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rachaelm5 — Sphinx Dreams
Published: 2008-12-23 01:58:15 +0000 UTC; Views: 1532; Favourites: 21; Downloads: 0
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Description
This is my latest cover art for Hadley Rille Books called The Priestess and the Slave by Jenny Blackford. It's a work of fiction set in Ancient Greece, and it will be on the bookshelves in April 2009. I'll post a journal entry when it's available.
I did most of the work with Prismacolor pencils over a watercolor base, then I added the mountain textures digitally.
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Comments: 28
Oh my god... I think I may have seen that statue in person
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I know it's in a museum somewhere; I can't remember which one, though. I used several photographs of the statue as a point of reference so that the wonky proportions would read properly. She sure is purdy.
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Not that that I didn't like your more colorful works, it's nice to see a more earth like colored piece for a change. I really like the texture on the picture. Especially the mountain looks very lively.
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Every once in a while, a commissioner manages to convince me to work in not-retina-searing colors. It does make a nice break from my regular vat of work, truly, and I'm glad that it appeals to you along with all the other stuff!
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A book cover!! Congrats! 
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Thanks very much.
It looks like I'll be working with this publisher quite a bit. There are at least a couple more books I'll be doing this year for him.
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That's great!
I wish I could get some book covering work as well. I've only done one cover ever. *sigh*
Good luck with the rest of them!
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The sky's my favorite part. It's so intense and stormy, but the sphinx looks happy about it.
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Thanks!
This one is intentionally enigmatic...
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Wow, I could get lost in the detail of the Sphinx's platform she's on. 
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Thanks very much!
This is a project where the publisher had a pretty good idea of what he wanted, so I didn't do anything too crazy (except for the platform - that WAS my fault). I like the golden tones on the sphinx quite a lot too, and I think I may revisit this theme again to play with that golden sphinx idea.
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Beautiful work!
Kind of a random fact, but old Christian views saw Cherubims as sphinx-like creatures? Only the hands and feet weren't very cat like.
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The book of Ezekiel and some of the Apocrypha had other views besides that - I've heard Cherubim described as big wheels or balls of fire and wings with eyes all over, and I've heard them described as humanoid with four eye-dotted wings, the legs of a calf, and four faces - lion, eagle, bull, and man. Wonderful stuff. I hope I get to see one some day.
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You combined the coloured pencil and digital parts so well I would never have guessed there was any digital in this. I love that design down at the very bottom, really neat looking.
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Thanks very much! I'm glad that it all reads as traditional mediums; that's exactly what I wanted it to do.
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I wouldn't have known there was any digital in that if you hadn't said something. Great blending! :>
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I'm glad that it reads properly! I wasn't able to get the texture of the mountain exactly the way I wanted it with the colored pencils alone, so Photoshop has saved my butt once again.
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Your shading is amazing!
I am /so/ buyin that book xD
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Wonderful! THanks very much!
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wow! you do beautiful cover work, Rachel! >w<
amazing coloring job!
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