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brynora — Of Traitors and Fools
Published: 2017-07-02 13:31:08 +0000 UTC; Views: 1021; Favourites: 52; Downloads: 0
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What?! A manipulation?! Yeah.. this is my first one in three years. It's hard to believe how fast that time has gone. When I first came back to DA, I told myself I wasn't going to get back into doing manipulations. I really wanted to focus on drawing and developing a style. Obviously, that didn't quite work out... The more I hung around, the more I had the desire to get back into them. They are my favorite art form, really, but I was just afraid of the massive amount of work that they tend to become. I spent multiple weeks working on this piece, just on and off when I had the muse for it. I wanted a manipulation of my oldest character, Murphy , and it became quite the adventure. I cheated a little bit and put the fire over her hooves instead of behind them, but the fire behind her hooves looked super awkward. Anyway, since it has been a while, I've forgotten some of the standard 'best practices' that are done in manips so I probably missed something simple that would've made this better. There may be changes made to this in the future to reflect any of those things. But I really want to thank my dear friend Ruanly for helping me through this process and giving me some tips about how to get the effects that I desired. Without him this wouldn't be even remotely as good, so thank you <3Art and Character © brynora
Stock Images
Horse: Bombon 1
Background: Waiotapu_3
Tail: Chameleon 02
Fire: Flame 01 , fire , Fire Stock , Magic fire 06 , Fire , Sparks 2
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Comments: 22
I really love the contrast of the fire against the dark background in this! The entire background is just stunning.
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Thank you! The contrast fits Murph super well too
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I absolutely love the dynamic colors, and that tail is to die for! WONDERFUL WORK!!!
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Thank you so much!
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This is so gorgeous!! Aah!!
I love the way that you used purple and orange together! It really creates a calm atmosphere, and helps you center on the character, who, by the way, is GORGEOUS. It's lined so perfectly and you got every single detail right, ahh! I'm so glad that Ruanly posted the status featuring this piece, or I wouldn't have found another artist to look up to!!
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Thank you so much! 
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I don't even know where to begin with this. I am so fucking proud of you, Meghan. My mind is just little fragments around me because it is so blown.
First off, the bold and contrasting colors, I LOVE it. The mainstream style nowadays is very muted, very timid, just desaturated colors and playing it safe. I am so excited to see you stepping into the daring world of blazing colors. Even the thumbnail stands out as a true masterpiece, let alone once actually zoomed in. I love the pairing of these bright colors with their elements, too, and how the source of the elements is subtle. You create a fire lake without actually using fire--that's hard to do, but with your choices of sparking and lighting and foggy atmosphere, you completely convey the concept of it. I also love that the icy water is more purple-y than pure blue, it's an unexpected choice, going with that shade instead of, say, ice blue. It pays off wonderfully, especially when paired with the overall color scheme because it all blends together while standing apart. The seamless yet clearly separate blending of the two in the background, with the overlapping colors of mist, is the perfect touch.
The way the fire water has a darker core, almost like cooled lava, and then the edges are such a bright orange-yellow, hits the perfect note. A lot of people would make it all one shade and lose the impact of it, but having all that variation and change in atmosphere/texture keeps it alive and mesmerizing. You did an excellent job outlining the rim of it. I've instructed people through outlining before, and even with my hands-on advice, they weren't able to pull it off--too thick, too shaky, etc. It takes skill and instinct to pull it off no matter what kind of tutorials you follow, so you should be super proud of yourself for that.
I've seen this background used several times in photomanipulations, it is a pretty popular one, but I've never seen it so drastically and magically changed. You really made it different, its own thing.
And I'm so glad that you kept pushing for the ice and ignored my thoughts on which brushes to use. You nailed it. The perspective is precise and the brightness and density makes it really pop without becoming detached.
Now for Murph herself. Gosh, I'm back to floundering about where to begin. D= She is incredible. Freakin' incredible. You rocked the extra legs, they don't look weird or awkward or anything, it is totally believable.
The tail in particular makes my jaw drop. Honestly, the tail is what I found the most difficult about Murphy, it was the thing that I'd be uncertain how to do and would probably spend hours making random attempts and failing repeatedly until I finally got it days later. Yet you made it look magnificent--so distinct, sharp, unique. I'm shocked by the amount of detail and just how dang original she is, which also is a compliment to her design, which I know you put so much thought into. I love how much symbolism you use, you're the only one I've ever met who shares my passion for obnoxiously detailed symbolism, and it makes me so happy.
The white marking and general body prep/coloring is amazing, it looks painted but not like you lost the detail, it makes the whole thing cohesive. It doesn't look untouched but it doesn't look overworked. I know what you did was too intensive to do every time, but honestly the pay-off is so breathtaking.
Her eye is beautiful, I do love your technique for them. Soft but distinct.
That. Mane. And forelock. Oh. My. Bloody. Fuckaroo. You took every word I said, absorbed it, and applied it in ways that I've never had any other student do. As I said-- it doesn't matter what I say, I can describe every little step to do, it still takes insane skill and instinct to use any of that in actual art. Your comprehension and natural eye for hair shows vibrantly through this piece. I adore the lighting on the red string woven through her braids and how flawlessly you intermingled it, let alone that you actually did braids, which I think is one of the hardest hairstyles. Then that soft yet defined forelock, so much depth and grace in it!
Lastly, that fire on the hooves. Perfect choice. I agree that behind would've looked odd and I don't find it cheating at all because fire is something most people struggle with hardcore, so if anything, I'd say fire is harder to deal with than grounding. I love that you don't have it as a solid barricade in front of the hooves, it's more interspersed and sporadic, making it believable and dramatic. I especially like the front left legs, the very front one looks like it is stomping on fire that is billowing out from underneath the edges, and then the one behind it looks like the fire is just blazing up it, just rushing, so much movement. Movement is key to unique and appealing composition, and you achieve that with the motion in the fire at the hooves and the way the sparks are blowing. Keep that up--keep up breathing activity and life in your pieces and they will continue to improve and captivate.
This is the crowning jewel of your gallery. Hands down. It is far superior skill than I had any idea you contained; you surpassed expectations and achieved a whole new tier of "artistic." It took you ages to do but seriously, man, so worth it.
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I wish I had more time to reply to this comment but seriously thank you so much for every single word. You definitely had to stare at this for like an hour to comment on all of those little details and I appreciate it so freaking much. Having you love my art this much is still hard for me to comprehend because your manipulations are out of the world. I appreciate all of the help you gave me for this piece and that hair is 100% thanks to you. I've always struggled with a technique and you have helped me so much. I need to aggressively take notes about what to do because I've already caught myself forgetting steps and mucking it up Dx It is a painfully slow process and I now understand why it takes you so long, but it is also completely worth it. I'm just so freaking happy right now, you made my whole day
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You are so welcome, of course. I hope adding it to groups also helped--sometimes it helps me, sometimes it doesn't. One time it doubled the views on my deviation.. another time it was like here's 5 extra views have fun. xD I can't wait to continue seeing your art improvement, but especially with manips since they're my favorite. We can definitely go through the hair steps again and you can take notes so it isn't forgotten--and screenshots if it helps! Make your own little tutorialthing. xD I can send you a summary refresher if you want though in the meantime!
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Good because you deserve 10x more than you have, so we can consider this your first half-step toward the proper attention! hahah
Yess you just do that for me and we can call payment square bahahah seriously fuck hair tutorials, I drown when I try xD
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-squishes with hugs- You're so freaking kind ;-;
I hope you realize that I will literally be creating your hair tutorial for myself XD
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Queen of extra appendages!
And dat super flawless lighting~
Plus Murph is gorgeous~
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Eeee thank you!
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Pft. I think she's pretty in her own badass way! I love that tail concept too, like, hello - that's totally awesome!
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-squints- does.... does that horse have six legs o:
also this art is LIT
...i'll go home
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Yes, yes she does xD Thank youuu <3
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