlynoodle.livejournal.com]

Yeeeesss... it is my book of joy. : )